âLetâs go to my place then,â Wang Jinxi suggested. They were now special students and had their own rooms, so they didnât 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, âYou know Tang Wulin?â
Mu Xiâs blushed red. âYou have such a dirty mind! Thereâs nothing between us.â She repeatedly denied it, not even admitting that Tang Wulin was now her fatherâs disciple.
Ouyang Zixin looked at her and smirked. âAre you sure there really isnât anything? Then why didnât you shake him off when he grabbed you? That didnât seem like our Fiery Queen at all.â
Mu Xi said, âSo annoying. Donât call me Fiery Queen! Letâs just go back and rest up.â Not only were they classmates, they were also best friends who shared a dorm together.
âPretty good! He may look like the bashful junior brother type, but he should be talented since heâs a part of the newly established class zero. Heâs also very fast; I couldnât outrun him when neither of us are using soul power,â Ouyang Zixin said.
âOh.â Mu Xi nodded.
âYouâre still saying thereâs nothing between you two? When have you ever shown interest in a boy? The age difference is a bit large though. Isnât he about three or four years younger than you? Well⌠they also say: âAn older woman is worth her weight in gold.â It should be okay!â
âYou still dareââ Mu Xi pounced on Ouyang Zixin in annoyance, but Ouyang Zixin stepped out of the way with a brilliant smile on her face.
â
Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi arrived at their dormitories.
After closing the door, Wang Jinxi invited Tang Wulin to take a seat. Tang Wulin hadnât been in his room today, and because he didnât have Tang Wulinâs contact information, he had no choice but to ask Xie Xie, only to discover that he had gone out. Unfortunately, he didnât know when Tang Wulin would return, so he could only wait all the way until now.\nWang 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 couldnât ask directly.
Eventually, Wang Jinxi raised his head and said, âYour martial soul seems to suppress mine. I know I shouldnât ask about it, but I still want to know.â
Tang Wulin frowned. âI shouldnât tell you my secrets.â
Wang Jinxi stared at him. âIâm sorry. I know I shouldnât ask, but this matter has been on my mind the past few days. I havenât been able to calm down enough to cultivate at all. This is why I looked for you today. If you wonât tell me, then I wonât force you, but, I truly want to know the cause of this situation.
âMy martial soul is the Bone Dragon King, and I know that itâs an extremely powerful martial soul. Moreover, itâs 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 Iâll certainly become a powerful Soul Master. Because of that, Iâve been pouring all my efforts into improving myself. That is, until I met you.
âI 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. Iâm beginning to doubt myself, wondering if my cultivation efforts have all been meaningless. Even if I cultivate harder, I wouldnât 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 youâre not willing to talk about it though, then just forget it.â\nHe 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?
âItâs not a martial soul.â Tang Wulinâs words caused Wang Jinxi to stare at him, wide-eyed.
Releasing a gentle sigh, Tang Wulin began to speak. âI understand what youâre 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 wasnât for the fact that soul power was present in my body, I would never have had the chance to become a Soul Master.
âEven though I was in the same situation as you, I wasnât 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 familyâs situation wasnât 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 donât doubt that my despair at that moment was far greater than yours.
âDespite that, I still took one step forward after another. The reason I suppressed you wasnât because of my martial soul. After all, how can Bluesilver Grass do that? Itâs actually my bloodline. Even Iâm 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 werenât able to display your full strength because you were suppressed by my bloodlineâs power.â\nWang Jinxi had listened earnestly to Tang Wulinâs 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.
âBloodlineâs power?â Wang Jinxiâs eyes brightened as he went deep into thought.
A trace of hesitation colored Wang Jinxiâs eyes. âWulin, can you let me feel your bloodlineâs aura again?â
âAlright!â Tang Wulin cut right to the chase. He raised his right arm and, with a thought, golden scales along with a mighty dragonâs aura appeared.
Wang Jinxi began to tremble. It was clear to him that Tang Wulinâs mighty dragon aura was influencing his own martial soul.
A moment later, Wang Jinxiâs expression changed from one of perplexity to one of shock.
âNo, no way! The feeling is different from before.â Wang Jinxi gaped at Tang Wulin in astonishment.
âHow is it different?â Tang Wulin didnât 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 Wulinâs cultivation.
âPreviously, 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. Itâs like some sort of mysterious power has overcome it. The main point, though, is that I donât feel weakened. Rather, I feel much stronger. Just what is going on?â
Heâs not being suppressed anymore? Rather, he feels more powerful?
Tang Wulin said, âPunch me once then. I want to feel your strength.â He raised his right hand, preparing to accept the punch.
Wang Jinxi nodded and quickly threw a punch at Tang Wulin.\nTang Wulin didnât budge a single inch, but Wang Jinxiâs 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!
âIt changed, it changed!â
Tang Wulin asked, âWhat changed? Your punch didnât feel that strong at all! It actually felt kind of weak.â
Wang Jinxi stared at him, dumbstruck. âWhen 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.â
The two of them wore odd expressions before Tang Wulin spoke. âI think we should ask Teacher Wu about this problem. At the very least, itâs much better than us wildly guessing.â
âAlright!â Wang Jinxi agreed without the slightest hesitation. He feared that if he didnât get to the bottom of this matter, he wouldnât be able to sleep soundly tonight.
The duo quickly got up and headed for Wu Zhangkongâs 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: âpureâ and âcoldâ.\n