Tang San's First Iconic Scene

Gathering more data was one aspect; his own insights were another.

After all, no Soul Scholar would possess the physical strength of a Soul Ancestor at Level 20, along with the spiritual strength ordinarily found only in Soul Douluo or even Titled Douluo.

There was another question on his mind.

If the age limit of every ring depended on the three elements of Essence, Qi, and Spirit...

Then was his current physical strength already the upper limit for his second ring's age?

His spiritual power needed no further mention. Even by future standards, it was at least at the Soul Sage level.

But physical strength at the Soul Ancestor level during the Soul Scholar stage was definitely not the limit.

Soul Power Level did indeed restrict the age of soul rings, but if he continued strengthening his body—or worked on the Soul Power Level stuck at a bottleneck, something no one had considered for countless years—could the true optimal age limit be raised further?

You Chen was very curious!

Therefore, before obtaining a final answer, he had no intention of having Little You Chen absorb his second ring.

Training his body while researching the maximum ages for Little You Chen's second and third rings was the assignment You Chen had set for himself.

Still, the reason he agreed to Xiao Wu's invitation now was less because of that and more because he wanted to relax after researching for so long.

"Teacher said that cultivation requires a proper balance between tension and relaxation, work and rest."

You Chen calmly said to Xiao Wu, "I've been cultivating for so long. It's about time I went out and got some fresh air."

But inwardly, he thought, That old bastard Tang San has finally arrived.

You Chen did not remember Tang San's exact enrollment date clearly. He only remembered that Tang San belonged to one of the later groups and arrived around the time school officially began.

Thus, over these final days, You Chen had specifically arranged for people to keep watch near the city gates. The moment they spotted someone matching his description, they were to notify him.

If Yu Xiaogang made a special appearance to demonstrate his teachings to someone, he was to be informed immediately.

Huh? Subordinates? When had You Chen arranged subordinates?

The answer was: from the very beginning.

When he had planned to transfer to Notting City and gradually distance himself from Spirit Hall, You Chen had consciously stationed personnel here.

Within this tiny Notting City were five "Beast Envoys" from the Soul Arena Beasts organization who specialized in intelligence and logistical work.

Beast Envoys differed from the Beast Soldiers, the backbone fighters of the Soul Arena Beasts. Because their talents or Martial Soul traits made them ill-suited for combat, they were specifically responsible for intelligence and logistics.

When they had to be summoned directly, they would also simply be called "envoys" to avoid unnecessary trouble.

There was no clear hierarchy among Beast Envoys. If one had to name a true leader, it would be You Chen's head maid, Ge Ruisi.

You Chen could not maintain that flawless Self-Transformed Soul Skill—Starlight Avatar—fine enough to deceive most people for long periods.

However, Self-Transformed Soul Skills were actually Self-Created Soul Skills evolved from soul ring abilities. Their advantage was that their output could be adjusted according to the Soul Scholar's needs.

At minimum consumption, You Chen could split his focus and maintain it for several hours. That was more than enough for a messenger medium to receive intelligence.

At this moment, You Chen had received word that Yu Xiaogang had appeared specifically before an old man and a young boy from the countryside, forcibly demanding that the gatekeeper apologize to them. Only then had he chosen to head out.

However, he did not deliberately walk quickly. Instead, he calculated the timing and made his way toward the designated location step by step.

"Hey, You Xing, didn't you say you were coming out to stroll around with me? Where are you going?"

"A stroll? If we're going out, shouldn't we leave the academy and head into Notting City proper? As far as I remember, I haven't taken a wrong turn."

You Chen casually humored the lively Xiao Wu as they headed toward the academy's main gate.

As though some invisible force were influencing everything—or perhaps it was merely coincidence—the path they walked suddenly fell silent.

There was no one in sight. Not a single other figure could be seen.

Even Xiao Wu, who loved bustle and excitement, shivered without realizing it.

You Chen's gaze deepened as he pondered silently. At last, after passing through the academy's main gate, they reached the first stone path.

