Boss Xiao waved his hand, and one of his underlings stepped forward, checked on Liu Long, and reported, "Liu Long is fine. His soul power has just been sealed, and he's unconscious."
Boss Xiao nodded, his expression somewhat gloomy.
"I only sealed his soul power. It will automatically be released in a day," Gu Chen said with a chuckle.
"Ling Feng, you're up!" Boss Xiao commanded. A senior student with a small frame, small nose, and small eyes stepped forward.
Ling Feng was an agility-type Soul Master. Seeing that Gu Chen had such terrifying power with a seemingly casual strike, Boss Xiao assumed he was a strength-type Battle Soul Master. Since agility-types counter strength-types, he sent Ling Feng to fight.
"You better release your Martial Soul, or you won't be able to defeat me!" Ling Feng warned.
Gu Chen simply shook his head. "No need."
Ling Feng, like Liu Long before him, felt belittled and his expression turned cold. He charged at Gu Chen.
His movements were incredibly agile. Just as he seemed about to reach Gu Chen from the front, he suddenly flipped midair, appearing behind Gu Chen. Both arms swung out, aiming at the sides of Gu Chen's neck.
But at that very moment, Gu Chen thrust his elbow backward, slamming it into Ling Feng's nose. Blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.
The 900 points of spiritual power Gu Chen had gained from completing System Task B weren't for nothing. The moment Ling Feng moved behind him, Gu Chen had already sensed his position!
With a swift turn, he delivered a sidekick. Ling Feng's body shot out like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the group of senior students.
Boss Xiao murmured, "Damn… Is the world turning upside down? Are first-year students this strong nowadays?"
"Next!" Gu Chen said coldly, though for some reason, it felt like he was showing off.
Wang Sheng, who had been beaten up by Boss Xiao countless times before, finally got his revenge. He grinned and said, "Well, Boss Xiao, do you admit defeat now? Our Boss Gu didn't even use his soul power! I think you guys should just surrender and save yourselves some pain."
Boss Xiao's face darkened as he stepped forward. Losing two matches in a row, he had no choice but to fight himself. He knew that, aside from himself, no one else on his side was stronger than Ling Feng. If he couldn't turn the situation around, the remaining duels wouldn't even be worth fighting.
The only way to restore his reputation as the academy's boss was to defeat this kid with overwhelming force and then take down Xiao Wu.
Boss Xiao's expression was grim as he stared at Gu Chen. The arrogance and disdain on his face had vanished, replaced by seriousness.
"Xiao Chenyu, sixth-year student. Martial Soul: Wolf. Rank 11, One-Ring Battle Soul Master."
Announcing one's Martial Soul and level was a form of respect between Soul Masters. Unless one wanted to make a permanent enemy, it was customary to reciprocate when the opponent revealed their details.
Gu Chen had learned this from the original story.
Seeing this, Gu Chen activated his Golden Dragon King's possession. Layers of golden dragon scales covered his body, leaving only his face exposed.
A massive illusory Golden Dragon loomed behind him, radiating a terrifying dragon's might that made Xiao Chenyu, whose Beast Martial Soul was of a lower tier, struggle to breathe.
At the same time, a deep purple Millennium Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath Gu Chen's feet, floating above his head.
"Gu Chen, first-year student. Martial Soul: Golden Dragon. Rank 13, One-Ring Battle Soul Master."
"A Millennium Soul Ring?!"
Not only was Xiao Chenyu shocked, but even Wang Sheng and the others—excluding Xiao Wu—were stunned.
Perched on a tree branch not far away, Tang San, who had been watching the fight, couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. He leapt down from the tree and quickly approached Gu Chen.
"Boss Gu, how did you obtain a Millennium Soul Ring? This exceeds the limit that Teacher mentioned! Even I almost failed to absorb a mere Hundred-Year Soul Ring!"
Tang San had suffered immense pain just to absorb a hundred-year Mandala Snake's soul ring. He couldn't fathom how Gu Chen had endured the pain of fusing with a Millennium Soul Ring.
