The Hunt for the Heavily Modified No. 9 Beast

The atmosphere in the office instantly froze.

Yu Xiaogang's aging face was practically pressed against Cai Kun's forehead.

Having a greasy, bearded middle-aged man staring at him from so close made the hairs all over Cai Kun's body stand on end. He quietly took half a step back.

He was afraid the man would blurt out, "Come, let me have a look! How about becoming my disciple?"

If Gangzi latched onto him and took him as a disciple, he'd have to listen to Trash Gang's theories every day. How would he ever fly around all of Douluo... no, travel around it?

He had to find an excuse to shake Gangzi off, and fast.

"Grandmaster, don't be so jumpy. This ring came from a rather unusual source."

Cai Kun blinked and began spinning a lie without so much as a blush or a racing heartbeat:

"Last night, I got up to pee, and a senior in black suddenly appeared in the woods at the edge of the village. By my estimate, he should've been level 99, though he might've been level 90. Anyway, he was definitely strong."

"The senior was wrapped up from head to toe, with a black mask on his face. His voice sounded like he had a cold."

Yu Xiaogang's expression abruptly changed, turning serious.

"Level 99? Wearing a black mask? What did he want with you?"

"The senior saw that I had extraordinary bones and darkness between my brows, and that I was a one-in-a-million genius. So he gave me a fortuitous encounter while he was at it."

Cai Kun spread his hands and spun his nonsense with vivid detail:

"He gave me a matching mask and took me into a forest made of earth and iron in the blink of an eye."

"There was a monster lying in the forest. It was pitch-black all over, with no nose or eyes, and it had the limbs of other Soul Beasts on its body. The senior said it was called the Heavily Modified No. 9 Beast."

Yu Xiaogang was taken aback. His mind raced through Spirit Hall's illustrated records of Soul Beasts.

The Heavily Modified No. 9 Beast?

What remote forest had produced such a bizarre crossbreed?

"What happened next? What were that Soul Beast's characteristics? And how did the senior kill it?" Yu Xiaogang pressed eagerly, subconsciously placing both hands on the desk.

"The Soul Beast was lying next to a little tree by the road, gnawing on ore to replenish its energy. Its stomach was rumbling, too."

Cai Kun gestured with his fist, a serious look in his eyes:

"The senior didn't even reveal his Martial Soul. He just told me to watch from the side and went at it barehanded."

"The Heavily Modified No. 9 Beast let out a howl. Its cries were strange, kind of hypnotic and very rhythmic, but one of them sounded a lot like a human voice to me."

"What did it sound like?" Yu Xiaogang asked impatiently, trying to determine what type of Soul Beast it was from its cry.

"What are you doing... ow-"

"Huh?" Yu Xiaogang lowered his head and fell into thought.

How could a Hundred-Year Soul Beast possibly speak human words?

"The senior was ruthless and incredibly fast. He reached in and ripped the power core out of its body with a backhanded motion, then forced my hand down to make me deliver the finishing blow and tear off its power pipe."

"The moment the Soul Ring appeared, the senior made me sit cross-legged and absorb it on the spot. He said Soul Masters usually kept this kind of Soul Beast free-range, and since this one had been so well maintained, it definitely had an owner. Its cries must have been heard already, so we had to hurry."

"After he dropped me back at the village entrance, he took the core away. He said tossing it in the forest would do serious harm to the environment, and ordinary people couldn't deal with it, so he had to take it with him. The expert's last words were 'See you again,' and then he vanished in a whoosh, without even leaving his name."

(Heavily Modified No. 9 Beasts are usually accompanied by beast tamers. Please do not imitate.)

Silence fell over the office.

Tang San was utterly baffled. He hadn't slept at all last night, having spent the whole time outside cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, yet he hadn't heard a thing. Was the man really so powerful? He hadn't noticed anything at all.

Yu Xiaogang slowly straightened up and paced back and forth across the room with his hands behind his back, his expression shifting like the weather.

His face was masked, his head hidden but his tail showing. His strength was unfathomable, and he didn't even reveal his Martial Soul for fear of exposing himself...

Most importantly, he not only recognized this mutated Soul Beast, but had also come prepared, as though it had all been for this very moment!

This was no feat an ordinary Soul Master could accomplish.

Could he really be a level 99 Limit Douluo?!

Yu Xiaogang's heart jolted, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

Most of the Titled Douluo on the continent were elusive dragons whose heads were seen but never their tails, and their temperaments were strange and unlike those of ordinary people, let alone someone who might be a Limit Douluo. But why had he found Cai Kun on the very night he awakened his Martial Soul, and even prepared a suitable Soul Beast for him as a Soul Ring? It was as though everything had been calculated in advance.

Clearly, some reclusive expert at the pinnacle had long since set his sights on Cai Kun, this promising mutant with Innate Full Soul Power, and had even taken him as a disciple!

Snatch a Limit Douluo's disciple out from under him?

Even if Yu Xiaogang were lent ten times his courage, he wouldn't dare pull a tooth from a tiger's mouth.

One step too late... in the end, I was one step too late...

Yu Xiaogang let out a heart-rending sigh inwardly, the corners of his eyes twitching fiercely several times.

What a perfect test subject!

Unfortunately, the prize already had an owner. Forcing his way in would do him no good, and he might even find himself sent to another world by that mysterious expert one night.

He forced down the bitterness and frustration in his heart, stopped pacing, and gave Cai Kun an exceedingly complicated look.

"Since you have an expert to guide you, that is a stroke of good fortune."

Yu Xiaogang adjusted his collar with an air of profundity and forcibly swallowed the words he'd meant to say about taking a disciple.

Then his gaze slowly shifted to Tang San, who stood silently off to the side.

There was another one here!

The Trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, and Innate Full Soul Power.

A fervent flame reignited in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

He walked up to Tang San and picked up the Spirit Hall certificate, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He had long since decided what to say to get a hold on him.

"Tang San, right? Release your Martial Soul as well."

Tang San did as he was told and held out his right hand. A slender, delicate blade of blue grass swayed quietly in his palm.

"Blue Silver Grass, just as I thought."

Yu Xiaogang gave a cold laugh, his tone carrying the pride of one who saw through everything:

"According to the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul Mimicry that I have formulated, the amount of Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of the Martial Soul itself. Blue Silver Grass is a standard Trash Martial Soul..."

"Not to mention, you possess Innate Full Soul Power, a one-in-ten-thousand rarity!"

Tang San's heart jolted, and his left hand, hanging at his side, curled up instinctively.

Deep inside his sleeve, the little hammer Martial Soul was trembling faintly.

Yu Xiaogang looked down at Tang San, absolute certainty in his eyes, and spoke each word distinctly:

"So, there is only one truth."

"Besides this ordinary Blue Silver Grass, there must be another, exceptionally powerful Second Martial Soul hidden within you!"

"You have the exceedingly rare Twin Martial Souls!"

Boom!

The words struck Tang San's head like a clap of thunder.

He jerked his head up, his pupils contracting and a chill running down his back.

This was one of his deepest secrets, one that even his father, Tang Hao, had strictly forbidden him from revealing to anyone.

He had never told anyone else, much less had a third person know.

Yet this seemingly down-and-out, dispirited middle-aged man had seen straight through to his trump card with nothing more than a slip of paper!

A sweeping monk!

He was definitely a peerless expert living in seclusion at a rural academy!