After the battle between Wang Sheng and Liu Long ended, the final match began.
Xiao Wu vs. Xiao Chenyu!
This was a completely one-sided fight.
Although Xiao Wu was barely more than half of Xiao Chenyu's height, the impact of her hundred-year spirit ring stunned him into submission from the very beginning.
So, with just a single move, Xiao Wu used her first spirit skill, Waist Bow, to fling Xiao Chenyu high into the air. He crashed heavily onto the grassy field ten meters away, completely incapacitated.
"Hmph, with that little strength, and you dare dream of keeping Sister Xiao Wu as a pet? Know your place!"
Xiao Wu clapped her hands, full of pride as she mocked him.
But Zhou Qing nudged Tang San on the shoulder and asked,
"Did you notice? Xiao Wu's first spirit skill... it seems like she doesn't necessarily need to activate the skill to execute that waist movement. Her body's naturally springy."
"You mean… the skill might be unnecessary?"
Tang San also realized the implication.
Soft Bone Rabbit.
The characteristics of this spirit beast were perfectly embodied in the term "Soft Bone." Spirit Masters with this kind of martial soul would have their bones transform after spirit possession, gaining the same flexibility and elasticity. That means physical skills like Waist Bow, which rely on bodily movement, could theoretically be self-created—making the spirit ring usage somewhat redundant.
"Well… I wouldn't say completely unnecessary," Zhou Qing added thoughtfully. "If she tries what I mentioned before—grafting—this spirit skill could make it easier, since it's inherently a physical technique."
In Zhou Qing's opinion, for a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast like Xiao Wu to take on human form and then "graft" a spirit ring to her martial soul might be more straightforward, since the rings she possessed were self-consolidated.
Though… he wasn't entirely sure if the spirit rings she could form would apply to all rabbit-type beasts, like in some fanfics…
Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted Zhou Qing's train of thought:
"What's going on here?"
They turned toward the source—
Yu Xiaogang!
(Did he get drawn here by the noise from my first spirit skill?)
Recalling that Yu Xiaogang lived in the forested back area of the academy, Zhou Qing felt it made sense.
"Master, we were just sparring,"
Xiao Chenyu quickly got to his feet and gave a slight bow.
Though Yu Xiaogang's title of "Grandmaster" was considered a joke across the entire continent—and Xiao Chenyu himself looked down on him—he was still a level 29 Spirit Grandmaster. More importantly, Xiao Chenyu's father had warned him not to show any disrespect. If he didn't like the man, he could just keep his distance.
Now that Yu Xiaogang had come to ask, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and reply politely.
After getting the general idea, Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened. He dismissed Xiao Chenyu, Wang Sheng, and the others, then called over Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu.
"Is something the matter, Teacher?" Zhou Qing asked respectfully.
"You've obtained spirit rings?"
Yu Xiaogang glanced at the damaged ground and the collapsed trees in the distance. His expression turned stormy. Without waiting for an answer, he asked sharply,
"Do you understand what a spirit ring represents?"
"Spirit skills,"
Xiao Wu answered, feeling Yu Xiaogang was making too much of a fuss.
"Breaking through bottlenecks,"
Tang San understood the importance of spirit skills but still saw spirit rings primarily as a way to surpass cultivation limits.
"Same here."
With the first two having spoken, Zhou Qing could only echo their responses.
What spirit rings could do to augment the attributes of a martial soul was generally only possible under specific circumstances—either special types of rings or the aid of a technique like Zhou Qing's Innate Meridian Chart.
"Correct. Seems you weren't slacking in class. But since you know that, you should also understand how vital a powerful spirit skill is for a Spirit Master."
Yu Xiaogang pressed on, "So why didn't you come to me when you needed to obtain your rings?"
He knew that Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu were all born with full innate spirit power—and even suspected Tang San might have twin spirits.
Normally, a primary academy teacher would only escort students into the Spirit Beast Forest at the start of a holiday break, once they had reached the level 10 bottleneck.
So Yu Xiaogang had assumed he had at least a semester's worth of time.
But now, to find that these three kids—each born with full spirit power—had already obtained their first rings…
This wasn't good!
If they hunted their spirit beasts without his guidance, what would their future accomplishments have to do with him?
Zhou Qing spread his hands, answering nonchalantly:
"You know, Teacher, I'm from Saint Spirit Village. I'm an orphan, used to relying on myself. I avoid asking for help if I can manage things alone."
Tang San rubbed his nose and said quietly,
"You know, Teacher, I'm also from Saint Spirit Village. I may not be an orphan, but—"
A dead mother, a lazy father, a broken home…
So I've learned to be self-sufficient since childhood.
Yu Xiaogang's eye twitched. (Like hell I knew all that!)
Then he turned to Xiao Wu. "What about you?"
"What do you mean, what about me?!"
It was the first time Xiao Wu had heard about Zhou Qing and Tang San's family situations. Compared to them, she suddenly felt her own life had been relatively lucky—at least she had Da Ming and Er Ming with her.
So she was in no mood for polite answers.
"Who do you think you are, asking so many questions? Are we close or something?"
Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, mentally repeating:
"They're just kids."
"They're just kids."
"They're just kids."
Only after the third time did he calm down, forcing a smile onto his face:
"Actually… my situation isn't all that different from yours."
"You're an orphan too?" Zhou Qing asked.
"..."
Yu Xiaogang nearly lost it again, but shook his head.
"Not quite. But close. I wasn't valued in my clan…"
To reduce the students' wariness and gain their trust, Yu Xiaogang played the empathy card.
He didn't mention his background with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but gave a rough account of awakening a mutated waste martial soul, being unable to break through rank 30 his whole life, and thus devoting himself to the study of martial soul theory.
"I have the continent's most comprehensive spirit beast records and advanced meditation techniques… That's why I want to take you on as my disciples."
"I can analyze which spirit beasts best match your martial souls, and help you acquire the strongest spirit skills!"
Originally, Yu Xiaogang hadn't wanted to be so blunt. That would make this sound more like a deal than mentorship.
But—
Now that he knew Zhou Qing and the others had already acquired their first rings, he realized something else.
These three kids from the countryside had picked up the typical rustic mindset.
They were more mature than their peers, yes but also practical to a fault. Without seeing immediate benefits, they wouldn't listen to a word he said.
So, he had no choice but to lay all his cards on the table now and slowly earn their trust and loyalty over time.