So much nonsense
Wu Changkong's tone was calm, without reprimand or contempt, only earnest guidance. The appreciation and regard in his eyes had not diminished at all. He still valued this monstrously gifted boy; he simply did not want to watch him stray onto an extreme, misguided path of martial cultivation.
But to Bai Yushan, this painstaking advice sounded unbearably noisy.
For three years, Chen Qingquan had gently counseled him day after day, and he had long since grown sick of every kind of lofty principle. Now Wu Changkong wanted to overturn convictions rooted deep in his heart with just a few words. How laughable.
The clarity in Bai Yushan's eyes instantly faded, replaced by a flicker of impatience. He waved a hand casually, his tone openly flippant and defiant.
"Blah, blah, blah. So much nonsense. It's not like I can't get into Shrek Academy without you. What are you preaching at me for?!"
He completely ignored the slight change in Wu Changkong's expression and turned toward Yu Zhen in the stands. His posture was straight and casual, every step carrying an unrestrained swagger.
"Uncle Yu Zhen, just put me in any class." Bai Yushan walked beneath the stands and looked up at Yu Zhen, speaking bluntly without the slightest courtesy. "I only have one request: the teacher in charge of the class mustn't tell me how to cultivate."
He acknowledged that Wu Changkong was powerful enough. With his cultivation as a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, he ranked among the strongest in all of Eastsea Academy and even the surrounding region. Sparring with someone that strong could quickly hone his combat strength and improve his practical fighting experience. But he would never depend on anyone, much less force himself to accept the constraints of another person's beliefs for the sake of cultivation.
If he wanted a powerful sparring partner, the world had countless powerful people. Wu Changkong was not indispensable. If he wanted to advance his cultivation, his own Bioelectricity Martial Soul already possessed limitless potential. He had no need for anyone's deliberate instruction.
Yu Zhen looked at the boy standing in the arena, his bearing extraordinary and his pride soaring to the heavens. His eyes were filled with fond indulgence and delight, without the slightest dissatisfaction.
As Eastsea Academy's dean, he had overseen the academy for many years and seen countless gifted students, but he had never encountered a heaven-defying existence like Bai Yushan.
Nine years old, rank-sixteen Soul Power, able to stand against a Six-Ring Soul Emperor single-handedly without falling behind-his combat strength, talent, and temperament all surpassed those of his peers dozens or hundreds of times over.
An ordinary student's defiance was arrogant ignorance. Bai Yushan's pride was confidence supported by strength.
Never mind merely refusing discipline; even if he behaved a few degrees more brazenly, Yu Zhen would gladly indulge him.
A monstrous prodigy like this deserved privileges that set him apart.
Yu Zhen immediately nodded, his tone utterly decisive. "No problem! I'll arrange the best class resources for you right away. Your daily cultivation and your cultivation progress will all be up to you. No teacher will dare interfere with any of your decisions!"
Upon receiving his answer, Bai Yushan's expression did not ripple in the slightest, as though this outcome was only natural.
Others merely thought him young and arrogant, acting as he pleased without knowing how to conceal his edge, bound to invite trouble sooner or later. But Bai Yushan's mind was far more mature and meticulous than any of them imagined.
He understood better than anyone that his current way of doing things-flouting convention, defiant and brazen-could easily provoke jealousy and resentment. Many teachers and students at the academy would be dissatisfied with him and criticize him behind his back.
But he did not care in the slightest.
Everyone thought he looked down on others because of his talent, that he was simple-minded and knew only how to throw his weight around with brute force. That was not the case. His Bioelectricity Martial Soul brought him not only formidable physical strength and terrifying Electric Current Push, but also subtly tempered his spiritual power and thinking.
His intelligence, insight, and capacity for deductive reasoning had long since surpassed ordinary people, and even the vast majority of high-level Soul Masters.
His superintelligence always told him, "You only need to use superstrength!"
As for the remaining one percent, that was merely a matter of his superstrength not being super enough!
