Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted rapidly as bitterness welled up in his heart. He knew—he had lost this debate.
Though Yu Xiaogang didn't want to admit defeat to a mere child, he had no choice but to acknowledge it, as he couldn't come up with a counterargument.
As for acting shamelessly? Please. Did this master have no pride?
Already labeled a "failure," if he were now branded a "scoundrel," he'd lose all face and wouldn't be able to stay at the academy.
Taking a deep breath, Yu Xiaogang forcefully pried off one of the embedded jade stones from his storage belt, wiped away his soul power residue, and handed it to Chu Chengzhou. "Kid, you win!"
Bad news: he had lost.
But there was good news too—removing one stone still left his storage belt functional, just with one twenty-fourth less space.
Moreover, as he had thought earlier, though he had lost, he gained an insightful theory. It wasn't a total loss!
Still… why did he feel so miserable?
Chu Chengzhou took the jade stone and sneered inwardly at Yu Xiaogang. Winning was winning—how could he say "considered"? Typical stubbornness even in defeat!
However, given that Yu Xiaogang had contributed a storage-type soul-guidance device, Chu Chengzhou decided not to hold it against him.
After all, if Yu Xiaogang became enraged and fired off a "Sky-Shattering Fart" at him, he'd be utterly humiliated.
At this thought, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but shiver.
Biochemical attacks might not be powerful, but they were certainly intimidating. Ordinary soul masters wouldn't dare provoke Yu Xiaogang.
"Kid, this master sees potential in you. How about becoming my disciple?"
Though Chu Chengzhou was young, his unique insights made Yu Xiaogang consider taking him on as a disciple once again.
"I've heard that Master is knowledgeable but not skilled at teaching. I'll pass."
Shaking his head, Chu Chengzhou politely declined once more.
Knowledgeable? The subtext was clear—you're useless at cultivation!
Not skilled at teaching? That was practically accusing him of freeloading at the academy!
With that, Chu Chengzhou pocketed the jade stone, picked up Illustrated Record of Spirit Beasts, and headed toward the librarian at the library entrance.
'No hard feelings, no hard feelings. What's there to be angry about with this brat? Damn it!'
Watching Chu Chengzhou walk away, Yu Xiaogang, who had caught the underlying insult, twisted his face in frustration.
At this moment, he desperately wanted to grab this brat and beat him senseless.
But if he actually did that, Su Nan would likely kick him out of the academy.
Beating kids was one thing—beating his grandson? If he didn't get kicked out, who would?
Back in Dormitory Seven, Chu Chengzhou set aside the borrowed Illustrated Record of Spirit Beasts and eagerly took out the jade stone he had won.
Soul-guidance devices required a master to use them, and storage-type soul-guidance devices were no exception.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaogang had already removed the imprint; otherwise, erasing the residual soul power imprint would have been no easy task for someone like Chu Chengzhou, whose soul power level was less than Level 1—a complete "trash-tier" talent.
Injecting a small amount of his meager soul power into the jade stone, Chu Chengzhou quickly completed the binding process.
Instantly, he sensed a small, almost pitifully tiny storage space within the jade stone.
"Only one cubic foot?"
Seeing the severely diminished storage space inside the jade, Chu Chengzhou frowned.
After all, each of the original twenty-four jade stones in "Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlight" contained one cubic meter of internal space.
But without the amplification of the soul-guidance array, the internal space had shrunk drastically, leaving only a cubic foot of space.
"Well, having something is better than nothing."
Though the shrinkage was significant, Chu Chengzhou had no grounds to complain.
If he wanted something bigger, he first had to solve the problem of having anything at all, right?
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou washed the jade stone, then found a thin rope to weave a small pouch, which he hung around his neck.
From this moment on, he, Chu Chengzhou, was officially part of the elite group that owned a storage-type soul-guidance device!
---
Two days later, the academy's first official day of classes.
In the morning, inside the first-year classroom, an obese middle-aged teacher in menopause sprayed saliva as she lectured passionately from the podium.
It remained to be seen whether the students in the front row, their faces covered in spittle, could absorb any of it.
Well, hopefully, they studied hard and improved every day.
But none of this concerned Chu Chengzhou. At the moment, he sat in the back row, engrossed in reading Illustrated Record of Spirit Beasts.
Nuoding Academy's curriculum was light, with only two classes each morning—one cultural lesson and one martial soul lesson.
The current cultural lesson was basic literacy, which Chu Chengzhou had already mastered, leaving him free to read the Illustrated Record of Spirit Beasts.
"Sky Azure Tree, a plant-type healing spirit beast?"
Turning a page and seeing the description of the spirit beast, Chu Chengzhou immediately became excited.
Compared to offensive or agility-focused spirit beasts, Chu Chengzhou felt that a healing-type spirit beast would be more suitable as his first summon.
After all, for the next six years, he would remain safely in Nuoding City, with no need to worry about personal safety.
Moreover, he planned to develop body-refining skills to improve his physical fitness.
However, overtraining could lead to injuries, much like overexertion during regular exercise.
Having a healing-type summon would effectively address this issue, preventing him from injuring himself before mastering his "divine skills."
Additionally, among soul masters, auxiliary roles like healers, supporters, and food-based soul masters were far more welcomed by teammates than offensive, agility, control, or defensive types.
Unfortunately, while there were food-based soul masters among humans, there were no professional food-based spirit beasts in the spirit beast forests.
Otherwise, a spirit beast capable of producing soul power-enhancing food would undoubtedly be the best choice for his first summon.
Of course, there was another consideration for food-oriented summons.
For example, if the summon were a hen, could it lay eggs?
One thing was certain: these eggs would never hatch.
After carefully reviewing the information on the Sky Azure Tree spirit beast, Chu Chengzhou didn't hesitate long before selecting it as one of the targets for his Soul Summoning Flag martial soul's first spirit ring.
The reason it was "one of" was simple—there were other healing-type spirit beasts besides the Sky Azure Tree.
However, in the spirit beast forest, where survival of the fittest reigned supreme, healing-type spirit beasts lacked combat ability. As such, plant-type healing spirit beasts like the Sky Azure Tree, which were "harder to digest," were relatively common.
Being common meant larger populations, allowing Chu Chengzhou to choose a spirit beast with an age more suited to his physical condition when the time came.
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