"Master" Yu Xiaogang

Heaven Dou Empire, Nuoding City, Nuoding Academy.

In the corner room on the top floor of the dormitory building, a seven- or eight-year-old child sat quietly before an old wooden desk, intently flipping through a thick, battered book.

"The legendary God King Tang San will probably be arriving at the academy to enroll in the next few days."

Rustle.

The book before Xiao Xian turned another page.

His childish face was quite calm, utterly devoid of expression.

It had been seven years since he had transmigrated.

He had long since grown accustomed to this unfamiliar world.

Douluo Continent.

There was no dazzling magic here. There were only Martial Souls that had developed to their peak... or perhaps not quite their peak.

Once everyone reached the age of six, they could awaken a Martial Soul.

Some had wolves, some had tigers, some had grass, and some had hammers.

Grass and hammers, which manifested outside the body, were Tool Martial Souls.

Wolves, tigers, and the like fused with their owners' bodies and were Beast Martial Souls.

As long as one detected Soul Power upon awakening a Martial Soul, one could cultivate.

They could become one of the elite among the countless commoners of Douluo Continent.

Xiao Xian was impressive.

The Martial Soul he had awakened was a dog.

A dog that manifested outside his body, with long pale-purple fur.

When it appeared, it was half a meter long and half a meter wide.

By classification, Xiao Xian had awakened a Beast Martial Soul, yet it had not fused with his body. That alone showed how special it was.

His Soul Power was even more impressive.

A full half-level.

Such talent far surpassed one ten-thousandth of all Soul Masters on Douluo Continent. If ranked, he would certainly place among the top 99.999 percent.

By that logic, someone like him could be considered one in ten thousand.

"Although my talent is poor, everything is still proceeding according to plan. I'm just waiting for Tang San... to enroll."

Xiao Xian remained expressionless as he lightly raised his left hand from the tabletop.

A faint suction force emerged from his left palm.

Whoosh.

In the tightly shut room, a wind seemed to drift through the air from nowhere.

Rustle.

The battered book before Xiao Xian was tugged by the wind and actually flipped another page.

"..."

The battered book flipped several more pages in succession.

The sunlight by the window dimmed for a moment, then brightened again.

Xiao Xian raised his head and looked toward the door.

A moment later.

With a creak.

A middle-aged man of ordinary appearance, his hair parted three-seven and his demeanor somewhat dejected, pushed open the door.

Standing in the doorway, the first thing he noticed was the old book before Xiao Xian, which had already turned many pages.

There seemed to be a trace of gratification on his stiff face.

"Teacher." Xiao Xian closed the book, rose to his feet, and looked at the middle-aged man with the obedient expression of a seven-year-old child.

"Xiao Xian, sit down. Eat first. If there's anything you don't understand in the book, I'll explain it after we eat."

The middle-aged man pressed his right hand downward, stepped forward a few paces, took out two oil-paper parcels from his robes, and placed them on the table.

"Yes, thank you, Teacher." Xiao Xian pushed the book aside and opened one of the smaller oil-paper parcels. The familiar aroma of chicken legs wafted out.

Inside were two hot chicken legs and two steamed buns.

The middle-aged man was naturally the famous good-for-nothing of the Douluo world, "Master" Yu Xiaogang.

"Where's Xiao Jue?"

Master pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked.

Xiao Xian had already taken a bite of chicken leg, his mouth full of fragrant meat and juices, so he did not answer.

He merely pointed toward the door.

"Woof, woof!"

A sturdy creature covered in pale-purple fur squeezed in through the doorway at that moment, letting out eager, excited whines at Master.

"Eat, eat. Of course I brought some for you too."

Master picked up the other oil-paper parcel on the table and expertly opened it in a few motions. Inside were four chicken legs, along with two pieces of meat that resembled chicken breast, yet seemed somewhat different.

Master placed the chicken legs and meat onto a large white plate on the floor, wiped his hands, and sat down again.

His gaze naturally settled upon the pale-purple creature that was wolfing down its food.

It looked very much like a dog. It was nearly a meter long, and its waist was almost as wide. At first glance, one might even mistake it for a pig.

