Over the next few days, Lin Xi and Huo Yutong spent almost all their time in the Soul Tool Department's testing area.
With some foundation already in place, their Soul Tool Technology advanced by leaps and bounds.
Huo Yutong in particular improved at a speed that could only be called miraculous. In just a few days, she had made Fan Yu and the others click their tongues in wonder a dozen times.
After all, she was a spiritual-type Soul Master, and Spiritual Detection was far too overpowered. Add in Huo Yutong's own ruthless, life-risking drive, and it would have been strange if she had not made such progress.
By comparison, Lin Xi's progress was rather slow.
The gap between their Martial Souls could not be bridged. There was nothing he could do about that.
In any case, he did not need his own Soul Tool skills to be particularly impressive. He had come here to study simply because he wanted to learn something about the subject.
Sooner or later, he would run into the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineers. Only by knowing both himself and his enemies could he win every battle.
Besides, compared with the little Soul Tool knowledge Shrek taught, what he actually valued more was building a good relationship with He Caitou.
As a former prince of Sun Moon, this fellow's identity was undeniably sensitive. Put to good use, it could play a major role. Although he had inexplicably disappeared from the original story in its later stages, with his revenge storyline cut away entirely, Lin Xi would not underestimate his value.
If he had the opportunity to visit the Sun Moon Empire later, he could learn better Soul Tool knowledge there. But there was only one fallen former crown prince of Sun Moon.
And so, under Lin Xi's seemingly casual overtures, He Caitou rapidly grew closer to his two new juniors.
Who would not like talented juniors who were good-tempered, hardworking, and polite?
In the original story, Huo Yuhao had managed to forge a friendship with He Caitou merely by calling him senior brother. Naturally, Lin Xi and Huo Yutong would only do better.
Unlike the harmonious atmosphere in the Soul Tool Department, however, Xu Sanshi was having a rather agonizing time.
The reason was simple-Bei Bei and Tang Ya had returned.
Sure enough, they flatly rejected Lin Xi's proposal, saying that only members of the Tang Sect could learn the Hidden Weapon Hundred Separations. It could not be passed on to outsiders.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xi expressed his respect, understanding, and best wishes.
The Tang Sect simply had not fallen far enough yet.
He wondered whether Tang Ya would change if, one day, Bei Bei left her because of the Tang Sect's decline.
Unfortunately, on this continent of love-addled brains, he was destined never to see that happen.
Bei Bei would certainly protect Tang Ya to the very end. After all, everyone on this continent was a fierce soul willing to die for love.
It was just hard on Zhang Lexuan.
To be honest, Lin Xi had never intended to establish any particularly deep connection through this conversation with them. He had only wanted to say hello.
He wanted them to remember that someone like him existed, making future contact easier.
The present Tang Sect was still far too weak. And judging by how most of its capable members in the original story's later stages had essentially been brought in by Huo Yuhao, it would continue to be weak.
There was no need to fixate on a sect like that and stubbornly hammer away at it. It was not worth the effort.
Unlike the calm Lin Xi, Xu Sanshi lost his composure, just as expected.
More than the humiliation of having his boast thrown back in his face, what distressed him was that he did not understand why his brother was unwilling to accept this partnership.
"Why? Bei Bei! Isn't reviving the Tang Sect the sorrowful wish you and Xiao Ya share? Why won't you seize such a great opportunity?"
To put the Tang Sect's current situation nicely, it had enormous room for improvement. To put it bluntly, it existed in name only.
However it developed, the Tang Sect could not possibly go any further downhill. Since every direction led upward, why were they unwilling to take a gamble?
What was more, the one proposing this partnership was Unlimited Blade Works, a supernova whose future looked infinitely bright in Xu Sanshi's eyes. If they seized this opportunity, soaring into the heavens in a single bound was not impossible.
Yet faced with the anxious Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei merely shook his head helplessly.
"Sorry, Sanshi, but this junior actually wants our Hidden Weapon Hundred Separations. The ways of our ancestors cannot be changed. We can't hand it over."
"...!"
At that, Xu Sanshi nearly choked and passed out.
At a time like this, how are you still hung up on those ancestral ways of yours?
How many years has the Tang Sect been in decline? There are only two people left! What's the point of continuing this meaningless insistence?
If you keep holding out, will those ancestors pop out and revive the Tang Sect?
If that were possible, Tang San would have descended in person long ago and helped the Tang Sect become the continent's number one sect.
Still, he and Bei Bei were brothers, after all. He could not put things so harshly, so he could only seek out Lin Xi and explain helplessly:
"Sorry, little brother. Bei Bei and the others just can't get their heads around it right now. They don't mean any harm."
"I understand." Lin Xi smiled as he said, "If they ever change their minds, you can come find me. As long as we're still friends, Unlimited Blade Works' doors will always be open to the Tang Sect."
"Thank you."
Xu Sanshi let out a grateful sigh of relief and treated Lin Xi and Huo Yutong to a meal before they parted ways.
It had to be said that, bizarre as Xu Sanshi's romantic history was, he was a thoroughly decent friend.
It really was a shame that he had ended up saddled with that master-disciple duo.
Those two were real pieces of work, capable of swindling him out of two Mystic Water Pills for a little junior brother they had only just met, all without batting an eye.
Perhaps nothing mattered more to them than reviving the Tang Sect.
Then, two days before school officially began, the thing Lin Xi feared most finally happened.
When he returned to the dormitory that evening, he saw an ultimate "pretty boy" with pink-and-blue hair sitting on a bed.
His expression immediately darkened.
Honestly, he did not dislike Wang Dong'er. If anything, he rather liked her.
But that was a separate matter from whether he wanted too much contact with her.
She bore the Buddha's mark. It could be said that Wang Dong'er, as a synthesis material, deserved considerable credit for the Buddha's ability to monitor Yuhao like that in the original story.
Fortunately, he had considered what to do if he encountered this situation.
Seeing that Wang Dong was about to recite her classic list of rules, Lin Xi spoke first:
"Hello. Are you Wang Dong'er from the Clear Sky Sect, with twin Martial Souls and a thousand-year second Soul Skill, disguising yourself as a boy?"
The moment he opened his mouth, he exposed every last one of Wang Dong's secrets.
Wang Dong: "???"
What was going on? She had only wanted to establish her authority. Why had this guy immediately unleashed his ultimate?
How did he know all this information about her?
Seeing through Wang Dong's thoughts with ease, Lin Xi said coldly:
"You don't need to worry about where I learned all this about you. You only need to know that I know you're a girl. If you don't want me getting handsy with you in everyday life, please leave this dormitory now and find a teacher to change rooms."
"I, I..." Only after a long while did Wang Dong squeeze out a sentence. "Why should I listen to you?"
Her life as a new student had only just begun, and she was already being threatened like this. How could she stand it?
Lin Xi rolled his eyes.
"Fine, you can stay here too. But don't forget, I'm a man and you're a woman. You don't even need to think about what I'll do to you, do you? Would disguising yourself as a boy still mean anything then?"
Of course, he certainly would not do it.
But that did not stop him from using it to frighten this little girl.
"Ugh..." Wang Dong was instantly at a loss for words.
Right. If she shared a room with this guy, what had she deliberately hidden her gender to come to the academy for?
Seeing her unwilling expression, Lin Xi's lips curved into a smile.
He knew she was already wavering.
"I'm going out for a walk. Think your answer over carefully."
With that, he ignored Wang Dong's murderous gaze, turned, and left the dormitory.