Yu Xiaogang simply could not accept it.
Tang San had received his guidance and even absorbed a hundred-year soul ring, yet his Soul Power was only at rank 11.
Li Jin had received none of his guidance and had only absorbed a ten-year soul ring, yet his Soul Power was actually at rank 13.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened, and he wheezed like a bellows. He rushed forward, taking the steps two at a time, and snatched the blue crystal ball used to test Soul Power.
"This thing must be broken! A mere Li Jin, with his trash Koi Martial Soul and garbage ten-year soul ring-how could he possibly have rank 13 Soul Power!"
In Yu Xiaogang's hands, the blue crystal ball shone once more, and a glaring number 29 sprang out from within it.
Yu Xiaogang's expression froze.
The crystal ball was not broken.
That meant Li Jin's rank 13 Soul Power was real.
By now, Li Jin's expression had darkened as well.
Every other word out of Yu Xiaogang's mouth was about his trash Koi Martial Soul or garbage ten-year soul ring. His mockery was naked and undisguised.
Even with his good temper, Li Jin was angry now.
Li Jin folded his arms and said sarcastically,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Yu Xiaogang, I heard before that you managed to break through to fifty years old with rank 29 Soul Power. No wonder you're called Grandmaster. I'm sure I'll never measure up to you."
"My Soul Power is rank 13 now. By the time I reach rank 29, I definitely won't have broken through to fifty years old."
Those words made Yu Xiaogang want to cough up blood. He had mocked Li Jin's white soul ring earlier, and now he was truly getting paid back in kind.
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang raised a trembling finger at Li Jin, looking as though he might faint from anger.
Li Jin held his head high, his face brimming with youthful spirit.
Just then, the chandelier overhead suddenly swayed.
Its screws seemed to have loosened a little.
The chandelier came crashing down, landing squarely around Yu Xiaogang. The blow left his head spinning, and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the floor.
"Teacher!"
Tang San cried out. He only had time to shoot Li Jin a jealous glare before rushing over to help Yu Xiaogang.
He was suffering inside!
He had finally gotten the upper hand over Li Jin in soul rings, only for Li Jin to gain the upper hand in Soul Power.
Just then, before the Gold Soul Coin he had just tucked into his clothes could even grow warm, it silently rolled into a gap between the floorboards.
If master and disciple were going to suffer bad luck, they would suffer it together.
One was injured, and the other lost money.
Ma Xiunuo glanced up at the ceiling in puzzlement.
"This place was only renovated six months ago. How has it fallen into such disrepair after just half a year?"
He hurried over as well and helped Tang San remove the chandelier caught around Yu Xiaogang.
"Grandmaster, are you all right? Your head is bleeding. Hurry and have a physician look at it. You mustn't delay this and risk lasting complications."
Tang San gritted his teeth and looked at Li Jin.
"Li Jin, don't get so pleased with yourself. You refused to take my teacher as your master and only absorbed a garbage ten-year soul ring. Even if your Soul Power is higher than mine for now, it's only temporary."
"I have my teacher's guidance. His world-shaking wisdom, as deep as the abyssal sea, is enough to ensure that my future path will be smoother than yours."
With that, Tang San left with Yu Xiaogang on his back.
Li Jin could barely hold back his laughter.
Yu Xiaogang's world-shaking wisdom? Did he even have such a thing?
It was all Yu Xiaogang's doing-he had successfully turned "world-shaking wisdom" into an insult.
And Tang San actually had unshakable faith in Yu Xiaogang. They were truly a Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix.
After Yu Xiaogang and Tang San left, Ma Xiunuo's expression relaxed. Their behavior just now had made him quite angry as well.
"Child, what's your name? I'll register you as a Soul Master."
"Although I don't know why your Soul Power has reached rank 13, it really is a shame that you only absorbed a ten-year soul ring."
Li Jin replied, "My name is Li Jin."
Ma Xiunuo returned behind his desk to register Li Jin.
Li Jin's sharp eyes caught a glint of gold between the floorboards, and he used Spiritual Telekinesis, one of his first soul ring's four Soul Skills.
His materialized spiritual power touched that glint of gold. With a flash, he drew it into his palm.
Ha! Tang San, that's what you get for being jealous of me. I'll take this Gold Soul Coin you just received as compensation.
Soon, Ma Xiunuo held out a Gold Soul Coin to Li Jin.
"Li Jin, you're now registered as a Soul Master. This is your Soul Master subsidy for this month. From now on, you'll receive one Gold Soul Coin every month."
Li Jin accepted the Gold Soul Coin and thanked him.
"All right, Master Ma Xiunuo. I'll head back now."
Ma Xiunuo was quite fond of this handsome, polite child, and he offered an earnest warning.
"Li Jin, although that Yu Xiaogang is unpleasant, just keep your distance from him. Don't go out of your way to provoke him. His background is far from ordinary. If you go up against him, you'll be the one to suffer."
Li Jin acknowledged his words and thanked Ma Xiunuo for his kindness, but he did not take them to heart.
He was not worried about Yu Xiaogang taking revenge. Yu Xiaogang should be the one worrying.
After leaving Spirit Hall, Li Jin headed back to Nuoding Academy.
While passing through a shopping street, Li Jin spotted someone selling candied hawthorns and bought two skewers along the way.
Back at the academy!
There was no one in Dorm Seven. Li Jin changed into his school uniform and went out to the academy's sports field.
There, he saw Xiao Wu surrounded by a crowd of students.
Xiao Wu held her little head high, like a king of beasts surveying her territory.
"Li Jin!" Xiao Wu's face filled with delighted surprise when she saw him.
"Brother Li Jin!" Wang Sheng and the others in the crowd also looked delighted.
Xiao Wu skipped over, her scorpion braid swinging back and forth as she looked at Li Jin with sparkling eyes.
"You're back from absorbing your soul ring."
"You seem so different. You look even better now."
Li Jin smiled and produced two skewers of candied hawthorns from his Storage Soul Tool as though performing a magic trick.
"Yes, the trip went fairly smoothly. I got a first soul ring I'm satisfied with."
"Here, I brought you a present."
Taking the two skewers of bright red, sugar-coated hawthorns, Xiao Wu immediately beamed, her eyes full of joy as she looked at Li Jin.
"Li Jin, you're the best!"
Then Xiao Wu turned around and addressed the students who had been following her, particularly the noble students.
"Listen up, everyone. This is Li Jin, and he's under my protection, Sister Xiao Wu's protection. From now on, when you see him, treat him just as you would me."
Wang Sheng and the other working students all knew Li Jin.
It was mainly the noble students-Xiao Chenyu, Ling Feng, Liu Long, and the others-who did not know him.
Over the past three days, Xiao Wu had beaten them into complete submission.
At Xiao Wu's command, the noble students puffed out their chests, raised their heads, and called out respectfully,
"Brother Li Jin!"
Only after calling out did they privately ask the working students about Li Jin's background.
Holding up the candied hawthorns, Xiao Wu looked spirited and radiant.
"Li Jin, this is the realm I conquered for you. From now on, we'll rule it together."
Li Jin shook his head with a chuckle.
It was only a junior Soul Master Academy, yet it was quite enough to set one's blood boiling.