Martial Soul: Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave

Within the Forest Mimicry Training Ground.

A six-person battle was currently unfolding.

More accurately, it was two against four!

Blue light suddenly flashed from a young man in blue. Bolts of blue-violet electricity erupted like little snakes, coiling around his body. Most bizarre of all was his right arm.

The sleeve on his right side had completely burst apart from the swelling of his arm. It had lengthened by more than half a foot and become incredibly thick, covered in blue-violet scales. Every joint in his hand had also grown immensely large, while the blue-violet electricity circling his body continuously gathered and surged along that arm.

His three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—did not circle beneath his feet like those of other Soul Masters. Instead, they revolved around that unusual arm.

Relying on that arm, the young man in blue continuously fought the other four without falling behind. At the same time, petal-like flakes of white light kept drifting down from above his head.

Whenever a piece of white light fell, his injuries rapidly healed a little.

The four fighting him, however, did not enjoy such treatment.

Among them were two burly men with straight noses and square mouths. Their similar features suggested they were brothers. Both were slightly hunched, with enormous dark-yellow turtle shells formed from Soul Power behind their backs. It was not difficult to see that their Martial Souls were likely turtle-type Martial Souls.

The other two were handsome and both had golden hair. One crouched forward like a predator lurking in the darkness, staring at its prey. He was dressed entirely in black, his formerly golden hair having turned black as well, while his pupils had become vertical slits. The other had transformed both arms into a pair of brownish-yellow wings and hovered in midair with a flap of his wings.

"Yanzi isn't here, so is the boss really this fired up? He keeps picking fights with us every other day," said the young man hovering in the air with his wings.

The young man dressed in black immediately followed up, "The academy's Selection Tournament is approaching. Maybe the boss is preparing for it too."

"Who in the whole academy could possibly be our match in the Selection Tournament? And besides, why does Lingling always go to the boss's side whenever we fight, while I have to be on the same side as you three?"

"Say less! Otherwise, the boss definitely won't hold back later! Can't you learn from the Shi Brothers and control that mouth of yours?" the black-clad youth said.

Following another fierce clash between the two sides, the young man in the air flapped his wings and bared his teeth in pain. Then he suddenly spotted a figure in the distance and hurriedly shouted, "Yanzi! Sister Yanzi is back!"

As his voice fell, the others also stopped in unspoken agreement, dispelling their Martial Soul Possession states before turning to look in the same direction.

A man and a woman were slowly approaching.

The woman was naturally Dugu Yan, the Yanzi the others had mentioned.

The man beside her was Zhao Mu. Before anyone could speak, the young man who had descended from the air spoke first. "Yanzi, you're finally back. While you were gone, the boss took out plenty of his anger on us!"

As he spoke, the young man looked again at Zhao Mu beside Dugu Yan and asked, "Yanzi, who's this kid who came with you?"

Dugu Yan frowned at once and said to him, "Who are you calling a kid? Let me make this clear: none of you are allowed to take advantage of me. You all have to call him Grandpa!"

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"Grandpa?"

"Who are you calling Grandpa?"

"Sister Yanzi, how are we taking advantage of you?"

"You can't possibly be telling us to call this kid Grandpa, right?"

The golden-haired young man looked utterly confused.

Dugu Yan shot him a glance and said seriously, "Show him more respect from now on. You can't keep calling him kid. Call him Grandpa!"

"Sister Yanzi, have you gone crazy? We haven't seen each other for a while, and now you suddenly want us to call someone else Grandpa? Isn't that completely ridiculous?" the golden-haired young man complained.

"I'm telling you in advance, I'm not joking. Not just you, Yu Feng—everyone else too. Anyone who hangs around with me, Yanzi, has to call him Grandpa!"

The young man called Yu Feng was the Wind Bell Bird Yu Feng from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team in the original story, as well as a member of the younger generation of the Heaven Dou Empire's Yu Clan.

The two largest empires on the continent were the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

Among them, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect leaned toward the Heaven Dou Empire, the Clear Sky Sect leaned toward the Star Luo Empire, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remained neutral.

The Clear Sky Sect's four subordinate single-attribute clans naturally followed the Clear Sky Sect in supporting the Star Luo Empire.

This was one reason why three of the Clear Sky Sect's four single-attribute clans were located in the Star Luo Empire.

When the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire faced off, the clan responsible for contending with the Speed Clan was the Wind Bell Bird Clan to which Yu Feng belonged.

Aside from a few exceptions, most students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy came from wealthy or noble backgrounds. This included the Black Tortoise brothers, whose family was no less influential than Yu Feng's. After all, it was difficult for ordinary commoner Soul Masters to possess advanced Martial Souls such as the Black Tortoise.

At this moment, the others also gathered around. The blue-clad youth who had fought one against four earlier spoke up as well. "Yanzi, what's going on?"

Seeing the youth in blue, Dugu Yan's expression improved somewhat. But she immediately pointed at Zhao Mu and said, "Tianheng, not only them. You especially have to call him Grandpa."

The youth in blue was naturally Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Yu Tianheng frowned slightly, the veins on his forehead bulging as anger rose within him.

This was only because it was Dugu Yan. If anyone else had told him to call some child Grandpa, he would definitely have let that person taste his dragon claws!

"Yanzi, stop fooling around," Yu Tianheng said as calmly as he could.

