Gangzi Takes an Apprentice, Tang San Arrives

Tang San nodded and followed Yu Xiaogang into Notting Academy.

"Thank you, teacher." Upon entering Notting Academy, Tang San said politely.

Yu Xiaogang stopped in his tracks, his face wearing an inscrutable expression.

"I am not a teacher at this academy, just an idler who hangs around here for free meals."

"If you want to call me teacher, it must be because you truly wish to learn about martial souls from me." Yu Xiaogang's voice was calm, as if he didn't care at all.

His face remained composed, but his heart was already churning like a stormy sea.

Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power.

Having studied martial souls for so many years, he knew exactly what this meant.

The probability of a trash martial soul like Blue Silver Grass possessing soul power was less than three percent, and even among that three percent, no one had ever exceeded level one in Innate Soul Power.

For the child before him to have level ten full soul power, there could only be one possibility: Twin Martial Souls.

Furthermore, the quality of the other martial soul must be incredibly powerful—strong enough to pull the upper limit of the Blue Silver Grass up with it.

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, suppressing the wild joy in his heart.

He couldn't be hasty, couldn't show it; he had to secure the student first.

Tang San looked at him and asked, "Are you going to teach me how to cultivate my martial soul?"

Yu Xiaogang didn't answer directly, instead asking in return, "Are you willing?"

Tang San sized up the man before him. There was nothing special about his appearance; in fact, he looked somewhat slovenly due to his long-term lack of grooming.

His hair was messy, and there was dark stubble on his chin. He didn't rush to agree.

Yu Xiaogang smiled slightly, a smile that carried a hint of "as I expected."

"You are a clever child." He paused. "I have studied martial souls for many years and summarized some findings, which I call the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul. Would you like to hear them?"

Tang San nodded.

Yu Xiaogang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, speaking unhurriedly.

"I just looked at your Martial Soul Certificate: Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power."

"Do you know that for a martial soul like Blue Silver Grass, fewer than three percent of people possess soul power, and among that three percent, no one has ever had Innate Soul Power exceeding level one?"

Tang San's gaze shifted slightly.

Yu Xiaogang caught this change, and the curve of his mouth widened a little more.

"That is why I conclude that you do not only have this Blue Silver Grass martial soul. You have another, and the quality of that martial soul far exceeds the Blue Silver Grass."

He stopped walking and turned to look at Tang San.

"The level of Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of the martial soul; this is a conclusion I have reached after many years of research. A single Blue Silver Grass could not possibly support level ten Innate Soul Power."

Tang San was silent for a moment before asking, "How did you figure that out?"

"It is precisely because of this certificate." Yu Xiaogang pointed to the Martial Soul Certificate. "Perhaps others cannot see the flaw in it, but if I couldn't see it either, I wouldn't be worthy of the title 'Grandmaster'."

A faint confidence appeared on his face, as if he were stating a simple fact.

"I once investigated six hundred and forty-seven people whose martial soul was Blue Silver Grass. Only sixteen of them had soul power, less than three percent."

"And even among those sixteen, not one had soul power exceeding level one. Yet you have Innate Full Soul Power, level ten."

"According to one of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul that I have researched, which states that the level of Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of the martial soul, the Blue Silver Grass clearly cannot meet this condition."

"Therefore, I can be certain that you must have another martial soul, and it is a very powerful one."

After hearing these words, Tang San fell silent.

Only then did he put away the Silent Sleeve Arrow he had been hiding behind his back.

Yu Xiaogang remained calm, unaware that he had just walked through the gates of hell.

The way Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang had changed. Although this man looked slovenly on the outside, he truly possessed genuine knowledge.

Having grown up in Holy Soul Village, no one had ever taught him these things about martial souls. The person before him might truly be able to help him.

Tang San stepped back, knelt on both knees, and kowtowed respectfully.

"Teacher, please accept your disciple's bow."

Yu Xiaogang was stunned for a moment, then reached out to help Tang San up. A gratified smile appeared on his face, and his eyes even turned slightly red, looking deeply moved.

"Good, good, good child."

He patted Tang San on the shoulder, his voice trembling slightly.

Deep inside, however, he was ecstatic to the point of madness.

He had finally found one! Twin Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power—such talent was enough to prove that his theories were correct.

As long as he was nurtured properly, Tang San would surely become a peerless powerhouse in the future.

When that day came, let's see who would dare to call his theories empty talk, and let's see who would dare to mock him, Yu Xiaogang, as a failure.

Wang Xian?

Yu Xiaogang sneered in his heart.

That ignorant, arrogant brat would soon see what a true genius and a real Grandmaster were.

"Come, Teacher will take you to handle the enrollment." Yu Xiaogang took Tang San's hand and walked toward the Academic Affairs Office.

While processing the paperwork, Director Su and the other teachers were all very surprised that Tang San had taken Yu Xiaogang as his master.

However, as a slave to feudal sects, Tang San could not listen to anyone's advice after becoming an apprentice; instead, he felt that these people were insulting his teacher.

Tang San felt nothing but disdain for them in his heart, believing they did not value theory and were short-sighted.

Holding his enrollment certificate, he walked toward the Work-Study Student dormitory.

The door to Dormitory Building Room 7 was left ajar, so Tang San knocked twice and pushed it open to enter.

Several work-study students in the room were busy with their own tasks, and they all looked up upon hearing the commotion.

Wang Sheng jumped down from his bed, walked up to Tang San to look him up and down, and placed his hands on his hips.

"You're the new work-study student this year?"

Tang San nodded slightly, his tone polite but neither humble nor pushy: "That's right, I am this year's work-study student, my name is Tang San."

Wang Sheng grinned and patted his chest: "My name is Wang Sheng, I'm an old-timer in this room."

"Little Sanzi, let me tell you, once you enter the work-study dormitory, you have to listen to our boss Wang Xian, understand?"

Little Sanzi.

Tang San's expression darkened instantly.

That was a nickname not just anyone could use.

He looked up at Wang Sheng, his eyes filled with a touch of coldness: "And what if I don't agree?"

Wang Sheng was stunned, not expecting this newcomer to be so tough, and immediately rolled up his sleeves: "You don't agree? Then you'll have to beat me first!"

Before the words had even faded, Wang Sheng charged forward. He was considered a good fighter among the work-study students, but compared to Tang San, he was far behind.

Tang San dodged to the side, flipped his wrist, grabbed Wang Sheng's arm, and gave it a tug. Wang Sheng went flying, crashing to the ground and rolling half a circle.

The other work-study students' expressions changed completely when they saw this, and they swarmed forward, surrounding Tang San in the center.

Under the leadership of Wang Xian, they were no longer the scattered mess they once were; how could they tolerate someone bullying them on their own turf?