My Surname Is Zhang, the Arrogant Zhang [Happy New Year] [Please Collect]

"Oh? Invincible?" Hearing this, Master became even more interested in Zhang Yang's First Soul Skill.

Although children had limited knowledge and narrow horizons, if he dared call it "Invincible," then this First Soul Skill must have had something extraordinary about it.

First Soul Skill, Elementalization!

The First Soul Ring beneath Zhang Yang's feet suddenly flashed, and his entire body seemed to flicker with yellow light along with it.

Master froze when he heard the skill's name. "Elementalization? Strange. How could an Iron Horned Bull Soul Beast provide a soul master with such an odd ability? Could it be related to Zhang Yang's Mutated Beast Martial Soul?"

However, since he had yet to see the skill's actual effect, Master did not immediately ask any questions. He merely watched quietly as Zhang Yang continued his demonstration.

After the yellow light faded, Zhang Yang smiled and extended his hand toward Master. "Teacher, may I borrow your dagger?"

After taking Master's dagger, Zhang Yang gave him a warning in advance. "Teacher, no matter what you see next, please don't be surprised. Everything is under my control."

Master laughed. "Heh, you brat. What haven't I seen in my life? Do you really think a First Soul Skill could scare me?"

"Then watch closely, Teacher." With an amused smile on his face, Zhang Yang flipped his wrist, turned the dagger inward, and thrust it straight into his own heart.

Zhang Yang's movement was incredibly fierce. The entire one-foot-two-inch dagger plunged into his body, its tip even piercing through his chest and emerging from his back.

"What?" Master's heart skipped a beat at the sight. He instinctively reached out and grabbed Zhang Yang's arm, trying to stop him from driving the dagger any deeper.

But what use was there in stopping him now? The dagger had already gone in hilt-deep; it could not possibly be driven any farther.

With a dagger lodged in his chest, Zhang Yang remained completely calm. He patted Master's hand reassuringly with his other hand and smiled. "Teacher, aren't I fine?"

"This..." Master stared at Zhang Yang, who looked like some kind of monster, and said in astonishment, "This is your First Soul Skill, Elementalization?"

"Yes, Teacher. Keep watching." Zhang Yang nodded, then pressed the dagger downward with his right hand. He dragged it sideways from his chest down to his abdomen, and then...

Master watched speechlessly as Zhang Yang controlled the dagger embedded in his body and drew a figure eight across his torso. No wonder Zhang Yang calls this skill [Invincible]. Anyone else would probably have died eight hundred times already.

"Enough, enough. Pull the dagger out already. It's making me dizzy just watching," Master said helplessly.

"Oh." Zhang Yang nodded, pulled out the dagger, and then released his Martial Soul Possession state.

Seeing Zhang Yang return to normal, Master's expression improved greatly. "It truly is [Invincible]. How long can this skill last?"

At that question, Zhang Yang estimated for himself before answering, "If I don't use my seven soul power martial skills, then conservatively speaking, it should last thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?" Master looked utterly incredulous. "How is that possible? How could a skill that is practically invincible last for so long?"

"I don't know either, Teacher." Zhang Yang spread his hands casually. "But this skill really consumes very little. Thirty minutes is only a conservative estimate. Once my Soul Power Level rises, maintaining it for three to five hours won't be a problem."

"This..." Master was thoroughly shaken. This skill was simply absurdly powerful.

Then Master suddenly recalled the doubt he had had earlier. Such a Soul Skill definitely could not have been granted by an Iron Horned Bull Soul Ring. Could it be that the one who had truly bestowed this Soul Skill upon Zhang Yang was his Mutated Beast Martial Soul?

Just what kind of existence was this Mutated Beast Martial Soul?

Master was utterly bewildered.

Since it was his first time absorbing a Soul Ring, Zhang Yang spent three hours on it. Tang San, meanwhile, spent seven hours because he wanted to experience the various benefits brought by his Mysterious Heaven Skill's breakthrough.