"We'll talk about that later," Gu Chen nodded to Tang San before turning to Xiao Chenyu. "Still want to fight?"
Xiao Chenyu now knew that Gu Chen was no ordinary student. He immediately admitted defeat, "No… no fight! From now on, you're the boss of Nuoding Academy!"
He turned around and commanded, "Everyone, greet Boss Gu!"
A group of senior students bowed to Gu Chen, but he didn't care and waved them off.
Then, Gu Chen turned to Tang San and said, "The soul ring limit that your teacher mentioned is indeed the limit for ordinary Soul Masters. But have you ever considered that the upper limit for absorbing a soul ring depends on a Soul Master's physical constitution?"
"Ah…" Tang San was stunned. Gu Chen's words seemed to open a brand-new door for him. He was deeply shaken.
"If you train your body properly during this period, and if you have medicinal herbs or natural treasures to assist you, then when you reach Rank 20, you might be able to absorb a Millennium Soul Ring," Gu Chen patted Tang San's shoulder encouragingly.
Tang San thought for a moment before asking, "What about you? You're also six years old. You couldn't have started body training in the womb, right? How can you absorb a THousand Soul Ring? From the deep purple color, yours must be at least eight thousand years old! Only a Soul Ancestor could withstand that!"
Gu Chen simply chuckled. "My Martial Soul is the ancestor of strength, the Golden Dragon. Ever since my Martial Soul awakened, I've had an extraordinary physique. Your Martial Soul, however, is just a plant-type Martial Soul—Blue Silver Grass."
Although Gu Chen knew that Tang San's true Martial Soul was the Blue Silver Emperor, he didn't reveal it outright.
Tang San suddenly realized something. He took a step back and bowed to Gu Chen. "Thank you!"
Gu Chen wasn't his teacher, yet he had shared such crucial knowledge. He couldn't think of any other way to express his gratitude.
Gu Chen casually waved him off. "No big deal. Go back and train."
Tang San didn't return to the dormitory with them. Instead, he went to the Martial Soul Hall to register as a Soul Master.
…
After becoming the boss of Nuoding Academy, Gu Chen handed all work-study student tasks to Xiao Chenyu's group. He spent his days either attending theoretical classes or training in the dormitory, enjoying a leisurely life.
His only source of amusement was occasionally teasing Gu Yue Na. Her every smile left him momentarily dazed.
Even though he had read the original novel, the academy's theoretical lessons were still beneficial to him.
A school year passed, and Gu Chen reached Rank 19, while Gu Yue Na reached Rank 18.
"Xiao Wu, Boss Gu, Sister Na'er, tomorrow is the start of our vacation. Are you going home?" Tang San asked while packing his belongings.
Gu Chen was silent for a moment before replying, "No, the three of us will probably stay at the academy."
Tang San was surprised. "It's been a year. Don't you want to go home and visit?"
Go home?
Gu Chen hesitated. His home from his past life… What had happened to it after he disappeared? Had his family grieved for him?
At that moment, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "Xiao San, your house isn't far from the academy, right? How about I go with you?"
Wait… Is this meeting the parents?
Tang San chuckled, already understanding Xiao Wu's personality. "My house is really poor. There's nothing fancy to entertain you."
Xiao Wu crossed her arms and pouted. "You're super frugal with your allowance. Don't tell me you can't afford to host me!"
Tang San smirked. "Speaking of allowances, you still owe Sister Na'er six silver soul coins, don't you?" He glanced at Gu Yue Na, who was nibbling on bread nearby.
"It's just six silver soul coins! So, are you letting me come or not?"
Tang San smiled. "If you want to come, you can. But my dad has a bad temper."
He then turned to Gu Chen and Gu Yue Na. "Boss Gu, Sister Na'er, why don't you come too? Staying in the dorms might be lonely."
Gu Chen wanted to say, With Gu Yue Na around, how could I be lonely?
But faced with Tang San's invitation, he couldn't refuse. He nodded. "Sure."
Gu Yue Na swallowed her bite of bread and said simply, "I'll go wherever Brother goes."
(End of Chapter)