But he refused to resign himself to it! He desperately needed to prove himself, to prove that his theories were not trash, and to prove that he, Yu Xiaogang, was not utterly useless!
Just then, a girl named Xiao Wu--who also possessed innate full soul power and whose martial soul was the Soft Bone Rabbit--caught his attention.
"Innate full soul power, Soft Bone Rabbit?"
Yu Xiaogang stared at the files in his hands, his brow furrowed deeply.
How could a martial soul of the Soft Bone Rabbit's caliber possibly give rise to innate full soul power?
He subconsciously avoided Fu Shiyan's discourse regarding the requirements for twin martial souls, stubbornly convincing himself: "This absolutely cannot be an ordinary Soft Bone Rabbit!
It must have undergone a beneficial mutation!
Could it even... also be a twin martial soul?"
This bold conjecture gave his spirits a sudden lift, as if he had grasped another life-saving straw.
At Notting Academy, Xiao Wu had just finished her morning classes. Humming a tuneless melody, she bounced and skipped along, preparing to head back to the dormitory to find Tang San. Her long scorpion braid swung cheerfully behind her back.
Right at that moment, a slightly gloomy figure blocked her path.
Yu Xiaogang stood in the center of the path, his complexion looking even more haggard than usual.
"Student Xiao Wu, please wait a moment."
Yu Xiaogang's voice carried a deliberately crafted composure that befitted a scholar.
Xiao Wu stopped in her tracks, her pink dress swirling in a light, brisk arc.
She blinked her large, watery eyes, her face filled with undisguised confusion: "Hmm? Are you calling me? Who are you? Is something wrong?"
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, briefly displaying the files in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "I am a grandmaster of the academy, Yu Xiaogang.
I have carefully studied your enrollment data. Innate full soul power, martial soul Soft Bone Rabbit--"
He paused, his gaze locking tightly onto Xiao Wu, his tone brimming with certainty: "A martial soul like the Soft Bone Rabbit has absolutely zero possibility of producing innate full soul power!
Your martial soul must have undergone an extremely beneficial mutation, or perhaps--
I suspect you are very likely a one-in-a-million possessor of twin martial souls!"
When he spoke the words "twin martial souls," his voice grew slightly higher due to excitement, and a light flickered in his eyes.
He automatically ignored Fu Shiyan's discourse on the conditions for the formation of twin martial souls, stubbornly and firmly believing that his own judgment was the sole truth.
The girl before him was his second hope to reclaim his dignity and prove his theories!
Hearing this, Xiao Wu's delicate eyebrows knit together slightly, and her rosy little mouth pouted.
She already had little to no interest in the theories of human soul masters, let alone this uncle before her who looked bizarre and whose gaze made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
She waved her fair, tender little hands, her tone carrying a hint of impatience: "Oh, what mutation or non-mutation, twin or not twin? My martial soul is just a Soft Bone Rabbit!
Uncle, if you don't have anything else, I'm leaving. Little San is still waiting for me!"
Seeing her turn to leave, Yu Xiaogang grew anxious. He subconsciously took a step forward, reaching out to grab Xiao Wu's arm, his tone becoming hurried and brooking no refusal: "Child! You still don't understand what your talent signifies!
Blind cultivation will only waste your potential!
Only by receiving the most correct theoretical guidance can your future path as a soul master be smooth sailing!
I have researched martial soul theories for decades, I can certainly..."
Faced with Yu Xiaogang's ceaseless lecture and his intention to take her as a disciple, Xiao Wu's fiery temper was not something that could endure patiently like Tang San's. Her willow-leaf brows instantly shot up, and she rejected him rudely: "Hey, uncle! Aren't you annoying?
I've already said it several times!
I can cultivate on my own, I don't need you to teach me!"
As her tender shout rang out, Xiao Wu's figure shifted like a ghost. Yu Xiaogang only felt a flash of pink light before his eyes, followed by an completely irresistible, immense force surging from his wrist!
