"What do you think, Gu Tian? Would you like to take me as your master?"
The Sea of Consciousness, the terrace of the white villa.
Chiyan was sitting beneath a parasol with her legs crossed, her fiery-red hair swaying in the breeze. Listening to the commotion outside, she looked thoroughly confused and disdainful.
"Xiao Tian, have you lost your mind?" Chiyan pursed her lips. Even sitting casually, her voluptuous figure was fiercely captivating. "That mortal called Yu Xiaogang has theories that are a complete mess, and his cultivation is a steaming pile of crap. You actually want to take him as your master? If you really want to learn, I'll teach you how to play with fire myself. I guarantee I can burn a hole straight through Douluo Continent!"
Ao Linxi sat nearby, gracefully sipping her Nine-Colored Fruit Juice. She smiled without a word, clearly having seen through Gu Tian's wicked intentions.
Gu Tian grinned and shrugged. "Sister Chiyan, you don't get it. Taking him as my master is just a title. It's called observing him at close range. Just imagine: standing in front of that self-proclaimed Grandmaster, constantly shattering his so-called truths in ways he can't even begin to understand, while also hanging around Tang San every day and watching him want to kill me but still have to call me junior brother. Isn't that way more satisfying than just killing them?"
"Tsk, you people in charge always have so many tricks up your sleeves." Chiyan grumbled, but thinking of how Tang San had been humiliated yesterday, she couldn't help laughing. "Fine, I'll play along with your little act. But I'm warning you: if that old geezer lays a finger on you, I'll set his office on fire."
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang was looking at Gu Tian with eager anticipation. He believed that if he could take Gu Tian on as his student, his name would resound throughout the continent.
"Fine." Gu Tian suddenly spoke, reining in the Dragon's oppressive aura. He wore an utterly innocent-looking smile. "Since Grandmaster thinks so highly of us, we'll take you as our master. But I'm not used to all those formalities, so let's skip the tea ceremony."
"Good, good! Great men aren't bound by trivial formalities!" Yu Xiaogang was overjoyed. His voice even trembled with excitement.
Seeing this, Tang San was a hundred times unwilling, but he thought that if his teacher instructed these geniuses as well, it would help his own future growth. So he could only force himself to step forward. "Greetings... junior brothers and sisters."
Gu Tian didn't even spare him a glance. He simply led Xiao Wu and the other two to sit at a long wooden table in the middle of the room.
"Since you've joined my tutelage, I must fulfill my duty as your teacher and give you individual instruction. Today, we'll begin with the first lesson." Yu Xiaogang forcibly suppressed his delight, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode to the blackboard, once again adopting the commanding air of the "Grandmaster."
"Martial Souls are divided into Beast Martial Souls and Tool Martial Souls. In battle, Beast Martial Souls mainly possess the user, strengthening them. Like your Martial Soul, Gu Tian, the Soul Master merges with the Beast Martial Soul to enhance their strength."
"Tool Martial Souls, by contrast, work by leaving the body. Take Xiao San's Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, for example. But Tool Martial Souls don't just include weapons. Food-type Martial Souls also fall under this category. That's easy enough to understand."
Yu Xiaogang lectured with spittle flying, convinced his theory was absolutely flawless.
Yet the seating arrangement around the long table was rather intriguing.
Tang San sat alone on one side, his back ramrod straight as he furiously took notes, afraid to miss even a single one of his teacher's truths. Now and then, he nodded or fell into deep thought, the picture of an exemplary student.
The other side of the table, meanwhile, belonged entirely to Gu Tian and his group.
Gu Tian sat in the middle, with the delicate Xiao Wu to his left and the cool, composed Gu Yue to his right. Na'er squeezed in behind him, half her body pressed against his back.
As Yu Xiaogang's droning lecture continued, Gu Tian's hands began to wander.
His left hand slid down Xiao Wu's rounded shoulder and naturally wrapped around her slender waist, barely an armful. Even through her skirt, he gently caressed her delicate curves. Xiao Wu's face burned red, and the rabbit ears atop her head quivered nervously. But she didn't resist. Instead, she leaned her head against Gu Tian's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Gu Tian's right hand boldly stroked Gu Yue's long, straight thigh. Her expression remained cool, but tenderness rippled in her dark green eyes. Her slender right hand gave the back of his hand a light pinch beneath the table, yet she let him carry on.
The sight made Tang San feel as if his guts were on fire.
He gripped his pen, the veins standing out on the back of his hand. The pen he'd been using to take notes cracked under his fingers.
