Nuoding City was just an unremarkable remote town in the Douluo Continent. However, despite its small size, it was bustling with people.
Each region nurtures its people. In this world focused on cultivation, the average appearance of both men and women was much higher than on Earth.
Many young women had slender waists and beautiful faces, but Zhao Ming wasn't particularly interested. After all, he would soon win over the lovely Xiao Wu.
Zhao Ming strolled through the streets of Nuoding City, looking around and enjoying the exotic scenery.
Nuoding Academy was well-known in the city because it could train soul masters! Even a regular soul master was considered highly prestigious.
After asking some passersby for directions, Zhao Ming headed towards Nuoding Academy.
The academy was located in the west of Nuoding City.
From a distance, Zhao Ming saw a large archway, twenty meters wide and over ten meters high, built from sturdy rock, with two thick iron gates below.
"Stop, what are you doing here?" A young guard stopped Zhao Ming at the gate.
"I'm here to enroll at Nuoding Academy," Zhao Ming replied with a smirk.
"Enroll? Where are your credentials?" The young man asked gently, seeing Zhao Ming's fine clothes and softening his tone.
However, Zhao Ming frowned, feeling something was off.
He remembered this was the same gatekeeper who had given Tang San a hard time in the original story.
"I don't have a certificate from the Spirit Hall, but I have this," Zhao Ming smiled slightly, releasing his powerful soul power.
"No credentials? What are you...?" The young guard initially complained but stopped mid-sentence, stunned.
The soul power emanating from Zhao Ming was intense. Although he couldn't determine Zhao Ming's exact level, he knew that a new student with such strong soul power must be a genius with an extraordinary background.
"You, young master, my earlier words might have been rude. Please don't take them to heart," the guard said respectfully. Having worked at Nuoding Academy for years, he had learned to read people well. He knew Zhao Ming was not someone to offend.
"No worries. What's your name?"
"Young master, my name is Li Qi, and I'm the gatekeeper here," the young man replied flatteringly.
"Li Qi, have you seen someone named Tang San recently?" Zhao Ming asked eagerly, uncertain if Tang San had arrived. He hoped Tang San hadn't arrived before him, as that would mean he might have already met Xiao Wu or even shared a dorm, which Zhao Ming didn't want to happen.
"Tang San? No, is he a friend of yours?" Li Qi asked curiously, noting the name in his mind.
"You're overthinking it. He's no friend of mine," Zhao Ming replied with a slight sneer, which Li Qi noticed.
"Don't worry, young master. We'll be sure to take good care of him," the guard said slyly.
"I didn't say anything," Zhao Ming said as he walked away.
Reading the novels, Zhao Ming had long been displeased with Tang San.
Now that he was in the Douluo Continent, his first goal was to deal with Tang San!
Tang San and his teacher were no good. Their success was largely due to the love buried deep in the hearts of Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong's love for her teacher made her soft-hearted, allowing the creation of a weapon against herself. Similarly, Qian Renxue's love for Tang San led her to spare him even after inheriting the Angel God position, ultimately leading to her downfall.
Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue didn't fail because Tang San was too strong or the teacher was too smart. They lost to love.
The mother and daughter were completely controlled by the teacher and student duo. It should have been a straightforward ending, but it was made to seem as if their journey was perilous. Without Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue holding back, Tang San was nothing.
Frankly, Tang San was less impressive than Xiao Yan from the neighboring series, who faced a true challenge from the Soul Emperor. Before Tang San became a god, Qian Renxue was already the Angel God. If she hadn't held back, she could have ended him. The so-called "Guanyin's Tear" only slightly wounded Qian Renxue, even though Tang San used all his strength. If Qian Renxue had been more ruthless, Tang San would have been dead.
Tang San crossed over with the Tang Sect's hidden weapon techniques and skills.
His father was the youngest Titled Douluo in history. His clan was the world's top sect. His aunt was the master of the Moon Pavilion. He had twin martial souls, and his teammates were either from prominent families or incredibly talented. Tang San was essentially a walking cheat, yet he needed his enemies to hold back to win.
What use is a protagonist like that? Even Xiao Yan from the neighboring series is more impressive.
But now, Zhao Ming was the protagonist of Douluo Continent! As the saying goes, "Two tigers can't coexist on one mountain." This world couldn't accommodate two protagonists! In Zhao Ming's hands, Tang San would be nothing but a tragedy.
...
Near the entrance of Nuoding Academy, there was a notice board with a map of the academy.
Zhao Ming glanced at it, noting the academy was divided into several areas: the main teaching building, the playground, and the dormitories on the east side of the playground.
Following the map's directions, Zhao Ming headed towards the teaching building.
The admissions office was on the first floor of the main teaching building, staffed by an elderly teacher who appeared to be in his sixties and two young teachers in their thirties assisting him.
In Nuoding City and its surrounding villages, not many people had the qualifications to become soul masters. Nuoding Academy could only admit about forty or fifty children each year.
Thus, the teachers in the admissions office were relatively relaxed.
Zhao Ming's arrival immediately drew the attention of the three teachers.
"Teachers, I'm here to enroll," Zhao Ming said as he approached the elderly teacher's desk.
"You're here to enroll? Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Alright, please show your Spirit Hall certification!" the elderly teacher said seriously.
"Teacher, I don't have a certificate from the Spirit Hall. Can I use something else as proof?"
"No Spirit Hall certification? Are you kidding? Kid, get out and stop disturbing our work," the young teacher beside him said, his face darkening upon hearing Zhao Ming lacked the certification.
In Nuoding City and its surrounding areas, all age-appropriate children completed their martial soul awakening at the Spirit Hall.
Thus, all children capable of becoming soul masters had a certificate from their martial soul awakening, detailing their innate soul power, martial soul, and other information.
This certificate was a crucial criterion for Nuoding Academy's student admissions.
"Although I don't have a martial soul awakening certificate from the Spirit Hall, I'm already a soul master!" Zhao Ming said with a faint smile, stepping forward.
Boom!
A wave of energy rippled from Zhao Ming as he released his soul power, leaving the three teachers stunned.
"Soul master? That's a soul master's energy fluctuation. You've already obtained a soul ring and become a soul master?" The three teachers stood up in shock, swallowing deeply.
"Child, let me see your hand," the elderly teacher said, filled with joy and excitement.
Understanding, Zhao Ming placed his right hand on the desk.
The elderly teacher gently held Zhao Ming's hand, exclaiming excitedly, "A soul master! He's really a soul master."
"Director Su, is this real?" the young teacher asked, unable to believe it.
It wasn't that he didn't believe in geniuses, but he couldn't imagine such a genius coming to their Nuoding Academy!
If higher-level soul master academies knew of such talent, they'd beg him to join!
"It's real. His bone age is normal, and his soul power is at the eleventh level," Director Su confirmed.
•~~~•~~~•~~~•~~~•
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗝𝗰1202' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.
𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 35+ 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝗚𝗼𝗱𝗢𝗳𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