“Look at Qi Dao’s sword!”
“His sword actually has cracks in it.
So it’s just a broken sword.
No wonder his innate soul power is so low.”
“Hahaha!
I bet his sword isn’t even as good as my Hoe martial soul!”
The moment Qi Dao drew Wushuang and held it horizontally, everyone’s attention turned to him.
A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the crowd.
Even Xiao Chenyu couldn’t help laughing.
From a distance, he mocked.
“Qi Dao, you actually think you can fight me with a broken sword like that?”
“You’re seriously overestimating yourself.
Make sure you protect that broken sword of yours.
Don’t let it shatter halfway through the fight!”
Qi Dao listened to the laughter around him, but his expression didn’t change in the slightest.
His gaze remained fixed on Wushuang’s blade as he quietly spoke to himself.
“Did you hear that?
They all think you’re a broken sword!”
“Hum~”
Qi Dao clearly felt Wushuang’s blade tremble.
He could also sense the intense battle intent surging from its agitated soul.
“Xiao Chenyu, whether Wushuang is a broken sword or not, you’ll find out soon enough!”
“Hmph.
All that posturing!”
“I already warned you!”
Xiao Chenyu snorted.
As he spoke, a layer of green light emerged from his body.
The muscles throughout his body began to swell.
His eyes gradually turned pale green, while his fingernails grew sharp.
“So this is Boss Xiao’s wolf martial soul?”
“He looks so cool!”
Hearing the admiring voices around him, Xiao Chenyu immediately wore a smug smile.
“Qi Dao, let me show you the difference between us!”
With that, Xiao Chenyu charged toward Qi Dao at full speed.
His speed was astonishingly fast.
Qi Dao didn’t rush to attack.
He could tell that after possessing his martial soul, Xiao Chenyu’s physical strength was far beyond anything he could match head-on.
The two were only seven or eight meters apart.
At such a distance, Xiao Chenyu’s attack reached Qi Dao almost in the blink of an eye.
He clenched his wolf claws into a fist and threw a hook straight toward Qi Dao’s face, intending to end the battle with a single punch.
But his intention was far too obvious.
Qi Dao had already seen through it the instant he made his move.
The physical difference between rank 4 and rank 0.5 might seem enormous, but it was nowhere near enough to make it impossible for Qi Dao to react.
At the same moment Xiao Chenyu threw his punch, Qi Dao shifted his body and dodged.
Xiao Chenyu’s punch missed.
At the same time, because he had put his entire strength into the attack, his center of gravity followed his fist forward, leaving a huge opening.
His entire back was exposed before Qi Dao’s eyes.
How could Qi Dao possibly let such an opening go?
His eyes were frighteningly calm.
He stepped forward and brought his sword down in a slash.
Wushuang’s blade instantly cut from Xiao Chenyu’s shoulder blade all the way down to his waist.
Rip!
Xiao Chenyu’s academy uniform split open, and blood spilled out.
A bloody sword wound was exposed to the air.
“AAAAAHHHH!!”
Xiao Chenyu let out a scream.
This was simply the reality of the soul master world.
Before rank thirty, beast-type soul masters possessed a major physical advantage over weapon-type soul masters of the same level after martial soul possession.
If they faced weapon-type soul masters with martial souls that lacked killing power, such as a staff martial soul, beast-type soul masters could easily suppress them.
But if they faced powerful offensive martial souls such as blades, swords, or hammers, they had better pray that those weapons never landed on their bodies.
After all, no matter how strong a physical body was below rank thirty, it still wasn’t strong enough to become impervious to blades and spears.
Otherwise, the empires wouldn’t need to maintain so many ordinary soldiers.
Qi Dao had already shown considerable restraint.
Otherwise, Xiao Chenyu’s injury would have been far more serious than a mere scream.
That sword had only cut through his skin at most!
At the same time, the spectators surrounding them descended into chaos and scattered in all directions.
“He’s killed someone!”
“Quick!
Go get a teacher!”
A group of kids immediately started shouting at the sight of blood.
“ALL OF YOU, BE QUIET!”
Qi Dao’s shout rang out across the clearing.
The ferocity he had displayed earlier was already deeply etched into everyone’s minds.
The moment they heard his voice, they were reminded of Xiao Chenyu’s current condition.
Intimidated by Qi Dao’s presence, they immediately fell silent.
The entire clearing fell silent, filled with fear and unease.
Qi Dao swept his gaze around before calmly turning toward Xiao Chenyu.
“Stop screaming.
I only cut through your skin.
It’s not like I cut off a chunk of your flesh.”
Xiao Chenyu, who was still screaming, suddenly heard Qi Dao’s voice and snapped back to reality.
Huh?
It actually doesn’t hurt that much!
His screams abruptly stopped.
Only embarrassment and frustration remained on his face.
His reaction just now had been far too humiliating.
But when he remembered the chilling sensation of the blade cutting through his clothes and touching his skin, he couldn’t help feeling a lingering sense of fear.
If Qi Dao had used even a little more force just now, Xiao Chenyu might not have died, but he would certainly have suffered a serious injury.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chenyu took a deep breath.
“I lost just now!”
After saying that, he added,
“But I still refuse to accept it.
If I’d been a little more careful, your sword wouldn’t have been able to hurt me at all.”
“You’re not convinced?”
A sharp glint flashed through Qi Dao’s eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, he said,
“Then let’s fight again!”
“But this time, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to control my strength as well as I did just now.”
Xiao Chenyu had originally intended to fight Qi Dao again and regain his lost face.
But after hearing the second half of Qi Dao’s sentence, the hair on his body immediately stood on end, and fear welled up inside him.
“N-no, forget it.
I’m not someone who can’t accept defeat.”
“Since I lost that match, from today onward, you’re the boss of our first-year students.”
Qi Dao nodded in satisfaction.
He then looked at the other children, who were still standing there in shock.
“What about you?”
“Does anyone want to challenge me?”
Everyone present glanced involuntarily at Xiao Chenyu’s back.
Their bodies trembled.
They shook their heads like rattles.
“Good!
Since nobody objects, then from today onward, I’m the first-year boss!”
Seeing this, Qi Dao smiled calmly and accepted the position without hesitation.
He needed enough prestige.
Only then could he establish order in the dormitory and create an environment suitable for studying and cultivation.
…
After the match ended, Qi Dao took Xiao Chenyu to the academy’s infirmary.
Almost every academy had a teacher who possessed a healing soul skill.
This greatly reduced the chances of students suffering serious injuries or dying.
After all, no one could realistically expect a soul master academy to be completely free of conflict.
The teacher in the infirmary glanced at the injury on Xiao Chenyu’s back and asked curiously,
“Were you attacked from behind?”
“No, that can’t be right.
If it were a sneak attack, the wound shouldn’t be this shallow.”
At that moment, his eyes fell upon the sword hanging from Qi Dao’s waist, and a trace of surprise flashed across his face.
“You did this, didn’t you?”
“You showed quite a bit of restraint.
Otherwise, this kid’s injuries definitely wouldn’t be this minor.”
Qi Dao answered,
“We were just sparring.
Naturally, we stopped once we made contact.”
The infirmary teacher froze.
“That’s what you call stopping once you made contact?”
“Still, an injury like this isn’t something you can inflict simply by saying, ‘Stop once you make contact.'”
“You’ve practiced swordsmanship?”
Qi Dao grinned.
“I’ve practiced for a little over two months.
Looks like the results aren’t bad!”
The corner of the infirmary teacher’s mouth twitched.
“This is…
‘not bad’?”
End of Chapter