No Trash Martial Souls, Only People Who Don't Know How to Cultivate

"Dong Jian, get out here!"

Someone kicked the courtyard gate, making it bang and rattle.

Dong Jian had just left the Divine Dragon Secret Realm, and his mind still stung from being surrounded and attacked by nine wooden dummies when Zhao Hu's furious shouts came from outside.

"Give me back the work-study student spot!"

"Or don't even think about leaving today!"

Dong Shan put down his hammer, his face darkening at once.

He was about to go out, but Dong Jian had already gotten to his feet.

"I'll handle it."

"They didn't come just to argue."

Dong Shan heard the footsteps of more than one person outside the courtyard, and his frown deepened.

"Do you need Dad to step in?"

"They're just a few kids."

Dong Jian rolled his shoulders.

"If I can't even deal with them, I'll only get bullied when I enter Nuoding Academy."

Dong Shan glanced at him but didn't stop him.

He merely pointed to the charcoal piled against the wall.

"Don't break anything in the shop."

Dong Jian pulled open the courtyard gate.

Zhao Hu stood outside.

The handprint on his face had faded, but his gaze was even more resentful than yesterday.

Two boys of eight or nine stood behind him.

The boy on the left was Zhao Dazhuang, Zhao Hu's older cousin, who stood a head taller than ordinary children.

The boy on the right was Chen Shi, whose father was the village hunter. Visible muscles had already formed on his arms.

Although neither boy had Soul Power, they often followed the adults into the mountains, and they were far stronger than six-year-olds.

Quite a few villagers had already gathered around.

Clearly, Zhao Hu had deliberately made a scene.

"Dong Jian!"

Zhao Hu pointed at him.

"You're the one who broke the test crystal yesterday."

"There must be something wrong with your rank-six Soul Power!"

"The village's work-study student spot shouldn't go to you."

Dong Jian stood at the courtyard gate.

"If not me, should it go to you?"

"At least I awakened a Yellow Dog Martial Soul!"

Zhao Hu lifted his chin.

"My dad has already promised to find someone to teach me cultivation."

"When I become a Soul Master, I'll definitely be stronger than that fat bear of yours!"

Dong Jian looked at the old village chief.

"Grandpa Village Chief, have you changed your decision?"

The old village chief hurriedly shook his head.

"No."

"The work-study student spot has already been registered under your name."

"That was the result of the whole village's discussion."

Zhao Hu's face stiffened.

Dong Jian looked back at him.

"Since the decision hasn't changed, what did you come here for today?"

"To make me give you the spot that belongs to me?"

"What do you mean, your spot?"

Humiliation turned to fury for Zhao Hu.

"If you hadn't tested with rank-six Soul Power, the spot would have been mine!"

Dong Jian suddenly laughed.

"So you're saying that as long as no one better than you shows up, the best things should belong to you?"

"Of course!"

"Then there are people in Nuoding City with higher Innate Soul Power."

"Why don't you go ask them to give you their academy spots?"

Zhao Hu opened his mouth.

The surrounding villagers chuckled.

"Enough nonsense!"

Zhao Dazhuang stepped forward.

"Zhao Hu said your Martial Soul was impressive."

"We came today to see whether you can do anything besides sneak attacks."

As he spoke, he reached for Dong Jian's collar.

Dong Jian didn't retreat.

The instant the hand drew close, he sidestepped to the left and caught Zhao Dazhuang's wrist.

He didn't pull with brute force.

Instead, he gave a gentle tug in the direction the other boy was already charging.

Unable to stop in time, Zhao Dazhuang rushed past Dong Jian and crashed headlong toward Chen Shi.

Chen Shi hurriedly caught him.

Both boys stumbled back several steps.

"Again!"

Feeling he'd lost face, Zhao Dazhuang swung a fist and charged at Dong Jian.

Chen Shi came around from the other side.

Dong Jian's attention sharpened in an instant.

The movements of the nine wooden dummies in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm surfaced in his mind.

Zhao Dazhuang's fist was much slower than a wooden stick.

Chen Shi's footwork showed no coordination with him, either.

With Center of Gravity Perception, every movement the two made was crystal clear.

Zhao Dazhuang threw a punch.

Dong Jian ducked under it and drove his shoulder into the inside of the boy's arm.

The fist immediately changed direction.

Bang!

It struck Chen Shi squarely in the chest.

"What did you hit me for?"

Chen Shi retreated, clutching his chest.

"I didn't!"

Before Zhao Dazhuang could explain, Dong Jian had already circled between them.

Chen Shi grabbed for his shoulder.

