Yu Xiaogang's Shameless Persistence

Lin Yue immediately rolled her eyes, folded her arms, and said coldly, "Give it a rest, Yu Xiaogang. We wouldn't dare trouble a 'master' like you. Last time, your theory on Soul Ring limits got utterly refuted by a book from a hundred years ago. Your face was practically swollen from the humiliation. How do you still dare call yourself the foremost authority on theory?"

Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned bright red. He craned his neck and said, "That book only contains basic records! When it comes to truly grasping the details—the compatibility between martial soul attributes and soul beasts—only I can judge accurately! Tang San has Innate Full Soul Power and Blue Silver Grass. Ordinary soul beasts simply aren't worthy of him. Only I can help him find the most perfect first Soul Ring!"

As he spoke, he stared fixedly at Tang San, his eyes full of pleading.

He knew all too well that this was his only chance to get close to Tang San and regain his trust.

If he could help Tang San choose a suitable Soul Ring during this hunt, perhaps Tang San's opinion of him would change. Even if Tang San did not take him as a master, Yu Xiaogang could still rely on him and gain a firm footing at the academy.

Lin Yue wanted to retort again, but Tang San gently tugged her arm and shook his head slightly.

Tang San raised his eyes to Yu Xiaogang, his tone calm and unreadable. "If you want to come, then come. But just follow us. There's no need for you to do anything unnecessary."

Tang San had his own calculations. Yu Xiaogang might be a fame-chasing fraud, but he had immersed himself in martial soul theory for decades. Perhaps he truly had some unique understanding of soul beasts compatible with Blue Silver Grass. There was no harm in listening. If what Yu Xiaogang said was wrong, Tang San could simply ignore it. With the principal and the two teachers present, Yu Xiaogang could not cause any trouble.

Since Tang San had spoken, the principal could not say much more. He frowned and said coldly to Yu Xiaogang, "You can come if you want, but behave yourself on the road. Don't cause us trouble. If anything happens, I'll hold you solely responsible."

Yu Xiaogang was instantly overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry! I'll absolutely behave myself! I'll definitely help the children choose the most suitable soul beasts!"

And so, the original group of six forcibly gained one more member: Yu Xiaogang. Two carriages rolled grandly out of Nuoding City, heading toward the Soul Hunting Forest maintained by the empire.

Along the way, Yu Xiaogang indeed did not stay idle. He kept sidling up to Tang San and chattering endlessly about soul beasts suited to the Blue Silver Grass martial soul—Mandala Snakes, Ghost Vines, and the like. He spoke as though he knew everything, attempting to reestablish his authority.

But whenever he had said only a few sentences, Lin Yue would leisurely take out Complete Compendium of Soul Master Knowledge and Beast Soul Encyclopedia, flip to the relevant pages, and read aloud the more detailed and rigorous information recorded inside. She would also take the chance to mock him. "That's it? The books explain it far more clearly than you do. They even cover the toxicity classifications of Mandala Snakes and methods for avoiding Ghost Vine Parasite. What do we need you here for?"

Yu Xiaogang was rebuked until his face reddened, but he did not dare confront Lin Yue head-on. He could only shut his mouth resentfully. Yet less than two minutes later, he could not help edging back over to Tang San to babble again.

Most of the time, Tang San merely listened quietly, neither nodding nor refuting him. Occasionally, he asked about one or two details, silently comparing Yu Xiaogang's words with the contents of the books. He remembered what was useful and treated the rest as idle chatter.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu sat quietly between them. From time to time, she handed Tang San a pastry or Lin Yue a pot of water. In a soft, sweet voice, she even chimed in with a few remarks against Yu Xiaogang, earning herself plenty of goodwill.

System notifications kept ringing in her mind. Tang San's capture progress had already risen to 12%, while Lin Yue's had reached 18%. She was so delighted that the smile never left her lips.

After swaying along for only half a day, they arrived at the entrance to the empire-maintained Soul Hunting Forest.

A tall stone wall had been built around the entrance. A row of imperial soldiers in armor stood at the gate, spears in hand, guarding the place tightly.

They bought a map, which clearly listed the forest's regional divisions, the basic types of soul beasts, and their age ranges. Even the danger levels were marked distinctly, making everything easy to understand at a glance.

Not to mention hundred-year soul beasts—even thousand-year soul beasts were tightly confined within designated areas. It was simply impossible for them to run out and harm people freely.

The principal presented the travel permit issued by the Imperial Academy. After the soldiers verified it, they immediately let them through respectfully.

