"Master is indeed 'invincible,' but only in theory," said the speaker, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Of course, that's provided his theories can actually be realized. Principal, I still remember Master talking about the ten core competencies of a Martial Soul. That's just laughable."
"Enough," the other responded, a stern edge to his voice. "The Master is a friend of the Dean. You shouldn't casually judge him. While nobody has proven his theories right, nobody has proven them wrong either. In the world of Martial Souls, Master is a well-known figure."
"Wrong, Principal. He ought to be known as a well-known clown instead. Everyone just considers him a joke."
Hearing the conversation inside, Tang San paused for a moment before continuing to walk away. A hint of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth, not for the Master he had just acknowledged, but for the three teachers in the administrative office.
Could someone who simply by looking at a piece of paper could tell he had Twin Martial Souls, and determine that his other Martial Soul was very strong, be merely a joke?
Theoretical invincibility? What he needed most right now was theory. A Master's power cannot be transferred to a disciple; what is transferred is knowledge. These people couldn't even understand this point, and they're teachers at the academy?
There was only one dormitory building, which was easy to find. Both students and teachers of the academy lived there. As Old Jack had said, few people could become Soul Masters, especially in a remote city like Notting. The total number of students and teachers at the academy was not large, so one dormitory building could accommodate them all.
There were only seven dormitories for the students, and because the students at the Primary Soul Master Academy were all quite young, it was easier to manage them if they all lived together in larger dorms, one for each grade. There were only about forty students in each grade at Notting's Primary Soul Master Academy.
The three floors below housed the seven large student dorms, with each one overseen by a teacher.
Dorm seven was a special existence among these seven student dormitories, with the worst conditions, reserved for work-study students. After all, an academy wasn't a charitable institution. Even though work-study students' fees were reduced, they couldn't expect to have the same amenities as regular students.
Dorm seven was also the only mixed-age dormitory, regardless of grade, where all work-study students lived.
Tang San had just arrived at the entrance of dorm seven when he heard the noise inside. The door was open, and he approached the entrance to look inside.
The room was spacious, nearly three hundred square meters in size, with fifty bed bunks laid out. But that was all, just the bunks—only eleven of which had bedding. At the moment, seven or eight children between eight and twelve years old were making a racket.
Tang San knocked on the door, and the talking children instantly turned their gazes toward him. One of the older kids eyed the patch-covered Tang San and walked over to him.
This child was nearly two heads taller than Tang San and was already fairly burly for his age. Standing in front of Tang San, he looked down at him and asked in a tone of superiority, "New work-study student?"
With a hint of a friendly smile, Tang San replied, "Hello, I am a work-study student from Holy Soul Village."
"My name is Wang Sheng, my Martial Soul is Fighting Tiger, a future Battle Soul Master. I am also the boss here. Kid, what's your name, and what's your Martial Soul?"
"I'm Tang San, my Martial Soul is Bluesilver Grass."
"Bluesilver Grass? Since when could a Bluesilver Grass Martial Soul be cultivated?" Wang Sheng put on a look of extreme surprise, and the other children in the dormitory burst out laughing, looking at Tang San as if he were an idiot.
Tang San kept his smile, "Would you mind stepping aside, please?"
Wang Sheng ignored Tang San's words. "Little Sanzi, I'm the boss here. From now on, you'll listen to me, got it? "
Tang San's smile slowly faded, "My name is Tang San, not Little Sanzi." He wouldn't mind elders affectionately calling him Xiaosan or a well-intentioned nickname, but the so-called boss was clearly trying to put him in his place.
Wang Sheng pushed on Tang San's shoulder, making him step back, "I'll call you Little Sanzi. What are you going to do about it? Not convinced?"
Tang San smiled and shook his head lightly. He put his uniform aside on a nearby bunk, and just as Wang Sheng was wondering what he was up to, suddenly, Tang San vanished from his sight.
The other students clearly saw Tang San take a swift step and appears behind Wang Sheng in a flash. Without turning back, Tang San's right arm bent at an angle, elbowing Wang Sheng at his waist, while his right foot conveniently tripped Wang Sheng's right foot.
Before Wang Sheng could react, his body had already stumbled out of the dormitory, almost falling to the ground if not for his decent lower body strength preventing him from a face-plant.
"You dare hit me, you little punk?" Wang Sheng roared in anger, turned around, and charged at Tang San like a tiger swooping down the mountain.
Tang San only hoped to avoid too many troubles in his future school life, not wanting his normal life to be disturbed. So, he firmly believed he needed to teach this 'boss' a lesson—as they say, "kill the chicken to warn the monkeys."
As Wang Sheng lunged at him with a punch toward his chest, Tang San didn't step back but advanced, stepping forward to meet Wang Sheng. His move landed him right in front of Wang Sheng, and he executed a simple yet effective maneuver with his left hand pulling and his right hand guiding.
Wang Sheng felt as if a special force was pulling at his thrown right fist, diverting its direction, while a powerful force from Tang San's right hand hit him, tripping over the foot planted in his path, his body involuntarily flying out again. This time, he wasn't able to maintain his balance. With the simple movements of Tang San's hands, he had applied the Tang Sect's unique skill of Controlling Crane and Capturing Dragon, leveraging Wang Sheng's own force with his, resulting in Wang Sheng thudding down onto a bunk.