“Let’s go to my place then,” Wang Jinxi suggested. They were now special students and had their own rooms, so they didn’t need to worry about anyone interrupting them.

  Mu Xi and Ouyang Zixin entered the dormitory halls. Mu Xi turned to look at Ouyang Zixin, asking, “You know Tang Wulin?”


  Mu Xi’s blushed red. “You have such a dirty mind! There’s nothing between us.” She repeatedly denied it, not even admitting that Tang Wulin was now her father’s disciple.

  Ouyang Zixin looked at her and smirked. “Are you sure there really isn’t anything? Then why didn’t you shake him off when he grabbed you? That didn’t seem like our Fiery Queen at all.”


  Mu Xi said, “So annoying. Don’t call me Fiery Queen! Let’s just go back and rest up.” Not only were they classmates, they were also best friends who shared a dorm together.

  “Pretty good! He may look like the bashful junior brother type, but he should be talented since he’s a part of the newly established class zero. He’s also very fast; I couldn’t outrun him when neither of us are using soul power,” Ouyang Zixin said.

  “Oh.” Mu Xi nodded.

  “You’re still saying there’s nothing between you two? When have you ever shown interest in a boy? The age difference is a bit large though. Isn’t he about three or four years younger than you? Well…… they also say: ‘An older woman is worth her weight in gold.’ It should be okay!”


  “You still dare—” Mu Xi pounced on Ouyang Zixin in annoyance, but Ouyang Zixin stepped out of the way with a brilliant smile on her face.

  ☀

  Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi arrived at their dormitories.

  After closing the door, Wang Jinxi invited Tang Wulin to take a seat. Tang Wulin hadn’t been in his room today, and because he didn’t have Tang Wulin’s contact information, he had no choice but to ask Xie Xie, only to discover that he had gone out. Unfortunately, he didn’t know when Tang Wulin would return, so he could only wait all the way until now.

  Wang Jinxi sat down and lowered his head in silence. It seemed as though there was something weighing heavily on his mind.

  Tang Wulin could guess what Wang Jinxi wanted to talk about, but he couldn’t ask directly.

  Eventually, Wang Jinxi raised his head and said, “Your martial soul seems to suppress mine. I know I shouldn’t ask about it, but I still want to know.”


  Tang Wulin frowned. “I shouldn’t tell you my secrets.”


  Wang Jinxi stared at him. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t ask, but this matter has been on my mind the past few days. I haven’t been able to calm down enough to cultivate at all. This is why I looked for you today. If you won’t tell me, then I won’t force you, but, I truly want to know the cause of this situation.

  “My martial soul is the Bone Dragon King, and I know that it’s an extremely powerful martial soul. Moreover, it’s of a rarely seen darkness attribute, suitable for both assault and power. If I cultivate it to the necessary rank and get a suitable spirit soul in the future, then I might even be able to fly. So far, my soul power has also been rapidly progressing, and I believe I’ll certainly become a powerful Soul Master. Because of that, I’ve been pouring all my efforts into improving myself. That is, until I met you.

  “I heard from the teacher that martial souls can subdue one another, but I never thought that the suppression would be this powerful. Your martial soul seems to be much more powerful than mine since it suppresses my strength greatly. I’m beginning to doubt myself, wondering if my cultivation efforts have all been meaningless. Even if I cultivate harder, I wouldn’t be able to do anything against your suppression. This is very troubling for me, so I had no choice but to come find you. If you’re not willing to talk about it though, then just forget it.”


  He lowered his head bitterly as he spoke.

  Although he was far calmer than his peers, in the end, he was still only nine-years-old and was actually quite frail. His steadiness had come from his assiduous cultivation efforts, but after encountering Tang Wulin, his efforts no longer seemed that important. How could his mindset not be affected by such an event?

  “It’s not a martial soul.” Tang Wulin’s words caused Wang Jinxi to stare at him, wide-eyed.

