Watching more and more students rush out the door, Lu Xuan calmed down and began to feel afraid!
This was no longer merely a teaching mishap, but a teaching disaster, one that could very well cost him his job!
After all, a Soul Master Academy was different from an ordinary school. Every student was a precious Soul Master, and the school's annual funding was also tied to its student numbers.
If these students really stopped attending, switching schools would be easy for them, but he feared the principal would flay a layer of skin off him.
"Qi Ling! Stop right there!" Lu Xuan chased after him and shouted, "Inciting so many classmates to skip class with you is far too irresponsible!"
"Teacher, I'd like you to get one thing straight. I never said a single word to them!" Qi Ling said.
"Our classmates simply decided on their own that your class wasn't worth attending!"
"Damn it! Since you say I'm unfit to be a teacher, do you dare compete with me?" Lu Xuan said, left with no other option.
"If I lose, I'll admit you're right! If you lose, you'll leave the school alone, and you mustn't incite any other students!"
Qi Ling looked at Lu Xuan, pointed at himself, then at him, and said, "You mean that you, a teacher and a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, want to compete with me, a One-Ring Soul Master?"
"And our stakes are that I have to leave the academy if I lose, while you, Teacher Lu Xuan, only need to acknowledge my point if you lose? Such generous terms. I'm truly touched!"
"Teacher, this contest of yours really is fair!"
Even Lu Xuan, who had proposed the contest, couldn't help blushing. A difference of one Soul Ring wasn't as simple as having one fewer Soul Skill. It was an overall disparity in Soul Power and every other aspect!
Not to mention that he, a teacher, was actually bullying his own student like this. But for the sake of his future, Lu Xuan still chose to do it.
"What? Are you afraid? If you're afraid, just leave the academy!" Lu Xuan said.
[Ding-dong! The host is facing Lu Xuan's challenge. Please choose from the following options.] Option one: refuse the unfair challenge and find another way to fight back. Rewards: prestige -1, 10 Gold Soul Coins. Option two: accept Lu Xuan's challenge and defeat him. Reward: one Thousand-Year Soul Ring with matching attributes.
Seeing the reward for the second option, Qi Ling raised an eyebrow. This reward couldn't have come at a better time. It was truly charcoal delivered in the snow!
The greatest gap between him and Lu Xuan right now lay in Soul Power. Although he had absorbed a first Soul Ring beyond the usual limit and possessed extraordinarily powerful twin Martial Souls, the gap between a Soul Master and a Soul Grandmaster wasn't so easy to bridge.
But if he had another Thousand-Year Soul Ring, everything would be different! Not only would his Soul Power be no weaker than Lu Xuan's, it would even be stronger.
Moreover, with his first Soul Ring laying the groundwork, Qi Ling was now fully capable of absorbing this Thousand-Year Soul Ring as the first Soul Ring of his second Martial Soul! By any reasonable measure, he had no reason not to choose the second option.
[Ding-dong! Congratulations, host, on choosing option two: accept Lu Xuan's challenge. Reward obtained: one Thousand-Year Soul Ring with matching attributes! Please select the Soul Ring's attributes yourself.]
So Qi Ling smiled and said, "Haha, how could I be afraid? Since you're so eager to compete with me, Teacher, I'll grant your wish!"
"Tomorrow morning, on the school grounds, we can have a fair duel! All teachers and students are welcome to come and bear witness for me!"
"Good! It's settled!" Lu Xuan seemed afraid Qi Ling would change his mind. "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow morning!"
After returning to the dormitory, Qi Ling once again became everyone's focus. After all, special as the Soul Master Academy was, this was their first time seeing a student who dared challenge a teacher.
"The boss really is the boss. What guts!" Wang Sheng said with admiration all over his face. "You actually dared challenge a teacher. I wouldn't even dare think about it!"
"Haha, Qi Ling, well done! Hearing you tell that teacher off was so satisfying!" Xiao Wu also said excitedly. "Don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll bring everyone to cheer you on!"
"Great, then I'll leave it to you, Xiao Wu." Qi Ling smiled. "Make sure I don't lose to him in presence."
"Don't worry. I'm the all-capable Sister Xiao Wu! Leave this little matter to me!" Xiao Wu said confidently, patting her small chest.
Tang San, however, said with some concern, "Brother Qi, there's a gap of one Soul Ring between you and Teacher Lu Xuan. That isn't something you can easily disregard. What are you planning to do?"
"This immortal has a clever plan of his own. Xiao San, just wait for the show!" Qi Ling smiled. "There's still an entire afternoon, anyway. That's enough for me to surpass him!"
Naturally, Tang San didn't believe Qi Ling's claim that he could surpass Lu Xuan in just one afternoon. Qi Ling didn't mind. That afternoon, he simply found a deserted spot and prepared to absorb his second Soul Ring.
In fact, Qi Ling had also considered whether it would be better to wait a while and have the Divine Dragon Emperor absorb its second Soul Ring directly.
That way, once he could withstand it, he could equip his second Martial Soul entirely with ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, or even Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!
But after thinking it over, Qi Ling still chose to advance both Martial Souls in tandem.
This was because, unlike Tang San's, the two Martial Souls within him were one evil and one righteous. If one became too powerful, it would be hard to guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen.
"System! I choose to equip my second Martial Soul, the Blood Devil Emperor, with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!" Qi Ling said to the system. "Give me a suitable Soul Ring!"
[Ding-dong! Host's selection confirmed. A Soul Ring with suitable attributes is being assigned to your Martial Soul, "Blood Devil Emperor"!] [Congratulations! You have obtained the Soul Ring of the Thousand-Year Soul Beast: Blood Bat Demon. Please complete absorption as soon as possible!]
Immediately, a purple Soul Ring appeared before Qi Ling, shimmering with a soft blue glow, mysterious and alluring.
Qi Ling summoned the Blood Devil Emperor Martial Soul in his left hand. Blood-red light shone over his entire body, and then he reached toward the Thousand-Year Soul Ring before him.
The instant he touched the Soul Ring, Qi Ling's brow furrowed!
Completely unlike when the Divine Dragon Emperor absorbed a Soul Ring, the Blood Devil Emperor's absorption process was filled with scalp-numbing pain!
It felt as though the Blood Devil Emperor within him was frantically devouring and tearing into that Soul Ring, like a merciless slaughter.
The strong devouring the weak was the sole law of dark creatures to begin with. As a creature without the pride of the dragon race, the Blood Devil Emperor instead took terror and cruelty to their extremes!
It needed no consent from you whatsoever. Everything it did to you was plunder and extraction. The strong reigned supreme, the fittest survived, those who obeyed lived, and those who defied died!
When the Blood Devil Emperor finished absorbing the Soul Ring, Qi Ling felt as though he had jolted awake from a nightmare. He stared at his left hand, breathing rapidly.
"What a terrifying Martial Soul! I really can't imagine what would happen if I didn't have the Divine Dragon Emperor inside me!" Qi Ling said, still shaken.