He enjoyed his cultivation immensely, but Master, who stood guard over Tang San, remained on edge the entire time.

After all, Tang San had absorbed the Soul Ring of an Animal Type Soul Beast as a Plant Type Martial Soul user in order to help Master put the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory into practice.

Although Master believed his theory was absolutely correct, what if something went wrong? Wouldn't he have caused the death of this peerless genius with Twin Martial Souls?

Thus, Master remained extremely nervous.

Only when dawn fully broke and Tang San opened his eyes after finishing his cultivation did Master finally let out a long breath.

Just as in the original story, Master's theory was proven correct. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul gained the Mandala Snake's toughness and paralytic venom.

The tremendous improvement to his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, coupled with the smooth breakthrough of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, had initially left Tang San exhilarated. But after seeing Zhang Yang demonstrate his Soul Skill, he quickly calmed down again.

Watching the lively Zhang Yang use a dagger to write the character "Zhang" across his own chest in a single stroke, Tang San deeply realized that he was still far too weak and had no right to be proud.

The two of them had both obtained Hundred-Year Soul Rings, making this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest a complete success. Having gone the entire night without rest, Master decided to return immediately.

Standing before the gates of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Zhang Yang and Tang San were both overcome by a feeling as though a lifetime had passed.

Over these three days, the two brothers had both obtained their First Soul Rings, raised their soul power by three levels, and gained the ability to cultivate. Such changes made them feel strangely unfamiliar with their former selves.

"Alright, I'll head back to the academy first. You two can go to the Spirit Hall in the center of Nuoding City and undergo a soul master assessment. First, you can test your current soul power. Second, you can officially register with Spirit Hall and begin receiving your monthly subsidy. Xiao San, you won't need to keep working as a Work-Study Student anymore."

"Yes, Teacher." Zhang Yang and Tang San nodded in agreement.

After making a trip to Spirit Hall, Zhang Yang and Tang San nearly got held back by Ma Xiunuo because both of them had reached Level 13 soul power at only six years old.

Even so, Tang San still told Ma Xiunuo that his Plant Type Martial Soul had absorbed the Soul Ring of an Animal Type Soul Beast.

On the way back to the academy, Zhang Yang tossed the Spirit Hall badge in his hand, his face full of displeasure. "If it weren't for the subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin per month, I'd tear down that lousy Spirit Hall right now. How many times have I rejected them already? Yet they still cling to me like a stubborn plaster."

Tang San smiled. "It can't be helped. You have a top-tier Mutated Beast Martial Soul with innate full soul power. Of course they're reluctant to give you up."

"Hmph, compared to a genius like you, someone who only appears once every hundred years or so, what does my Mutated Beast Martial Soul amount to?" Zhang Yang said with a laugh.

"You should be grateful that Spirit Hall did not investigate further after hearing that your First Soul Ring came from an Iron Horned Bull. If they found out that your First Soul Ring was this heaven-defying, you really would have been detained."

"Hehe, if they found out you have Twin Martial Souls, you wouldn't have been able to escape either."

After the two of them traded compliments for a while, Tang San suddenly asked Zhang Yang a question. "Zhang Yang, why do you think Father and Teacher won't let me attach a Soul Ring to the hammer?"

"You still don't get it? How dumb." Zhang Yang raised his eyebrows smugly. "Your soul power is Level 13 now. If you added a First Soul Ring to the hammer, what would the maximum age limit be?"

"The maximum age limit for absorbing a soul ring was directly proportional to a Soul Master's Physical Fitness. At level 13, it should be a yellow soul ring of less than 500 years."

"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded, then asked Tang San a second question. "What if, at level 40, you wanted to add a soul ring to your hammer?"

"At level 40, it should be 5,000 years..."

By this point, if Tang San still did not understand, his brain would truly have been wasted. "Zhang Yang, you mean..."

