Lin Ziyi glanced at Babitt in confusion, but Babitt merely grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth:
"This humble one was able to win money entirely because Miss Lingling won that soul battle with such ease and grace.
"Consider this extra money a small token of my respect for Miss Lingling."
Since Babitt had put it that way, Lin Ziyi did not refuse.
After all, the other man had made money without lifting a finger. No matter how he looked at it, there was no loss involved.
Stuffing the crystal card into Tushan Lingling's ample cleavage, Lin Ziyi finally rose to his feet and extended his hand toward Xiao Pu:
"Then many thanks for Your Highness's gift."
Seeing the young man take the initiative to shake his hand, Xiao Pu was overjoyed and hurriedly grasped his sturdy palm:
"Mr. Lin is too polite! You have earned all of this.
"By the way, I have ordered a table full of fine dishes at the royal restaurant tonight. Would you be willing to honor me with your presence?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ziyi, whose homebody tendencies from his previous life were maxed out, refused without hesitation.
In his previous life, he had hated attending crowded gatherings of all kinds, especially with people he did not know well.
What he hated most was toasting every relative and elder at the dinner table. Since he disliked drinking culture, he found it endlessly troublesome...
Seeing Lin Ziyi refuse, Xiao Pu looked disappointed, but he still escorted the three of them to the door:
"In that case, I shall invite you again when there is another opportunity, Mr. Lin."
Lin Ziyi waved his hand and left directly under Xiao Pu's watchful gaze.
Only after the three young people disappeared at the stairway did Xiao Pu turn around and look at Yu Xiaogang, who was still sitting calmly on the sofa as though no one else were present:
"Master, greetings. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Prince Kundela Xiao Pu of the Balak Kingdom."
Yu Xiaogang closed his notebook, rose, and bowed to Xiao Pu:
"Yu Xiaogang greets His Highness the Prince. I never expected Your Highness to recognize Yu Xiaogang. I am truly overwhelmed."
Xiao Pu supported his shoulder and smiled warmly:
"To be ashamed, I did not know at first that you had also come to watch the soul battles, Master.
"Although several people had placed bets on that Tushan Lingling, only three had wagered more than ten Gold Soul Coins.
"Other than the two who just left, I was also curious about the third person, so I thought I would come and meet him.
"Who would have thought it would be the renowned Master of the soul master world!"
"Renowned?" A lonely, bitter smile appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. "I am merely a useless man with an undeserved reputation."
"Ah, Master, how can you say that? Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.
"Is that not exactly what it means when people say every profession has its specialty?
"I have read your 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls.'
"I have tested many of the theories that were convenient to verify, and quite a few proved successful!
"In my opinion, you are absolutely the wisest soul master on this continent!"
Yu Xiaogang waved his hand:
"You need not flatter me like this. I know very well what sort of person I am... Did you come looking for me because you have something to discuss?"
Xiao Pu took the remaining crystal card from Nuotian De and handed it to Yu Xiaogang.
"I was simply curious how you could tell that the alluring Miss Tushan Lingling would defeat Ye Zhiyuan.
"Could it be that you saw her strength?"
Yu Xiaogang glanced at Nuotian De beside him. "Is this something that can be discussed in front of others?"
Xiao Pu smiled and patted Nuotian De on the shoulder. "Rest assured, he is not an outsider. Please speak freely."
At Xiao Pu's gesture, Yu Xiaogang sat back down on the sofa.
Yet his fingers unconsciously rubbed the notebook in his hand, as though recalling something terrifying:
"Actually, I entered the Great Soul Arena before those three.
"But when I saw them, my martial soul actually radiated a trace of fear!
"You should have heard that my martial soul is a corporeal martial soul, so it possesses emotions that ordinary martial souls rarely have.
"Even when I previously met a Soul Douluo, my martial soul, Luo Sanpao, had never shown such emotions.
"Yet when it saw those three, it displayed such a bizarre reaction...
"Out of curiosity, I followed them up to the third floor and secretly observed them while standing in the neighboring line.
"When I heard that they intended to challenge Ye Zhiyuan, who had already achieved more than a hundred consecutive victories here,
"and that the two men had each wagered several hundred Gold Soul Coins, I knew they had come prepared.
"That woman named Tushan Lingling was undoubtedly the source of Luo Sanpao's fear!
"Yet I could not sense even the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power from her...
"Such powerful control over one's Soul Power was absolutely not something a low-level soul master could achieve!
"Coupled with her absolute confidence in defeating Ye Zhiyuan, a terrifying conjecture immediately arose in my mind...
"That conjecture ultimately made me decide to take a gamble, so I went to another window and placed a bet on Tushan Lingling.
"The facts proved that my guess was correct.
"When I saw that seemingly intense but actually one-sided battle in the arena, I knew I had not been wrong.
"That woman had to be a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse!!"
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Applause filled with approval immediately rang out in the room.
Xiao Pu praised with a smile, "I knew the title of Master was by no means undeserved!
"You guessed correctly. That Tushan Lingling truly is a Titled Douluo!"
Upon hearing this, surprise and confusion immediately appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face:
"You knew she was a Titled Douluo? Then why did you not expose their cheating in public?"
As soon as he asked this question, Yu Xiaogang thought of the answer himself:
"I understand. You believed that offending a Titled Douluo was far more frightening than the Great Soul Arena losing this money!
"And you could also use this opportunity to build a closer relationship with a powerful and rare Titled Douluo..."
Xiao Pu nodded cheerfully:
"It really is easier speaking with a smart person. But now, it seems the results of my efforts to win them over have not been very good..."
Yu Xiaogang pursed his slightly dry lips and slowly let out a breath:
"To win someone over to the greatest extent, you must know what they truly desire in their heart.
"Only then can you cater to their preferences and prescribe the right remedy!"
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's advice, joy immediately appeared on Xiao Pu's face, and he hurriedly thanked him:
"Many thanks for your guidance, Master!"
Yu Xiaogang lightly waved his hand. "Other than this matter, His Highness the Prince should have something else to say, correct?"
Xiao Pu curled his lips:
"Nothing can be hidden from Master... I also wanted to ask where Master is currently employed.
"If you do not have a suitable position, why not come work for me? I will certainly give you treatment at least equal to that of a National Teacher!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang did not look particularly surprised, clearly having long guessed the other man's intentions.
However, he shook his head and declined tactfully. "I am truly sorry, Your Highness the Prince.
"In fact, I took in a disciple with exceptional talent a few years ago!
"This time, I came to the Balak Kingdom in order to verify some of my theoretical knowledge.
"After all, as you know, my own strength is not powerful enough, while my disciple has already surpassed me.
"If I cannot continue improving my knowledge, I truly will have nothing left to teach him.
"As for my visit to the Great Soul Arena this time, my original intention was merely to observe battles between soul masters.
"The Balak Kingdom is the kingdom with the strongest military power along the empire's border.
"The soul masters here also possess more of a martial and military spirit than soul masters elsewhere, and they are more skilled at combat and killing!
"Observing their combat characteristics can give me many valuable insights!"
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