There, he saw a dark-skinned boy in plain clothes kneeling on both knees before a scruffy middle-aged man.

Though this was clearly a main road bustling with traffic, at this very moment, aside from the four people present, there was not another soul in sight.

It had not seemed like much while reading the novel, but upon actually arriving at the scene, something felt off no matter how he looked at it.

After all, at most one or two minutes before they arrived, Yu Xiaogang had practically revealed Tang San's secret of possessing Twin Martial Souls in broad daylight, right in the middle of a busy place...

He had not even bothered finding somewhere slightly secluded. He had said it right on the path to the Academic Affairs Office!

If a teacher happened to pass by, they would definitely have heard every word!

As for students... most were only Soul Scholars at best, perhaps Soul Masters. Yu Xiaogang had not deliberately raised his voice, so unless they came close, they would not have heard clearly.

That was also why You Chen was not worried about being suspected of overhearing something he should not have.

Xiao Wu did not know the truth. Seeing the boy kneel, she nearly cried out, but hurriedly covered her mouth after realizing what she was doing. She looked at You Chen in alarm and muttered, "You Xing, we didn't stumble into some orphan collecting a debt, did we?"

In that instant, Xiao Wu had already imagined ten thousand words' worth of plot.

The main reason was that this world had no tradition of kneeling when taking a master.

In Xiao Wu's eyes, either the middle-aged man had coerced the plainly dressed boy, or the two were some gambling-addict relative and tragic child, with the boy there to collect a debt.

Well, Yu Xiaogang's scruffy appearance combined with the scene made it hard not to get the wrong idea.

That was right. At this moment, it was the iconic scene where Tang San was stunned by Yu Xiaogang's flaw-riddled knowledge, immediately offered his knees, and decided to become his disciple!

"Hey!"

However, an inharmonious voice suddenly rang out during what should have been the "noble and sacred apprenticeship scene of the future God King."

Xiao Wu, who hated evil and had an impulsive nature, could not stand seeing Yu Xiaogang "obviously" "bullying" Tang San. With a flying kick, she kicked straight at Yu Xiaogang's head.

At that moment, both Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had eyes only for each other, leaving no room for anything else. Caught completely off guard, neither reacted in time. Yu Xiaogang was struck squarely in the face, screaming as he flew back some distance before crashing to the ground.

"Teacher!!!"

Seeing his teacher cry out in pain, Tang San's eyes immediately split with rage. He glared viciously at the somewhat bewildered girl.

The equally bewildered You Chen silently wiped away a bead of sweat.

Even You Chen had not expected that stupid rabbit to suddenly lose her mind. After hesitating for a second, he ultimately chose not to expose his strength and intervene.

Fortunately, judging by the situation, Tang San should have already successfully completed his apprenticeship.

Yes... he had not come to stop Tang San from taking Yu Xiaogang as his master.

Even though Yu Xiaogang's knowledge, backed by his clan and Spirit Hall, was indeed useful to Tang San.

In comparison, however, he did Tang San more harm than good!

If something unusual happened and Yu Xiaogang failed to take Tang San as his disciple, You Chen had even planned to secretly lend a hand! But judging from the current situation, the timeline had not changed, sparing You Chen the need to expend further effort.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was, in essence, Blue Silver Grass that concealed the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline.

Developed normally, rather than following some idiotic poisonous-grass control path, after absorbing three rings, it would reveal some signs of its bloodline. It would not be inferior to a high-quality Blue Silver King Martial Soul.

Not to mention the famous later saying, "Yao Lao exists in the Endless Flame Territory, but Yu Xiaogang is nowhere to be seen in the Divine Realm." Tang San's changing attitude could be seen simply from how he obeyed Yu Xiaogang unquestioningly in the early days and respected him even more than his own father, only to insist on his own views in several later matters where he disagreed with Yu Xiaogang.

It was not that he had failed to realize Yu Xiaogang was mistaken in many of his views and theories. Rather, he bore deeply ingrained feudal moral teachings, believing that once he accepted a master, he had to remain loyal to him for life and respect his master as he would a father.