Chapter 8: The Heavenly Cauldron

  A faint sound suddenly echoed throughout the entire library, and the few people in the library rushed out. Zong Yin knew that this was the official start of the new student's opening ceremony, so he didn't stay any longer and quickly hurried to the square where the giant tripod was placed.

  When Zong Yin felt it, all the new and old lives had almost arrived. The old lives were on both sides of the bronze cauldron, with at least over 8,000 people in sight. All the new lives gathered in front of the bronze cauldron, about 3,000 people.

  Zong Yiren stood quietly at the back of the crowd, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

  Before long, a sturdy-looking big man appeared under the copper cauldron. Although it was far away, Zong Yin could still see that the muscles on the surface of the big man were full of hideous scars, as if countless centipedes were crawling on his flesh. Under his left eye, there was also a striking emerald green tattoo, which added to his wild and unruly demeanor.

  "No need to waste words, here the one with the biggest fist is the truth, and I am the one with the biggest fist in Ding Sheng! From today on, I am the boss of Ding Sheng! My name is Li Bu Yi! If anyone has any opinions, as long as you can knock me down, then what you say goes! Now, those who have opinions, step forward!"

  The whole scene was dead silent, and both freshmen and seniors were stunned. The opening ceremony of the new semester shouldn't be like this!

  Zong Yin's eyes twitched violently, what kind of principal is this! The leader of the bandits! Even if you don't set an example for others, at least look a bit kind, but the Li in front of him looked like a complete thug, which was far from his original idea of an old man being a principal.

  After the half-time, Li Bu saw that no one stood up, let out a loud snort, and continued with an arrogant expression: "Since no one has come forward, I declare the start of the New Student Selection Ceremony!"

  Zong Yin's eyebrows rose, and he noticed the difference in what Li Bu Xiang had just said. "New Life Selection Ceremony"? What does selection mean? Is it going to eliminate some people?

  Similarly perplexed were nearly 10,000 new and old students present at the scene, who had never heard of such a selection before.

  "His fists are the largest? He's not afraid of the wind blowing his tongue, Teacher, you pass the position to him and look at his proud appearance now! After the grand ceremony ends, I'll properly humiliate him! Let me see how much progress my senior brother has made in the past two years!"

  A stunningly beautiful woman stood under the shade of a distant tree, her face painted with colorful hues. She wore only a few pieces of simple animal hide clothing made from leopard fur, making it impossible not to notice her alluring figure, which was even more enticing against the backdrop of the leopard skin. However, the two gleaming daggers at her waist and the three bone-made short spears on her back told the world that this was a rose with thorns, not someone anyone could touch.

  This person is Li Buqi's junior sister apprentice. Her name is Jasmine.

  "Hehe, now you're no match for him. I'm not even sure if I would win against him myself. There's a reason why I let him take my place."

  An elderly man with a kind face and eyes, hanging his head low as if he would fall asleep at any moment, chuckled and said. The old man was the master of Jasmine and Li Buzuo, also the principal of the previous Soul Academy, Ye Feng.

  Jasmine disdainfully pursed her lips, just about to say that she had also made great progress in her skills over the past two years of training abroad, but was left speechless by Li's next move.

  Li Bu Xiang ignored the crowd's doubts, turned around and kicked the bronze cauldron behind him with one foot. The bronze cauldron instantly emitted a muffled sound, quickly shrinking and transforming into a palm-sized miniature bronze cauldron standing in Li Bu Xiang's hand.

  "What I've said is the rule. From this generation on, all new students will be divided into two groups. Those with light in their bodies stand to the left and those without light stand to the right!"

  In the midst of everyone's astonished gaze, the bronze tripod emitted a soft glow and automatically floated into mid-air. The mouth of the tripod slightly tilted, and countless rays of light poured out, as if they were small insects burrowing into each newly-born body. A moment later, countless brilliant lights radiated from the bodies of the newborns, and several thousand people shone with light for several days, creating an extremely spectacular scene.

  "What's going on?! What is this thing?! Why am I different from everyone else?!"

  Zong Yin looked at his body with a puzzled expression, watching the people around him. Everyone's light was constant, but his own light flickered uncertainly.

  "An ancient soul power stimulates your soul, the stronger the soul, the brighter the light emitted after stimulation."

  Hun Yu's voice was somewhat strange, as if she was enduring something, and said very briefly.

  "Is my soul strength not higher than this dead fat man?"

  Zong Yinhuan's face suddenly turned sour, because the light on his body was flashing, but at its brightest, it was still far from being as dazzling as that of a fat man who had been indulging in food and drink.

  "You don't know the saying 'the bird that sticks its head out gets shot'? I helped you suppress it, but this surge of soul energy is stimulating not just your soul, but mine too! If it really shines brightly, everyone's eyes around us will be blinded! Shut up! Don't bother me! This surge of soul energy may be weak, but it's too pure! It's hard to suppress!"

