"I'm a specially appointed instructor at the academy. In the field of Martial Soul Theory, I consider myself second to none."
Yu Xiaogang sat in a grand armchair, his hands clasped together and his eyes carrying the solemnity of someone who fancied himself an elder. He looked at the four boys and girls before him, his tone calm but unmistakably forceful. "You may have good talent, but when it comes to cultivating as Soul Masters, without proper guidance, the faster you advance, the more easily you'll stray down the wrong path. I kept you here today because I wanted to offer some guidance for your futures."
Tang San sat to one side, his back ramrod straight as he gazed at Yu Xiaogang with adoration. He sneered inwardly. Gu Tian, no matter how strong you are, can you surpass the truths of the world my teacher has uncovered?
Tang San had been thoroughly won over by Yu Xiaogang's genius. With just one glance, Yu Xiaogang had guessed that he possessed Twin Martial Souls. Through his own efforts, he had also summed up achievements that had taken generations of Tang Sect talents in his previous life to attain.
Gu Tian leaned back in his chair, finding Yu Xiaogang's air of pontificating amusing. He turned and exchanged a glance with Gu Yue, hit by a brilliant idea.
With a chance to show off right in front of you, if you didn't take it—no, if you didn't put on a show—you'd be letting down your Dragon God Martial Soul.
"Guidance? Then you'd better take a good look, Grandmaster."
Gu Tian slowly rose to his feet. The air in the office, calm only moments before, suddenly grew thick and heavy.
"Roar—!"
A deep dragon's roar rang out of nowhere in the cramped room, as if it had come from the depths of the netherworld. Nine-colored light burst into bloom behind Gu Tian, and a magnificent dragon's shadow flashed into view before vanishing. Then a scorching, domineering aura surged up from beneath his feet.
A Soul Ring radiating noble splendor and shimmering with a pale violet light spiraled steadily up from beneath Gu Tian, pulsing amid the Nine-Colored Divine Light.
The violet was unlike that of an ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Look closely, and tiny flames could be seen flickering across its surface.
"V-violet?!"
Yu Xiaogang's wooden, rigid face crumpled completely. He sprang up from his chair, and his sudden movement sent him crashing into the bookcase behind him. Several heavy old tomes tumbled to the floor with a clatter.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring? Your first Soul Ring is a thousand years old? That's impossible!" Yu Xiaogang shrieked, his voice sharp with shock. His vaunted Martial Soul Theory had just been shattered. It felt like a resounding slap across the face.
Tang San was even more stunned, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He looked at the deathly pale Ten-Year Soul Ring around himself, then at the noble violet one around Gu Tian. The pride he had painstakingly built up shattered into pieces.
"Grandmaster, does this fit your scientific logic?" Gu Tian looked at him with an amused smile.
Yu Xiaogang didn't answer. He stared fixedly at the violet Soul Ring, his mind utterly blank. But the blows weren't over yet.
"Mine too."
Xiao Wu smiled playfully and lightly tapped her toes. A dazzling Yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet. Though its age fell short of Gu Tian's, it was undeniably more than four hundred years old!
"That depth of color? A seven-hundred-year first Soul Ring?" Yu Xiaogang gripped the table, drenched in sweat. He pointed at Xiao Wu with a trembling finger, his voice faltering. "W-where did you get that Soul Ring? Even the top sects wouldn't dare let a six-year-old absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring. That would be suicide!"
"Big Brother Gu Tian caught it for me." Xiao Wu matter-of-factly took his arm. "He told me that as long as your body is strong enough, so-called limits are meant to be broken."
Yu Xiaogang turned to Gu Yue and Na'er, his eyes brimming with frenzied anticipation and greed. If those two girls were the same, he might have to wonder whether all his research in this life had been for the dogs.
Gu Yue and Na'er exchanged a glance, remembering Gu Tian's instructions to conceal their strength before he arrived.
"Martial Soul: Elementalist."
Gu Yue's expression remained cool as she held out her right hand, a gentle swirl of green wind gathering in her palm. A bright Yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet. Though it was a normal hundred-year Soul Ring, its deep yellow hue showed it had nearly reached the four-hundred-year threshold.
"Na'er, your turn," Gu Tian reminded her.
"Okay!" Na'er smiled sweetly. "Na'er's Martial Soul controls space."
A similarly deep-yellow Soul Ring rose beneath her. Na'er glanced at Tang San, who was still stunned—and had even lost his composure—and a sly glint flashed in her eyes. She gave a little beckoning motion toward the bookcase behind and to one side.
"Go!"
A book, half a foot thick, vanished from the top of the bookcase. The next moment, it appeared half a meter above Tang San's head.
"Thud!"
Tang San didn't even have time to react before the heavy hardback slammed into him. He staggered under the blow and nearly toppled out of his chair.
"Oops, sorry, Big Brother Tang San. Na'er's still not very good at controlling her Martial Soul." Na'er covered her mouth, offering an apology that didn't sound very sincere.
By now, Yu Xiaogang had no time to worry about Tang San. He stared at the four youngsters before him, his eyes blazing with unprecedented fervor. A monster with innate level twenty and a violet first Soul Ring, and three geniuses with extreme attributes and one Soul Ring apiece.
If he could take all four of them as disciples, then Yu Xiaogang wouldn't merely be a Grandmaster. He'd be a god—the supreme pioneer who could guide five legends to godhood!
"Geniuses... these are treasures bestowed by the heavens!"
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, forcing down his elation, and put on the kindest expression he had ever worn. "Children, your talents have truly amazed me. But you must understand: the more powerful the Martial Soul, the more likely you are to encounter bottlenecks in your cultivation. I've studied Martial Souls for decades. No one understands better than I do how to develop your potential. If you're willing to take me as your master, I promise that each of you will have a place at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent!"
He turned to Tang San, who was rubbing his head with an aggrieved look, and raised his voice as if to demonstrate his own strength. "In fact, your senior brother Tang San is also a peerless genius, one in ten thousand. Xiao San, show them your true trump card. Let them see what you can achieve by following me!"
Hearing his teacher call him, Tang San's shattered confidence pieced itself back together. He puffed out his chest, a fierce glint in his eyes.
"Yes, teacher."
Tang San stood and walked to the center of the room. He took a deep breath, violet light glimmering in his eyes.
"First Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass, appear!"
Blue Silver Grass sprouted rapidly from his right palm, its ghostly blue tendrils unfurling as the deathly pale Ten-Year Soul Ring pulsed in the air.
"That's only his First Martial Soul," Yu Xiaogang declared proudly. "Xiao San, show them your Second Martial Soul!"
Tang San's expression grew solemn as he clenched his left fist. An intensely oppressive weight spread through the room, and a small, pitch-black hammer appeared in his left palm, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
The instant the hammer appeared, the air in the room seemed to grow heavier.
"Do you see?" Yu Xiaogang stepped beside Tang San and pointed at the black hammer, his voice brimming with pride and fervor. "This is Twin Martial Souls! And this hammer is the Clear Sky Hammer, universally recognized across the continent as the greatest weapon-type Martial Soul!"
He looked at Gu Tian with an expression that seemed to say, "You may be impressive, but my disciple has a far greater background." "With the Clear Sky Hammer in hand, he's invincible among those of the same rank. Gu Tian, if you join us, then under my theoretical guidance, you and Xiao San can join forces in the future. Who in the world could stand in your way?"
Tang San tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer. At last, he had managed to recover a little of his lost face after Gu Tian had suppressed him. He looked at Gu Tian and thought, So what if your Soul Ring is a higher age than mine? I have the Clear Sky Hammer, and I have my teacher. What can you possibly compare with me?