Morning sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting dappled shadows along the tree-lined avenue of Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy.
Su Yu walked out of Dorm Seven with Tang Wu and Xiao Wu.
Fresh from washing up, Tang Wu looked especially radiant.
She wore the same coarse clothes, faded from countless washes, but they did nothing to hide the pure, ethereal air she'd gained after having her meridians cleansed and her marrow refined.
Her fair skin, flushed pink, glowed with healthy warmth in the sunlight. Her deep blue hair fell softly against her cheeks.
As usual, she clung tightly to Su Yu's left arm with both hands, leaning half her body against him, as if she wanted everyone to know he was her Yu-gege.
Xiao Wu walked on Su Yu's right.
Her long, straight legs carried her along at a brisk pace.
She didn't cling to Su Yu as tightly as Tang Wu did, but she still kept deliberately close, her shoulder brushing his arm from time to time.
"Yu-gege, are we going to get our certificates now?"
Tang Wu tipped her face up, her clear eyes brimming with anticipation.
She was already a Level Ten Soul Scholar. Once she got her First Soul Ring, she would become a true Soul Master.
Su Yu nodded and was just about to answer when something farther up the road caught his eye.
Several people were approaching along the center of the tree-lined avenue.
At the front was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut.
He wore a black robe and held his hands behind his back, his chin slightly raised. His face wore an arrogant expression of superiority, as if he looked down on the whole world.
What was surprising was that Nuoding Academy's Old Dean was walking beside him.
The Old Dean, usually so imposing before the students, now looked like an attendant. He bent slightly at the waist, his face wreathed in a fawning smile as he bobbed and bowed, saying something to the middle-aged man as they walked.
"Why is the dean showing that man around? And why does he look so familiar?"
Xiao Wu followed Su Yu's gaze and muttered in surprise.
Su Yu stopped, paying no heed to Xiao Wu's confusion.
As was his habit, he focused his spiritual power in his eyes. Golden light quietly swirled deep within them.
The Eye of Truth opened without a sound.
In an instant, the world around Su Yu changed.
He ignored the Old Dean and the passing students, fixing his golden gaze precisely on the arrogant, buzz-cut man.
Above the man's head, there was no ordinary gray or pink panel. Instead, a strange panel radiating a dark red glow hovered there.
Its color was jarring, like congealed blood, and it emanated an intensely unpleasant, sinister aura.
Several large characters were written clearly across the panel in blood-red lettering:
[Luck Plunder System]
Su Yu narrowed his eyes and quickly scanned the dense lines of information beneath the panel.
[Host: Yu Xiaogang (Body Snatcher)] [Current Status: Soul fusion at 90%. Has completely taken over the original host's body and social identity.] [Core Function: Take in children of luck as disciples and forcibly establish karmic bonds. Once the master-disciple relationship is confirmed, the system will automatically open a plunder channel, continuously draining the other party's luck, talent, and opportunities to benefit the host.] [Current Bound Disciples: None.] [Host's Current Luck Value: 10 (Ordinary Person Level).]
Seeing the blood-red text, Su Yu sneered inwardly.
So he was a body snatcher.
In the original story, Yu Xiaogang had been a good-for-nothing who only knew how to plagiarize Spirit Hall's research, relying on lies and deceit to earn the title of "Grandmaster." But at least he'd been the original Yu Xiaogang.
Now, after being possessed by a transmigrator brought over by a system, he'd become a vampire hiding beneath the Grandmaster's robes.
This Luck Plunder System was far more vicious than the low-level system belonging to that previous pig butcher.
The host didn't need to train hard or complete dangerous missions. He only had to bask in the prestige of the title "Grandmaster" and trick talented youngsters into becoming his disciples. Then he could drain everything from them under the guise of a legitimate master-disciple bond.
The talented youngsters whose luck was drained would end up not only mediocre, but might not even know what had killed them. Meanwhile, the body snatcher would step over his disciples' bones as he climbed toward the peak.
That was precisely why Xiao Wu hadn't immediately recognized the man as Yu Xiaogang.
