Tang San still forced down his disgust toward Yu Xiaogang and asked,
"Dean, what exactly is so special about this Grandmaster?"
Since arriving at Notting Academy, Tang San had heard the name of this "Grandmaster," Yu Xiaogang, many times. He had also heard plenty of people advise him to stay away from Yu Xiaogang.
It seemed Yu Xiaogang's reputation at Notting Academy was rather poor.
On top of that, Yu Xiaogang had been persistently pestering Tang San and Li Luo.
So Tang San loathed him, but he was also genuinely curious about what Yu Xiaogang had done to earn everyone's hatred.
At the mention of Yu Xiaogang, Notting Dean had plenty to say.
"Yu Xiaogang? He was a friend I met in my early years. Back then, I was only at level twenty when I met him, and he was also at level twenty.
"Yu Xiaogang came from a major clan of a great sect, but his Martial Soul was a pig that farted. He had poor talent and only barely reached level twenty after using a great deal of resources."
And on and on he went.
Notting Dean told them about Yu Xiaogang's background, the experiences he and Yu Xiaogang had shared, and the theories Yu Xiaogang had cobbled together with little logic.
When he got to Yu Xiaogang's theories, Notting Dean turned to Li Luo and Tang San and gave them a serious warning.
"Don't let yourselves be fooled by Yu Xiaogang's utterly nonsensical theories."
"What about a Beast Martial Soul absorbing a Soul Ring from a plant-type Soul Beast, or a weapon Martial Soul absorbing one from an animal-type Soul Beast? Isn't that obvious?"
"No one says the two can't absorb each other's Soul Rings, but a Martial Soul should choose the Soul Ring that suits it best. Forcing yourself to absorb one with incompatible attributes just to be different will backfire and damage a Soul Master's potential."
Although Notting Dean was only a Soul Ancestor in the forties, he was still the dean of a Soul Master Academy, and his grasp of the fundamentals of Soul Master cultivation was solid.
"Yu Xiaogang is nothing but a daydreaming idealist. He has no practical experience at all. His Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, in particular, is mostly unsupported by evidence, with not a single experiment or source to back it up."
"Li Luo, Tang San, you two are once-in-a-millennium geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power. Don't let Yu Xiaogang intimidate you into becoming his test subjects."
Although people outside the academy said that Notting Dean and Yu Xiaogang were close, they were really only ordinary friends. Yu Xiaogang came from a powerful faction; why would he care about a Soul Ancestor from some tiny place?
As for how Yu Xiaogang had managed to loaf around at Notting Academy for so many years, it was simply because someone influential had put in a word for him.
So when Notting Academy took shots at Yu Xiaogang, they certainly didn't hold back.
"Remember, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Theory without practice is just armchair strategizing, with no practical value at all."
Right there in the carriage, Notting Dean gave Li Luo and Tang San their first lesson since entering the Soul Master Academy.
Although Li Luo had been a top student in his previous life and knew the story of Douluo Continent inside out,
when it came to the actual knowledge of Douluo Continent, he knew nothing beyond what the story had covered.
So Notting Dean, a fairly learned man, had plenty of valuable knowledge for Li Luo to learn from.
"Dean, what do you think would be the best Soul Beast for Xiao San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to hunt for its First Soul Ring?"
Li Luo had only been at the academy for two days. He hadn't started classes or visited the library to look up books, so he didn't know much about plant-type Soul Beasts.
At any rate, there was no way he would let Tang San absorb a poison-type Datura Snake again. That would taint the essence of Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor.
Notting Dean pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"Everyone knows Blue Silver Grass is a Trash Martial Soul, but since Tang San's Blue Silver Grass awakened with Innate Full Soul Power, it definitely isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass."
Notting Dean didn't conclude that Tang San had Twin Martial Souls, because that was simply too unbelievable.
"If you want to choose a Soul Ring for Blue Silver Grass, you'd generally want to develop it along either the support or control path."
"But Blue Silver Grass itself is weak and easily snapped, and it has no attributes. Its advantage, instead, is its exceptionally tenacious life force. It can thrive without end."
"So I think there are two kinds of Soul Rings suited to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass. The first is from a bamboo-type Soul Beast. Bamboo-type Soul Beasts are tough, which could effectively make Blue Silver Grass more resilient. If the Soul Ring is high-quality enough, it might even change Blue Silver Grass's traits and set it on the path of either the Power Attack System or the control path."
"But it could also produce a thoroughly useless effect: the Soul Skill might be mediocre, and the increase in toughness might be too slight. So a bamboo Soul Ring isn't the best choice."
"Blue Silver Grass's greatest strengths, instead, are its endless vitality and tenacious life force."
"So I think the best choice for the First Soul Ring would be one provided by a plant-type Soul Beast with healing abilities."
"Those kinds of Soul Beasts are rare in the Soul Hunting Forest. We'll look for one first. If we can't find one, I'll take Tang San to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a Soul Ring."
Notting Dean scratched his head, hesitating a little, but in the end he made up his mind. He had never met a child with Innate Full Soul Power like Tang San before, and Tang San was worth investing in.
What Notting Dean had said was exactly what Li Luo had wanted to tell Tang San. But he had no way to explain how he knew so much or why he knew Yu Xiaogang so well. Now it seemed much better to let Notting Dean say it.
The carriage soon reached the empire's captive-bred Soul Beast reserve, the Soul Hunting Forest. As a Soul Ancestor, Notting Dean naturally had a Soul Hunting token of his own.
After the guards checked the token and confirmed it was valid, Notting Dean led Tang San and Li Luo into the Soul Hunting Forest.
Following the man-made trail deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest, the three soon came across the first Soul Beast that might suit Tang San.
Notting Dean pointed to a bamboo stalk in front of them and explained,
"This is a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo. Its defining trait is toughness, making it well suited to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. But it's still far too young. With Tang San's talent and Innate Full Soul Power, he should absorb a Soul Ring from something at least 400 years old—or a century-old Soul Ring from a rarer, more precious Soul Beast."
The three ignored the Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo and continued deeper into the forest.
As they pressed on, Notting Dean kept his Martial Soul Possession active at all times. Some weak Soul Beasts sensed his presence and didn't dare approach.
Li Luo and the others didn't run into a pack of ten-year-old wolves.
After they had gone a little farther, a rustling sound suddenly rose from the forest.
"Careful!"
Notting Dean warned Li Luo and Tang San, shielding them behind him.
A four-meter-long Datura Snake suddenly shot out of the forest and swiftly lunged toward the three of them.
"It's a century-old Datura Snake! Careful!"
"Second Soul Skill, Gale Slash."
Notting Dean's Martial Soul was a mantis. Now, as the second century Soul Ring around him flashed, two mantis blades appeared on his arms, and he swung them at the oncoming Datura Snake.