At the main entrance of Nuoding Academy, one of the two doormen held up a Spirit Hall certificate, his face a mask of disdain. He sneered at the raggedly dressed old man and young boy before him.
"Where did this pair of beggars come from, trying to sneak into our Nuoding Academy? A useless Martial Spirit like Blue Silver Grass, and you dare claim it has innate Level 10 Spirit Power? Do you take us for fools?"
He contemptuously tossed the certificate back. "Take your forged document and get out of here immediately, or don't blame us for getting rough."
Old Jack, the village chief of Holy Soul Village, scrambled to catch the certificate. "Young sirs, I assure you, this certificate is genuine!" he pleaded. "A Battle Spirit Master from Spirit Hall issued it to us himself! If you just let us in, the teachers at the academy will surely be able to tell."
The doorman's expression soured. "Who are you calling 'sir'?" he spat. "Get lost, old man, before we're forced to remove you."
As Old Jack tried to explain further, the boy beside him moved. A subtle pulling force emanated from him, catching the arrogant doorman completely off guard and yanking him forward. The boy, Tang San, seized the opportunity, grabbing the man's wrist to prevent him from resisting. In one smooth motion, he leaned in and drove his elbow hard into the doorman's stomach.
"Oof!"
The doorman crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain. Tang San, meanwhile, felt the faint click of a hidden mechanism unlatching within his sleeve, ready to end the man's life.
The second doorman, seeing his colleague fall, flew into a rage. "You old codger and you little brat! Not only do you try to sneak in, but you dare to attack us! Just you wait!"
Old Jack was completely stunned by the sudden violence. Beside him, the small, dark-skinned boy's eyes were already filled with naked murderous intent, as if he were already calculating the various ways his opponent could die.
Just then, a cold voice cut through the tension. "Stop it, all of you!"
Both doormen froze. One helped the other to his feet, and they stood aside, their arrogance gone, not daring to act out of line.
A tall, thin middle-aged man with a stiff, gaunt face walked over. He approached Old Jack and Tang San and said in a solemn tone, "Sir, little friend, the academy is in the wrong here. May I see your Spirit Hall certificate?"
This man was, of course, Yu Xiaogang. He remained at the academy year after year, hoping to find a student from a humble background with extraordinary talent—a student who could help him verify his theory of the "Ten Core Competencies of a Martial Spirit." His theories, inferred from knowledge but lacking practical proof, were rejected by the great powers and sects. To prove himself, he urgently needed a test subject—a guinea pig.
Overjoyed, Old Jack quickly handed over the certificate. "Teacher, this is the certificate! Our Xiao San's Martial Spirit is Blue Silver Grass, but he truly does have innate Level 10 Spirit Power!"
As Yu Xiaogang carefully read the certificate, an indescribable excitement lit up his eyes. A spirit like Blue Silver Grass could never grant such high innate Spirit Power. There was only one possible truth: this child possessed Twin Spirits, and the second one was of an impossibly high quality.
Suppressing his emotions, he cleared his throat and spoke seriously to Old Jack. "There is no problem. This is a valid certificate from Spirit Hall. Sir, please entrust the child to my care. I will take him to register at the academy."
"Thank you, teacher! Thank you!" Old Jack was ecstatic. "I'll leave everything to you." He turned to Tang San. "Xiao San, you go with this teacher. Study hard and practice well."
Tang San thought to himself, Those two are lucky. Otherwise, blood would have been spilled here today. He lowered his gaze obediently. "I know, Grandpa Jack."
Wanting to make a good impression on Tang San, Yu Xiaogang turned to the two doormen and said in a cold, threatening voice, "You judge people by their appearance. If I see this happen again, you will no longer have a place here."
The doormen, despite having some minor connections, were still ordinary men. Facing a Spirit Master, they didn't dare refute him. They could only exchange a glance and admit their misfortune. "Master, we understand," they said in unison.
Yu Xiaogang then looked at Tang San, a rare, albeit ugly, smile stretching his stiff face. "Xiao San, if I may call you that, come with me."
Tang San gave Grandpa Jack one last look, then followed Yu Xiaogang through the academy gates.
From a short distance away, Wang Ping and Wang Li had witnessed the entire scene. Wang Ping tugged on Wang Li's arm. "Quick, Xiao Li! That man must be a high-ranking teacher at the academy! If we follow him, we'll surely get registered without any trouble!"
Wang Li, however, wasn't panicked at all. He was simply watching the classic scene unfold with great interest: the confrontation at Nuoding Academy, where an enraged Tang San was ready to kill. Honestly, Wang Li thought, there was an easier way. If Old Jack had just name-dropped Su Yuntao, the Battle Spirit Master who issued the certificate, these two powerless doormen would have been terrified. Questioning a certificate from a Spirit Master of his status would be like questioning Spirit Hall itself.
Arriving at the gate, Wang Ping respectfully handed Wang Li's certificate to the two chastened gatekeepers. "This is Wang Li from our village," he explained. "A Battle Spirit Master from Spirit Hall came to our village personally and issued him this certificate after his awakening."
The doormen, still smarting from their earlier humiliation, deflated completely upon hearing "Battle Spirit Master." They looked at the certificate and their eyes widened in astonishment. "Blue Silver Grass again? A 'mutated' Blue Silver Grass, with Level 3 Spirit Power... What's with all the Blue Silver Grass this year?"
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, who hadn't walked far, both overheard this. A flicker of surprise passed through both of their eyes.
The gatekeepers returned the certificate to Wang Ping. Looking at the similar sight of an old man and a young boy, they could only wave them through wearily. "Go on in. Don't wander around... Head straight to the Academic Affairs Office to register."