Seeing how loud Tang San was, Zhang Yang hurriedly covered his mouth and looked around. Only after confirming that no one was paying attention did he lean close to Tang San's ear and whisper mysteriously, "Uncle Tang and Master want to turn you into a monster with nothing but Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings."

"!!!" Tang San had truly not expected Master to possess such ambition, or such expectations for him.

"And..." Tang San's heart suddenly began to pound. "Master's theoretical achievements regarding Martial Souls are practically Invincible. It isn't strange for him to have such an idea. But why would Father think the same way? As expected, he wasn't merely an ordinary drunken blacksmith."

Seeing Tang San lost in thought, Zhang Yang leaned closer again and whispered, "Xiao San, your future is limitless. Remember, a small lack of patience can ruin great plans. You must never secretly add a soul ring to your hammer."

"Mm!!" Tang San nodded with a resolute expression.

To be honest, Tang San himself was looking forward to seeing just how powerful a Martial Soul with nothing but Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings would be.

Just as they were about to reach the academy, Tang San suddenly heard a familiar sound. His feet stopped of their own accord.

Clang, clang, clang...

"It's the sound of forging." Tang San suddenly grew excited.

Thus, from that day onward, Tang San gained another part-time job.

Every morning, Tang San would, as usual, cultivate his Purple Demon Eyes while the morning sun rose. Then he would clean the garden south of the Training Ground, attend classes as normal in the morning, work at the Blacksmith Shop in the afternoon, listen to Master's teachings in the evening, and cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill at night.

Every day, he lived an exceptionally fulfilling life.

Zhang Yang, meanwhile, had far more free time than Tang San. At the very least, he still had time to stir up some trouble.

That afternoon, after class, Zhang Yang was ordering food on the Second Floor of the dining hall when he suddenly heard several upperclassmen around eleven or twelve years old chatting happily nearby.

At the center of this little group was an upperclassman known as Xiao Laoda. He was tall and straight, and though his face still carried a youthful innocence, he was fairly handsome. Unfortunately, the arrogance on his face ruined the overall impression.

At that moment, Xiao Laoda was boasting under the flattery of his lackeys. "Wang Sheng couldn't even beat Liu Long. What's so remarkable about beating him? That ignorant little girl needs to be taught a lesson."

"Once I beat her tomorrow, I'll make every Work-Study Student my pet."

The lackeys beside him knew how to flatter him as well. "That's right. Xiao Laoda is one of the few geniuses among our academy's sixth-year students to have reached the Soul Master realm. He's the boss of all the students in the academy. That little girl among the Work-Study Students definitely isn't a match for Xiao Laoda."

"Hahaha..."

While they laughed, Zhang Yang was so angry he nearly flipped the table. He crossed the distance in a few strides, grabbed Xiao Laoda by the throat with one hand, and lifted him off the ground as he snarled, "Whose boss did you say you were?"

Xiao Laoda shuddered from the fright of this sudden affectionate lift, but the lackeys beside him reacted quickly instead. "Kid, who the hell are you? Have you got the guts of a bear and leopard to dare lay hands on Xiao Laoda?"

"Me?" Zhang Yang easily held Xiao Laoda up with one hand while the other abruptly seized that lackey by the collar and dragged him close. His tone seemed to carry a hint of mockery. "Want to know who I am?"

With that, Zhang Yang turned to Xiao Laoda, his voice full of ridicule. "My surname is Zhang—the Zhang in arrogant. From now on, I'm your Boss Zhang."

Xiao Laoda's face was nearly red from suffocation, yet he still forced out a sentence through clenched teeth. "What kind of ability is a sneak attack? If you've got the guts, fight me head-on!"

Zhang Yang sneered. "You're practically being strangled to death by me, and you still don't understand the gap in strength between us?"

"Xiao Laoda is right. That was a sneak attack. If you've got the ability, fight Xiao Laoda fair and square," one of the lackeys said indignantly on Xiao Laoda's behalf.

"Fine. Don't leave after you finish eating. We'll meet in the Small Forest."

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