Different Views on Power

The training ground was deathly silent, every gaze fixed on the two figures in its center.

Ye Yingluo was deathly pale, her eyes filled with shock. Qin Zhixu's fingertips trembled slightly, disbelief filling his eyes. Kong Hanwen's flattery had vanished, leaving his expression blank. Ye Yingrong covered her mouth, regret and shock intertwining in her heart.

Long Hengxu sighed softly, overcome with feeling. Yu Zhen's eyes shone, his excitement impossible to hide. Chen Qingquan leaned back in his chair with a warm smile, gratification and heartache mingling in his eyes. His disciple's performance today had far exceeded his expectations.

Wu Changkong studied him quietly for a moment before slowly speaking, his tone solemn. "Are you sure you want to learn from me?"

Bai Yushan grinned, fully revealing the wild arrogance and domineering spirit in his bones without the slightest restraint. He raised his head slightly, his gaze locked firmly on Wu Changkong, assertive and unabashed, completely ignoring everyone else present.

"Do you think they're qualified to teach me?"

He lifted his chin slightly, sweeping a glance over Ye Yingluo, Qin Zhixu, and the others in the stands. His gaze was cold and empty, without hatred or disgust; he simply thought nothing of these so-called teachers. To him, none of Eastsea Academy's first-year homeroom teachers were qualified to guide him.

The training ground remained deathly silent. No one dared refute his arrogant words. The battle just now had already overturned everyone's understanding: a nine-year-old One-Ring Soul Master had clashed head-on with a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, attacking against the odds and growing stronger as the battle continued. Such combat strength and talent warranted boundless pride.

Wu Changkong remained calm, without the slightest displeasure in his heart. He had seen geniuses from across the world and was accustomed to youthful pride.

Ordinary geniuses who looked down on others because of their talent were usually shallow and conceited. Bai Yushan's arrogance was rooted in genuine combat strength, its foundations solid.

He thought to himself that if he had possessed such heaven-defying foundations in his youth, he would only have been more brazen and unrestrained than Bai Yushan.

The Heavenly Frost Sword slid back into its sheath. A trace of hesitation passed across Wu Changkong's cool features, and he slowly spoke.

"May I ask you two questions?"

Bai Yushan raised an eyebrow slightly. The lingering arcs of electricity on his skin slowly withdrew into his meridians, and his fighting spirit gradually faded. He nodded casually in reply.

"Go ahead."

Wu Changkong's gaze was clear as he looked straight at the boy before him, whose sharp edge was fully exposed, and asked his first question.

"Why are you going to Shrek Academy?"

Everyone listened intently. Shrek had stood on the continent for centuries, a sacred ground of cultivation in the hearts of countless Soul Masters. Innumerable geniuses fought tooth and nail just to enter and study there, seeking resources, advancing their cultivation, and ascending to the summit of the Soul Master's path.

Everyone assumed that someone with Bai Yushan's peerless talent would surely go to Shrek to delve deeper into the martial path and contend for the pinnacle.

But the boy's answer completely defied everyone's expectations, crisp and direct, without the slightest hesitation.

"To find that troublesome little sister of mine, of course."

His tone was flat, as though he were discussing some insignificant trifle.

"For some reason, she went to Shrek Academy to cultivate. She and I made a three-year agreement. In three years, I'll go to Shrek to find her."

Those few casual words brushed aside Shrek's supreme renown. In Bai Yushan's eyes, this sacred ground sought after by countless people was merely a place to keep an appointment. Its sole significance was that he would retrieve his little sister there in three years.

A trace of surprise surfaced in Wu Changkong's eyes. The world's geniuses all pursued fame, fortune, and cultivation, yet Bai Yushan, whose talent surpassed everyone present, was indifferent to everything the world admired. Such purity and clarity beneath those proud bones were especially rare.

He had already decided that this boy was worth sparing no effort to nurture, but he still asked the second crucial question.

"Can you tell me how you view power?"

In the stands, Chen Qingquan had just been laughing and chatting with Yu Zhen, boasting about his disciple's performance. The moment he heard this question, his heart tightened.

He had asked Bai Yushan a similar question three years ago and had always hoped to slowly change the child's extreme thinking. Unfortunately, after all this time, Bai Yushan's views had not changed in the slightest.

He knew Bai Yushan's temperament all too well. He said whatever he thought and never beat around the bush to deliberately please anyone.

Every gaze focused on Bai Yushan, waiting for his answer.

Bai Yushan grinned, his eyes lucid yet obstinate, and bluntly voiced his thoughts.

Bai Yushan slowly raised his eyes, clarity and madness intertwining in their depths. The heat of battle had faded, leaving only cold, penetrating clarity.

His lips curved into a brazen smile, and every word of his clear voice rang out forcefully, echoing through the spacious training ground.

"Power is the root of everything in this world."

"All the rules, order, and dignity in this world are shackles the weak use to console themselves. In the real world, power has always had the final say."

"Power breeds violence, violence breeds dominion, and dominion brings authority."

He spoke at an even pace, every word carrying an unquestionable certainty that fell heavily upon everyone's ears.

"All the rules and principles in this world are things the weak use to protect themselves because they lack power. Without sufficient strength, even the finest-sounding morality cannot protect the people you care about. Ordinary people toil to make a living, and Soul Masters painstakingly cultivate Soul Power. At their core, both lack power and have no way to control their own lives."

"Without power, so-called morality is nothing but empty talk. Without power, so-called rules can only bind you. Without power, so-called family ties, bonds, and prospects are all bubbles that can be crushed at any moment."

"As long as you possess enough power, you can break every shackle and escape every restraint. You can rewrite the rules of heaven and earth yourself. Everything in the world is yours to stoop down and take."

Bai Yushan swept his gaze across everyone present. There was not the slightest madness in his eyes, only utter clarity.

"The weak are subject to heaven and earth, to rules, and to others. The strong control themselves, their fate, and everything around them."

"That is power as I see it. Pure, domineering, and sovereign over all."

When he finished speaking, deathly silence fell over the crowd.

Even the wind in the training ground seemed to stop at that moment. A falling needle could have been heard.

In the stands, everyone's expressions froze completely.

Chen Qingquan's brows knitted tightly, his heart filled with helplessness. Three years of guidance had all come to nothing. Bai Yushan's martial convictions were deeply rooted, showing not the slightest sign of wavering.

At last, a faint ripple disturbed Wu Changkong's cool expression. His brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of contemplation and disapproval passed through his azure eyes.

He had seen plenty of Soul Masters obsessed with power and fixated on the martial path, but he had never seen a nine-year-old boy grasp the supremacy of power so thoroughly, or so extremely.

Ordinary boys harbored pride that was mostly the arrogance of youthful ignorance, but every word Bai Yushan spoke had undergone utterly lucid consideration. This was the righteous path he firmly believed in.

After a moment of silence, Wu Changkong slowly spoke. His cool voice broke the deathly silence and rang throughout the training ground.

"Your talent for power stands above all your peers. No one can match you. But the path you've set your heart on is far too extreme. If you rely purely on power to dominate everything, disregarding all the rules and bonds in this world, one day your own power will turn against you, and you will suffer a fall from which there is no recovery."

"Rules have never been shackles for the weak. Only because countless Soul Masters hold to their bottom lines, and sects and academies maintain order, is there a stable world in which to cultivate. If you abuse your strength and act recklessly, even heaven-defying talent will not take you far."