Chen Xuan, with an unknown martial spirit, is a level 38 support-type Soul Elder. His talent is average, and though he's in the advanced class, he's been quite unremarkable in recent years, without causing any significant commotion.
This is how he's described in the records—objective and fair.
Yu Xiaogang frowned deeply, clearly dissatisfied. The records indicate that this person has never shown exceptional strength or speed. In previous sparring matches, he has always played a support role in the team.
Now, this Chen Xuan is running his mouth, claiming that he excels in speed and strength, that both assault and agility types are no problem for him. If this isn't boasting, what is?
Master Yu Xiaogang's face was stern, clearly showing his displeasure. Chen Xuan's poor attitude yesterday had already upset him. Now, this young man was not only lying but also arrogantly claiming that a support-type martial spirit could take on an assault role. This was both naive and conceited.
He could understand if Chen Xuan was telling a white lie to make himself look good in front of a group of geniuses. However, being so out of touch with reality and arrogant—this was a personal issue.
"Chen Xuan, you'll be fighting alongside Xiao San and the others in the future. I hope you can properly introduce your abilities. This is not a game," Master Yu Xiaogang said in a deep voice.
He maintained a stern expression, no hint of a smile. Anyone could see that the master was somewhat angry.
What's wrong with the master?
Below, Ma Hongjun and Oscar whispered to each other. Even Tai Long and Jiang Zhu could tell that Yu Xiaogang was upset, probably about to lose his temper.
Chen Xuan remained calm. The previous host of this body couldn't develop his martial spirit, but that didn't mean he couldn't. The All-Continent Elite Tournament was full of geniuses. How could a support-type stand out without the favor of a sect? Moreover, it was more interesting to compete with various soul masters.
"Master, I think I've explained myself clearly. If you didn't hear me, I'll repeat it: I do follow a dual-path. I was just low-key before and didn't show the true use of my martial spirit," he explained as gently as possible, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
Besides, the previous host was indeed low-key and hadn't shown much strength. Almost no one knew his full potential.
However, to Yu Xiaogang, these words sounded different. It seemed like Chen Xuan was implying that he was old and deaf.
He already had low soul power and was looked down upon by others. If not for his disciple's immortal herb, he would never have broken through level 30 in his life. So his self-esteem was extremely sensitive.
A kid dared to insult him like this, causing his eyebrows to arch, and veins popped on his forehead. He was on the verge of losing his temper.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar's hearts skipped a beat. They were too familiar with this. It was the prelude to the master's anger—things were about to get interesting.
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances, unable to understand what had happened. Why was the master suddenly angry?
For a moment, everyone from Shrek and Tai Long's group looked at the culprit, Chen Xuan. The master's anger was even more frightening than that of the deputy dean, Liu Erlong.
Chen Xuan was speechless. He felt he hadn't done anything wrong. What's wrong with these people?
Tang San, sensing the tension, quickly stepped forward and said, "Brother Chen, according to the records, your martial spirit should be a support-type, right? In the academy battles in recent years, you've mostly assisted teammates, with almost no direct confrontations. How can you say you excel in speed and strength?"
He spoke quickly, trying to ease the tension and resolve the conflict before Yu Xiaogang lost his temper.
"Records?" Chen Xuan was surprised, then suddenly realized. So that's how it is.
He almost died of frustration. Yu Xiaogang truly lived up to his title as the master of theory. Could a person's abilities be decided by a few pieces of paper? Could a few pages fully capture a soul master's true strength?
The master of theory would always be a theorist, forever confined to his theories. No wonder the soul masters of the continent scoffed at the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Spirits. It wasn't without reason.
"Brother, do you think a piece of paper can fully understand a person? Records are just records; they don't determine anything. The academy's records are always one-sided."
Chen Xuan was completely frustrated and continued to question, "If someone is very low-key, never showing off, and has never revealed their true strength in sparring, does that mean they're mediocre? Can a person's true strength be judged based on such limited information?"
"If that's what you believe, then there's nothing I can do. After all, I can't force someone to change their mind," he said helplessly, indirectly criticizing Yu Xiaogang, feeling quite annoyed.
The Shrek Seven Monsters and Tai Long's group nodded in agreement, not realizing that they were subtly mocking Yu Xiaogang.
They thought Chen Xuan made a good point and couldn't argue against it. Some people are indeed more low-key, unlike them, who sought out battles and participated in the fighting arenas.
Except for Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, who firmly believed in the teachings of the dean, that soul masters who didn't seek trouble were useless.
People like Chen Xuan, who quietly developed without picking fights, were just using being low-key as an excuse—a coward, nothing more.
Tang San also secretly agreed. He thought that in the past, he was a person who avoided trouble at Notting Academy.
Yu Xiaogang straightened his back, hands behind his back, maintaining the demeanor of a master. However, a fleeting panic flashed in his eyes, which almost no one noticed.
"A high-ranking figure, knowledgeable but without personal judgment—a little general, how ridiculous," Chen Xuan muttered under his breath, dissatisfied, and complained softly.
Though he was upset, he didn't lose his temper, just made a little mockery. Otherwise, his next sentence would have been about a little master, how ridiculous.
"What... What did you say?" Yu Xiaogang glared angrily, feeling his sore spot was hit. He was so furious that his finger shook as he pointed at Chen Xuan.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were slightly taken aback, a strange light flashing in their eyes. They realized something was off. Chen Xuan actually dared to subtly criticize the master—his courage was enormous.
The implication was clear: the master was useless, yet claimed to be a theory master. How bold.
"This guy is really gutsy, daring to argue with the master and even reverse the criticism," Ning Rongrong whispered to Xiao Wu.
Among the Shrek group, most people didn't see anything wrong and didn't understand, like Tai Long and Ma Hongjun, who were scratching their heads in confusion.
Tang San's face darkened, anger rising within him. Yu Xiaogang was like a father to him, and no matter who was right or wrong, Chen Xuan shouldn't humiliate his teacher in public—this was too much!
"Just what I said," Chen Xuan replied calmly, imitating the master's posture, hands behind his back, acting like a master himself.
To be honest, it did look rather impressive.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's face turned dark, his short hair standing on end, on the verge of exploding.
Tang San's eyes grew cold. Yu Xiaogang treated him like a father, just like Xiao Wu. Chen Xuan had touched his bottom line.
Though he remained expressionless, a cold, bone-chilling light flashed in his eyes—he now bore a grudge against Chen Xuan.
If Chen Xuan's earlier words were questionable, then his later imitation of the master's movements was blatant mockery.
The Shrek group all fell silent, no one daring to make a sound.
For a moment, the atmosphere was exceptionally tense, the air filled with a sense of impending doom, like the calm before a storm.
Chen Xuan realized he might have gone too far, but it was too late to back down. So he continued his imitation, hands behind his back, head held high, maintaining the demeanor of a master.
He had no choice but to carry it through to the end, unwilling to bow down to a face-saving theory master.
In the back mountain, a gentle breeze rustled the trees on either side, the leaves swaying lightly.
Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to lose his temper, two figures appeared in the distance, walking towards them.
One of them was a middle-aged man with reading glasses, a hooked nose, and steady steps. He too had his hands behind his back, walking slowly.