  Releasing a gentle sigh, Tang Wulin began to speak. “I understand what you’re thinking because I was in an even worse place before. At that time, my martial soul had just awakened, and it was the weak Bluesilver Grass. Everyone told me it was a trash martial soul, and if it wasn’t for the fact that soul power was present in my body, I would never have had the chance to become a Soul Master.

  “Even though I was in the same situation as you, I wasn’t discouraged. Instead, I put even more effort toward cultivation, and started to learn forging in order to earn money to buy a spirit soul. My family’s situation wasn’t that good, and we had problems with money. In the end, when I finally earned enough money to buy a spirit soul, I was told that I only had enough for a random selection spirit soul, and even after that, my spirit soul was a defective one. I don’t doubt that my despair at that moment was far greater than yours.

  “Despite that, I still took one step forward after another. The reason I suppressed you wasn’t because of my martial soul. After all, how can Bluesilver Grass do that? It’s actually my bloodline. Even I’m not clear as to what power my bloodline has, but I know that it should be related to dragon-type soul beasts, and is at an extremely high level. You weren’t able to display your full strength because you were suppressed by my bloodline’s power.”


  Wang Jinxi had listened earnestly to Tang Wulin’s story, and was moved by the despair Tang Wulin experienced. Although his defeat in the Class Promotion Tournament had left him perplexed, it was still a far cry from the trials Tang Wulin had gone through.

  “Bloodline’s power?” Wang Jinxi’s eyes brightened as he went deep into thought.

  A trace of hesitation colored Wang Jinxi’s eyes. “Wulin, can you let me feel your bloodline’s aura again?”


  “Alright!” Tang Wulin cut right to the chase. He raised his right arm and, with a thought, golden scales along with a mighty dragon’s aura appeared.

  Wang Jinxi began to tremble. It was clear to him that Tang Wulin’s mighty dragon aura was influencing his own martial soul.

  A moment later, Wang Jinxi’s expression changed from one of perplexity to one of shock.

  “No, no way! The feeling is different from before.” Wang Jinxi gaped at Tang Wulin in astonishment.

  “How is it different?” Tang Wulin didn’t have a clear understanding of his Golden Dragon King power, so anything Wang Jinxi felt with his Bone Dragon King martial soul would be extremely useful in aiding Tang Wulin’s cultivation.

  “Previously, my martial soul was being suppressed by your dragon aura, so I was unable to exert my true strength. This time, however, your dragon aura seems to be making my soul power flare up. It’s like some sort of mysterious power has overcome it. The main point, though, is that I don’t feel weakened. Rather, I feel much stronger. Just what is going on?”


  Tang Wulin said, “Punch me once then. I want to feel your strength.” He raised his right hand, preparing to accept the punch.

  Wang Jinxi nodded and quickly threw a punch at Tang Wulin.

  Tang Wulin didn’t budge a single inch, but Wang Jinxi’s entire body shook as he fell backwards onto the sofa.

  He stared dully at Tang Wulin. Originally, he had simply been astonished, but now he found it unfathomable!

  “It changed, it changed!”


  Tang Wulin asked, “What changed? Your punch didn’t feel that strong at all! It actually felt kind of weak.”


  Wang Jinxi stared at him, dumbstruck. “When I was about to attack you, it felt like my strength was draining away, and when I finally hit you, the feeling was completely different from before.”


  The two of them wore odd expressions before Tang Wulin spoke. “I think we should ask Teacher Wu about this problem. At the very least, it’s much better than us wildly guessing.”


  “Alright!” Wang Jinxi agreed without the slightest hesitation. He feared that if he didn’t get to the bottom of this matter, he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly tonight.

  The duo quickly got up and headed for Wu Zhangkong’s living quarters.

  When Wu Zhangkong received them, he was dressed in a loose white robe with his long hair hanging gently over his back. Two words could perfectly describe him right now: ‘pure’ and ‘cold’.