Wang Sheng paused, deep in thought, before answering, "At our academy, soul masters with weapon martial souls are rare compared to those with beast martial souls, especially powerful ones like swords or blades. Across all of Nuoding Academy, only the dean has a war blade martial soul. Oh, and I heard the new vice has a sword martial soul too, though I'm not sure if that's true."
Ning Tian nodded. He'd seen Zhu Qing's sword martial soul with his own eyes.
"Do you know where I could borrow some money?" Ning Tian asked. Beyond learning swordsmanship, he had pressing needs to address. After all, Old Tom wasn't exactly swimming in riches.
"No one's going to lend money to work-study students like us," Wang Sheng replied. "Unless you go to a casino. But borrowing there? It's like signing your life away. They deal in high-interest loans, sometimes the interest is several times the principal. If you can't pay on time, they'll snatch you up and sell you as a slave. Not even the academy teachers can save you."
Wang Sheng's voice trembled slightly, as if he'd witnessed such a fate firsthand.
"I see," Ning Tian murmured, lost in thought. His mind churned, calculating how to squeeze the most profit out of this. With someone else to take the fall, what did he have to fear?
....
Meanwhile, at the Nuoding Academy infirmary, Tang San had regained consciousness.
He had no idea what had happened. One moment, it felt like someone had punched him out of nowhere, the next, he was out cold. When he awoke, his entire body ached.
Though the cause eluded him, there was a silver lining. In the infirmary, he reunited with Yu Xiaogang, who had been injured by the dean of education. Awed by the man's 'profound' knowledge, Tang San took him as his master.
"So, it was Ning Tian who touched the vice dean's butt?" Yu Xiaogang asked, piecing together the story from Tang San.
Of course, they had no clue about the system's interference. They simply assumed that, with the two kids and the powerless old folks ruled out, Yu Xiaogang being the closest man to the vice dean—had taken the blame by mistake.
Tang San nodded. Then Yu Xiaogang added, "It seems that the boy's heart isn't exactly pure."
"Master, don't worry. I'll make sure justice is served," Tang San declared, a glint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. Before, he and Yu Xiaogang had no ties, so it didn't matter much. But now, as master and disciple, it was different. A day as a teacher meant a lifetime as a father and Ning Tian's scheme against his master was a death sentence in Tang San's book.
Yu Xiaogang, assuming Tang San wanted to clear his name, shook his head with a wry smile. "No need. Even if you explain, no one will believe you. It might just piss off the vice dean even more. Besides, this isn't the first time the world misunderstood me, nor will it be the last. In this dog eat dog world, strength is all that matters. Little San, I hope you never forget that."
"I won't, Master," Tang San replied, hanging on his teacher's every word.
Just then, a clear, crisp voice rang out from the doorway. "Is this the infirmary?"
A petite girl with a scorpion braid stood there. She looked about six years old, slightly taller than Tang San, with a fair, rosy face that glowed like a ripe peach. Despite some bruises, her beauty was striking enough to make anyone want to take a bite.
Tang San's gaze locked onto her, his eyes widening.
...…..
While Tang San met Xiao Wu, Ning Tian had slipped into his blue student uniform and made his way to Nuoding City's largest underground casino: the Dali Casino.
Students from primary soul master academies were hot commodities in places like this. They fetched top prices on the market.
So, the casino's boss, a notorious figure in Nuoding City's underworld known as 'Dao Ge' (Brother Knife), greeted Ning Tian personally.
"You want to borrow 100,000 gold soul coins?" Dao Ge asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's right. 100,000 gold soul coins," Ning Tian confirmed.
"That's no small sum. What do you have for collateral?"
Ning Tian flashed a goofy grin, playing the fool. "Dao Ge, I'm desperate for cash. The Master at Nuoding Academy said if I don't cough up 100,000 in tuition, he won't take me as his disciple."
"Oh, that Master," Dao Ge sneered. As a local kingpin, he knew all about Yu Xiaogang, a talentless braggart with an ego bigger than his head.
'To think he'd demand 100,000 gold soul coins just to avoid taking this kid as a disciple. Talk about making life difficult.'
But that suited Dao Ge just fine. If the Master hadn't pushed the kid, how else would he have stumbled into their clutches? With his fair skin and soul master potential, he'd fetch a fortune at auction—sold off to some noblewoman as a slave.
Following the motto of 'scam as many as you can,' Dao Ge put on a troubled look. "You can't borrow 100,000 gold soul coins."
"Why not?" Ning Tian pressed.
He'd already decided to dump the consequences on Tang San, so the more he borrowed, the worse the fallout would be. Why was Dao Ge holding back?
Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, Dao Ge lectured the boy. "You said it yourself, you are just a student at Nuoding academy. We checked your innate soul power when you walked in—Level 5. We've got a price per level here, so you can only borrow 5,000. But don't worry, that so-called Master won't really expect 100,000 from you. Five thousand is plenty."
"Five thousand isn't enough, Dao Ge! Come on, you've got to lend me more!" Ning Tian pleaded.
Dao Ge hesitated, then relented. "Fine. For your teacher's sake, I'll toss in another 5,000. That's 10,000."
He opened a desk drawer, revealing stacks of gold cards labeled 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000. He pulled out a 10,000 gold soul coin card and slid it over.
"I won't say more. Just repay it on time."
But 10,000 wasn't enough for Ning Tian.
"Dao Ge, hear me out. I'll sign a contract to sell myself if I have to. Just lend me more. I want to buy my teacher a storage soul tool. With 10,000 gold soul coins and a storage soul tool, I'm sure the Master will take me as his disciple."
'A contract to sell himself?' Dao Ge's eyes gleamed. His original plan was to lend the money, then collect the debt. If the kid couldn't pay, he'd sell him off anyway.
But there'd be hurdles. The dean and teachers at Nuoding Academy weren't pushovers, after all.
"Alright," Dao Ge said, feigning generosity. "Since you're so devoted, this storage soul tool ring can hold a decent amount. I'll do a good deed today and let you have it for a discount, 90,000 gold soul coins."
He opened another drawer and pulled out a black gemstone ring. In reality, it wasn't worth 90,000 or even 9,000. It was the cheapest storage soul tool around, with just one cubic meter of space.
....................................................................................................
p@treon/DUKE3500 for advance chapters and multiple updates daily for 2$. :)