area51novel Chapter 25 The Jade Master Without a Reward
Chapter 25 The Jade Master Without a Reward
Just then, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open.
Tang San stood at the door, his face ashen. He had clearly been listening outside for a while, and his gaze towards Yan Zu was now icy cold.
"Ancestor Yan!" Tang San's voice suppressed his anger. "Grandmaster is a teacher at the academy, a recognized theoretical master in the soul master world! You're just a six-year-old child, what right do you have to spout nonsense here and question Grandmaster's research? Is this your upbringing—a lack of respect for teachers and education?"
He strode over to Yu Xiaogang, took the teacher's trembling arm, and glared sharply at Yan Zu.
Yan Zu looked at Tang San, then at Yu Xiaogang, whose face was deathly pale, and suddenly laughed.
The smile was faint, yet it carried a wisdom beyond its years.
"Questioning is not about belittling, but about exploring possibilities that bring us closer to the truth," Yan Zu said slowly. "The path of a Soul Master is long. If we don't even dare to raise questions, if we don't even dare to examine existing theories, then are we truly cultivating, or are we blindly following?"
He picked up his schoolbag from the table, slung it over his shoulder, and walked towards the door.
As Yan Zu passed by Tang San, he paused slightly and said softly, "True respect is not unconditional agreement, but taking every point of view seriously—including raising reasonable questions."
After he finished speaking, he walked out of the classroom, leaving the room completely silent.
Yu Xiaogang slumped in his chair, his eyes vacant. Tang San clenched his fists so tightly his nails almost dug into his flesh. The students eavesdropping outside the window exchanged glances, then dispersed in a commotion, each with a thoughtful expression on their face.
As Yan Zu walked, he muttered to himself, "Even after such a blow to Yu Xiaogang, there's no reward. It seems even the system thinks he's a good-for-nothing..." Yan Zu's rebuttal of Yu Xiaogang's theory in class wasn't to show off, but to see if he could trigger a reward, but the result was disappointing.
After that day, the halo of "theoretical master" Yu Xiaogang at Notting College showed its first real crack.
The name Yan Zu quietly spread among the lower-grade students—not because of his martial spirit, but because he shook a certain "authority" with a few questions during a theory class.
Evening, Dormitory 7.
While munching on the meat buns Yan Zu had brought back from the cafeteria, Xiao Wu chattered on about the gossip she'd heard: "Little brother Zu, so many people are talking about you now! They say you left that master speechless! You're amazing!"
Yan Zu smiled but didn't reply. He sat by the window, watching the afterglow of the setting sun paint the sky red.
In the spiritual world, the phantom of the Xuanyuan Sword trembled slightly, and the golden patterns on the sword seemed to be slightly brighter than in the morning—that was the faint willpower brought about by "questioning civilization" and "seeking truth and reasoning," which, though thin, was real.
He knew that today was just the beginning.
Yu Xiaogang will not let this go, and Tang San's hostility will only deepen.
But now that he has chosen this path, he will resolutely continue down it.
The incident in the theory class was like a pebble thrown into a lake, the ripples of which lingered for a long time.
Yu Xiaogang claimed to be ill for three consecutive days and did not appear, while the story of Yan Zu "questioning authority" quietly spread among the lower-grade students.
Whenever he held Xiao Wu's hand and walked through the academy corridor, he could always feel the gazes coming from all directions—curiosity, inquiry, and Tang San's cold, resentful stare.
But Yan Zu didn't take these things to heart. To him, Notting Academy was merely a temporary stop on the long river of civilization, not the final destination.
As Nottingham City was enveloped in night, Yan Zu and Xiao Wu's consciousness entered their own private cultivation space.
"Let's begin."
With a thought, Yan Zu instantly transformed the scene within the Martial Soul Simulation Training Ground.
The once barren bluestone ground has transformed into a dense forest, and the damp air is filled with the stench of decaying leaves and blood—this is the simulated environment on the outskirts of the Starry Sky Forest.