Yet despite its plumpness, it moved with great agility.

Its entire body was covered in pale-purple fur that nearly dragged along the ground. Its small ears drooped down, and there was a bulge atop its head. Its eyes were dark blue, with a somewhat fierce gaze.

Master's eyes remained fixed upon it.

There was a hint of emotion in his eyes, and even a trace of disbelief deep within them.

No.

Or rather.

Master's gaze was not fixed on it.

It was fixed on the Yellow Halo that gently floated around its body!

This Yellow Halo had another name on Douluo Continent.

A Spirit Ring.

It was a yellow Hundred-Year Spirit Ring!

After taking a few bites of chicken to satisfy his craving, Xiao Xian began chewing slowly.

The Purple-haired Big Dog on the floor, whose body looked like that of a pig, was naturally Xiao Xian's Martial Soul. Its name was Xiao Jue.

The Yellow Halo around its body was naturally Xiao Xian's First Spirit Ring.

At just over seven years old.

With the talent of Innate Half-Level Soul Power, he had successfully become a one-ring Battle Soul Master in only a year and a half.

As an orphan.

All of this was naturally thanks to Master.

Though Master himself was a good-for-nothing, his resources, connections, and even his status were absolutely top-tier.

To the current Xiao Xian, there was simply no Soul Master easier to fool and exploit than Master.

At the very least, without Master's money, Xiao Xian and Xiao Jue would not have had enough nutritious food to eat.

Without Master's medicinal formula from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he would not have been able to temper his body with a Medicinal Bath once a week.

Without Master's high-level Soul Power Meditation Method from who knew where, he could not have perfected Xiao Jue's Soul Power meditation route and allowed him to cultivate so quickly.

Without Master's theoretical knowledge of soul beasts from Spirit Hall and his clan, he could not have carefully selected this Spirit Ring and paved the way for his later plans.

Without Master's Spirit Hall token, he could not have entered the heavily guarded Soul Hunting Forest.

Without Master's friend, the forty-second-level Soul Ancestor who served as the Dean of Nuoding Academy, no matter how well he planned, he would not have obtained the Spirit Ring of this four-hundred-year-old Sunlight Blood Dragon Vine. A seven-year-old child would struggle even against an ordinary wolfhound, let alone a four-hundred-year-old soul beast.

Although this four-hundred-year Spirit Ring had caused Xiao Jue, who had finally slimmed down, to become fat again.

That price was clearly nothing compared to the growth in strength.

Master himself might have been utterly useless, but he gave far too much.

And there was something else, the most important thing of all: Master was about to take in another disciple.

Tang San.

"Teacher, I'm done eating." Xiao Xian wiped his mouth, tidied the table, and took out the old book beside him to open it again.

"Mm, good. Drink another cup of water and rest for a while. We'll begin shortly." Master was still staring blankly at the Spirit Ring around Xiao Jue.

"Then I'll read for a little longer."

Master finally withdrew his gaze from Xiao Jue's Spirit Ring.

His eyes fell upon Xiao Xian once more.

Even now, he found it difficult to imagine how six-year-old Xiao Xian had found him and persuaded him over a year ago.

Yet he could never forget that tiny figure, nor that childish yet resolute voice.

"We are the only Summoning System Soul Masters in the continent's thousands of years of history..."

"Since a Martial Soul can leave the body and possesses intelligence, why can't it cultivate on its own?"

"Ordinary people can only meditate for one night. Any longer, and they become mentally exhausted. But what about Martial Souls?"

"Does it use my mental power? If it does, then while it cultivates, I can sleep and rest. Wouldn't it be able to cultivate continuously?"

"If it doesn't, then if I cultivate while it cultivates too, wouldn't I gain double the cultivation speed?"

At first, Master had been somewhat dismissive of Xiao Xian's words. As usual, he had even been impatient and prepared to leave.

But the more he listened.

The more seriously he took it.

Until six-year-old Xiao Xian summoned his own Martial Soul and made it meditate on its own right before Master's eyes...

He was almost completely dumbfounded.