  Hun Yu's voice carried a hint of exasperation, clearly the endless questions from Zong Yin had driven him somewhat crazy, and after speaking he wholeheartedly threw himself into suppressing the anomaly triggered by the copper cauldron.

  "Those with light stand on the left! Those without light stand on the right!"

  Everyone was still amazed at why they could glow, Li Bu Xiang had already become somewhat impatient and loudly shouted.

  The crowd did not dare to hesitate and spontaneously divided into two parts.

  At this moment, the light on Zong Yin's body flashed and stabilized at a level similar to that of the dead fat man. Although the flash only lasted for a fraction of a second, the people around him still felt dizzy and shook their heads as they walked back to their respective camps.

  "Those with light stand in order of strength, the brighter ones stand further forward!"

  Li Bu Xiang gazed at the nearly six hundred people, all of whom emitted a radiant aura, and his heart suddenly leapt with joy. He had never imagined that there would be so many people qualified to become Soul Masters or higher.

  The Heaven-Connecting Cauldron in his hand was not an ordinary object, it had already formed its initial instrument soul. Since it was unearthed from the underground ruins, no one had been able to tame it, and it had always been placed on the square of Ding Sheng as a symbol. He had also tamed the Heaven-Connecting Cauldron with great difficulty under the coincidence of opportunities. The power of the Heaven-Connecting Cauldron was astonishing, and its functions were numerous. One of its abilities was to inspect the strength of a person's soul, to see if he had the potential to become a Soul Master or above.

  Although potential does not equal certainty, it is a great opportunity nonetheless. At the very least, there are six hundred Soul Masters with potential here, how can Li Rou not be excited?

  It seems that everyone else also understands that the brighter the light, the more benefits it represents, so the students standing in the front row all have a hint of pride and pride on their faces.

  Zong Yin's position was neither in the front nor at the back, but roughly in the middle, leaning forward a bit. His expression was strange as he stared at the few people standing in the very front, thinking to himself that if his soul strength were to be truly tested, what kind of state would he end up in.

  All the newborns stood still, Li Bu shouted softly, and the suspended Tian Ding in mid-air was immediately leveled. The faint glow slowly floated back into the mouth of the cauldron from the bodies of the newborns.

  "Having come and still wanting to leave? Leave me behind!"

  Hun Yu's voice was tinged with a hint of annoyance, and immediately Zong Yin felt that the faint light that had entered his body earlier was about to burst out from his soul. However, the countless locks that were originally binding his soul suddenly rattled, forcibly locking that faint light within his soul as well.

  That little fluorescence struggled for a while, as if it knew it couldn't break free, and then calmed down and stopped moving. As the fluorescence quieted down, the light around Zong Yin also gradually dissipated, and the crowd of hundreds didn't notice that a bit of fluorescence was missing.

  "Hmph, I didn't think that the soul chain left behind by that dark shadow would actually be of great help to me."

  Hun Yu's voice was slightly weak and whispered softly, then fell silent again. Zong Yin was already accustomed to Hun Yu's occasional disappearance and didn't think much of it, focusing his attention on the bronze tripod in Li Bu's hands.

  A moment later, the Tongtian Ding returned to Li Bu's hand. With a casual wave of his hand, the Tongtian Ding restored its original size and heavily smashed onto the ground behind him, causing the entire square to tremble, completely unimaginable from the small copper ding before.

  "Alright! People on the left enter Wen Ke, people on the right enter Wu Ke. Now, people on the right have the privilege to choose whether or not to enter Wen Ke, but people on the left do not have this privilege. First of all, I must tell you that if you want to change your fate, entering Wu Ke is the most correct choice!"

  Li did not shout, but his eyes shone with a sharp light as he stared at the more than 600 people on his right side, and said in a tone full of overbearing arrogance.

  Undoubtedly, everyone present was very clear about what Li Bu's "change of fate" meant. The originally desperate crowd seemed to have seen a glimmer of light in the darkness, and a spark of hope had been ignited in their hearts. However, whether this glimmer of light was a beacon of hope or a fatal lure remained unknown.

  No one gave up, the more than 600 people on the right stood firm in their original position, even if the final outcome was still the same. For that firefly-like hope, they were all willing to fight! Just for that simple reason, to live on, to be free.

  "Why should I enter the liberal arts department? I came to Ding Sheng Xun School voluntarily! My father is a cabinet member! I am a legitimate descendant! I demand to enter the military department!"

  Although they didn't know the difference between Wen Ke and Wu Ke, everyone realized that there must be a huge gap between them. A tall and thin disciple on the left side loudly raised an objection.

  His expression was full of arrogance, as if he had great confidence in himself. Li Bu would definitely agree to his terms.

  But he didn't expect that as soon as his words fell, a flower appeared in front of him, and Li Bu Shao had already appeared in front of him, punching him flying out.

  "Laozi said, here Laozi's fist is the biggest, you want to enter Wu Ke? Can, beat me down."

  Li's mouth hooked up in a cold smile, paired with the dark green tattoo on his face, looked extremely wild and unruly.