Perhaps sensing that something was off in Yu Tianheng's tone, Dugu Yan promptly explained, "He's my grandfather's sworn brother, which naturally makes him my Second Grandfather. You all are with me, so naturally you have to call him Grandpa too. Whoever calls him little brother is taking advantage of me, so don't blame me for getting rough!"

The moment Dugu Yan finished speaking, everyone looked at Zhao Mu in shock.

Naturally, they knew who Dugu Yan's grandfather was: the notorious Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo!

What shocked and baffled them most was that Poison Douluo had actually become sworn brothers with this kid?

For the younger generation, having a teacher at the level of a Title Douluo was already an incredible blessing. After all, many ordinary people had teachers whose Soul Power Level had not even reached level thirty.

There was a saying across the continent: a Title must not be insulted. A Title Douluo's status was extraordinary, yet someone had actually become sworn brothers with a Title Douluo?

If they had not heard it directly from Dugu Yan herself, none of them would have believed it.

And with the relationship of being Dugu Bo's sworn brother, Zhao Mu had backing. He was practically a powerhouse's second generation.

Calling him a powerhouse's second generation did not seem quite right. A powerhouse's first generation? Brother?

"Is this gentleman really Lord Dugu's sworn brother?"

Yu Tianheng's expression suddenly became quite colorful.

"Why would I lie to you?" Dugu Yan said unhappily.

Yu Tianheng held it in for a long time, but still could not force out the word Grandpa. Instead, he looked at Dugu Yan and said somewhat weakly, "Yanzi, can't we each address him our own way?"

Dugu Yan gave Yu Tianheng an irritated look, displeasure flashing through her dark-green eyes. "Yu Tianheng! Do you even want to be with me? You actually want us to address him separately?"

"I..." Yu Tianheng was momentarily speechless. As one of the heirs of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, calling an unrelated outsider Grandpa was not as simple as gaining another grandfather. It was practically making his father acknowledge a godfather too. If his father found out later, wouldn't he skin him alive?

Yu Feng pursed his lips, clearly unwilling as well. The students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were already noble in status, and outstanding figures like them possessed even greater pride. How could they possibly open their mouths and call someone else Grandpa?

"Yanzi, I have an idea! Let's cut ties for now. Then I won't have to call him Grandpa."

"Is that so? That really is a good idea. Why don't you try it? I never hold back against strangers, anyway." Dugu Yan glared at Yu Feng, the threat in her dark-green eyes unmistakable.

"Uh, forget it. Only the boss can handle that Jade Phosphorus Poison of yours. I don't have the fortune to enjoy it." Yu Feng hurriedly refused, his face full of terror. He was clearly somewhat afraid of Dugu Yan.

"Serves you right. Your mouth got you into trouble again by provoking Yanzi for no reason." Beside Yu Feng, the Ghost Leopard Osler—dressed in black, now out of Martial Soul Possession with his hair restored to gold, his delicate features rivaling those of a woman—said gleefully.

Yu Feng immediately snapped, "Leopard, what are you gloating about? If you're not provoking Yanzi, then go ahead and call him Grandpa!"

Osler snorted disdainfully. "I don't dare offend Yanzi, but there are so many people here. Why should I be the first to say it?"

While they argued without reaching a conclusion, the only woman among the six, Ye Lingling, slowly stepped out from the group. She wore black from head to toe, with even her face covered by a layer of black gauze.

She had a slender figure, long blue hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. Her blue eyes, the same color as her hair, revealed no emotion. No vigorous life force could be felt from her; there was only solitude and desolation.

Yet this very person nodded to Dugu Yan in greeting, then turned to Zhao Mu. Her pearly teeth parted slightly as she softly said, "Grandpa."

Her voice was quiet, yet pleasant and clear, reaching everyone's ears distinctly.

"Grandpa!"

Most importantly, after Ye Lingling, two more loud and clear voices rang out.

"Damn, Lingling is one thing, but even the Shi Brothers called him that..." Yu Feng cried out as he looked at the Shi Brothers.

Ghost Leopard Osler rolled his eyes at him. "Have you forgotten what the Shi Brothers' Martial Souls are? What's wrong with calling him Grandpa?"

"Right, their Martial Souls are Black Tortoises. They're the best at playing it safe." Yu Feng muttered, only to hear another cry of "Grandpa" from beside him.

Naturally, Osler stood beside Yu Feng.

"Your Martial Soul is a leopard. How can you be this spineless—Grandpa!" Yu Feng had been criticizing Osler when he saw the warning look Dugu Yan gave him. He quickly and obediently called out.

Of the group of six, only the proud Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remained.

Dugu Yan's gaze was fixed tightly on Yu Tianheng as well.

"Yu Tianheng, do you even want to be with me?"

"I..." Yu Tianheng's expression was full of conflict, but under Dugu Yan's pressure, he finally faced Zhao Mu and softly called out, "Grandpa."

His voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Yet even after Yu Tianheng said it, Dugu Yan refused to let it go. "Yu Tianheng, you hesitated! You actually hesitated! Do you not love me?"

Yu Tianheng: "..."

Zhao Mu, who had remained silent at the side the entire time, looked at Yu Tianheng and the others with equally complicated feelings. He had never imagined that he would meet and get acquainted with the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Team in such a manner.

In the end, all his countless thoughts became just one sentence.