The moment the gatekeeper saw Yu Xiaogang, he instantly perked up as if spotting a savior. His previous arrogance vanished, and he now resembled a loyal dog wagging its tongue at its master. Hurriedly, he addressed Yu Xiaogang:
"Master, you're back."
Yu Xiaogang ignored the gatekeeper. Having freeloaded at Nuoding Academy for so many years, he was well aware of the base nature of these lowly individuals. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Old Jack and asked:
"Old sir, are you here to enroll students?"
Old Jack nodded repeatedly. Yu Xiaogang immediately understood the situation—a respected village elder accompanying children to the academy gates was clearly a village chief sending promising martial soul awakens from his village to become work-study students.
Still, "promising" in this remote area didn't amount to much compared to the soul masters from big cities.
But it was precisely in such remote areas that Yu Xiaogang could exploit information asymmetry and the rule that a soul master only has one teacher throughout their life to prove his theories.
Though he didn't hold high expectations, Yu Xiaogang still asked Old Jack:
"Old sir, may I see the certificates issued by the Spirit Hall?"
Old Jack, wise despite his advanced age, immediately recognized Yu Xiaogang's status and authority. In his view, troubling the powerful figures of the Spirit Hall over such minor matters wasn't worth it. If this man could resolve the issue, all the better.
Thus, without delay, Old Jack handed over the certificates to Yu Xiaogang.
The first certificate belonged to Ye Wen. Upon seeing the innate soul power of only half a level, Yu Xiaogang—accustomed to bullying the weak and fearing the strong—couldn't help but smirk slightly.
Ye Wen noticed this but outwardly remained calm, pretending to be a dull child. Internally, however, he was ranting: 'You're also someone with only half a level of innate soul power—what's there to be smug about? And haven't you already ruined your own martial soul?!'
But when Yu Xiaogang turned to the second certificate, his previously weary eyes suddenly gleamed with golden intensity!
Unsure, he rubbed his eyes and looked again!
Upon confirming that the six characters—"Innate Soul Power Level Ten"—were indeed correct, Yu Xiaogang's breathing quickened slightly.
He asked, "Old sir, which one is Tang San?"
Unaware of Yu Xiao Gang's sinister intentions, Old Jack patted the little soot-covered Tang San beside him and said, "This child."
At this moment, the gears of fate began to turn.
Their gazes met—one old, one young. Tang San felt something strange. Though this middle-aged man appeared ordinary with no sharpness in his eyes, Tang San had the distinct feeling of being seen through.
After confirming his target, Yu Xiaogang composed himself, striving to appear approachable. He returned the certificates to Old Jack and said kindly:
"The certificates are genuine, old sir. On behalf of the academy, I apologize for earlier. Please leave these two children to me."
Ye Wen's lips twitched inwardly. Shouldn't enrollment matters be handled by family elders? By dismissing Old Jack outright, Yu Xiaogang was practically exposing his intentions!
But Tang San didn't care. 'I'm a true talentless nobody,' he thought. 'Why are you making things difficult for me?'
'Are you trying to pull me into some kind of master-disciple play? Forget it!'
At this moment, Ye Wen's mind raced. He had long anticipated getting entangled in Tang San's apprenticeship process, but the idea of Tang San's twin martial souls being exposed and leading to potential assassination attempts…
Ye Wen wanted no part of that!
Pretending to remember something, Ye Wen tugged at Old Jack's sleeve and said:
"Grandpa Jack, let's wait a bit for the enrollment. I just remembered that I ordered something from the blacksmith shop, and it should be ready today. After you leave, it'll be inconvenient for me to wander around the city alone. Could you come with me to pick it up?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but reveal a trace of disdain.
'Half a level of innate soul power is bad enough, but to lack even basic wisdom? Unable to grasp the importance of academy registration versus picking up some mundane item—typical of commoners who can't comprehend my brilliance.'
But soon, Yu Xiaogang secretly rejoiced. He didn't want outsiders interfering in the upcoming conversation anyway, so this boy leaving suited him perfectly.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang egged him on, saying, "If that's the case, old sir, please help this child take care of his errand first. Though the city is safe, he's only six years old. It's better for him to stay within the academy long-term—it'll be safer."
Being treated so courteously by someone of high status greatly satisfied Old Jack's vanity. Now floating on cloud nine, he readily agreed to Yu Xiaogang's suggestion.
With the matter settled, Ye Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, weakness was the greatest original sin, especially in a superhuman world where laws held little sway. Otherwise, why would a lazy bum like Ye Wen have to scheme so hard?
Watching Ye Wen and Old Jack gradually disappear into the distance, Tang San furrowed his brows.
He had long known of Ye Wen's intelligence, so Ye Wen's earlier threat to the gatekeeper didn't surprise him. However, as Ye Wen's figure receded, Tang San couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Tang San failed to notice the greed filling Yu Xiaogang's eyes as he gazed at him.
When Tang San turned back, Yu Xiaogang had resumed his lofty demeanor. To assert his authority, he harshly reprimanded the gatekeeper and sternly warned him not to obstruct Ye Wen upon his return—or else he'd lose his job.
Had Ye Wen witnessed this scene, he would have only been more inclined to mock Yu Xiaogang and Flender as birds of a feather.
Ye Wen didn't care about the strong or the weak. He simply knew that people tended to overcompensate for what they lacked. Yu Xiaogang's bullying of the gatekeeper was merely an attempt to project his supposed "strength."
After putting on this act, Yu Xiaogang eagerly led Tang San to a secluded spot within the academy. Pretending to be profound, he began his elaborate performance of recruiting a disciple.
Meanwhile, Ye Wen, on his way to retrieve his order, silently hoped Yu Xiaogang would be fine.
After all, this was one of the two early instances in the story where Tang San considered killing Yu Xiaogang.
Ever since Tang San had rejected Ye Wen's friendly overtures, Ye Wen had sensed that Tang San harbored some inexplicable hostility toward him.
Though it seemed strange, it wasn't out of character for Tang San, given his volatile temperament and readiness to kill.
Ye Wen could only hope that Tang San wouldn't impulsively strike down Yu Xiaogang the moment he revealed the secret of the twin martial souls.
Otherwise, Ye Wen dreaded how chaotic the future plot might become. What a headache…
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