Xiao Wu let out a delicate shout, and the Phantom Jade Rabbit Martial Soul possessed her, pink soul power flowing around her. The Bone Forging Chapter of the Nine Yin Manual had already made her physical attributes far surpass those of other Soul Masters of the same level, while the footwork of the Wind God Leg made her move like a ghost.
"The wind leaves no trace; pay attention to the angle at which you land." Yan Zu stood to the side, with Qilin Xiaoyu perched on his shoulder, radiating a warm, jade-like light. "Don't just pursue speed; feel the direction of the wind."
Xiao Wu flashed, leaving three afterimages in the forest.
But Yan Zu's penetrating spiritual eyes had already seen through her trajectory. With a flick of his index finger, a burst of soul power was precisely aimed at her next landing point.
"Ouch!" Xiao Wu froze, then pouted indignantly, "Little brother Azu, you cheated! You used that... Spirit Eye!"
"In actual combat, the enemy won't be without their eyes," Yan Zu chuckled. "Let's go again."
This kind of practice continued for countless nights.
From the initial three hundred-year-old soul beasts to the cooperation of five hundred-year-old soul beasts, and then to the addition of various terrain restrictions, Xiao Wu's combat awareness grew rapidly under the nourishment of blood and sweat.
Yan Zu's soul power, nourished by the Nine Yin Manual and his dual martial souls, had already quietly broken through to level fifteen, but outwardly he still displayed the disguise of level eight or nine.
The daytime glamour and controversy fade away as night falls. True growth happens in the unknown void.
Martial Soul Mimicry Training Ground.
The time flow ratio is 3:1, with two hours in reality and six hours in the arena each day. This is the root cause of the real gap between Yan Zu and Xiao Wu and their peers.
In the first few days, Yan Zu focused on laying a solid foundation.
He broke down and reinterpreted the parts of the Nine Yin Manual that were suitable for Xiao Wu—especially the "Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening Chapter," the "Healing Chapter," and the lightness and movement techniques—and taught them to Xiao Wu step by step, combining them with the Douluo Soul Power system.
Although Xiao Wu is lively and playful, she has shown amazing talent and perseverance in cultivation. Her body, as a transformed soul beast, is already superior to that of an ordinary person, and with the continuous nourishment of the Qilin's life force, her progress is nothing short of miraculous.
"Sink your Qi to your Dantian, let your Soul Power flow through the Shaoyang Meridian, and explode at the Yongquan acupoint... Yes, that's it!"
Yan Zu watched as Xiao Wu twirled three times in the air, like a pink phantom, and nodded in satisfaction.
Xiao Wu landed lightly, a little sweat on her forehead, but her eyes sparkled: "Brother Azu, I feel like I'm twice as fast as before! If we encounter a wind wolf again, I'm sure I can easily get behind it!"
"Speed is an advantage, but combat is more than just speed."
With a thought, Yan Zu transformed the training ground environment from a flat stone platform into a dense simulated forest. "Tonight, let's try out some real combat teamwork."
"roar--!"
Six pairs of eerie green eyes lit up in the darkness.
Five hundred-year-old Gale Wolves slowly approached in a surrounding formation, while behind them, a huge, silver-gray giant wolf with a single horn on its forehead coldly watched—that was the Thousand-Year-Old Gale Wolf King, with a cultivation of about twelve hundred years.
"Xiao Wu, form the formation!" Yan Zu shouted in a low voice.
Xiao Wu flashed forward and stood back to back with him. The two didn't need to say a word; their tacit understanding was natural.
The battle erupted instantly!
Five hundred-year-old demonic wolves pounced at the same time. Xiao Wu spun like a top and unleashed the Wind God Leg - Catching the Wind and Shadows. Her leg shadows were numerous, forcing the three demonic wolves in front of her to retreat.
Yan Zu then stepped into the Nine Palaces Step, silently releasing the Qilin's first soul skill, "Corridor of Vitality." A pale green halo spread out from him, covering an area of fifteen meters in radius.
Within this domain, Xiao Wu felt light all over, her soul power recovery speed increased sharply, and each strike contained a stronger explosive force.