Nuoding Academy — Dean's Office Corridor
As Bai Mu walked over, voices drifted out from inside the office.
"Dean, Little San has successfully reached Rank 20. He now needs a second spirit ring to break through the bottleneck. According to my theory, the maximum endurance for a second spirit ring is 764 years. I'll need your help this time to hunt a Spirit Beast!"
The speaker was Yu Xiaogang.
His tone carried seven parts confidence, two parts pride, and one part pleading.
"Rank 20 already? As expected of someone with innate full spirit power—and as expected of your disciple, Xiaogang."
The Nuoding Dean chuckled warmly. "Since you're asking, of course there's no problem. I'm free these next few days anyway. I'll take you to the Spirit Hunting Forest myself."
"Thank you, Dean," Tang San said respectfully.
Knock, knock, knock.
Bai Mu lightly knocked on the door. When the three inside looked over, he immediately smiled politely.
"Dean, could you take me along as well? I also need to hunt a spirit ring."
"Oh?" The Nuoding Dean looked surprised. "Bai Mu, you've reached Rank 10?"
He naturally remembered this child—the one with an external spirit who had refused Xiaogang's guidance.
"But… if I remember correctly, your innate spirit power was only Rank 1?"
"Yes," Bai Mu shrugged helplessly. "If it weren't just Rank 1, I'd have hit Rank 10 a long time ago."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Yu Xiaogang stared at him in disbelief, trying to find any trace of deception on Bai Mu's face.
"Innate spirit power Rank 1, cultivating for only three years—how could you possibly reach Rank 10?
Under normal circumstances, someone with Rank 1 innate spirit power wouldn't reach Rank 10 until they were eleven or twelve!"
His own innate spirit power had been only 0.5. Even with sect resources, his cultivation speed shouldn't have been slower than someone with Rank 1.
Yet because Luo San Pao was so weak, it had taken him a full eight years to reach Rank 10.
Both of them had external spirits—so why was Bai Mu cultivating so much faster?
"So what?" Bai Mu grinned. "Are geniuses like Little San and Xiao Wu, with innate full spirit power, the only ones allowed to exist? Are acquired geniuses like me not allowed?"
"That's different! Gaining nine levels in three years is reasonable for innate full spirit power—but you're only Rank 1!"
Yu Xiaogang's expression kept shifting.
If Bai Mu was an acquired genius, then what did that make him, the so-called Spirit Master theorist?
Both acquired geniuses—but only Bai Mu cultivated this fast. How was that reasonable?
"Different?"
Bai Mu smiled and looked at Tang San, who had been silently observing.
"Tang San, what do you think?"
"Bai Mu is very diligent," Tang San said calmly. "And his talent isn't actually bad."
Though slightly uncomfortable seeing his teacher upset, Tang San didn't speak carelessly.
Unlike the Grandmaster, Tang San possessed the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and he had lived in the same dormitory as Bai Mu for three years. He knew far more than others.
He had seen Bai Mu's spirit perform Synthesis, and he also knew Bai Mu had developed a unique cultivation method based on it.
Although that method was nowhere near as refined as the Mysterious Heaven Skill, with enough effort, gaining nine levels in three years wasn't impossible.
"Haha… Since you've just reached Rank 10, let's go spirit hunting together then."
The Nuoding Dean laughed, breaking the tension. "We're already helping Tang San hunt his second spirit ring—adding one more won't be any trouble, right, Xiaogang?"
Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth as if to argue, but in the end, he said nothing and merely nodded, his expression still unpleasant.
"By the way, Bai Mu," the Dean added kindly, "have you decided what type of Spirit Beast you're looking for?"
"Release your spirit and let us take a look. We can help determine what suits you best."
Unlike Tang San, who had already been molded by Xiaogang's teachings, Bai Mu was still unshaped—a rare talent. With innate Rank 1 spirit power, he could even become a living example for the academy.
"Dean, I want a healing-type spirit ability," Bai Mu said. "So I'm looking for a Spirit Beast with strong self-healing or recovery abilities."
"Zygarde, come out!"
He waved his hand, and a ball of green light flew to the ground.
"Woof~"
Amid a flash of light, Zygarde appeared, letting out a low growl as it stood proudly beside Bai Mu.
Its sharp gaze swept over the group, releasing a faint but unmistakable pressure.
"Hm?"
"This is—"
"How is this possible?!"
Everyone stared in shock.
The last time they had seen it, Bai Mu's spirit had been a harmless little slug.
How had it turned into a majestic hound?
"Bai Mu… did your spirit evolve?" Tang San asked, genuinely confused.
A bug evolving into a dog made no sense. If anything, it should have turned into a snake.
"Mm-hmm. Surprised?" Bai Mu grinned smugly. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"
Tang San replied honestly, "I didn't."
"That's good," Bai Mu said proudly. "Because neither did I!"
He continued with a straight face, clearly improvising. "When I reached Rank 10, it suddenly evolved. It happened so fast I didn't even have time to stop it."
As he spoke, he rubbed Zygarde's head and sighed dramatically.
"If I could do it again, I'd definitely stop it from evolving."
"Let it stay innocent… soft… and cute."
"Unfortunately…"
"..."
Tang San: Speechless.
"Excellent! Excellent!" The Nuoding Dean burst into laughter. "Just this appearance alone shows extraordinary combat potential!"
He was visibly delighted.
Only Yu Xiaogang stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, his lips pale and trembling.
"Impossible… this can't be…"
He had examined Bai Mu's spirit before and found nothing unusual aside from its glow.
Yet now, after this so-called evolution, he clearly felt a familiar dragon pressure.
This wasn't an ordinary hound—it was clearly a dragon-blooded hound spirit!
"Impossible!" Yu Xiaogang suddenly raised his head, staring at Bai Mu.
"You must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter! You ate a Heaven-and-Earth Treasure, didn't you?!
That's why your spirit evolved—and why your cultivation speed skyrocketed!"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes," Bai Mu replied lazily, rolling his eyes.
"Everything you say is correct."
"Grandmaster, it's not what I said about you," he continued calmly.
"If the person isn't capable, don't blame the path for being uneven."
"There are no useless spirits—only useless Spirit Masters."
He clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his chin proudly.
"We've reached where we are today entirely through our own efforts."
"Woof!"
Zygarde cooperated perfectly, letting out a confident growl.
"You—!"
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red. Hearing his own famous quote thrown back at him made his cheeks burn.
He took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his anger. After a moment, his eyes flickered as he spoke again:
"Since you're so diligent—and your spirit has evolved—why don't you spar with Little San?"
"It'll help you gain combat experience, and it'll also allow us to judge what age-range spirit ring suits you."
"What do you think?"
His intention was obvious.
Let his genius disciple—with innate full spirit power and twin spirits—teach Bai Mu a lesson, make him recognize reality.
Ideally, he could subdue Bai Mu and then take him in as a disciple.
Before the evolution, Bai Mu hadn't even been worthy of consideration.
After the evolution… he barely qualified.
Bai Mu immediately saw through him.
Yet instead of refusing, he smiled and nodded.
"Of course. I also want to see just how big the gap between Tang San and me really is."
Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang. Seeing his teacher nod slightly, he spoke as well:
"Please enlighten me."
The Nuoding Dean stroked his beard cheerfully.
"Good. It's always beneficial for young people to spar more."
"Let's head to the training ground."