Manga Version of Master

After his Soul Power broke through to level four, Lu Yi's life returned to its former tranquility.

However, compared to his previous routine of attending class, cultivating, and eating—a simple three-point cycle—Lu Yi added another point: going to the library to look up Soul Beast illustrations.

Besides considering which Soul Beasts he and Wang Shu should hunt for their first Soul Rings, Lu Yi also needed to familiarize himself with Soul Beasts that liked to ambush people, so he could react quickly if they were attacked while Soul Hunting in the Soul Beast Forest.

However, Lu Yi did not notice that while he was looking through the materials, a man around forty or fifty years old, with short white hair, an elegant yet melancholy bearing, and a gray robe, had also noticed him.

"Are you looking up information on a particular Soul Beast?"

Watching Lu Yi sit at the table and constantly flip through books, with a stack of Soul Beast illustrations beside him, the middle-aged man frowned, walked over, and asked stiffly.

He recognized Lu Yi as the student leader who had recently been making waves at Nuoding Academy. However, knowing that Lu Yi possessed the same kind of detached animal Martial Soul as himself, he had not intended to approach him.

But seeing Lu Yi researching Soul Beast information here, as a "Master" who had freeloaded at Nuoding Academy for so many years, he was willing to offer this outstanding Nuoding Academy student a little help.

"You are?"

Hearing the man's words, Lu Yi looked up at this unfamiliar person and asked with a puzzled expression.

"I'm a friend of your dean. You can call me Master!"

Seeing Lu Yi's confused face, Yu Xiaogang gave a self-mocking smile.

"I know you—the first person on the continent to possess a detached animal Martial Soul!"

Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, understanding flashed in Lu Yi's eyes. But why did this Master feel different from the Master in the animation from his previous life? He looked more like the Master from the manga. Could it be that he had not entered the novel, but the manga instead?

But if this Yu Xiaogang really was the Master from the manga, then Lu Yi could definitely get to know him properly.

After all, that Master was different from the one in the animation who claimed, I cultivated a god. The manga's Master had developed a Self-Created Soul Skill for every member of the Shrek Seven Devils. He had genuine ability.

"Then do you think I'm pretty useless?"

Hearing that Lu Yi actually knew him, Yu Xiaogang grew interested. He pulled out a chair and sat down across from Lu Yi, asking somewhat dejectedly.

"Not exactly. I've read your Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, and it has been quite helpful to commoner Soul Masters like us!"

"However, there are also some parts that I think are wrong, or perhaps parts I don't understand!"

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Lu Yi thought carefully before finally answering him tactfully.

After all, the Yu Xiaogang before him was very likely the genuinely capable Yu Xiaogang from the manga. If this Yu Xiaogang were wearing a black robe with a crew cut, Lu Yi would have torn into him without a moment's hesitation.

"Wrong parts? Such as?"

Hearing Lu Yi's words, Yu Xiaogang became even more interested. He had not expected this little fellow to not only possess the same detached beast Martial Soul as him, but also to have read his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul and formed different views.

"Then I'll say it, but don't be unable to take it afterward!"

Lu Yi gave Yu Xiaogang a warning in advance. Only after seeing him nod did he speak again.

"The third point in Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul says that Martial Souls are divided into two categories: beast Martial Souls and tool Martial Souls. Then which category do detached beast Martial Souls like ours belong to?"

"After all, we possess beast Martial Souls, yet we cannot fuse with them. Instead, like tool Martial Souls, we can summon them out. But unlike tool Martial Souls, they possess their own thoughts. It seems that neither beast Martial Souls nor tool Martial Souls can fully define our Martial Souls!"

"And the sixth point, the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, says that plant-type Martial Souls can absorb beast-type Soul Rings, and vice versa. But why should we do it in reverse?"

"Beast Martial Souls place importance on bloodlines. Take my Martial Soul, Magikarp. There is even a folk tale about a carp leaping over the dragon gate. If I absorb Soul Rings from Soul Beasts with dragon bloodlines, might it have a chance of evolving and improving my talent?"

Lu Yi looked at Yu Xiaogang before him and asked earnestly.

He really had read Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, but the first half of what he said was purely nitpicking. After all, every rule had exceptions. At this stage, there were only two people with detached beast Martial Souls—him and Master—so it was understandable that they had not been included.

But the second half was purely intended to attract Master's interest. Lu Yi was already sick of looking up Soul Beast information in this library. It only had records on ordinary low-level Soul Beasts, while he wanted information on high-level Soul Beasts that could improve his Martial Soul.

That was why he had set his sights on Master's collection. As the former boyfriend of the current Pope, Yu Xiaogang possessed quite a bit of rare information. In the original story, he had practically taught Tang San into becoming a Soul Beast encyclopedia.

However, he did not mention his most explosive theory—that the number of years of a Soul Ring one could absorb was related to a Soul Master's physical constitution. There was currently nothing to prove it, and he planned to tell Master after absorbing an over-limit Soul Ring himself, provided Master truly helped him.

After all, having a thousand-year Soul Ring as his second ring was still far too shocking in this era. When the time came, Master could publish the theory and help draw attention away from him.

"Martial Soul Evolution..."

As expected, upon hearing Lu Yi's words, Yu Xiaogang focused on the latter half. After all, his Martial Soul transforming from a dragon into Luo Sanpao was the psychological shadow of his entire life. He dreamed of making Luo Sanpao evolve into a dragon!

Seeing Yu Xiaogang begin to ponder, Lu Yi did not rush him. He slowly flipped through the Soul Beast illustrations before him, searching for the Soul Beasts he wanted while waiting for Master to finish thinking.

"Martial Soul Evolution is far too difficult. Across the entire Douluo Continent, only Jade Phosphorous Douluo Dugu Bo has publicly succeeded in evolving his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul into the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. Other than him, no other Soul Master has completed Martial Soul Evolution."

Master looked at Lu Yi and spoke with a frown.

Although Lu Yi's idea did have merit, it was simply too naive. If Martial Soul Evolution were so easy, why would there be so many Soul Masters with low-level Martial Souls on the continent?

"If it's difficult, does that mean we shouldn't do it?"

"I don't know whether you've noticed this, Master, but our Martial Souls have thoughts of their own. When they encounter something beneficial to them, they reveal a longing for it. And after consuming those things, our Martial Souls grow. Perhaps our Martial Souls can evolve more easily than those of ordinary Soul Masters?"

Looking at the frowning Yu Xiaogang, Lu Yi carefully explained his observations of Magikarp.

Yu Xiaogang was startled by Lu Yi's words. He knew that Luo Sanpao had emotions of its own, but he had never observed whether it would display longing toward things beneficial to itself.

After all, Yu Xiaogang still deeply rejected the culprit that had turned him from a favored genius into the greatest joke on the Douluo Continent.

"Please come to my residence with me. I want to conduct an experiment!"

Yu Xiaogang rose from his seat and earnestly invited Lu Yi.

"Sure!"

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Lu Yi agreed without the slightest hesitation.