Nuoding City.
Located in the west of Heaven Dou Empire, it was one of the three major cities in the Fasinou Province.
"Wuqing, Xiao San, when you enter the academy, you two should not create trouble and look after each other, alright?"
The trio of old man Jack, Xie Wuqing and Tang San walked through the streets of Nuoding City as they approached the only spirit master academy in the distance.
The two boys gave a polite nod.
While they lived in the same village, the duo were not close friends, though they did occasionally spar with each other. So far, Tang San have had the upper hand, something that always baffled Xie Wuqing.
How can a boy his age have such an extensive combat experience? Xie Wuqing never understood.
By no means was he an expert in hand-to-hand combat, but even when other kids in the village ganged up on him, he was able to beat them. Tang San? The boy was very cynical, very precise with his every movement.
As the black-haired boy was thinking about these things, the trio had reached the gates of Nuoding Academy.
Ten-meter-tall metal fences surrounded the academy, and the gate that served as the entrance was made from the finest iron Xie Wuqing had ever seen in his short life.
"Hold right there!" One of the guards standing outside blocked their path with his spear. "What are country bumpkins like you doing here?"
"Sir," the village chief walked forward and handed the two guards the certificates issued by the Spirit Hall. "I am accompanying these two children." He gestured toward Xie Wuqing and Tang San. "They have awakened their Martial Souls and are qualified to study at the academy as Work-Study students."
"Hmm." One of the guards took the certificates from old man Jack's hand and glanced over them. "Spirit Eyes, Rank 4." His expression was not bad till here, but when he saw the other piece of paper, his eyes bulged out. "Innate full spirit power?"
"What did you say?" The other guard immediately looked over, surprised, but upon seeing the Martial Soul, the duo spat.
"What kind of joke is this? Blue Silver Grass? Innate full spirit power?" Questioned the first guard. "Are you trying to take us for a fool? This is obviously fake!"
The old man was scared at their imposing figures, but Xie Wuqing immediately walked forward. As unbelievable as Tang San's innate spirit power was, was it really so hard to verify if these certificates were genuine or not? He knew the guards were only causing trouble for the old man to extort some spirit coins.
Knowing the village chief was broke despite being the leader of the village, Xie Wuqing decided to step forward.
"Are you saying that the certificates issued by Spirit Hall are fake?"
"Y-you!" The other guard raised a finger at him. "Are you questioning us?"
"Are you questioning the Spirit Hall?"
"You damn brat!"
One of the guards stepped forward to swing his fist, but Xie Wuqing immediately ran a few meters back.
"Since you don't believe me, I might as well run to Spirit Hall's branch in the city and ask them to come over to verify." Xie Wuqing smirked at the duo before turning to Tang San. "What do you say?"
Understanding his meaning, Tang San flipped back a few times, creating a distance from the two guards. Since they were on duty, at least one of them had to be on the gate. If the other guard chased, he could only go after either Tang San or Xie Wuqing, meaning the other could easily report to the Spirit Hall about the 'disrespect' the guards had shown towards them.
"You...!" The two guards clenched their teeth, and just as the atmosphere heated up and people began to gather, seeing the commotion, a voice cracked through the tension.
"What is going on over here?"
A middle-aged man walked out from the academy's gates with his hands clasped behind his back. The moment those guards saw this man, their faces turned pale, and their previously arrogant aura withered away.
"G-Grandmaster."
The man looked at the guards, the certificates in their hands and the three people who had recently arrived in Nuoding City. He immediately understood what was going on.
"Show me the certificates."
"Y-Yes." The guard handed over the two pieces of paper stamped by the Spirit Hall.
After a brief look, the middle-aged man's face flashed with disbelief, which he immediately hid away before nodding. "They are real." He gave the two guards a look before turning back to the old man, Jack. "I have checked the legitimacy of these certificates. You need not worry anymore and can leave these children in my care. I will make sure they are enrolled in the academy."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Seeing the situation de-escalating, Xie Wuqing and Tang San nodded at each other before walking back toward the academy gates.
The old man said a few words to them about not causing trouble and studying diligently before walking away. He had to catch a carriage back to Holy Spirit Village if he did not want to spend the night on the streets; he was too broke to afford an inn for the night.
"Let's go." The middle-aged man who helped them turned around and started walking back into the academy.
"Teacher, thank you for helping us." Tang San, who was almost ready to shoot a hidden weapon at one of the guards before running to Spirit Hall, decided to speak first.
"They likely wanted to extort Grandpa Jack of the little money he has." Xie Wuqing nodded toward the man. "Thank you for helping us."
