The Farack Kingdom, its capital, Farack City.
After the heir, Xue Yao, awakened his Martial Soul, King Xue Lang immediately issued the strictest gag order.
But in this world, there had never been a wall so tight that not even a breeze could pass through.
The steward of the Spirit Hall Branch in Farack City happened to be an old Soul Master who had once received a favor from Xue Lang.
Though he did not make a big announcement to his superiors, when he made the routine record of Farack City's Martial Soul Awakenings for the year, he still made an oblique note in the classified files:
"An extremely rare Mutated External Beast Martial Soul may have appeared. Innate Soul Power is exceptionally high; details unknown."
The file should have been sent to the Martial Soul Temple in Heaven Dou City for safekeeping.
But by coincidence, a special "guest" was staying at the Spirit Hall Branch in Farack City at that very moment.
The Spirit Hall archives.
A thin, bony man with a crew cut and a face so stiff it seemed incapable of smiling sat amid a pile of dust-covered files.
He wore a gray cloth shirt washed almost white, yet his hands clutched the newly submitted classified report so tightly that his whole body trembled with excitement.
His name was Yu Xiaogang, the "Grandmaster," renowned throughout the Soul Master World.
Over the years, because his Martial Soul had undergone a vicious mutation, he had been unable to break through the shackles of level 29, a Soul Grandmaster. He had endured his family's contempt and the world's ridicule.
To prove he was no good-for-nothing, he had proposed his so-called "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul," hoping to conquer the Soul Master World with theory.
But reality was cruel. Without great strength to back him up, his theories were nothing but a clown's deluded fantasies in the eyes of the major sects.
So he had left the place that broke his heart and wandered across the continent, trying to find a perfect "test subject"—a genius who could perfectly fit his theories, whom he could personally train into a god. Then he would slap the faces of everyone who had mocked him!
"An External Beast Martial Soul... Innate Soul Power exceptionally high!"
Yu Xiaogang's breathing quickened. He knew the External Beast Martial Soul all too well.
Because his own Martial Soul, "Sanpao," was an External Beast Martial Soul!
"Mutation! It has to be a mutation! An External Beast Martial Soul is the ultimate product of Martial Soul Mutation!"
Yu Xiaogang sprang to his feet and paced back and forth in the cramped archives, muttering like a madman. "The heavens have eyes! They haven't abandoned me, Yu Xiaogang! Who in this world understands Mutated External Beast Martial Souls better than I do?!"
"If I can take him as my disciple and apply all my theories to him, then once he becomes famous across the continent, let's see which of those old fossils in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will dare call me a good-for-nothing! And will Spirit Hall regret driving me away back then?!"
His burning obsession and feverish delight at finding a promising subject instantly clouded Yu Xiaogang's mind.
He touched the token in his arms, the one that marked him as the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It had been invalidated, but he had never returned it. His father, Yu Yuanzhen, had never asked for it either, so he had just kept it.
"King of Farack? Just the uncrowned emperor of a mere vassal kingdom."
Yu Xiaogang gave a cold snort, straightened his gaunt back, and headed straight for Farak Kingdom Mansion.
Half an hour later, at the gates of Farak Kingdom Mansion.
"Stop! This is the royal residence. No entry for unauthorized visitors!" Two fully armed guards crossed their spears, blocking the shabby-dressed, stiff-faced middle-aged man.
Yu Xiaogang stopped, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at the two guards with cool, condescending indifference.
He said nothing. He simply reached into his robes and slowly drew out a black token, holding it up before them.
A Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, claws bared and fangs exposed, was unmistakably engraved on it.
"B-Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?!"
Yu Xiaogang didn't have a Spirit Hall Elder Token yet; Tang Hao would give him that much later. But he had another trick up his sleeve.
The two guards weren't high-ranking, but they had spent years guarding the royal residence and knew what they were looking at.
Their legs went weak with fright, and their spears nearly slipped from their hands.
"Inform the King of Farack that an honored guest has arrived," Yu Xiaogang said coolly, adopting an air of profound mystery with consummate skill.
The guards scrambled into the residence to deliver the message.
