Do you wish to take me as your master?

"I am the specially appointed instructor of this academy. In the field of martial soul theory, if I claim to be second, no one dares to claim first."

Yu Xiaogang sat in the master's chair, hands clasped, his gaze filled with the profoundness of one who considers himself an elder. He looked at the four young boys and girls before him, his tone calm yet carrying a clear sense of aggression: "Although your talents are decent, in the realm of spirit master cultivation, without scientific guidance, the faster you go, the easier it is to stray onto the wrong path. I kept you here today to offer some guiding advice for your future."

Tang San sat to the side, his back straight as a rod, his eyes filled with adoration as he looked at Yu Xiaogang. He sneered inwardly: Gu Tian, even if you are strong, can you be stronger than the universal truths summarized by my teacher?

Tang San was deeply convinced by Yu Xiaogang's brilliance; Yu Xiaogang had guessed he possessed Twin Martial Souls with just a single glance and, through his own efforts, had summarized achievements that had taken generations of the Tang Sect to attain in his past life.

Gu Tian leaned back in his chair, watching Yu Xiaogang's "pointing out the landscape" act, and found it laughable. He turned his head, exchanged a look with Gu Yue, and conceived a brilliant plan.

If there is a chance to show off right in front of you, and you don't take it—no, if you don't put on a show, you would be doing a disservice to his Dragon God martial soul.

"Advice? Then the Grandmaster had better look closely."

Gu Tian slowly stood up, and the air in the previously calm office suddenly turned viscous.

"Roar--!"

A low dragon roar emerged from thin air within the narrow room, as if coming from the nine-nether abyss. Behind Gu Tian, nine-colored light bloomed instantly, and a magnificent dragon shadow flashed and vanished. Immediately following, a scorching and domineering aura surged from beneath his feet.

A spirit ring, exuding a noble aura and shimmering with a pale purple light, spiraled steadily up from beneath Gu Tian's feet, pulsing within the nine-colored divine light.

This purple was different from an ordinary thousand-year spirit ring; if one observed closely, one could see faint flames leaping upon the surface of the ring.

"Pur... purple?!"

Yu Xiaogang's stiff, wooden face collapsed completely at this moment. He stood up abruptly from his chair, and due to the sudden movement, he knocked over the bookshelf behind him, sending several thick, ancient books clattering to the floor.

"A thousand-year spirit ring? The first spirit ring is a thousand-year one? This is impossible!" Yu Xiaogang shrieked, his voice becoming sharp and piercing due to extreme shock. His pride and joy, his martial soul theory, had actually been shattered? At this moment, it felt like a resounding slap across his face.

Tang San was even more stunned, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He looked at the pale white ten-year spirit ring on his own body, then at the noble purple ring on Gu Tian's, and the pride he had worked so hard to accumulate shattered into pieces instantly.

"Grandmaster, does this fit your scientific logic?" Gu Tian looked at him with a half-smile.

Yu Xiaogang did not answer; he stared fixedly at the purple spirit ring, his mind a blank slate. However, the blow was not over yet.

"Mine is too, you know."

Xiao Wu smiled playfully, tapped her toes, and a similarly brilliant yellow spirit ring rose from beneath her feet. Although the age was slightly inferior to Gu Tian's, it was undeniably a spirit ring that had surpassed four hundred years!

"This color depth? A seven-hundred-year first ring?" Yu Xiaogang gripped the table, drenched in cold sweat. He pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Wu, his voice weak, "Where... where did you get this spirit ring? Even the top sects wouldn't dare let a six-year-old child absorb a thousand-year spirit ring; that is suicidal behavior with no chance of survival!"

"Brother Gu Tian caught it for me." Xiao Wu held Gu Tian's arm as if it were only natural. "He told me that as long as the body is strong enough, so-called limits are meant to be broken."

Yu Xiaogang's gaze shifted to Gu Yue and Na'er, his eyes filled with frantic anticipation and greed. If these two girls were the same, he would even start to doubt if his life's research had all been in vain.