Dong Jian stepped back half a pace, letting the hand land on Zhao Dazhuang's back.

Then he reached out with his foot and gently hooked Zhao Dazhuang's ankle.

Both boys lost their balance at the same time.

Thud!

Zhao Dazhuang and Chen Shi fell into the mud together.

The fight had lasted only a few breaths from start to finish.

Dong Jian hadn't even used his Martial Soul.

The smiles on the surrounding villagers' faces gradually gave way to surprise.

Yesterday, when Dong Jian had made Zhao Hu fall, they could still have explained it as Zhao Hu losing his own footing.

But now, even facing two older boys at once, he had still won easily.

"When did this kid learn to fight?"

"Did Dong Shan teach him?"

"Dong Shan's good at working iron, but I've never heard of him knowing how to throw people around like that."

Zhao Hu's expression grew uglier and uglier.

He had brought the two boys over to teach Dong Jian a lesson in front of the whole village.

Instead, Zhao Dazhuang and Chen Shi hadn't even touched him.

"You two pieces of trash!"

Zhao Hu gritted his teeth.

Yellow light suddenly poured from his body.

The illusory figure of a yellow dog appeared behind him.

His hands grew thicker, and his nails lengthened slightly.

Although he didn't have a Soul Ring yet, Martial Soul Possession could still provide a small physical boost.

"Zhao Hu!"

The old village chief's expression changed.

"This is just a quarrel between children. You're not allowed to use your Martial Soul!"

Zhao Hu was beyond listening.

"Dong Jian!"

"Didn't you say my Martial Soul was no good?"

"If you've got the guts, don't dodge!"

He pushed off with both feet and lunged at Dong Jian from behind.

Dong Jian heard the rapid footsteps, and his gaze abruptly turned cold.

The clash just now had been ordinary roughhousing.

Yet Zhao Hu had used Martial Soul Possession while Dong Jian's back was turned to him.

If an ordinary six-year-old were knocked down by that lunge, he could easily hit his head and injure it.

Dong Jian didn't look back.

He stepped forward half a pace with his right foot.

His center of gravity sank.

Just as Zhao Hu's hands were about to touch his back, Dong Jian suddenly turned around.

He drove his shoulder forward.

There was no Soul Power.

Nor was there Panda Martial Soul Possession.

He simply joined the strength of his legs, waist, abdomen, and shoulder into a single line.

Bang!

His shoulder struck Zhao Hu squarely in the chest.

Zhao Hu felt as though he had run into an iron plate that had suddenly moved.

Not only did the force of his charge fail to hurt Dong Jian, it was sent back into his own body in full.

His feet left the ground, and he flew back two meters.

Thud!

Zhao Hu plunged headfirst into the charcoal pile outside the smithy.

Black soot instantly turned him another color.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Then laughter erupted.

Dong Jian watched Zhao Hu crawl out of the charcoal.

"Your Martial Soul isn't a reason to bully others."

"And losing isn't your Martial Soul's fault, either."

Zhao Hu clutched his chest.

"You were just lucky!"

"Once I get a Soul Ring-"

"There are no trash Martial Souls."

Dong Jian cut him off.

"Only people who blame all their own incompetence on their Martial Souls."

Zhao Hu's face alternated between green and white.

He wanted to argue back, but couldn't find a single reason to.

Zhao Hu had no Soul Rings either.

He had already completed Martial Soul Possession.

Dong Jian had not even released his Martial Soul.

Yet Zhao Hu was still the one sent flying.

Zhao Hu's father finally squeezed through the crowd and slapped him across the face.

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

"Come home with me!"

Zhao Hu was dragged away by his father.

Zhao Dazhuang and Chen Shi followed sheepishly behind.

The villagers who had gathered to watch gradually dispersed.

The old village chief walked up to Dong Jian and said earnestly:

"The whole village decided who would get the work-study spot."

"As long as you're willing to go, no one can take it from you."

"Cultivate well."

"Don't forget Iron Bamboo Village in the future."

"I won't."

Dong Jian nodded.

Only after the courtyard gate closed again did Li Man step out from beneath the eaves.

She had not intervened at all.

But she had recorded every move Dong Jian made.

"What was that last move?"

"It doesn't have a name yet."

Dong Jian rubbed his shoulder.

"I just concentrated my physical strength and slammed into him."

"I anchored my center of gravity through my feet, transferred the force through my waist, and attacked with my shoulder."

Li Man lowered her head and wrote it down.

"You could call it Mountain-Leaning Collision."

Dong Jian was taken aback.

The name was quite close to that of a move he knew from his previous life.

