Take Me as Your Master, Five Hundred Gold Soul Coins a Month

Outside the little courtyard, a buzz-cut head peeked in.

"Grandmaster! Please, come in."

Father Li and Yu Xiaogang were considered friends. Li Yan had once asked his father how he had met the Grandmaster, and Father Li had been helpless about it. They had merely run into each other by chance, yet Yu Xiaogang had actually had the nerve to follow him back to the academy and mooch off it.

Father Li knew Yu Xiaogang came from no ordinary background. He couldn't drive him away, nor did he dare use force, so he had no choice but to let him freeload at the academy for years.

"Dean Li, I came today mainly because of your son. I heard he awakened the same Luo Sanpao Martial Soul as mine."

"Have you given any thought to your son's future, Dean?"

Yu Xiaogang rubbed his hands, his eyes fixed on the Hundred-Year Soul Beast meat on the table.

Ever since coming to this little place, without the support of family or friends, he hadn't eaten meat from a Soul Beast over a hundred years old in many years.

Li Yan rolled his eyes and dumped all the remaining meat out for the two Luo Sanpaos. The Grandmaster watched, inwardly crying out at the waste.

Martial Souls had no physical bodies, so it was a waste to feed them. This boy would never amount to much.

"What advice do you have for us, Grandmaster?"

Father Li remained polite.

"Why not have him take me as his master? I'll teach him theory. After all, I'm known across the continent as a theory grandmaster."

"Even if your son can't inherit all my learning in the future, it won't be hard for him to become a theory grandmaster renowned throughout the region."

"Once he has taken me as his master, you need only give me five hundred Gold Soul Coins a month, and I, the Grandmaster, will teach him everything I know."

Li Yan understood. The Grandmaster only set his sights on geniuses of all kinds, and clearly, he didn't consider Li Yan one of them. He had set his sights on him only to use him as a consumable.

His abacus was clacking up a storm.

Father Li also saw through the scheme. So this bullshit Grandmaster wanted to make his family into a bunch of suckers.

Five hundred Gold Soul Coins a month. He really had the nerve to ask.

"There's no need. My son is slow-witted and dislikes studying. I'm afraid he would tarnish your illustrious reputation, Grandmaster."

"Please leave, Grandmaster."

Father Li swore this was the last time he would be civil to Yu Xiaogang. If this buzz-cut guy dared insult his son as trash again, he would definitely have a way to die!

"Dean Li, I came here in good faith today. After all, you wouldn't want your son to become good-for-nothing trash in the future, would you?"

Father Li flew into a rage and immediately used Martial Soul Possession. Three Soul Rings, one white, one yellow and one purple, pulsed beneath his feet, and the presence of a high-level Soul Elder rushed straight at Yu Xiaogang's face.

"Dean Li, what are you doing? You're a man of culture. Don't resort to violence."

Yu Xiaogang swallowed. As a level 29 Soul Grandmaster, he was no match for Dean Li and his Golden-Thread Snake Martial Soul in a real fight.

The Golden-Thread Snake was a fairly good Martial Soul among mid-grade ones. The golden threads on its body gave it a considerable boost in strength, so Father Li had taken the Power Attack System path.

Broad and thick-waisted, he looked like someone best not provoked.

"A man of culture? I, Li Gang, made my way in the Soul Master World by risking my life. Man of culture, my ass! I can't even read all my characters."

Li Yan gave him a thumbs-up. That was his dad, all right.

"Time and again, you've insulted my son as trash and repeatedly provoked me. Do you really think I don't dare turn against you?"

"I'm doing this for your son's own good! How can you turn on me like this?"

Li Gang laughed in anger and kicked Yu Xiaogang to the ground.

"Get lost! Our family's affairs are none of your business!"

He followed up with several more kicks, sending Yu Xiaogang and his purple-skinned Sanpao out together.

"Now we can have some peace and quiet. How did Yu Xiaogang have the nerve to come here? Son, let's pay him no mind."

Li Yan nodded. Yu Xiaogang was a mere clown hopping about; the more attention one paid him, the more worked up he got.

"I know. I don't believe someone who fishes for fame and praise like him. He doesn't even have a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, so how could he know what the view is like at the top of the Soul Master World?"

"For all we know, he stole those theories from someone else."

The family stopped talking about Yu Xiaogang, and Li Yan turned the subject to himself.

"I think I can break through to level seven Soul Power in three days at most."

Li Gang's face lit up. His son had awakened his Martial Soul only half a month ago, and he was already about to break through?

My son Li Yan has the makings of a titled expert!

"Dad, I'd like you to collect something for me in Nuoding City."

Li Yan had thought of Whale Rubber. It was everywhere in Douluo I, and there was no reason to pass up a bargain lying there for the taking.

"Just name it. Your dad can still get things done in Nuoding City."

"Even City Lord Xiao is only a level 41 Soul Ancestor. He has to give me some face."

Li Yan nodded. At the very least, on this little patch of ground that was Nuoding City, his father still had quite a say.

"I'd like some Whale Rubber. It doesn't need to be too old; a hundred years will do."

"What? Son, you can't go asking for that! You just said you wanted to work hard at cultivating your Soul Power, and now you're turning around and throwing yourself into the arms of pleasure."

Li Yan had known he couldn't escape this scene. Every transmigrator was questioned before getting Whale Rubber.

"It's not what you think. I'm just doing an experiment. If it succeeds, I'll be able to strengthen my body quickly. It's useful for my cultivation."

Li Gang was skeptical. In all his years, he had never heard of Whale Rubber being able to help with cultivation.

Still, if his son wanted it, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"All right. Dad will go inside and get you some."

Li Gang went inside and rummaged through his things. Before long, he came out carrying an iron box.

Under Li Yan's curious gaze, Li Gang took out a piece of Whale Rubber roughly three hundred years old.

"Dad, how come you have..."

"I picked it up, picked it up. Take it and go cultivate."

Li Gang's weathered face reddened, and he waved Li Yan off, telling him to hurry and cultivate.

Li Yan gave a long "Oh," then took the two Sanpaos into his room.

Once inside, he held the blackish Whale Rubber and found himself at a loss.

"According to the original story, Whale Rubber needs to be melted to a certain point at a high temperature. It only works when a strange phenomenon appears."

"There isn't a single fire-attribute Soul Master in the family. Do I have to ask someone else for help?"

Li Yan dismissed the thought. An innocent man became guilty by carrying a treasure; revealing what this thing could do when he lacked the strength to protect it would only bring about his own destruction.

Just as Li Yan was considering setting up a big pot in the courtyard and trying the simplest method, the Luo Sanpao by his feet nudged his foot.

"You mean you want to eat it directly?"

Luo Sanpao went "Luo, luo" twice.

Li Yan tentatively broke off a small piece and offered it to the golden Luo Sanpao.

Luo Sanpao swallowed it in one gulp, and it passed down the esophagus into the stomach.

"It seems... it really works. Luo Sanpao really can absorb the power inside the Whale Rubber."

Li Yan carefully sensed the changes in his body. When Luo Sanpao grew stronger, he would receive feedback.

The small piece of hundred-year Whale Rubber made Luo Sanpao a little stronger, and Li Yan received feedback as well.

"If that's the case, I can save myself a lot of trouble."

Li Yan divided the remaining hundred-year Whale Rubber evenly into two pieces and fed one to each Luo Sanpao.

After swallowing the Whale Rubber, each piece half the size of a fist, the Luo Sanpaos soon began to change.

Their originally loose fat had actually grown a little firmer. This was a genuine increase in physical strength.