"Emm, so Shirou, you're saying your mother paid for you to go to school?"
Tang San raised an eyebrow at Shirou Emiya.
"Ahaha, looks like it," Shirou replied, scratching his head.
"Which dorm are you in?" Tang San continued.
"Uh, I think my wife arranged a regular dorm for me. I didn't need the part-time student quota," Shirou answered.
"Oh, I see. Well, good luck then," Tang San said casually before heading back to his dorm.
Shirou Emiya watched Tang San walk off after getting his answers and could only shrug helplessly as he returned to his own room.
To Tang San, Shirou Emiya was just... irrelevant.
After all, Shirou had nothing worth using, nothing that could benefit Tang San.
Originally, Tang San believed that with his Blue Silver Grass spirit and the additional Hammer spirit, his life was already set.
He never expected that, in a little soul master junior academy in Notting City, he'd meet a so-called "legendary" genius—Yu Xiaogang, a.k.a. the Master.
Tang San was instantly impressed, so much so that he declared:
"Once a master, always a father!"
That nearly moved Yu Xiaogang to tears.
From that day on, Tang San started calling him "Master" with heartfelt devotion.
But neither of them realized that someone had overheard it all—Tang Hao, Tang San's own father, hidden in the shadows.
He clearly heard Tang San say, "Once a master, always a husband."
...
"As for Shirou Emiya... with his family's wealth and support, he doesn't need me," Tang San thought.
He never intended to introduce Shirou to Yu Xiaogang.
Partly because he didn't believe Shirou could surpass him, but mostly because he feared what would happen if he did.
What if Yu Xiaogang's so-called "teachings" helped Shirou grow stronger?
(Not that the Master had any real ability to begin with.)
Truth be told, Yu Xiaogang only wanted to find a talented student so he could prove his worth to the world. After all, Douluo Continent favors bloodlines more than hard work.
The children of high-level soul masters are born stronger, and spirit inheritance gives the powerful even more power. Yu Xiaogang simply wanted to ride on someone else's success to build his own reputation.
If he truly had any skill, he wouldn't be wandering alone, unsupported by either the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect or Spirit Hall.
Despite being backed by a sect leader and even a saintess, Yu Xiaogang has achieved... nothing.
Even here, at this tiny junior soul master academy, he hasn't trained a single decent student.
And really, if he had just shared a bit of what he learned from Spirit Hall or the Tyrant Dragon Sect, he could have easily amazed everyone here. Kind of like someone who studied abroad for years suddenly showing up in a small village and speaking fluent English.
But what did Yu Xiaogang do?
Nothing.
Still, Tang San clung to him as if he were a god.
Just look at Tang San's behavior—when Yu Xiaogang first discovered that he had twin spirits, Tang San was ready to kill him.
But shortly afterward, he dropped to his knees and called him "Master" and "Father."
A few days later, Yu Xiaogang took Tang San to hunt spirit beasts. But because he was poorly prepared, a level 29 Grandmaster nearly died to a 400-year-old spirit beast.
Tang San saved them both using his hidden weapons.
But even then, instead of focusing on absorbing the spirit ring, Tang San was debating whether to kill Yu Xiaogang—because the Master had seen his hidden weapon technique...
Yeah, it was that ridiculous.
It's strange how so many fanfics just accept that Tang San would openly teach himself secret arts, master internal strength, and still call Yu Xiaogang his master.
As the saying goes: fish flock with fish, shrimp with shrimp, and flies with trash.
Despite being his only fellow villager at the academy, Tang San never interacted with Shirou Emiya again.
Why? Because Shirou had nothing to offer him.
Tang San had always been cold and practical. He only cared about people who could benefit him.
To the "pure and kind" Tang San, things like gratitude or loyalty meant nothing.
Even Old Jack—the village chief who practically raised Tang San and made sure he didn't starve—was ignored.
If not for Old Jack getting Tang San that work-study student spot, he'd never have entered the academy.
And yet, Tang San never visited him again...
He only returned to Holy Soul Village once, during his first holiday, and after seeing that his father was missing, never came back.
The next time Old Jack appeared? It was just to help with renaming the village to Divine Soul Village.
Meanwhile, Shirou Emiya lived very differently.
He didn't idolize anyone blindly or abandon the people who cared for him.
He often went home to visit his wife and younger sister. When Kiritsugu, his father, returned, he would train Shirou personally.
And when Shirou's soul power reached the required level, Kiritsugu even took him into the Soul Beast Forest to get his spirit ring.
That was the first time Shirou realized just how powerful his father really was.
As Illya grew up, Shirou went home more often.
He also made a lot of friends at the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy.
Always willing to help others—carrying bags, moving things, lending a hand—he quickly earned everyone's respect.
Nobody could dislike Shirou, who always smiled and looked out for others.
Even when disputes arose between work-study and regular students, they would call Shirou to help mediate. And most of the time, the conflict was peacefully resolved.
This annoyed Xiao Wu, who had hoped for a good fight.
But once Shirou tossed her a few carrots, even she nearly surrendered to him.
Read 15+ chapters ahead at
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(End of Chapter 12)