Gu Yue and Na'er exchanged a look, remembering Gu Tian's instructions before they arrived to hide their true strength.

"Martial soul, Elementalist."

Gu Yue's expression was cold as she held her right hand out flat, a gentle cyan wind vortex gathering in her palm. A bright yellow spirit ring rose from beneath her feet; although it was a standard hundred-year level, the deep yellow still showed that this spirit ring was infinitely close to the four-hundred-year threshold.

"Na'er, it's your turn." Gu Tian reminded her.

"Okay." Na'er smiled sweetly. "Na'er's martial soul is space control."

A similarly deep yellow spirit ring rose. Na'er looked at Tang San, who was in a daze and somewhat uncomposed, a flash of mischief in her eyes. She gestured lightly with her small hand toward the bookshelf behind him.

"Go!"

A book half a foot thick that had been piled on top of the bookshelf suddenly vanished, and the next second, it appeared half a meter directly above Tang San's head.

"Bang!"

Tang San hadn't reacted at all before he was struck squarely by the heavy hardcover book, stumbling so hard he nearly flipped out of his chair.

"Oops, sorry Brother Tang San, Na'er isn't very skilled at controlling her martial soul yet." Na'er covered her mouth, apologizing with little sincerity.

Yu Xiaogang could no longer care about Tang San. He looked at the four youths before him, his eyes flashing with unprecedented fanaticism. A monster with innate level twenty power and a purple first ring, and three one-ring geniuses with extreme attributes.

If he could take all four as his disciples, then he, Yu Xiaogang, would not just be a Grandmaster; he would be a god! He would be the supreme pioneer capable of teaching a group of five legends!

"Geniuses... they are simply treasures bestowed by the heavens!"

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, and put on an unprecedentedly kind face: "Children, your talents truly surprise me. But you must understand, the more powerful the martial soul, the easier it is to encounter bottlenecks during cultivation. I have studied martial souls for decades; no one understands how to develop your potential better than I do. As long as you are willing to take me as your master, I guarantee that in the future, you will definitely have a place at the peak of the Douluo Continent!"

He turned his head to look at Tang San, who was rubbing his head and looking aggrieved, and raised his voice as if to show off his strength: "Actually, your senior brother Tang San is also a peerless genius, one in a million. San, show them your true trump card, let them know what kind of achievements can be reached by following me!"

Hearing his teacher's call, Tang San's shattered confidence reassembled. He puffed out his chest, his eyes filled with a fierce determination.

"Yes, teacher."

Tang San stood up and walked to the center of the room. He took a deep breath, his eyes glowing with purple light.

"First martial soul, Blue Silver Grass, appear!"

In his right palm, dark blue Blue Silver Grass grew rapidly, the pale white ten-year spirit ring pulsing in the air.

"This is only his first martial soul." Yu Xiaogang said proudly. "San, show them your second martial soul!"

Tang San's expression became solemn, and his left hand clenched tightly. As an extremely heavy sense of oppression spread out, a small hammer, pitch-black all over and emitting a faint, cold light, appeared in his left palm.

The moment this hammer appeared, the air in the room seemed to grow heavier.

"Do you see?" Yu Xiaogang walked to Tang San's side, pointing at the black hammer, his voice filled with pride and fanaticism. "This is Twin Martial Souls! And this hammer is recognized by the entire continent as the number one tool martial soul—the Clear Sky Hammer!"

He looked at Gu Tian, his eyes conveying the meaning: You may be impressive, but my disciple has a deeper background. "With the Clear Sky Hammer in hand, there is no match within the same level. Gu Tian, if you can join us, under my theoretical guidance, if you and San join forces in the future, who in this world could stop you?"

Tang San gripped the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, finally regaining some face after being suppressed by Gu Tian earlier. He looked at Gu Tian and thought to himself: So what if your spirit ring color is deeper than mine? I have the Clear Sky Hammer, I have a teacher; what do you have to compare with me?