Grandmaster!

At the first hint of dawn, someone knocked on the door of Dorm Seven.

Huang Fei was burrowed under his blanket, dreaming that he was tearing into a fragrant roast chicken, when he suddenly felt someone shaking him.

"Huang Fei, someone's looking for you."

It was Tang San's voice.

Still groggy, Huang Fei poked his head out from under the blanket and squinted toward the door.

A middle-aged man dressed in black stood there with his hands behind his back. He wore an expressionless face, and his eyes held an indescribable scrutiny.

Yu Xiaogang.

Most of Huang Fei's drowsiness vanished in an instant.

Here he was.

The guy had finally come knocking.

Then again, it made sense. Yu Xiaogang had been living off Notting Academy for years, waiting for the perfect experimental subjects.

Now two Blue Silver Grass users with Innate Full Soul Power had appeared at once. If he could resist coming to find them, that would be the real miracle.

Huang Fei sat up, rubbed his eyes, yawned, and slowly put on his shoes.

Tang San had already gone to the door. "May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Yu Xiaogang." The man in black spoke in an even, measured voice. "You can call me Grandmaster. Come with me. I have something to discuss with you."

Tang San looked back at Huang Fei, his eyes questioning.

Huang Fei had finished putting on his shoes. He came over and patted Tang San on the shoulder, his tone as casual as if he were saying, "Come on, let's go get breakfast."

"Come on. Let's see what he wants."

Tang San was still puzzled, but when he saw Huang Fei heading out, he didn't say anything more and followed him out of Dorm Seven.

The two boys followed Yu Xiaogang along a path through the dormitory area, around the teaching building, and into a quiet clearing behind the academy.

A few old locust trees grew there, and withered leaves carpeted the ground. Hardly anyone ever came by.

Morning light filtered through the branches, casting a patchwork of shadows across the ground.

Yu Xiaogang walked to the middle of the clearing and turned around. With his hands clasped behind his back and his chin slightly raised, he swept his gaze over Tang San before letting it settle on Huang Fei.

He stood ramrod straight, his back stiff as a spear. His whole bearing radiated, "I'm impressive."

"My name is Yu Xiaogang." He introduced himself again, this time with even greater solemnity. "In the study of Martial Soul Theory, I am the foremost authority on the continent. People call me the Theoretical Grandmaster. You can call me Grandmaster, too."

He paused.

This was his usual opening.

First, he tossed out a title impressive enough to make people assume he was someone extraordinary. Then he would move on to the rest of the conversation.

In the past, whenever he introduced himself this way, the other person's reaction was always the same: shock, admiration, even a little awe.

He waited to see how the two boys would react.

Tang San's eyes widened slightly as he took in Yu Xiaogang's words.

Theoretical Grandmaster?

The foremost authority on the continent?

He didn't know much about Martial Soul Theory, but if the man dared to call himself the foremost authority on the continent, then he must... really be quite remarkable, right?

Tang San was only six, after all, and had been in this world for just a few years. Though he had learned some things about Soul Masters from the books his father gave him, his understanding of the continent's theoretical knowledge was still limited.

In his mind, anyone bold enough to call himself "the foremost authority on the continent" had to possess some real ability, even if the claim was a little inflated.

So he looked startled, and a few traces of respect crept into his gaze as he looked at Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang noticed the change in Tang San's expression and felt quietly satisfied.

Good. This boy could be cultivated.

He turned to Huang Fei, ready to receive a second helping of "astonishment."

Then his smile froze on his face.

Huang Fei's expression was completely different from Tang San's.

He leaned against an old locust tree nearby, hands tucked into his sleeves, head tilted as he looked at Yu Xiaogang. His expression was as still as a pool of dead water.

There was no shock in his eyes, no admiration, no curiosity. Only something indescribable.

Yu Xiaogang had seen that look before.

He had seen it in the eyes of the bigwigs in Spirit Hall.

It was the look people gave a clown.

Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed before he could stop it.

"You..." He couldn't help asking, "Don't you have anything to say?"

Huang Fei blinked, looking completely innocent.

"Anything to say?" He tilted his head, his tone sincere and confused. "Grandmaster, am I supposed to react somehow?"

He paused, then suddenly clapped a hand to his forehead as if a thought had just occurred to him.

"Oh, I get it."

He brought his hands together, widened his eyes, rounded his mouth into an O, and cried out in a voice exaggerated beyond belief:

"Wow! You're so amazing! The foremost authority on the continent! I'm such a huge fan!"

His expression was so theatrical it belonged on a stage, but his eyes remained utterly calm.

"How was that, Grandmaster? Is that the right reaction? Do you need me to play along?"

Yu Xiaogang's face instantly flushed the color of pig liver.

"You—!"

He took a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the anger surging into his throat.

He couldn't lose his temper.

He couldn't stoop to arguing with a six-year-old child.

He was here on important business, not to get worked up over some brat.

He closed his eyes and silently repeated "for the greater plan" three times. When he opened them again, his expression had returned to normal.

But a trace of gloom was plainly visible in his eyes.

Standing to the side, Tang San watched the exchange and finally caught on.

He really had been impressed for a moment by the title "foremost authority on the continent." But now that he thought about it, would a true "foremost authority on the continent" come to a primary academy to strike up a conversation with two little boys?

And though Huang Fei's reaction had been exaggerated, when he thought about it carefully, it didn't seem unreasonable.

A stranger called them out first thing in the morning, then immediately claimed to be the foremost authority on the continent without even explaining why he was there. What kind of way was that to behave?

Tang San stepped forward half a pace, his tone polite but distant.

"Grandmaster, what exactly did you call us here for? Just say it."

Yu Xiaogang glanced at Tang San, then at Huang Fei.

The two boys had very different attitudes: one polite and restrained, the other...

He decided not to think about Huang Fei's attitude. Otherwise, he was afraid he might lose control.

"All right. I'll get straight to the point."

Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back again, resuming his inscrutable pose.

"I have spent many years researching Martial Soul Theory and have pored over countless confidential archives from Spirit Hall. I've put together a complete theoretical framework. At its core are the Ten Martial Soul Competition Theories."

He began to lecture at length.

From the mechanisms behind Martial Soul awakening to the competition between Martial Souls;

from the principles behind the emergence of Trash Martial Souls to rare cases of Twin Martial Souls;

from records of several Twin Martial Soul users in history whom he had studied,

to his special research into Blue Silver Grass, a "Trash Martial Soul"...

He was deeply engrossed in his lecture. His pace was steady, and every theory sounded well-supported, backed up with references and historical examples. It did seem to make some sense.

As Tang San listened, his brow gradually furrowed.

He couldn't follow all the details, but he understood the general idea.

This Grandmaster believed that a Trash Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass couldn't possibly give rise to Innate Full Soul Power.

Tang San mulled over this information.

It seemed... reasonable?

Blue Silver Grass really was weak, a Trash Martial Soul recognized across the entire continent.

So why did he have Innate Full Soul Power?

It had to be because of the Mysterious Heaven Skill he had cultivated.

At the end of his lecture, Yu Xiaogang finally delivered his conclusion.

His eyes shining, he fixed Tang San with a fervent gaze, his voice firm and confident.

"So the two of you must both possess Twin Martial Souls! Hidden within your bodies is another Martial Soul of exceptional quality! It is this hidden Martial Soul that gave you your talent for Innate Full Soul Power!"

The clearing fell silent for a moment.

Tang San froze.

He saw Yu Xiaogang's eager gaze and instinctively turned to look at Huang Fei.

Huang Fei was still leaning against the old locust tree, his expression as calm as ever.

But the corner of his mouth lifted just slightly.