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang was strolling leisurely along the avenue.
He paid no attention to the Old Dean's flattery beside him.
On the surface, he put on the cold air of a worldly master. In reality, his gaze kept sweeping over the students passing by.
In his mind, the System Panel kept flashing prompts, frantically evaluating each student's aptitude and luck.
[Scanning Target: Ordinary Student. Aptitude Rating: Inferior. Luck Value: 5 points. No value to plunder.] [Scanning Target: Commoner Student. Aptitude Rating: Useless. Luck Value: 2 points. Host advised to ignore.] [Scanning Target: Noble Student. Aptitude Rating: Below Average. Luck Value: 15 points. Does not meet disciple recruitment standards.]
As he listened to the unceasing prompts in his mind, Yu Xiaogang grew increasingly irritated.
He had possessed Yu Xiaogang's body some time ago.
Although he'd used the theoretical knowledge the original host had left behind to fool Nuoding Academy's dean and secure himself a special position where he could eat and drink for free, his strength had still remained stuck at Level Twenty-Nine.
Unless he could quickly find a child of luck and take them as his disciple, he'd be a good-for-nothing for the rest of his life.
"Does this lousy place even have any geniuses?"
Yu Xiaogang cursed inwardly. "They're all a bunch of worthless trash with pitifully low scores. Do I have to try my luck at one of the higher-level Soul Master Academies? But with my current strength, nobody at a higher-level academy would even give me the time of day."
Just as Yu Xiaogang was grumbling and preparing to look away, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The Luck Plunder System in his mind went berserk, blaring a shrill red alert.
"Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep!"
The dark red panel flashed wildly before his eyes. Its blood-red text instantly enlarged, filling his entire field of vision.
[Excellent Plunder Target Detected!] [Luck Value Off the Charts! Impossible to Estimate!] [System strongly recommends: Take this target as your disciple immediately, at any cost!]
Yu Xiaogang's heart spasmed. His whole body trembled slightly with excitement.
Luck off the charts!
He'd had the system bound to him for so long, but this was the first time it had ever given such an evaluation.
Following the enormous red arrow on the System Panel, Yu Xiaogang whipped around.
His gaze, like a hungry wolf's, locked onto Su Yu and the two girls standing not far away.
More precisely, it locked onto Tang Wu, who stood on Su Yu's left.
At that moment, Tang Wu was holding Su Yu's arm and speaking softly.
The morning sunlight fell across her face, making her flawless skin, refined by having her meridians cleansed and her marrow refined, look even more captivating.
Her exceptional, heaven-blessed aura, as if she'd been infused with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, made her stand out like a crane among chickens beside the ordinary students around her.
Yu Xiaogang stared at Tang Wu, eyes wide.
He saw not only her stunning appearance but also the golden pillar of luck shooting skyward from her body, visible through the system.
The sheer amount of luck she possessed surpassed that of everyone he'd ever seen combined by countless times.
"Gulp."
Yu Xiaogang couldn't help swallowing hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Greedy flames burned fiercely in his eyes.
As long as he took this girl as his disciple, as long as he established a karmic bond with her, he could transform himself in an instant.
The Level Twenty-Nine bottleneck, the limitations of a Trash Martial Soul—all of it would vanish beneath the surge of this immense luck.
He could even break through to the realm of a Titled Douluo and become a god of this world!
"Grandmaster, why have you stopped?"
The Old Dean beside him saw Yu Xiaogang suddenly stop and stare fixedly at a few work-study students. Puzzled, he followed the man's gaze.
Yu Xiaogang ignored the Old Dean.
He drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his excitement and elation.
He knew he couldn't appear too eager when dealing with an innocent little girl like this. He had to maintain the image of a master.
Yu Xiaogang immediately put on a mysterious yet kindly smile.
He raised a hand and carefully straightened the collar of his black robe, making sure that every gesture befitted the status of a "Grandmaster."
Then he strode toward Su Yu and the two girls.
He quickly reached them and blocked their way, standing before them like a wall.
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