"?!"
He cried out in surprise, instantly losing his balance!
In the next moment, heaven and earth spun!
Xiao Wu's seemingly slender and fragile body erupted with astonishing power and speed at this very instant!
She grabbed Yu Xiaogang's wrist and twisted her waist.
"First slam!"
Yu Xiaogang only felt a massive force transfer from his wrist, and his body was flung up completely out of control. His back smashed heavily onto the hard bluestone ground. Acute pain instantly shot through his entire body, and stars exploded before his eyes.
"Second slam!"
Before he could catch his breath, another surge of force arrived. Like a tattered sack, he was lifted once more and slammed violently toward the other side!
"Third slam! Fourth slam!--"
Xiao Wu's movements flowed like water, filled with a strange sense of rhythm, yet packed with absolute violence!
Yu Xiaogang had no power to resist whatsoever, being repeatedly slammed against the ground like a toy.
"Eighth slam!!"
For the final blow, Xiao Wu let out a delicate shout, using all her strength to fling Yu Xiaogang high into the air, and then slammed him fiercely into the ground!
"Bang--!"
Yu Xiaogang collapsed on the ground like a puddle of mud. The bones all over his body felt as if they had fallen apart. The intense pain caused him to curl inward, leaving him without even the strength to groan.
At this moment, his hair was a disheveled mess, his robe was covered in dust and grass clippings, and his appearance was pathetic to the extreme.
Xiao Wu landed lightly, clapped her small hands, and looked down at the twitching Yu Xiaogang on the ground. She said huffily: "Hmph! I hate it most when people touch me without permission!
I already told you I don't want you to teach me!
If you dare come annoy me again, I'll slam you every time I see you! Remember that, uncle!"
With that, she didn't even bother to spare Yu Xiaogang another glance. Tossing her signature scorpion braid, she skipped and bounced away, continuing toward the dormitories.
Some nearby students who had been drawn over by the commotion watched this scene from a distance. Pointing fingers, their hushed whispers were laced with irrepressible low chuckles.
Paralyzed on the cold ground, the physical pain Yu Xiaogang felt was far inferior to the humiliation and despair in his heart.
The sunlight remained bright, but he felt as though he had plunged into an ice cellar.
Suffering crushing defeats before two "geniuses" in a row, especially in such a completely undignified manner, had utterly shattered the last bit of his pride.
Having lost all face, Yu Xiaogang could only crawl up with great difficulty in the end, fleeing back to his residence in a wretched state, limping all the way.
After repeatedly running into a brick wall with Tang San and Xiao Wu, Yu Xiaogang had practically become a laughingstock at Notting Academy.
He felt he no longer had the face to stay.
Just as he was disheartened and preparing to leave Notting Academy, this place of sorrow, he received a letter from his old friend Flender, who was far away in Soto City.
The letter mentioned that although Shrek Academy still adhered to the principle of only accepting monsters and found student recruitment difficult, they had experienced some good luck not long ago, successfully recruiting another little monster with quite remarkable talent.
This new student was only twelve years old, yet his soul power had already reached rank twenty-six, making him a Grand Soul Master.
His martial soul was the Mara Vine, a plant-system martial soul renowned for its attack power and resilience even among high-level martial souls, possessing extremely high quality.
His first two soul rings came from a century-old Ghost Vine and a five-hundred-year-old Blood-Drinking Overlord Flower respectively, a combination that was quite standard.
Furthermore, his innate soul power was rank eight. Given his martial soul quality and current rank, he could already be called a genius.
Seeing this letter, a spark of fire re-ignited within Yu Xiaogang's dim eyes.
"Mara Vine... high-level martial soul... twelve years old, rank twenty-six..."
He muttered to himself, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.
In the eyes of many, this student's innate conditions were even more dazzling than Tang San's innate full soul power Blue Silver Grass!