Director Su was a veteran of Nuoding Academy.
Back when Qi Mingyuan and Wang Rou had still been students here, he was already a teacher at the academy.
Seeing his two former students again made him very happy.
When he learned that they had brought Qi Dao here to enroll, he personally took Qi Dao to the dormitory.
Apart from the work-study student dormitories, students from each grade at Nuoding Academy all lived together in the same dormitory.
And each dormitory housed as many as forty or fifty students.
The dormitory was extremely noisy, with a group of half-grown children running around and playing wildly!
To be fair, the dormitory itself was well furnished.
After all, it wasn’t a work-study student dormitory.
But with so many people packed together, it was far too noisy for meditation.
After Director Su and Qi Mingyuan and Wang Rou left, the children around Qi Dao immediately gathered around him.
The leader was a boy dressed in luxurious clothes, with an arrogant look on his face.
“Hey, new kid.
What’s your name?”
Qi Dao gave him a casual glance.
“Before asking someone else’s name, shouldn’t you give yours first?”
The boy froze, then raised his chin proudly.
“My name is Xiao Chenyu, and my father is the City Lord of Nuoding City!”
“Xiao Chenyu?”
Hearing the familiar name, Qi Dao couldn’t help taking another look at the boy.
He immediately understood the current timeline.
When Tang San entered Nuoding Academy in the original story, Xiao Chenyu was already a sixth-year student.
That meant this was five years before the beginning of the original plot!
“My name is Qi Dao,” Qi Dao answered calmly.
“By the way, my martial soul is a Wolf, and I have innate rank 3 soul power.
What about you?”
Xiao Chenyu asked again.
Although he was still just a little kid, as the City Lord’s son, his mind was somewhat more mature than that of children his age.
He could tell that Qi Dao carried an unusual air about him, so he deliberately wanted to befriend him.
“My martial soul is the Wushuang Sword.
I have half a rank of innate soul power.”
“Ah?”
Xiao Chenyu froze.
When he heard the first half, he had assumed Qi Dao’s innate soul power was very high.
After all, the Wushuang Sword sounded incredibly impressive.
But then he heard the actual soul power.
So he was just a little nobody!
Half a rank of innate soul power—what difference was there between that and being a useless person?
Xiao Chenyu’s gaze toward Qi Dao immediately turned colder.
He looked at the sword hanging from Qi Dao’s waist and asked in confusion,
“Your martial soul is already a sword, so why are you carrying another sword?”
Qi Dao answered calmly.
“This is my martial soul.”
“What a weirdo.
Who carries a Weapon Martial Soul around with them?”
Xiao Chenyu muttered under his breath.
He looked Qi Dao up and down, then suddenly had an idea.
This kid’s innate soul power might be a little pathetic, but he clearly seemed clever.
Perhaps he could follow his father’s example and recruit him as a personal aide.
With that thought, Xiao Chenyu imitated his father’s manner as City Lord and cleared his throat.
“Qi Dao, I think highly of your potential.
Why don’t you follow me?”
“As long as you’re with me, I guarantee that no one at Nuoding Academy will dare bully you!”
Watching these children form their little cliques as though they were playing house, Qi Dao couldn’t help smiling.
“What are you laughing at?” Xiao Chenyu frowned.
“Do you look down on me?
Or do you think I can’t protect you?”
In Xiao Chenyu’s mind, the moment he extended an invitation, Qi Dao should have eagerly agreed and thanked him.
Otherwise, as a useless person with half a rank of innate soul power, he was bound to be bullied at the academy.
Qi Dao shook his head.
“I just don’t have a habit of being someone else’s underling.”
“Heh.
If you don’t want to be an underling, then what?
You want to be the boss?”
Xiao Chenyu sneered.
Qi Dao countered,
“Why not?”
“Hahahaha!
Boss Xiao has innate rank 3 soul power and is the City Lord’s son.
We’re all willing to acknowledge him as our boss.
But what are you?”
“You actually want to compete with Boss Xiao for the position of boss?”
“Exactly!
Kid, Boss Xiao personally invited you.
That’s your honor.
Don’t push your luck.”
The two boys beside Xiao Chenyu burst into laughter.
They also possessed innate rank 3 soul power, and both their parents were soul masters.
Naturally, they carried a sense of superiority and looked down on Qi Dao.
Standing between the two boys, Xiao Chenyu wore a smug expression.
“You heard them, right?
Not just anyone can be the boss.”
“You don’t have the strength.
Understand?”
“Just be my underling.
I’ll give you one more chance.”
Qi Dao looked at Xiao Chenyu.
“So you’re saying you have the strength?”
Xiao Chenyu raised his chin.
“Of course!”
“If I defeat you, does that mean I’ll have the qualifications to be the boss?”
Qi Dao asked again.
He wasn’t particularly interested in fighting a group of children over the position of boss.
But they were simply too noisy.
He needed to establish some order and create a quiet environment for cultivation.
“Hahahahaha!”
Laughter immediately erupted from all around them.
“A guy with half a rank of innate soul power actually wants to challenge Boss Xiao!”
“He must be crazy, or he hasn’t woken up yet!”
“Forget Boss Xiao, even I could beat him until he’s looking for his teeth on the floor!”
Even Xiao Chenyu found it unbelievable.
“You’re actually challenging me?
Do you even know what you’re saying?”
At this point, he was already wondering whether Qi Dao could really become his aide.
The kid was simply overestimating himself.
In truth, Qi Dao had considered the difference between their cultivation levels.
But he still felt that it was worth trying.
Before reaching rank 10, neither of them had any soul skills.
Although Xiao Chenyu’s physical strength would increase significantly after martial soul possession, he was still ultimately just a mortal body.
Wushuang’s body might be covered in cracks, but it was still a sharpened sword.
It was enough to threaten Xiao Chenyu.
Qi Dao placed one hand on the hilt and began talking to himself.
“Wushuang, Wushuang.
Everyone believes neither of us can do it.
What do you say?
Should we still accept the challenge?”
“Hum~”
The next moment, Qi Dao felt a faint vibration, along with a trace of battle intent.
“I understand!”
The people around them stared at the scene in shock.
Wait.
Why had this guy suddenly started talking to himself?
He was talking to a sword?
Was there something wrong with his head?
That would explain why someone with half a rank of innate soul power dared to challenge Xiao Chenyu, who was at rank 4.
Qi Dao, however, had become more serious.
He looked toward Xiao Chenyu.
“I know exactly what I’m saying and what I’m doing.”
“Now it’s my turn to ask you!”
“Are you accepting the challenge?”
Xiao Chenyu snorted.
“Fine.
I’ll accept.”
“If even a useless guy with half a rank of innate soul power isn’t afraid, what do I have to fear?”
“But we’ll need to go somewhere else.
There’s not enough room to fight here!”
Qi Dao glanced around the dormitory and nodded in agreement.
“Fine!”
Not long afterward, everyone poured out of the dormitory and headed toward a forest in the academy’s rear mountain.
Their commotion even drew curious glances from passersby.
Were they going to have a group fight?
In the forest behind the academy, there was a spacious clearing.
Qi Dao and Xiao Chenyu stood facing each other, with seven or eight meters between them.
“Qi Dao, I won’t go easy on you!”
Xiao Chenyu’s expression carried a hint of arrogance.
He couldn’t imagine any reason he could possibly lose.
Qi Dao slowly drew Wushuang and held the sword horizontally before him.
“Funny.
Neither will I!”
End of Chapter