Yu Xiaogang stared at the sight before him, his whole body stiffening. He had originally thought that once they entered the dangerous Soul Hunting Forest, he could rely on his "experience" to lead everyone away from danger, put on a good performance, and make Tang San view him in a new light.

But who could have imagined that they had come to an empire-maintained Soul Hunting Forest? Forget danger—there was not even a soul beast wandering about recklessly in sight!

Perhaps too much time had passed, and he had forgotten that a maintained Soul Hunting Forest had a very low threat level.

Seeing his dazed expression, Lin Yue could not help snickering. "What is it, Master? Disappointed? No chance to show off your wilderness survival experience?"

Yu Xiaogang's face shifted from green to white, and he could not utter a word for a long while.

The principal smiled and clapped his hands, addressing the three children. "All right, let's head to the hundred-year soul beast area first. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass belongs to the Life type, so it would be best for him to take the support path. We can look for plant soul beasts inclined toward the Life type. Xiao Wu, your Soft Bone Rabbit specializes in close-range power attacks and agility attacks, so look for beast-type soul beasts with speed and strength. Lin Yue, keep an eye out for now. If we find a suitable target for your second Soul Ring, we'll note it down. Once you break through to level twenty, we'll come directly here to hunt it. Listen carefully: stay beside us the entire time. No running around. Understand?"

"Understood!" the three children answered in unison.

Xiao Wu secretly edged closer to Tang San and quietly grabbed the corner of his clothes. In a soft voice, she said, "Brother Tang San, I'm a little scared. Can I stay with you?"

Tang San looked at her large, watery eyes and could not bear to refuse. He nodded gently.

Xiao Wu was instantly overjoyed. The system notification sounded right on cue in her mind: [Ding! SSS-rank target Tang San's capture progress +3%. Current progress: 15%! Please continue working hard, host. Unlock more targets and gain more utterly devoted followers!]

The group headed toward the hundred-year soul beast area. With three Soul Masters guarding them from front, back, left, and right, let alone a soul beast attack, not even an insect dared approach them.

It was worlds apart from the dangerous scene in the original story, where Yu Xiaogang had taken Tang San alone into the Soul Hunting Forest and nearly gotten Tang San killed by a Mandala Snake.

Yu Xiaogang followed at the very back of the group. He looked at the principal walking beside Tang San, surrounded by the two children, then at Tang San, who barely acknowledged him. His heart was both bitter and anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

As they continued toward the hundred-year soul beast area, the two principals and two teachers formed a triangular formation around the three children. Their vigilant gazes swept across their surroundings. From time to time, they stopped and pointed out passing soul beasts, explaining their species, attributes, and compatibility to the children.

Tang San listened with particular attentiveness. From time to time, he nodded, silently committing the knowledge to memory.

He could clearly sense that his Blue Silver Grass martial soul contained an exceptionally dense aura of Life. The golden patterns on its leaves carried the primordial aura of a plant-type emperor. It was naturally inclined toward nourishing Life, or at the very least, toward the water and earth needed by plants.

After examining soul beasts along the way, their attributes were either incompatible or their age was too high. He had only just entered the realm of Soul Masters and simply could not absorb them.

After walking onward for roughly a quarter of an hour, Yu Xiaogang, who was at the rear, suddenly brightened. He hurried to a crack between the rocks by the roadside and pointed at the lone, greenish bamboo growing within it, only half a foot tall. He shouted loudly to stop everyone. "Wait! Tang San, come here quickly! There's a soul beast here that suits you!"

Hearing him, everyone stopped and turned to look.

Within the crack grew a thin, slender bamboo stalk. It had only a single section of bamboo and a few sparse leaves. The Soul Power fluctuations emanating from it were almost negligible. Anyone with eyes could tell at a glance that it was merely a ten-year plant-type soul beast.

"This is Solitary Bamboo, the most common low-level plant-type soul beast!"

Yu Xiaogang's face was full of pride. Just as he had explained the Mandala Snake to Tang San in his previous life, he launched into an unending introduction. "This type of plant soul beast is naturally endowed with binding and paralyzing venom attributes. Its bamboo body is also incomparably resilient, making it a perfect match for your Blue Silver Grass martial soul. Its only drawback is that its age is a bit low—only ten years. But if we truly cannot find a more suitable hundred-year soul beast, choosing it would definitely be the safest option!"

P.S.: To answer a question—how should I put this? Just treat Qian Chongguang as dead, (´◐∀◐`). I'm writing this as an ensemble story. Also, transmigrators are not necessarily all overpowered. Some are genuinely terrible, some are absurdly bad, and some may even be characters who crossed over from other worlds.