Before long, King Xue Lang, who had been guiding Xue Yao's meditation in the rear garden, received the urgent report.
"A Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon token? Are you sure you saw it correctly?" Xue Lang furrowed his brows.
They had never had any contact with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! Why would they suddenly come to his tiny Farack Kingdom? Could news of Yao'er's Innate Full Soul Power have reached the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan so quickly?
But why the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? Even if the news had leaked, shouldn't Spirit Hall have been the first to hear of it?
Unable to make sense of the situation, Xue Lang dared not take it lightly. He immediately straightened his clothes and hurried to the Main Guest Hall with Queen Gao Nianzhen and Xue Yao.
However, when Xue Lang entered the hall, full of reverence, and saw the shabby-dressed middle-aged man standing in its center, whose Soul Power gave off a mere level 29 aura, he froze.
"May I ask who you are?" Xue Lang suppressed his doubts and, with a vague guess in mind, cupped his hands politely.
Yu Xiaogang turned around. A stiff smile crept across his rigid face, but he did not bow and kept his hands clasped behind his back.
"Your Majesty needn't doubt it. The token is genuine. I am Yu Xiaogang."
Yu Xiaogang!
Xue Lang and Gao Nianzhen exchanged a glance. Both wore the same look of disgust, as if they had swallowed a fly.
That name was practically top-tier in the Soul Master World, after all. Who hadn't heard that Thunder Douluo had been a hero all his life, only to sire a swine?
And Yu Xiaogang had the same External Beast Martial Soul as their Yao'er. What was this creep doing here?
Behind his parents, the instant Xue Yao heard the word "Grandmaster," a trace of icy mockery flashed through his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang?
That hypocrite who had plagiarized internal Spirit Hall materials, cobbled together his so-called "Ten Core Competencies," lived off women, and treated Tang San as a tool to prove himself?
He had actually come here?
Xue Yao said nothing. He merely watched Yu Xiaogang in silence.
So it was the clown.
"So you're the Grandmaster. My apologies for not recognizing you." Though Xue Lang felt disgusted inside, Yu Xiaogang was, after all, the son of Thunder Douluo, so he offered him a seat. "May I ask what brings you here today, Grandmaster?"
Yu Xiaogang did not sit. Instead, his gaze passed straight over Xue Lang and fixed on Xue Yao.
The undisguised fervor and greed in his eyes made Gao Nianzhen frown in discomfort. She instinctively shielded her son behind her.
"Your Majesty, let's speak plainly."
Yu Xiaogang withdrew his gaze and spoke with absolute certainty and arrogance. "I know that your son awakened a Mutated External Beast Martial Soul a few days ago, and that his Innate Soul Power is exceptionally high."
At those words, Xue Lang's expression changed drastically, and his eyes sharpened in an instant.
The news had leaked after all!
Seeing Xue Lang's tense expression, Yu Xiaogang was immensely pleased with himself. He thought he had completely cowed the king.
He cleared his throat and launched into a long speech:
"Your Majesty needn't be nervous. I haven't come to take the child away, but to save him!"
"Save him?"
At some point, Xue Lang's expression had turned cold.
"Exactly!" Yu Xiaogang raised his voice and spoke with righteous conviction. "An External Beast Martial Soul is the most perilous mutation in the Martial Soul world! The slightest misstep can cause a rejection between the Martial Soul and its host, leaving the host unable to make any progress in Soul Power for life—or even causing him to explode!"
"Across the entire Douluo Continent, I, Yu Xiaogang, am the only one who can thoroughly study the mechanisms behind External Beast Martial Soul mutations!"
The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more excited he became, as if he were utterly lost in his own world:
"I once proposed the 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul,' which clearly stated: there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters! Any Mutated Martial Soul can turn decay into wonder with the most scientific and rigorous theoretical guidance!"
He abruptly turned, fixing his blazing gaze on Xue Yao and pointing at him like a lofty benefactor bestowing charity.
"If this child stays in the Farack Kingdom, if he is left in the hands of mediocre teachers who know nothing but rigid, routine cultivation, then in less than three years, he will sink into mediocrity and be utterly ruined!"
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