"Haha." The middle-aged man gave a short laugh before he shook his head. "I am not a teacher at the academy."
"Not a teacher?" asked Xie Wuqing with a raised eyebrow. "Then why were they so afraid of you? You don't look strong either."
The middle-aged man almost missed a step on those words.
"Are you the principal then?" asked Tang San.
Ignoring the black-haired boy, the middle-aged man answered the other boy. "I am a guest in the academy, a friend of the headmaster. You both can call me Grandmaster like everyone else."
"Do you teach cultivation?" asked Tang San.
Grandmaster smiled at those words. " I don't. But would you like me to teach you how to cultivate?"
Xie Wuqing could sense that this 'Grandmaster' and Tang San were having a moment...so, not wanting to be the third wheel, he decided to go forward.
"Tang San, I will see you in the dorms."
The middle-aged man gave Xie Wuqing a deep look; the boy was very perceptive, unlike those of his age who were generally clueless.
"Go straight and then turn right, you will find the registration desk."
"Thanks."
With one last look at the duo, he walked away. He had plans for the future, and many errands would have to be completed today before sunset.
Very soon, he found the registration desk. After a quick look at his awakening certificate, the lady behind the desk assigned him to a dorm room where he would be staying with other work-study students. He was also provided with three sets of uniforms that he would wear from this day forth.
Next, he walked into the dormitories, which would be his home for the next few years.
As soon as he walked inside, all the work-study students present in the dormitory turned towards him, before a boy who was the same age as him stepped forward.
"I am Wang Sheng, martial soul Black Tiger."
"Xie Wuqing, Spirit Eyes."
"Spirit Eyes?"
Seeing the confusion on his face, Xie Wuqing pulled upon his Martial Soul, and his eyes immediately turned deep green as if flames were burning within them.
"Uggh." Wang Sheng took a step back as he was assaulted with an intense headache just from a glimpse into his eyes. "What the heck is that?"
"My Martial Soul." Xie Wuqing just shrugged at the confused and fearful gazes of other children.
During the three months after his Martial Soul awakened, the black-haired boy had spent the majority of his time learning more about himself and Soul Reaper. He was able to control his Martial Soul to a great degree, allowing him to decide how much of it would be summoned whenever he had to show his Martial Soul to others.
But it was a difficult task.
One cannot partially summon their Martial Soul; thus, Xie Wuqing had to find a way around it.
The method he devised was to initiate the summoning process from the eyes and halt it immediately. While it caused an intense headache, he had practiced it enough times to get used to the process.
"A spiritual Martial Soul?" Wang Sheng tried to shake off the headache as he slowly steadied himself. "Whatever." He mumbled before coming back to the topic. "To survive against the bullying of the noble students, our dormitory has a rule. Every student will follow a leader whose fists we will decide." He pointed at himself. "Since I am the current boss, you have to fight me to decide."
Xie Wuqing thought for a moment and said, "I give up." Before the peanut gallery could start making comments, he added. "There is a guy called Tang San. We are from the same village, and he is stronger than I; it is better if you wait."
While he had no interest in playing 'boss,' he was not afraid to admit his shortcomings.
'While I may be weaker than him for now, but soon I will surpass him.' With a silent vow to himself, he walked past the confused Wang Sheng, put his uniforms on a bed in the corner with a window by its side, and walked out of the academy.
He looked into his robes, where a small pouch was kept hidden.
It was filled with spirit coins that his father had saved up and was the inheritance left to him after his father's death. While not substantial, they were enough for him to buy something he urgently needed.
"Do you guys have any scythes?" Xie Wuqing walked into a shop selling farming equipment, where he immediately found the attendant.
"Hello." The young boy greeted him with a smile. "We do, please this way."
Xie Wuqing was presented with several scythes, but none of them were to his liking.
The rest of his day was spent walking around Nuoding City, looking for a suitable scythe, which he finally found by the time it was evening; it very closely resembled his own scythe in dimensions.
It was nine feet tall with a moderately large blade.
While not as exquisite as the one his Martial Soul allowed him to use, it would do for now.
He immediately paid for it and carried the scythe to the dormitories. It would be a lie if he said people didn't give him weird looks wherever he went.
"Brother Xie, what is this?"
Tang San, who was standing among other children along with a girl with long hair tied in a braid, could not help but ask the moment he laid eyes on the farming tool the other boy was carrying over.
