In less than half an hour, the entire town was abuzz. Miss Brooks (Cousin) Olivia Brooks had brought back a barbarian, claiming he was her fiancé, and he was now staying at the The Brooks Family. But this barbarian fiancé had only fused with a worthless, incomplete soul, and yet he still wanted to attend the elementary academy to listen to the teachers’ enlightenment—what a colossal joke. In the otherwise peaceful town, today’s entertainment came entirely from this laughingstock.

A worthless, incomplete soul—how could someone like that become Miss 烟’s fiancé? How dare he even try? Countless sons of the The Brooks Family who had long admired Olivia Brooks now looked like jars of vinegar whose beloved had been snatched away, each one burning with anger, itching for a chance to teach this clueless barbarian a lesson he’d never forget.

Chapter 4: Let Me Try

Inside William Carter’s empty room, Emily Brooks and William Carter sat on the floor. Here, no one would mock William Carter as a good-for-nothing, and the two could talk freely.

“I have important matters to attend to. I originally wanted you to start from the basics at the academy, but I didn’t think it through.” Emily Brooks apologized to William Carter with a serious face. “It seems I’ll have to explain things to you myself, as simply as I can.”

“Mm, that’s fine.” William Carter didn’t mind; he didn’t care who explained it to him.

“A primal soul is a special form of a beast’s soul after its death, and it can be upgraded according to the original type of beast.” Emily Brooks began her simple explanation. “If it can be upgraded once, it’s one-star; if it can be upgraded nine times, it’s nine-star. If it can’t be upgraded at all, like yours, it’s considered worthless. If it’s incomplete, then it’s called a remnant soul.”

“No wonder that teacher called me trash. Worthless and a remnant soul on top of that—just my luck.” William Carter joked about himself with a smile, but there was no trace of defeat on his face.

“The primal soul can naturally absorb spiritual energy from its surroundings. If you add the right cultivation method, the absorption rate increases greatly.” Emily Brooks ignored William Carter’s self-mockery and continued, “Each time the primal soul upgrades, it gains one to nine acupoints. The more acupoints, the faster the absorption of spiritual energy. So, a higher-level primal soul means greater potential in the future.”

“Got it!” William Carter nodded.

“However, the primal soul only represents aptitude and potential, not actual combat strength.” Emily Brooks knew William Carter preferred things simple, so she kept her explanation straightforward. “Different primal souls manifest differently, but everyone generally defines them by the number of upgrades. One upgrade is the first level, two upgrades is the second level, and so on.”

“Understood!” William Carter nodded again, then asked, “So, Miss 烟, what level are you at now? What about Uncle George?”

“I’m at the peak of the second level.” Emily Brooks answered frankly, not hiding anything. “Uncle George is at the mid-stage of the third level.”

Thinking of the fierce Uncle George who could punch an opponent’s head out along with half their spine, and realizing he was only at the mid-stage of the third level, William Carter couldn’t help but feel a chill. Based on Emily Brooks’s level, William Carter’s new abilities allowed him to keenly deduce Uncle George’s opponent’s level, but to end up like that after just one punch—it was truly terrifying.

“Will the remnant soul last forever?” William Carter still didn’t fully understand the concept and asked again.

“A remnant soul isn’t actually a big problem.” Emily Brooks answered seriously, “There are certain pills—Nourishing Pills, Foundation Pills, and so on—that can repair a remnant soul, strengthen your foundation, and turn it into a normal primal soul. Even if your primal soul is the weakest, with enough pills, it can be restored. Your real problem is the worthless grade.”

This time, Emily Brooks didn’t wait for William Carter to ask about the consequences of being worthless; she continued directly: “You just experienced it. You’ll be seen as trash by everyone. No status, no future, no prospects. Almost everyone will look down on you, pity you, or even treat you cruelly. Some shops won’t even let you in, afraid you’ll dirty their floors. Even the children at the academy will see you as trash—a disgrace!”

“Hiding it is useless, unless you never live among people for the rest of your life. Otherwise, they’ll use a soul mirror to check your primal soul and its grade. Almost every high-end shop will use this method. Don’t refuse, because they use your primal soul and grade to decide what level of goods you’re allowed to buy.”

For some reason, Emily Brooks listed all the possible misfortunes she could think of for someone with a worthless primal soul, just to see how William Carter, who had shown no sign of disappointment so far, would react. William Carter was so calm that even Emily Brooks felt it was not the passionate response a young man should have.

“Even if I killed Grace Dawson, it’d be the same?” To Emily Brooks’s surprise, William Carter showed no disappointment or frustration, not even a change in expression, as if it was no big deal. His tone was as calm as ever, as still as a dead lake.

“Even if you killed Grace Dawson, it’d be the same!” Emily Brooks shook her head. “You can’t prove yourself to everyone. Besides me and Uncle George, who would believe you?”