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Xiao Chenyu felt a stab of regret.
To show off the might of his soul ring and soul skill, he had activated his ability right from the start.
You couldn't blame him—an eleven-year-old who'd just gotten his first soul ring was bound to showboat.
But soul skills consumed one's own soul power.
Meanwhile, Su Wen's paper swords kept whistling in with that sharp, slicing sound that made your skin prickle on instinct.
Worse, Xiao Chenyu had been hit by one. Even with his beast martial soul possession, the blade had carved a not-so-shallow cut.
"Damn it—how does this guy still have soul power?"
"Controlling a tool-type martial soul at range burns through soul power. He's already fired this many paper swords, and they disperse after use—so how does he still have any left?"
The strength of those paper swords far exceeded the Heavenly Tome's current base toughness; the power came from Su Wen's soul power reinforcing them. And since he couldn't recall them at range, every sword he launched dissolved afterward—the soul power used was essentially gone.
Even so, after more than a dozen launches, he still looked full of energy.
Xiao Chenyu was starting to flag.
He'd been pouncing for so long and hadn't landed a single hit!
As the fight dragged on, cuts multiplied across his body; the sting of pain made his errors pile up.
"Damn it! If you've got guts, stop running!"
With a roar, Xiao Chenyu gritted his teeth and charged straight in, deciding to force his way through even if he took a few hits.
"As you wish." Su Wen stopped launching paper swords.
A mass of pages tore free from the Heavenly Tome, spiraling around his right hand, layering over each other like armor.
Soul power surged into his legs, instantly boosting strength. He stamped down, body power aligned as his waist drove the motion; his right fist swung forward in a brutal arc.
Bang!
Su Wen's fist crashed into Xiao Chenyu's wolf claws.
Xiao Chenyu staggered back several steps.
Pain shot up his right arm.
He stared at Su Wen, disbelief flickering in his eyes.
This Su Wen—what monstrous strength!
Su Wen, however, stayed calm.
He'd trained since the age of four; after awakening his martial soul at six, he'd forged his body continuously while nourishing it with soul power.
If he weren't worried about affecting his growth, he could have pushed his physical strength even further.
Of course, the real secret behind that punch was technique—and the explosive boost from soul power.
Soul power was a wonderful thing.
Its amplification on raw strength was the key.
Even with a strong foundation, without amplification Su Wen would at best be on par with Xiao Chenyu. With soul power stacked atop refined mechanics, his blows hit like a hammer.
The pages unwrapped from his fist, flowing and locking together into a long staff that he caught in a reverse grip.
Right foot rooted—his torso twisted; borrowing the recoil from the clash, he spun once in place, then stepped in hard and swept the staff across.
The paper staff smashed into Xiao Chenyu's waist and sent him flying.
Thud!
He hit the ground and had to be helped up by his cronies. The students crowding around widened their eyes, staring at Su Wen in utter disbelief.
Su Wen—victorious!
Kiting with "flying swords" at range, crushing with fists and staff up close.
It wasn't just a win. Judging from the exchange, Su Wen had overwhelmed Xiao Chenyu.
Su Wen had introduced his martial soul as the Heavenly Tome, but everyone could plainly see it was just a book.
"Don't tell me… it really is some top-tier 'Heavenly Tome' martial soul?"
"Su Wen, you're strong. I, Xiao Chenyu, concede. No one will bother you in the academy from now on!" Xiao Chenyu took the loss on the chin. After speaking, he turned to leave.
Having lost, he felt he'd lost face and just wanted to get out quickly.
Dean's Office
The Grandmaster was speaking with a bald, middle-aged man.
"Haha, Grandmaster, have you heard?" the bald man said, glancing at him. "Seems a genius has arrived at our academy."
"Oh?"
…
After hearing the bald dean recount the fight between Su Wen and Xiao Chenyu, the Grandmaster frowned.
Su Wen?
Could his martial soul really be top-tier?
"No… it should be an ordinary book. Powerful book-type martial souls do exist, but they wouldn't look this plain."
Splitting pages from the book and weaponizing them?
Not a bad idea.
Turning a book martial soul into something capable of battle.
But a book is still a book: by nature it's an auxiliary type, and not a combat-oriented auxiliary either.
"Do you know him?" the bald dean asked, noticing the Grandmaster's reaction.
"He came to see me."
The bald dean nodded in sudden understanding. "Ah, no wonder his book martial soul is developed so well."
The Grandmaster shook his head, refusing to claim any credit.
"No. I didn't teach him anything."
"Then how about now? Will you take him as a disciple? He clearly has talent for developing martial souls," the bald dean pressed.
The Grandmaster shook his head. "Powerful book-type martial souls exist; I've seen many. But a book is fundamentally auxiliary—and not the combat sort. His level-five innate soul power means his martial soul quality isn't poor. Yet the spirit itself is a plain book—clearly mutated, but not toward traits that suit a book. Most likely, the mutation just raised its toughness."
"My guess is his ability to fire off paper 'flying swords' in succession isn't because he has much more soul power than Xiao Chenyu—but because this method doesn't cost him that much. His book is inherently strong."
A pity—the mutation took the wrong direction.
It got stronger, but off-track.
The bald dean wore a look of enlightenment. "I see."
Then he rubbed his shiny head and grinned. "Since you won't take him, I will."
Silently, he thought, You may turn up your nose, but I won't. With level-five innate soul power, he has a real shot at reaching Soul Sect. I'm only a Soul Sect myself—such a disciple is more than good enough for me.
Dorm Seven
"Su Wen, you're amazing!"
The work-study students crowded around his bunk, buzzing with excitement.
Who would have thought their roommate of two years had been hiding this much skill?
"Su Wen, from now on you're Dorm Seven's—" Wang Sheng began solemnly.
"Stop right there." Su Wen cut him off. "I just want to cultivate in peace. I won't be staying at the academy for long. Forget the boss thing."
With a disappointed sigh, Wang Sheng nodded. "Fine. Cultivation comes first."
After the others wandered off, Xiaopang came forward, face serious. "Wen-ge, from now on I'll definitely train hard."
Being bullied for no reason had shown him the sorrow of the weak. And seeing Su Wen's display today drove home just how crucial strength was.
"Good. From now on, stick with me on the Body-Training Fist."
The next morning, a teacher informed Su Wen to report to the dean's office.
Knock knock knock!
"Enter!"
"Dean."
"Su Wen, your soul power has reached rank ten. Do you have a target in mind for your first soul ring?"
(End of Chapter)