"I am planning to learn how to use a scythe as my weapon." Under the watchful eyes of other children and the mischievous eyes of the girl, he placed the scythe beside his bed. "I believe it would be a great complement to my Martial Soul."
"Hmph! How can you even consider a farming tool a weapon?"
Xie Wuqing finally turned toward the girl he had ignored since walking into the dorms. "You are?"
"Xiao Wu, martial soul Soft Bone Rabbit, and I am the boss of this dormitory."
"Boss?" Xie Wuqing looked at Tang San, who just gave a helpless shrug, and then back at the little girl. "Okay."
"That's it?"
"What do you want me to do? Dance?" Xie Wuqing rolled his eyes and then looked outside. It was already evening, and soon the instructor allotted to them would arrive. And just as he had expected, before the lady boss could argue with him, a middle-aged man walked into their dorms.
"Gather up."
Not wanting to cause trouble before the teacher, Xiao Wu decided to let go of the 'disrespect' for now. 'I will teach him a lesson later. Hmph!'
"I am Instructor Su, your teacher for the next six years. Your classes will be in the morning, and then you will be working for three hours after lunch. After that, you have your free time. You can visit the library, or you can train with your Martial Souls; make sure not to get injured." He looked over everyone, making sure they listened to everything he was saying. "If you have any doubts, feel free to come to me."
"Yes!"
Everyone said enthusiastically, and after a few more instructions, the teacher walked away, leaving behind a warning not to be late.
The children started to disperse towards their beds, but were stopped by the 'boss' of the dormitory.
"Xie Wuqing, stop right there." The brown-haired girl grinned as she cracked her knuckles. "I think you need to be taught a lesson for disrespecting your boss."
"Are you dumb?" The black-haired boy could not help but wonder out loud, but then he remembered. They, including him, were all six years old, and it was an age when kids were not as emotionally mature, besides the exceptions like him who had suffered great tragedies. Something quite evident to him might not seem the same to others.
And just as he had expected, the lady boss immediately fumed at his words and charged forward.
"If I don't teach you a lesson today, I won't be Xiao Wu."
Seeing her running over with her fists tightly clenched, Xie Wuqing had two options. He could either let her get an upper hand on him, as Tang San had done, or...
He easily dodged her attacks by side-stepping before his fist shot out right into her stomach.
"Uggh!"
Xiao Wu, who had not expected her opponent to dodge her punch so easily, immediately buckled over as various gasps rang out in the dorms.
"Boss!"
"Xiao Wu!"
Tang San immediately ran over to help the brown-haired girl get back on her feet. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and her teeth were tightly clenched with indignation. A few tears were starting to appear on the side of her eyes.
"Brother Xie, you could have held back." Tang San, who could not bear to see a delicate girl like Xiao Wu being hit, could not help but reprimand Xie Wuqing.
"And let her hit me?" The black-haired boy asked with a raised eyebrow. "I already said I don't want to be the boss. Moreover, she is the one who came charging at me; how is self-defence my fault?"
Seeing the blue-haired boy unable to come up with an answer, Xie Wuqing knew there was no point in this conflict.
"Let's just forget what happened, alright?" He sighed before walking out of the dorms. "We will be roommates for the next few years; isn't it better to just get along with each other?"
Xie Wuqing knew that Xiao Wu was a stubborn girl who would not stop until she had an upper hand on him. However, he, too, was someone people could not walk over.
Yes, he wanted to keep his Martial Soul and innate spirit power a secret, but that did not mean he would not fight back. After all, even without using the former, he had gotten quite strong, and it would not be long before he would test himself against Tang San.
After three months of having awakened his Martial Soul, there were a few things he had found out about the Soul Reaper.
It was a combination of three different attributes, one of which was darkness. The other was linked to his perception, or more specifically, his soul, and the third was unknown, something he was unable to figure out as of yet.
'I am hoping there would be something in the academy's library.'
With the boost his Martial Soul provided to his perception, Xiao Wu's every attack was seen by him in slow motion and thus easily dodgeable.
'Now I need to increase my combat experience and try to create a martial art that is suitable for a scythe.'
Scythes were not standard weapons, and it would be hard to find a martial art related to them. But for now, that was the least of his worries as his gaze turned toward the boy who was walking toward him with a helpless expression.
"Xiao San, what brings you here?"
Xie Wuqing had walked quite a bit away from the dorms and now stood in a small forest that was part of the Nuoding academy.
"It's Xiao Wu." The blue-haired boy sighed. "I think she wants to fight you again."
The black-haired boy sighed. "I am stronger than her, and so are you." He could not understand how Tang San had lost to that girl.
