You inherently evil Bai brat, I'll personally...

Bai Yushan spread his hands, his expression utterly innocent.

"If you don't believe me, you should at least believe the Spirit Pagoda, right? If my innate Soul Power were high, I'd have run off to the Spirit Pagoda to live like a lord ages ago. Would I need to study at this lousy academy?"

Chen Qingquan's face darkened with exasperation.

His fingers stopped tapping, and he clenched both hands into fists, his knuckles whitening. The corner of his mouth twitched, and a dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Looks like I really do have to hit you!"

As he spoke, Chen Qingquan stood up.

He was over a meter ninety tall, with broad shoulders and a straight back. His Zhongshan suit stretched tight over his body, the outlines of bulging muscles visible beneath the fabric.

An oppressive presence emanated from his body.

That pressure was neither a fluctuation of Soul Power nor the presence of a Martial Soul. It was purely physical oppression. Like a mountain bearing down, like a beast opening its jaws.

Bai Yushan narrowed his eyes.

He felt his heartbeat quicken, his blood flow faster, his pores open. His body's instincts were telling him this man was dangerous, extremely dangerous.

But his lips spread into a grin.

"Middle-aged geezer Chen, you can hit me if you want, but you can't use your position to settle a personal grudge."

Chen Qingquan walked around the desk and approached Bai Yushan. He looked down at the skinny little boy, his eyes filled with indifference.

"A personal grudge? What personal grudge do I have against you? That you stole my books?"

"Purloined."

"What?"

"I purloined books. I didn't steal them."

Chen Qingquan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to punch Bai Yushan in the face.

He crouched down to meet Bai Yushan's eyes. His eyes were large and bright, their dark brown pupils like two polished agates.

"Kid, having power is a good thing. It lets you escape the impoverished life you were destined for. But letting that power run wild isn't a good thing."

Chen Qingquan's voice was deep, every word seemingly squeezed out of his chest.

Bai Yushan smiled dismissively, his lips curving into a flippant arc.

"Geezer, you look pretty cool lecturing people, but I don't agree."

Chen Qingquan raised his eyebrows, a gleam flashing through his dark brown pupils.

"And what brilliant insight do you have, kid?"

A fervent light flickered in Bai Yushan's eyes. It wasn't his earlier madness, but something deeper and more searing. He spread his arms as though he wanted to embrace the entire world.

"I spent a whole year going through all forty-eight volumes of Sun Moon historical outlines at Red Mountain Academy, over thirty-five million characters! I learned just one thing from them: in this world, either you have no power and live an ordinary life, or you have power and do whatever the hell you want!"

"If I didn't have the aptitude to cultivate, I'd live with my tail between my legs, bow and scrape, amass wealth by any means necessary, then retreat from the rapids and live as a rich man. But since I do have the aptitude to cultivate, I'll keep climbing higher. My power will serve only me!"

His voice echoed through the office, every word driven into the air like a nail.

Chen Qingquan fell silent.

He looked into Bai Yushan's eyes. Those eyes held none of the innocence and naivety a six-year-old should have, only an indifference that had seen through the fickleness of the world.

He felt somewhat helpless.

But he couldn't very well put on a sanctimonious air and claim the world wasn't like that.

Bai Yushan was an orphan.

An orphan who had grown up eating at a hundred households.

He knew this child had struggled through the alleys of Red Mountain City, knew he had been bullied by older children, scorned by adults, hurt by this world over and over again. He had stolen things, snatched food, slept beneath bridges, and endured the freezing cold.

Without the aptitude to become a Soul Master, however dilapidated his family's house was, someone would set their sights on it sooner or later. An orphan without cultivation aptitude was a piece of succulent meat anyone in this world could bite into.

Although Bai Yushan, who had grown up eating at a hundred households, knew kindness still existed in the world, he had nevertheless grown up surrounded by far more malice.

Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto yourself.

Chen Qingquan stood up and looked down at the skinny little boy. His eyes held neither anger nor pity, only a calm resolve.

"Whatever you think, as long as you stay at my academy, you'll follow my academy's rules."

But Bai Yushan didn't want to hear what Chen Qingquan had to say next.

He interrupted Chen Qingquan.

"Then please help me apply to withdraw, geezer."

Faced with pressure, Bai Yushan could only say he had never swallowed any of it.

Once his Electric Current Push reached five hundred thousand volts and advanced to Magnetic Field Rotation, he simply wouldn't eat beef.

Studying?

What the hell good was studying!

"Hmph!"

Chen Qingquan had known all along that Bai Yushan would say that.

He raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and punched Bai Yushan on the skull.

Thump!

A dull impact rang out.

Bai Yushan's head sank under the blow, his neck giving a crack. His whole body slid off the sofa, and he landed on the floor on his backside.

"You fucking let me fucking finish!"

Chen Qingquan's voice exploded through the office, making the windowpanes hum.

After saying that, Chen Qingquan froze for a moment.

He felt he really had been infected by this fellow Bai Yushan. How could a teacher use foul language?

Bai Yushan: Slander! I'll sue you for slander!

Clutching his head, Bai Yushan climbed up from the floor. His hair was even messier now, like a clump of windblown weeds. He glared at Chen Qingquan, defiance filling his eyes.

Chen Qingquan ignored him.

He took a deep breath and steadied his emotions. With his hands on his hips, his chest rose and fell twice before he spoke.

"How about this? You'll keep studying at my Red Mountain Academy. But with that temperament of yours, attending regular classes is out of the question. I'll teach you myself from now on."

Still clutching his head, Bai Yushan looked up at Chen Qingquan. His eyes were full of astonishment, his mouth slightly open, as though he had heard something inconceivable.

"You'd be that nice?"

The corner of Chen Qingquan's mouth twitched, and he resisted the thought of punching this inherently evil brat again.

"But as a condition, and as a way of putting your chosen path into practice, you'll have to come see me every weekend evening."

Bai Yushan's eyes went perfectly round.

He froze for a second.

Then he immediately covered his backside with both hands and leaped backward like a startled cat. A terrified expression appeared on his face, his mouth opening wide as he cried out.

"Well, well! Chen Qingquan, I fucking misjudged you! I never thought you were that kind of person! I'm telling you, I, Bai Yushan, will never submit to your depraved tyranny!"

The corner of Chen Qingquan's mouth twitched.

The corner of his eye jumped.

His fists clenched, his knuckles cracking.

"You inherently evil Bai brat, I'll personally teach you a lesson right now!"

Before his words had finished ringing out, Chen Qingquan reached out.

That large hand swept toward Bai Yushan like a net, its five fingers spread, the wind whooshing around it. There wasn't the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power on his palm, only pure physical strength.

Bai Yushan narrowed his eyes.

His body darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the hand. Electric currents danced over him with a crackling sound, his speed pushed to its utmost.