Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, his tone confident and resolute.
"Li Luo and Tang San, I have to take them on as disciples. Tiny Nuoding City has somehow produced two Twin Martial Souls at once. Heaven truly favors me, Yu Xiaogang!"
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Spirit Hall drove me out back then. Once the disciples I've taught become renowned powerhouses across the Douluo Continent, I'll make you pay for looking down on me like a pair of blind dogs!"
After dealing with those noble students, Li Luo and Tang San's academy life returned to its day-in, day-out routine.
Li Luo still spent all day in the library, while Tang San went back and forth to the blacksmith's shop from dawn to dusk.
But the good times didn't last. One morning, after Li Luo and Tang San finished practicing the Purple Demon Eye, they were on their way to the cafeteria when an unwelcome visitor blocked their path.
It was none other than Yu Xiaogang. After keeping a close eye on them for a long time, he had finally figured out their daily routines. Since he could never find Li Luo and Tang San at any other time, he'd chosen to lie in wait for them outside the cafeteria that morning.
Yu Xiaogang stood in front of Li Luo and Tang San.
"Li Luo and Tang San, right? I can tell you have extraordinary bones and exceptional talent. I've come here today specifically to take you as my disciples. You're both once-in-a-thousand-years geniuses with Twin Martial Souls, and your Martial Souls are both Blue Silver Grass. I'm Yu Xiaogang, a theoretical master renowned throughout the Soul Master World. No one understands how to cultivate Twin Martial Souls better than we do."
"Get lost!"
Li Luo didn't want to humor Yu Xiaogang, who was making a spectacle of himself, so he simply walked around him.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang reached out to grab Li Luo's arm, but Tang San, standing beside him, lifted his leg and kicked. Yu Xiaogang went flying.
"Ah! My poor old back!"
By the time Yu Xiaogang got back to his feet, Li Luo and Tang San had long since disappeared.
Over the next few days, Yu Xiaogang kept pestering Li Luo and Tang San with tireless enthusiasm. Li Luo couldn't stand it anymore, and one time he hit a little too hard, leaving Yu Xiaogang bedridden for two and a half months.
But Yu Xiaogang still wouldn't give up. He changed tactics and, in a startling first, began teaching lessons, hoping to spread his invincible theories to Li Luo and Tang San.
Unfortunately, Li Luo wasn't the kind of obedient student who followed the rules and attended theory classes.
He spent every spare moment in the library or sparring with Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Yu Xiaogang never got the chance to spread his theories. And since he was afraid of getting beaten if he went to them, he finally quieted down.
Before they knew it, a year and a half had passed. Li Luo's Soul Power Level had now reached 20, which meant he could capture a second spirit.
And the best choice of spirit was, of course, Xiao Wu.
One evening, Li Luo called Xiao Wu out of the dormitory.
"Brother Luo, why did you call me out so late? And to such a deserted corner, too. It's the dead of night. You're not going to do anything bad to me, are you?"
Having been called out so suddenly, Xiao Wu's mind filled with all sorts of naughty thoughts.
But Li Luo wasn't thinking along those lines at all.
He was only seven and a half himself. What was she thinking? He had absolutely no interest in a human girl who was seven and a half years old.
"What are you thinking?"
Li Luo tapped Xiao Wu lightly on the head.
"Ow! Brother Luo, you hurt me!"
Xiao Wu winced and complained in a sweet, girlish voice that he'd hit too hard and didn't know how to treat a girl gently.
"Enough nonsense! I called you here so late to give you an opportunity."
"What opportunity?"
Xiao Wu asked curiously.
"Watch closely!"
"It's you, Haji Wu. Get in!"
Li Luo summoned his Martial Soul, the Prism Ball, and tossed it at Xiao Wu.
The Prism Ball flew over Xiao Wu and released a prismatic beam of light that enveloped her.
Xiao Wu's figure became a streak of colored light and entered the Prism Ball.
"Hum! Hum! Ding!"
As the Prism Ball rang out with a crisp chime, a notification appeared in Li Luo's mind.
[Successfully captured: Prism Xiao Wu] [Spirit Level: 15] [Current maximum obedience level of spirit: 30]
At that moment, a second Soul Ring began to gather around Li Luo.
White
Yellow
In the end, the Soul Ring settled on yellow. Xiao Wu had always been too lazy, slack in her cultivation and interested only in eating, drinking, and having fun all day, so she'd only given Li Luo a Century Soul Ring of around seven hundred years.
Li Luo now had two Soul Rings: purple and yellow.
They had come from Tang San and Xiao Wu, respectively.
Once someone became a Soul Master, they could ease their financial burden through hard work, even without going to Spirit Hall to collect the monthly Soul Master stipend. Every so often, Li Luo and Tang San took part-time jobs with Soul Hunting groups, helping others hunt Soul Beasts for their Soul Rings.
Their wages, along with the money they earned from selling Soul Beast corpses, had brought Li Luo and Tang San quite a bit of wealth—more than enough to cover their current cultivation expenses.
With financial support, Tang San's cultivation had made rapid progress, and his Soul Power Level had reached 19.
As a result, the First Soul Ring on Li Luo, which represented Tang San, had advanced to a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. This meant that Tang San's physical strength had now reached the level required for a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, allowing him to obtain a thousand-year second ring.
After Xiao Wu was successfully captured, her Martial Soul evolved as well. It was no longer an ordinary Soft Bone Charm Rabbit, but a Soft Bone Charming Jade Rabbit.
Li Luo summoned the Soft Bone Charming Jade Rabbit Martial Soul and used Xiao Wu's First Soul Skill—Waist Bow.
He raised his leg and kicked at the air.
"Boom!"
The kick produced a sonic boom.
Li Luo was very pleased with Xiao Wu's Martial Soul. In the future, once Xiao Wu condensed Invincible Golden Body, a top-tier life-saving Soul Skill, he would gain it too.
"Come out, Haji Wu!"
Li Luo decided to release Xiao Wu.
He tossed the Prism Ball into the air. A beam of colored light flashed, and Xiao Wu appeared.
Her braids were now streaked with color. As she looked at Li Luo, heart shapes appeared in her eyes.
"Brother Luo, I feel like I'm bursting with strength!"
Li Luo had just condensed his second Soul Ring and advanced to Soul Grandmaster. His Soul Power Level was now 21, so Xiao Wu, in her Prism state, received a twenty-one percent boost to all her attributes.
"Brother Luo, how did you suddenly get a second Soul Ring?"
Xiao Wu looked at the additional Soul Ring and grew puzzled. A guess crossed her mind.
"Could Brother Luo also be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who took human form to cultivate again? Otherwise, why can he condense Soul Rings by himself?"
"Could it be that he secretly called me out tonight because he wants to confess his identity?"
Xiao Wu didn't intend to expose Li Luo's little secret. Instead, she waited for him to speak first.
But Li Luo didn't respond. He simply took her hand and started back toward Dorm Seven.
"Huh? Why don't you say something? Do you expect a girl to make the first move?"
Xiao Wu grumbled inwardly, but didn't hesitate to act. She immediately hooked her legs around him and perched on his shoulders.
Caught off guard, Li Luo was suddenly knocked to the ground by Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, what are you doing?"
Xiao Wu wore a triumphant grin.
"Brother Luo, hehehe!"