"Let's call it that."

Li Man, however, did not smile.

She looked behind Dong Jian.

"Your Martial Soul's Qi isn't right."

Dong Jian's expression changed slightly.

When he defeated Zhao Hu just now, he had not deliberately released his Panda Martial Soul.

Yet the black and white forces inside him had been surging violently all along.

His left side was scorching hot.

His right side was icy cold.

The wisp of emerald-green Qi seemed to be constantly charging between the two.

"Has it been like this since last night?"

Li Man asked.

"Divine Dragon..."

Dong Jian stopped himself in time.

"My Martial Soul's instincts tell me the forces have temporarily lost their balance."

Li Man could tell he was hiding something, but she did not press him about the source.

"Is it because of the Purple Leaf Root?"

"It's possible."

Her face immediately turned a shade paler.

"If I hadn't taken out the medicinal herb yesterday-"

"It has nothing to do with you."

Dong Jian cut her off.

"My Martial Soul was the one that swallowed the herb."

"I was also the one who decided to take the test."

"But I brought the herb."

"Then help me find a solution from now on."

Dong Jian looked at her.

"That would be more useful than standing here regretting it."

Li Man pursed her lips and finally nodded.

Dong Shan came out of the blacksmith's shop.

He had sensed that something was wrong as well.

"Release your Martial Soul."

Dong Jian hesitated for a moment, but concentrated nonetheless.

A black light and a white light surged out of him.

The Panda Martial Soul slowly took shape behind him.

As soon as it appeared, the temperature in the courtyard dropped noticeably.

Its normally round body arched slightly.

Claws sprang from its padded paws.

Its golden eyes had been completely covered in dark red.

"Roar!"

A deep roar rang through the courtyard.

This was not the panda that had hugged a bamboo stalk and yawned yesterday.

It looked more like a Ferocious Beast ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

Dong Shan's expression changed drastically.

"Put it away, now!"

Dong Jian tried to control his Martial Soul.

But the panda did not merge back into his body as it usually did.

It whipped its head around and looked toward the courtyard gate.

The scent of Zhao Hu and the others still lingered there.

The panda dropped to all fours and took a step forward.

Its sharp claws tore through the soil in the courtyard.

"Come back!"

Dong Jian barked.

The panda paused for a moment.

Then it charged toward the courtyard gate again.

Dong Jian felt a fierce urge to attack burst forth in his mind.

Chase them down.

Tear apart the people who just provoked me.

The thoughts were not his.

They came from his Martial Soul, which was losing control.

"Stop!"

Dong Jian clenched his fists tightly and forcibly gathered all his will to suppress the panda.

The black and white forces collided wildly inside him.

Intense pain spread from his meridians all the way to his head.

The panda was only one step away from the courtyard gate.

Its paw was already raised.

Dong Jian suddenly remembered the wooden posts in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

The harder he pushed against them, the stronger the rebound.

He no longer tried to use his will to force back the panda's anger.

Instead, he willingly accepted the urge to attack.

Feel it.

Guide it.

Then sink it beneath my feet.

The panda's raised paw stopped in midair.

Its dark red eyes flickered violently.

After a few breaths, it finally turned back into streams of black and white light and merged into Dong Jian's body.

Dong Jian's legs gave way.

Dong Shan immediately caught him.

"Come with me to the Spirit Hall Branch tomorrow."

"No."

Dong Jian panted heavily.

"Mo Lin might be waiting for us to go to him."

"That's still better than watching your Martial Soul go out of control!"

Dong Shan was truly angry for the first time.

"Just now, you couldn't control it at all!"

"If this goes on, you'll hurt others and yourself!"

"I can solve it."

"How are you going to solve it?"

For the first time, father and son met needle with awl.

The air in the courtyard seemed to have frozen.

Li Man walked to Dong Jian's side and took out the Soul-Revealing Liquid to examine his wrist.

The black and white lights were no longer rotating slowly.

Instead, they were constantly colliding in the transparent liquid.

Each time the emerald-green Qi grew stronger, the black force representing yin was suppressed by an equal measure.

Li Man's expression grew increasingly grim.

"We can't wait three days."

Dong Jian's heart sank.

"What do you mean?"

"At the rate the imbalance is growing now."

Li Man raised her head.

"You have one night at most."

"Before the sun rises tomorrow, if you can't regain control of your Martial Soul-"

She looked at the crack in the courtyard gate, torn open by the wind from the panda's claws.

"The next time it appears, it might no longer be your Martial Soul."

"It might be a truly out-of-control Soul Beast."