"I...I could not bring myself to hit a girl." The other boy sighed as he added. "So I decided to let her win."
"Too bad my fists don't discriminate." Xie Wuqing shrugged before his tone turned serious. "I know Xiao Wu sent you to fight me."
"Brother Xie..."
"I know you want to say that we should pretend we had a fight and just get this over with." The black-haired boy interrupted. "However, ever since awakening our Martial Souls, I wanted to have a sparring match with you once again, maybe every day to improve our skills. Too bad you were busy learning blacksmithing from Uncle Hao."
Tang San nodded. "Among my peers, you are the only one who can put up a fight against me."
"So, what do you say? Want to have a spar right now?"
"Bro Xie, are you sure?" Tang San asked. While he wanted to help Xiao Wu, he also did not want to fight Xue Wuqing since the duo had known each other for a long time.
"Isn't it just a spar? And as I said, I plan to challenge you every day from now on."
Seeing the serious look on his face, Tang San made up his mind. 'This way, I can not only keep brother Xie's face but also help Xiao Wu with her revenge.' So, he nodded and took a stance, confident in his win even before the fight had started. "Shall we?"
Xie Wuqing smiled before he cracked his neck a little. "Yeah, let's dance."
The two boys circled one another, their feet scraping lightly against the forest floor.
Tang San's eyes narrowed. He had always bested Xie Wuqing before, but this time the black-haired boy's stance felt… different. No gaps, no carelessness.
The blue-haired boy struck first. His movement was fluid and precise, a straight jab meant to test defences. But the other boy tilted his head, letting the fist pass by his ear, then snapped forward with a palm strike to Tang San's ribs.
'Fast!' Tang San twisted his body to lessen the blow, but even so, the impact pushed him back a step.
They exchanged a flurry of blows, the dull thuds of fists against forearms echoing beneath the canopy. Each time Tang San attempted to catch his opponent with his signature precision, Xie Wuqing slipped just beyond reach, his silver eyes glinting faintly with strange light.
"Your movements…" Tang San muttered between strikes, "You weren't like this before."
"I've been training," Xie Wuqing replied simply, his calloused hands intercepting another strike with shocking accuracy.
Then Tang San changed rhythm. His footwork blurred, his body twisting in unorthodox angles, like flowing water.
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
It was a martial art Tang San had learned in his previous life. It enabled him to make sharp turns and execute nimble movements, giving him an upper hand in close-quarter combat. Xie Wuqing had never been able to see through his movements whenever he used this martial art.
Tang San swept low with a leg kick aimed to topple Xie Wuqing, one of his favourite moves against larger opponents.
But the black-haired boy saw it coming. His perception sharpened, the world slowing in his gaze. He hopped just above the sweep, twisted midair, and nearly landed a heel onto Tang San's shoulder.
Tang San barely managed to roll aside, his face breaking into a rare look of surprise. 'How? He read my movement?'
Both boys froze for a moment, breathing hard. Then, with a shared nod, they dove in again.
This time, the battle turned into a blur; Tang San's flawless combat instinct clashed against Xie Wuqing's uncanny foresight. Tang San's strikes always landed where they should, but his opponent dodged by the barest margin. Wuqing's counters always came a heartbeat earlier than expected, forcing Tang San to defend in ways he never had to before.
Finally, both launched forward at once—Tang San's fist driving toward Xie Wuqing's chest, while Xie Wuqing's palm shot for Tang San's jaw. The blows stopped an inch away, the sheer force of will behind them trembling in the air.
Both boys stood locked in place, their gazes meeting.
Then, at the same time, they dropped their arms.
"…A draw," Tang San said quietly, stepping back. His tone was calm, but his mind churned. 'How? Xie Wuqing was never this sharp. In just a few months, he's changed so much. His eyes… It's like he sees through me.
Xie Wuqing exhaled, rolling his shoulders as if the spar hadn't shaken him. "As I said, Xiao San. I'll be challenging you every day from now on."
Tang San nodded outwardly, but inside, unease stirred. He believed himself to be an unparalleled talent with twin Martial Souls as well as innately full spirit power...even his master had praised his genius, calling him the greatest prodigy in a thousand years.
However, the blue-haired boy felt small as he saw the retreating figure of Xie Wuqing. Not because the black-haired boy was two heads taller than him, but because something told him...this boy might become the most significant rival he had ever seen in his two lives.
The fingers of Tang San flexed as a metallic needle landed between his fingers before quickly disappearing into his sleeves.
'What am I thinking?'