Tang Hao hadn't held back because he was softhearted or kind. As a Titled Douluo, he was afraid he might accidentally beat Yu Xiaogang to death.
Tang Hao had a grudge against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. When Ah Yin was wanted, Yu Yuanzhen had been the most relentless in the pursuit.
As Yu Yuanzhen's son, Yu Xiaogang had naturally incurred Tang Hao's wrath as well.
But Tang Hao also knew that Tang San needed Yu Xiaogang's help to grow, so he spared his life.
Twin Martial Souls were extremely rare, and their owners had all burst apart and died during cultivation.
The only exception was Bibi Dong. She was the only one who had survived and grown to become a Soul Douluo.
Tang Hao needed Bibi Dong's cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls.
But Spirit Hall would never accept a half-human, half-Soul Beast hybrid like Tang San. Once they found out, forget teaching him a cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls—they'd probably kill him outright.
Tang Hao had no choice but to take a roundabout route and seek out Bibi Dong's former boyfriend.
Although Spirit Hall had claimed that its former saintess was dead, the truth was no secret to the major powers.
Since Yu Xiaogang had managed to make Bibi Dong, Spirit Hall's saintess, give up everything to be with him, getting his hands on the cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls probably wouldn't be difficult.
Did Yu Xiaogang know how to cultivate Twin Martial Souls?
Back then, after being driven out of Spirit Hall, he had focused on his theories and gone on missions with the Golden Iron Triangle. He'd watched Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong compete for his affection, but he really hadn't paid attention to any cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls.
At the time, he thought there were too few people who could use such a method for it to have much impact. Even if he published it as a theory, it wouldn't make much difference.
So even though all he had to do was ask to find out, Yu Xiaogang had never cared.
He only cared about himself.
Every recorded owner of Twin Martial Souls had burst apart and died during cultivation. His girlfriend, Bibi Dong, had Twin Martial Souls too, yet he'd never cared about it. He'd unconsciously ignored the matter and enjoyed the romance of the moment.
He couldn't produce a cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls, but he didn't dare tell Tang Hao either. He could only keep stringing him along for now and see if he could find a chance to get the method from Bibi Dong. (Yu Xiaogang had no intention of running away. He wouldn't easily give up Tang San, a rare experimental subject who could help him become a true master.)
Tang Hao probably hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to be so ridiculous. The cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls concerned the life or death of his girlfriend, yet this guy knew absolutely nothing about it.
That was also why Tang Hao left without suspecting anything.
After seeing Tang Hao off, Yu Xiaogang let out a sigh of relief and sat down at the table to take a sip of tea.
He pondered what to do next.
"Tang San has Innate Full Soul Power. I'll help him get a Soul Ring first. As for the cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls, I'll have to find a chance to see Bibi Dong."
This child isn't ordinary either
The next morning, bright and early.
Two figures, one large and one small, left Nuoding Academy.
The journey was a little long. Along the way, Tang San asked many questions and showed great respect for Yu Xiaogang, his teacher.
Every time he called him "Teacher," Yu Xiaogang felt pleased. Tang San was eager to learn, respected his teacher, and was a genius, too.
Yu Xiaogang was feeling rather pleased with himself. In a moment of excitement, he took out his Soul Tool and gave it to Tang San.
"Xiao San, this is for you."
Tang San looked down and saw a belt.
The belt was black all over, with dark patterns that were impossible to make out unless you looked closely. Twenty-four milky-white jade stones were evenly set along its length. Each one was only about the size of an adult's thumbnail, round and lustrous. They were clearly precious pieces of jade.
As he accepted it, Tang San thanked him. "Thank you, Teacher."
Afraid Tang San might not know what a Soul Tool was, Yu Xiaogang took special care to explain it.
Seeing Tang San's delighted and grateful expression, Yu Xiaogang felt conflicted. He was a good student.
What a shame...
After all these years, Yu Xiaogang had experienced every kind of human warmth and coldness.
He'd been mocked and looked down on for so many years, and he could tell that Tang San genuinely respected, cared for, and trusted him.
That moved Yu Xiaogang, and his resolve wavered a little—but only for a moment.
Giving up his theories, admitting that he'd failed, and spending the rest of his life as a failure would be worse than killing him outright.
The two of them got along quite well on the road.
When they reached the Soul Beast Forest, Tang San, who was visiting a Soul Hunting Forest for the first time, was full of curiosity. He couldn't help asking about permits and forming groups. These were basic matters, and Yu Xiaogang answered them with ease, making him like Tang San even more.
They passed through the bustling market and arrived at the entrance to the Soul Beast Forest.
A massive steel fence surrounded the forest's outskirts. The side facing the forest bristled with sharp spikes. The fence stood over ten meters tall and looked extremely sturdy.
And that wasn't all. Outside the fence, a squad of a hundred soldiers patrolled the area. All of them wore full suits of iron armor and carried spears. Their ranks were immaculate, and the hundred steel-clad soldiers gave off a murderous air.
Yu Xiaogang quietly explained the rules and history of the Soul Beast Forest.
