Rebirth: Supreme Soul Master

"Were you with Berry last night?" Lang seemed a little skeptical of Guan Ning's words, but still asked to confirm.

“Yes,” William himself admitted, contrary to Guan Ning’s expectations.

"See? I told you, hahaha!" Guan Ning laughed heartily, as if he had won the lottery.

“I was right next to Miss last night. She came in and saved me from that apprentice.” William pretended not to recognize Guan Ning and returned the gesture with another finger.

"You..." Guan Ning almost lost his composure, but managed to control himself at the last moment. After all, he was notorious in the academy for his brutality and viciousness, a notorious bully of those of lower status. So, his movement of a finger was merely to confirm William's words.

In his eyes, William's words were digging his own grave.

As for Lang, he didn't seem surprised by what he heard. He recognized William as a porter at a glance from his simple white clothes.

In Lang's view, this was exactly Guan Ning's typical approach. And William's words were consistent with the kind-heartedness of his family, Berry.

"And then what happened?" Lang didn't change his questioning tone, but William noticed a slight pause before he spoke.

“She was furious, just like the disciple who gave her dirty nicknames and humiliated her in front of his people.” William didn’t lower his finger, nor did he even take his gaze off Guan Ning.

"Do you want to die? Brother Lang, don't believe this nonsense!" If Guan Ning could barely control himself before, he was even less able to this time. Just as he was about to take a step forward, Lang intervened.

“Keep it simple, Brother Guan Ning,” Lang said in a disrespectful tone, “before I do anything to him, I must hear everything this boy knows.”

He paused deliberately, then added calmly and domineeringly, "You know, this matter is related to my family."

Guan Ning glared at Lang's handsome face before finally leaving. Lang had only given Guan Ning a veiled warning not to anger the important witness before him, and Guan Ning ultimately had no choice but to agree.

Guan Ning might be brave in front of someone like William, but when facing someone like Lang, he knows his limits. He's just a coward, a cunning Soul Master, a disgrace in the eyes of both Lang and William.

A true Soul Master should tend to face difficulties and challenges head-on rather than run away or resort to despicable means to achieve their goals.

William snorted inwardly as he watched Guan Ning walk away with a gloomy expression.

"You asked for this, don't blame me for being dishonest!"

"Hmph! As if I didn't know he was talking about us behind our backs with his sharp tongue." After Guan Ning withdrew, Lang finally revealed his true colors.

William was just a porter, someone Lang would never take seriously. His expression was a mixture of anger and contempt. Just as William had expected, the two had a long-standing feud.

“Never mind him, but do you know what really happened to Berry?” Lang’s expression softened slightly. Seeing the strange look on William’s face, he added:

“Berry is known for her kind heart; she doesn’t like seeing anyone being mistreated. Just ignore him; he seems to have been holding a grudge against you since last night.”

"Thank you for your understanding, young master." William cupped his hands in thanks, a tradition of gratitude among Soul Masters. "However, Miss, she left after helping me and headed into the depths of the forest."

Even if William is moved by Lang's kindness, he would never be foolish enough to betray himself and reveal the truth.

“Oh,” Lang’s face flashed with disappointment, but he quickly regained his composure. “Sorry to bother you. If I need a mover this week, I’ll come to you. What’s your name?”

William knew that Lang was trying to buy his silence on the matter with this empty promise. After all, if Berry's ordeal were widely publicized, many people might think they were fools.

Even if someone like Guan Ning knew about Berry's ordeal, the clan wanted to control the spread of the news. The Academy hoped the same, otherwise, malicious individuals might further muddy the waters.

"Thank you for your generosity, young master. My name is William."

"Okay, see you later."

William breathed a deep sigh of relief after Lang and his entourage left. In fact, his little lie had a minor flaw, but fortunately Lang didn't notice anything amiss.

If what he said is true, then he is considered the last person to have seen Berry before what happened to her. If Lang had thought more deeply and taken this matter more seriously than before, he would have seen through it and brought William with him to the family for questioning.

Fortunately, William's identity as a porter provided him with the best cover. No one would suspect that a porter would do anything to a Soul Master. Thus, William easily got rid of the problem without encountering too much trouble.

“I need to leave the academy as soon as possible.” He knew Lang might be a bit careless. If the other higher-ups in the family heard this story, they would notice this flaw.

William hadn't expected Berry to remain in this state. At that moment, he was glad he hadn't stayed with her.

William wasn't worried that his little lie would be discovered. Once Berry woke up, she would stand up for him. He was worried that his little lie would be exposed before Berry woke up. Her family would be frantic and might do anything to uncover the truth.

He was only worried about Guan Ning. That cunning soul master seemed to be holding a grudge.

This time it was luck, but William didn't want to rely on luck in the long run. If he waited here for more than a day, Guan Ning might find an excuse to cause him trouble. So he decided to take a day to finish everything he needed to do here, and then leave without looking back.

When he returned to the market, he found it even more bustling, filled with disciples and masters from the academy. He headed straight for the merchant he had met that morning.

"Young Master, how did you get here so fast?" The merchant recognized him immediately, while looking at the empty space behind William with a hint of disappointment.

“I want to buy more,” William said, walking into the stall and sitting in an empty corner. The merchant followed him.

"What do you need?" the merchant asked, his face drooling.

“I want Homer clay, scarlet vitality ore, a hundred candles, and a powerful bow,” William stated what he wanted.

“The hostage clay and scarlet vitality ore are abundant here, but the bow…” The merchant paused, a struggling expression on his face.

William knew this merchant specialized in materials such as crystals, cores, and ores, not weapons. But being a merchant, he naturally knew who could sell the best weapons here.

“Buy it, plus your fee,” William said leisurely. “I need a bow that costs no more than a thousand crystals, a good bow, not just a toy.” He added with a serious expression.

If he wanted, he could look at the stalls that specialize in selling weapons. But he would waste more time and might not even get what he wanted within the same price range.

“Then leave it to me,” the businessman said with a smile. After all, his fee would bring him more profit. “How many kilograms do you need for the other two items?”

"How much is it per kilogram?" William didn't answer directly, but added, "Don't play those little games with me, I hate it when people waste my time."

Homo clay is a fairly common material in the world. It is found near large riverbeds and has little use in alchemy.

Therefore, its price was quite low. From William's previous memory, he recalled that the price per kilogram would not exceed ten crystals.

As for Crimson Vitality Ore, it is found in the world's most widely distributed mountain ranges. Like clay, this ore has few uses, primarily limited to decoration.

The ore is rhomboid in shape and bright red in color, hence its name Scarlet. Soul Masters have tried to use it for forging, but it explodes violently whenever it is smashed or exposed to high temperatures or soul power.

Without smelting and forging, how can it be used for forging? Therefore, it becomes useless and is only used for aesthetic purposes.

But in William's hands, anything useless becomes extremely valuable.