No Useless Martial Souls, Only Useless Soul Masters?!

Listening to the unsparing praise from those around him, the look of smugness on Ma Hongjun's face grew even more intense.

He tilted his chin high, nostrils pointed toward the sky, looking arrogant to the extreme.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been built up perfectly, Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat at the opportune moment.

He stepped forward half a pace and began to promote himself to the surrounding crowd.

"Everyone, look closely; this is the disciple I have personally cultivated."

Yu Xiaogang's voice was resonant, his tone filled with absolute confidence.

"He is the crystallization of my many years of research, and the best proof that my set of Martial Soul theories is absolutely correct."

The surrounding crowd instantly fell silent.

Everyone pricked up their ears, terrified of missing a single word spoken by this Grandmaster.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang became even more spirited and continued his grandiloquent speech.

"You may not know this, but my disciple's Martial Soul once suffered from an extremely malignant mutation."

"For years, he suffered from the torment of evil fire; one slight misstep would have led to him burning himself to death, a fate worse than dying."

"In the eyes of the conventional Spirit Master world, he was a complete and utter waste with no future to speak of."

Having said this, Yu Xiaogang paused deliberately.

He observed the crowd's reactions out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing the expressions of astonishment on the faces of the commoners, he felt satisfied.

Then, Yu Xiaogang shifted his tone, his face filled with pride.

"However, under my, Yu Xiaogang's, meticulous guidance, things took a turn."

"Relying on my profound theoretical knowledge, I helped him resolve the fatal flaw in his Martial Soul."

"Not only did I save his life, but I also allowed him to break through his shackles and reach the realm he is in today—a level you could hardly hope to attain."

The surrounding crowd listened, completely stunned.

Yu Xiaogang slowly scanned his surroundings, his voice suddenly rising by several decibels.

The motto he was most proud of spilled directly from his lips.

"In this world, there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters!"

This sentence was like a giant boulder crashing into a calm lake.

The surrounding crowd, mostly commoners limited by the low quality of their own Martial Souls, suddenly began to breathe rapidly.

A fanatical desire they had never felt before erupted in their eyes.

Faced with the temptation of changing their destiny, someone finally could not hold back.

"Grandmaster, are you still taking on disciples?"

A young man in plain clothing shouted out in excitement.

He pushed desperately to get to the front, his eyes locked on Yu Xiaogang.

This cry instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the entire crowd.

Everyone began to shout and ask questions, trying to secure a spot as a disciple for themselves or their children.

Yet, at this moment, Yu Xiaogang shook his head with reserve.

He straightened his expression, putting on the air of a grandmaster who would rather go without than settle for less.

"I, Yu Xiaogang, have always valued fate and aptitude when taking on disciples; not just any common person can enter my tutelage."

Upon hearing this, the hope that had just been ignited in the crowd instantly cooled by half.

But Yu Xiaogang spoke again immediately after.

"However, I sympathize with everyone's passion for the path of the Spirit Master."

"I can make an exception and give you all an opportunity for guidance."

"It is just that this process consumes a great deal of effort, so it is not free."

Having said that, Yu Xiaogang directly quoted an extremely high price for his appraisal.

Hearing that staggering figure, the noisy crowd around him fell into a deathly silence once again.

For an ordinary family, that was simply a massive sum of money capable of bankrupting them.

After a brief silence.

For the sake of a vague and ethereal future, there were still those in the crowd who chose to compromise.

A middle-aged man with a weathered face gritted his teeth and pulled out a cloth bundle.

Inside was filled with the coins he had painstakingly saved.

The man respectfully handed the money bag over.

After paying the fee, the man released his Martial Soul, full of anticipation.

It was the most common, rusted iron hoe.

Yu Xiaogang merely swept a casual glance over it, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitching slightly to reveal a sneer of disdain.

"A pile of scrap metal, completely devoid of any potential for cultivation; it's too dull even to serve as a farm tool. Move along."

The man was stunned on the spot.

He had never imagined that what he had spent his entire savings to obtain would be met with such a scathing evaluation.

After snapping out of his shock, the man hurriedly stepped forward to demand the return of the hard-earned money he had just handed over.

Yu Xiaogang, however, refused with righteous indignation.

He declared that the money was an appraisal fee for providing guidance and would absolutely not be refunded.

The man's rage burned, his eyes turning red, and he was just about to step forward to argue his case.

Ma Hongjun, who had been standing to the side, moved instantly.

He took a long stride forward, the three Spirit Rings on his body blazing with brilliant light.

A scorching aura of flame rushed forth like a heatwave, directly blasting the man backward.

The man crashed heavily onto the ground, groaning in pain.

Forced by the martial might of Ma Hongjun, a Soul Elder, the man could only accept his misfortune, scrambling up in a dejected state to retreat back into the crowd.

Following this, several others who refused to believe the situation stepped forward to try their luck.

The results were without exception.

Every single one of them was dismissed by Yu Xiaogang with a few airy, empty words.

Whenever faced with requests for a refund, Ma Hongjun would suppress them without a moment's hesitation.

Such blatant extortion had already incited public anger.

Yet, cowed by Ma Hongjun's brute force, everyone dared to be angry but dared not speak.

They could only clutch their pockets tightly and swallow their bitterness.

Behind the crowd.

Qian Renxue saw every scene clearly.

A look of indignation appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.

Today, Qian Renxue had shed the elaborate, heavy robes of the Crown Prince, and a moon-white casual outfit of refined texture made her appear even more elegant and otherworldly.

Sunlight spilled onto her fair, delicate skin, casting a lustrous glow.

Within those golden eyes, flickers of anger were dancing.

She was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

Gu Sheng keenly sensed the emotional shift in the beauty beside him.

He reached out a broad palm and naturally wrapped his arm around Qian Renxue's slender, willow-like waist.

His fingertips felt the astonishing softness beneath the fabric.

Gu Sheng applied a little pressure, drawing her closer to his side.

This simple physical contact carried an air of comforting intimacy.

Qian Renxue felt the warmth radiating from his waist.

Her tense body relaxed slightly, and she leaned into him, clearly enjoying the gesture.

"Don't be angry; it's not worth ruining your health over."

Gu Sheng tilted his head slightly, whispering comfort into her ear.

His warm breath brushed against Qian Renxue's earlobe, causing a faint blush to rise on her face.

"Those two over there are, at best, nothing more than charlatans peddling lies."

Gu Sheng delivered a precise assessment.

Qian Renxue gave a soft huff, expressing her lingering dissatisfaction.

"I just can't stand their shameless, brazen faces."

"They are essentially robbing the common folk of the hard-earned money they've saved for years."

Gu Sheng's fingers gently caressed the side of her waist.

His gaze drifted over the crowd, staring coldly at Yu Xiaogang in the distance.

"Rest assured, retribution for a man like that is already on its way."

Just as the two were whispering to each other.

A new development unfolded in the open space ahead.

A girl with a slight frame plucked up the courage to step forward and seek guidance.

The girl wore a somewhat worn, yet spotlessly clean, cloth dress.

Though her appearance could not compare to the peerless beauty of Qian Renxue, she was nonetheless delicate and lovely.