He saw Xiao Wu looking shy and pleased, then Gu Tian, who wasn't listening to the lesson at all and was focused solely on teasing the three beauties. It felt as if the air had been knocked from his chest. In his eyes, he should have been the one sitting in Gu Tian's place.
"Teacher... Teacher is talking about core competitiveness, and you're actually... actually doing something so vile!" Tang San roared inwardly, his eyes bloodshot.
In his eyes, Gu Tian's presence had turned this sacred classroom into a filthy, indecent place. What he found even harder to bear was that Xiao Wu's eyes, which should have belonged to him alone, were now fixed adoringly on the man caressing her waist.
"Xiao San, is something wrong?" Yu Xiaogang noticed Tang San's breathing grow labored and pushed his glasses up in puzzlement.
"N-no." Tang San clenched his teeth, lowered his head, and stared fixedly at the words in his notebook.
But his hurried, heavy breathing sounded especially out of place in the quiet room, like a beast poised to erupt.
Gu Tian sensed the killing intent. A wicked smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his hands grew even more brazen.
Showing off? This was showing off at the highest level.
Tang San took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Unlike Gu Tian, who had revealed his full strength, Tang San had secrets of his own.
[First rule of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record: Never let anyone know your true strength.]
Tang San's greatest secret was that he had been reborn. In his previous life, he had been a disciple of the Tang Sect. And what was the essence of the Tang Sect?
Hidden Weapons, poison, and lightness skills.
The Tang Sect was Tang San's home, and the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons were his everything.
[Second rule of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record: Hidden Weapons are, by definition, weapons used in secret. Naturally, you must never let your enemy know about them.]
In Douluo Continent, a world ruled by Martial Souls, Hidden Weapons could decide the outcome of a battle.
If Xiao Wu hadn't warned him last time, Gu Tian would already have fallen to his Silent Sleeve Arrow. Even if he had somehow survived, he would have been left permanently crippled.
"Teacher, I'd like to head back and rest. Please continue teaching my junior brothers and sisters!" Tang San was desperate to leave. He knew his mind was unsettled, and in a battle that could change in an instant, that state would seriously impair his judgment.
More importantly, he couldn't stand looking at Gu Tian's loathsome face.
"Mm. Xiao San, your breathing is unsteady. That will seriously affect your cultivation. Go back and get some proper rest."
After Tang San left, Yu Xiaogang looked at Gu Tian and the others. "Gu Tian, look after Xiao San in the future. He's just suffered a setback in love."
Gu Tian nodded. "Don't worry, Grandmaster. We'll take good 'care' of senior brother Tang San."
"Since we're talking about Xiao San, I might as well tell you more about Twin Martial Souls." Yu Xiaogang deliberately paused, drawing everyone's attention.
"To the best of my knowledge, Xiao San is the third Twin Martial Soul user to appear on the continent in nearly three hundred years."
"Oh?" Gu Yue asked, puzzled. "Who were the other two?"
Besides being assigned to protect Gu Tian, she had also received a separate mission from Gu Yuena: to investigate the state of the human world firsthand.
After all, hearsay could be false; seeing was believing.
Twin Martial Souls were so rare in this world that they were naturally worth learning more about.
"The first is Bibi Dong, the current Pontiff of Spirit Hall. Her two Martial Souls are the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor."
"The second is the Clear Sky Douluo from the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Hao. His two Martial Souls are the Clear Sky Hammer and Sound System."
"According to the records, whenever this Clear Sky Douluo appeared, music always accompanied him. On closer listening, the melody sounded remarkably similar to the song Breaking the Cocoon."
"Outsiders speculate that the Clear Sky Douluo's Sound System Martial Soul can strengthen his Soul Power."
"And the third is your senior brother, Tang San."
Gu Tian looked thoughtful. Tang Hao actually had another title: Sound System. They called him Sound System Douluo. It seemed the name was well deserved.
"There's a reason I've only counted the last three hundred years. I studied more than a thousand Soul Masters of different ranks and discovered a general pattern: ordinary people live about a hundred years, and each increase in Soul Power rank adds two years to one's lifespan. That means a Titled Douluo can live up to two hundred and eighty years."
"And if someone reaches level ninety-nine and becomes a Limit Douluo, their lifespan can approach three hundred years!"
Seeing that it was getting late, Yu Xiaogang decided to stop lecturing and had Gu Tian take the girls back with him.
For him, today had been a major turning point in his life. He had a feeling that the Soul Master theories he prided himself on were about to be proven correct.
And after that, he would surely win back those two mature women, Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong, and live happily ever after in shameless bliss.