Tang San couldn't help asking, "Teacher, does this Soul Hunting Forest belong to Spirit Hall or to the state?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed slightly. He gestured for Tang San to be quiet. "Don't ask questions like that when we're outside. As for Spirit Hall and the state—"
Before he could finish, a voice cut in from beside them. "The Soul Beast Forest was built from beginning to end with Spirit Hall's money and labor. It has nothing to do with the state. Of course, the state could build its own Soul Beast Forest, but it hasn't."
Some people always liked to give vague answers. Take the question of who the Soul Beast Forest belonged to. The way they put it, you'd think Spirit Hall had stolen the Heaven Dou Empire's forest.
In reality, this was entirely a charitable undertaking by Spirit Hall. The people of the Heaven Dou Empire used the Soul Beast Forest built by Spirit Hall for free, yet they accused Spirit Hall of harboring ulterior motives and refusing to hand the forest over to the Heaven Dou Empire.
If they really did hand it over, it would probably become an exclusive hunting ground for noble Soul Masters within a month. Commoner Soul Masters wouldn't be able to get in at all.
Tang San looked up toward the voice.
It was Kai!
From the direction he'd come, it looked like he'd just emerged from the Soul Beast Forest.
Had he gone to the Soul Master Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring last night?
Yu Xiaogang asked sharply, "Why are you here by yourself?"
What he actually wanted to ask was why Kai had come out of the Soul Beast Forest. No teacher from the academy had brought him, he was a country boy, and no Soul Master in his family could have helped him. How had he gotten in?
As expected, this child wasn't ordinary either.
Is he crazy?
For some people, getting a permit to enter the Soul Beast Forest wasn't difficult; the process was just a little troublesome.
First, you had to go to Spirit Hall for a test to prove that your Soul Power had indeed reached the peak of its current stage and that you needed to hunt a Soul Beast to advance.
Then you needed recommendations from at least three nobles.
This was, of course, a requirement imposed by the Heaven Dou Empire to indirectly control the Soul Beast Forest.
But for noble Soul Masters, it wasn't particularly difficult. In the Heaven Dou Empire, Soul Masters certified by Spirit Hall could apply for a noble title from the empire once they reached level thirty. Plenty of academy teachers were nobles.
Quite a few Soul Elders also became the lowest-ranked barons and charged a fee for recommendations.
That might not seem difficult, but for genuine commoner Soul Masters, it was a real challenge.
They had no money and no connections. Why would nobles bother helping them write recommendation letters?
For most commoner Soul Masters, the only way to obtain a Soul Ring was to go with their teacher to hunt Soul Beasts in the forest at the end of the school term. Even if they reached the level needed to advance during the year, they could only wait.
The silver-haired boy looked behind him. Someone was slowly emerging from the Soul Beast Forest.
Yu Xiaogang knew this person.
"Dean!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed in surprise.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man in a robe, a few shades more handsome than Yu Xiaogang, with a slightly protruding chin and a warm smile on his face.
He was the dean of Nuoding Academy. Although Yu Xiaogang looked down on the academy's ordinary teachers, he knew the dean, having been hired as a teacher there.
The dean also knew of Yu Xiaogang's theoretical research. Out of consideration for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect behind him, he'd chosen to accept this so-called master.
"I'm here to take a student hunting for a Soul Ring, too. This is Kai, who enrolled yesterday. His Martial Soul is a blade, and he has Innate Full Soul Power," the dean said cheerfully by way of introduction.
"Is that so?" Yu Xiaogang's usually stiff expression cracked a little.
"Is this your new disciple?" The dean looked at Tang San.
"This is my new disciple, Tang San. He also has Innate Full Soul Power. Tang San, this is the dean." Yu Xiaogang introduced Tang San, but didn't mention his Martial Soul. Unconsciously, he didn't want to say it was the Trash Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass. But he couldn't possibly reveal the Clear Sky Hammer either.
"Hello, Dean!" Tang San greeted him politely.
The dean patted Yu Xiaogang on the shoulder. "All right, good luck. I'll be off."
After saying that, he glanced at Tang San and then headed in another direction.
In fact, he'd already read all the information on the new students who'd enrolled that year. Naturally, Tang San and Kai, two of the three students with Innate Full Soul Power, had caught his attention.
Once they obtained Soul Rings, all three children would meet the graduation requirements.
Nuoding Academy would benefit if it could train two geniuses and recommend them to an intermediate Soul Master Academy.
One of the students, Tang San, had caught Yu Xiaogang's eye as soon as he enrolled. The master had accepted him as a disciple without a second thought.
The dean regretted missing out, but he didn't care all that much. In his eyes, a Soul Master with Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Soul had limited potential and strength.
He wouldn't sour things with Yu Xiaogang over a student like that, so he'd let Tang San go without a fuss.
From the start, the dean had known why Yu Xiaogang had come to Nuoding Academy: he wanted to use the students there to test his theories.
But Yu Xiaogang had high standards, and Nuoding Academy was just a small-town junior Soul Master Academy with average students. So far, no one had caught his eye.
He hadn't expected three students with Innate Full Soul Power to arrive that year. Still, it was fortunate that the one Yu Xiaogang had taken an interest in was Tang San, not Kai.
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