Xai Ji perspective:

"You're telling me that your spirt ring won't work?"

Xai ji said, his hand firmly rubbing his eyebrows as he sighed in indignation.

The young boy he had so much hopes in had just woken up and came to see him, but the news expected wasn't what he heard.

Having seen the boy, Xai Ji was ecstatic! Young Xan, had somehow raised his cultivation to the precipice of soul rank 20. An advancement in such speed was unheard of and yet his spirt ring didn't work.

This child with so much potential, a child who could easily break the record and become the youngest spirit grandmaster, now couldn't use his first spirit ring.

The worst part was that Xai ji knew why this had happened. He thought if he had been sterner, this could have been avoided.

The darned attributes of the spirit beast didn't match the kids, and even though he had tried to dissuade Xan, the child had been incessant. He had hoped there was a reason for young Xan's behaviour, but clearly it was due to him still being immature.

Sighing to himself, he was thankful it wasn't all bad. There were records of many spirit masters who had absorbed uncomplimenting spirit rings and had crippled their cultivation and growth.

Thankfully, the boy had still reached rank 20 and the fact that it was a 1st spirit ring wouldn't mean much later on, but still Xai ji didn't know how it would affect the boy's cultivation in the future.

Hopefully, this shock would make the boy more alert and obedient in such matters from now on.

It could be seen in a positive light in some regards, as having hardships or a setback earlier worked wonders in correcting a soul master's mindset for the future. The worry on the child's face only further proved this.

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"Ha, very well, don't worry about it and just focus on consolidating the new spirit energy. Let me know if anything changes in the future".

The boy bowed as usual and left the room, the worry still etched on his face.

"Ha, a child is still a child".

With that, Xai ji focused back on his work, his disappointment evident.

Xander perspective:

Being in front of the vastly stronger cultivator and lying was a jarring experience. Quite frankly, the worry Xander had displayed was truthfully, but the source was in him being found out.

All in all, the disappointment Xander saw from the Dean only cemented that his ploy had worked.

Xander plan wasn't too complicated. He would simply say that his spirit ring didn't work and the nature of the tree spirit beast should be evidence.

After all, what reason would he have to lie to the Dean?

Hopefully, he could use this narrative and build on it in the future, but he was still unsure about the intricacies of that plan.

It would all depend on when or what came from the egg. Supporting the egg meant he could absorb another spirit ring anyway, so Xander wasn't really bothered.

Moving back to his dorm, Xander found that the hall like room was now beginning to fill with its residents. A few of the kids seeing him began to move his way.

"Hey, I heard you went with the Dean. So cool"

"What happened? You were unconscious for so long?".

Of course, one of the kids was Li, who eagerly pressed up against Xander displaying his worry but also his curiosity.

Xander pushed the personal space invader away, before pushing through the small grouping heading towards his bed.

The kids, being the kids they were and fuelled with inhuman levels of energy, were unbothered by his actions and moved with him.

Xander knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate with these kids mulling about and so spent the rest of the day explaining his journey and the difficulties he had overcome to the crowd of children hoping the drop of information siding more on a monologue of knowledge than actually story would dissuade the children.

And, as always, when it came to these beasts, he was wrong.

'Damnit, that infuriating noise was better than this'.

Despite Xander woes in front of the unrelenting children, he continued his epilogue whilst being barraged with questions. Hopefully, they would get tired and retreat to their own beds. Hopefully….