Likewise, he never acted recklessly. All his swagger was a choice made after careful consideration.
Had he lived in a chaotic ancient age, with disorder everywhere and the powerful running rampant without restraint, then even while remaining true to his belief in strength above all, he would have deliberately concealed his edge, lain low, and grown steadily stronger to avoid being drawn into pointless conflicts too early.
But he lived in the modern era under the Sun Moon Federation's rule. Society seemed stable, its rules strict, its various powers keeping one another in check, and everyone seemingly abiding by order. Yet the true laws of survival had never changed.
In the modern era, modesty and humility were never the trump cards that kept one alive. Supreme potential and strength were!
If he deliberately held himself back, concealed his talent, obediently accepted his teachers' discipline, and cultivated by the book, everyone would merely treat him as an ordinary genius. He would receive neither the best resources nor the attention of those at the top.
It was precisely this unbridled swagger, this domineering philosophy that overturned common sense, that had allowed Chen Qingquan to fully recognize his foundations, made Yu Zhen willing to spare no effort in indulging him, earned Wu Changkong's regard, and ensured that no one in Eastsea Academy dared look down on him.
The Sun Moon Federation possessed vast territories and immense power, controlling the prevailing order across the entire continent. The Federation would not go out of its way to please any one genius, but it would certainly not lightly offend or bury a monstrous prodigy with limitless potential.
A sufficiently dazzling edge was the surest talisman for preserving one's life.
Sufficiently heaven-defying talent was the toughest protective charm.
Bai Yushan understood this perfectly. The world of Soul Masters held countless powerful people, but there were only so many resources. Obedience alone would never earn him kind treatment. Only by displaying his abilities and making his temperament clear could he obtain privileges others did not have.
Today, he had fully exposed his strength and sharp edges before everyone precisely to make all of Eastsea Academy remember that he, Bai Yushan, was not bound by the academy's damned rules and did not need any ordinary teacher to discipline him.
The training grounds were terrifyingly quiet. Wu Changkong stood where he was, his white clothes swaying gently, his blue eyes filled with complicated thoughts. He was nearly thirty and had seen countless geniuses-composed ones, humble ones, proud ones, every kind imaginable-but he had never seen a nine-year-old child like Bai Yushan.
At such a young age, he already possessed the strength to fight above his level against Soul Elders and even Soul Ancestors. His combat talent was absurdly strong, yet his temperament was frighteningly extreme. His head was filled with nothing but the supremacy of strength, running completely counter to the righteous path of cultivation recognized throughout the Soul Master World.
Wu Changkong truly could not understand it. A promising seedling like this, encountered once in ten thousand years, would absolutely stand at the continent's summit someday if he cultivated steadily. Why insist on taking a path that others saw as crooked and unorthodox?
A Soul Master's cultivation demanded moderation and boundaries, respect for rules, and fidelity to one's true heart-not blindly throwing one's weight around through brute force. Throughout history, far too many Soul Masters who obsessed solely over strength and disregarded rules and human bonds had ultimately suffered Qi deviation, fallen into becoming Evil Soul Masters, and met miserable ends.
The only reason he had considered taking him as a disciple earlier was his appreciation of talent. Since graduating from Shrek and taking charge of Eastsea Academy, Bai Yushan was the most gifted person he had ever seen, bar none.
With proper guidance to help correct his extreme ideas and temper his character, he would absolutely become one of the continent's top powerhouses in the future.
He might even return to Shrek Academy with him and become one of the next generation's Shrek Seven Devils!
But as he watched the boy's retreating figure, so utterly unconcerned and unwilling to listen to advice, Wu Changkong forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
He came from Shrek and placed the greatest importance on character and virtue, emphasizing respect for teachers and their teachings and adherence to rules. Bai Yushan's thinking and way of doing things were wholly incompatible with his principles.
He could not teach a student like this, nor did he want to.
In an instant, his lingering thought of taking a disciple vanished completely.