Gangzi's Theory

At the gates of Nuoding City.

Jiang Lin returned here immediately after absorbing his third soul ring.

For the past few days, he had been intentionally or unintentionally lingering around this area for a period of time each day.

Naturally, Jiang Lin wanted to see if Tang San had arrived to attend school.

A year ago, he had secretly confirmed Tang San's age: five years old.

Jiang Lin was four years older than Tang San, so this year should be the time when Tang San awakened his martial soul and came to Nuoding Academy to enroll.

Although Jiang Lin was not from Holy Soul Village, he was an orphan from Emperor Soul Village, a village in the vicinity of Nuoding City.

After Su Yuntao awakened his Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd with Innate Full Soul Power, he was immediately invited to join Martial Soul Hall.

It was also at that time that Jiang Lin awakened his system and used the limited-time 0-yuan shopping card gifted at the start to purchase that random Title Douluo summoning card, which summoned Elder Chen.

After being dragged into a small grove and warned by Elder Chen, a Title Douluo, Brother Tao had sensibly sworn on his martial soul to forget who Jiang Lin was.

After all, it was hard to say whether the report he wrote would ever reach Martial Soul City, but a Title Douluo could truly take his life.

Moreover, for the meager pay he received a month, why would he risk his life? Su Yuntao wasn't that loyal to Martial Soul Hall, certainly not enough to sacrifice his own existence.

As for why Jiang Lin didn't want to join Martial Soul Hall, the reason was simple.

His talent was high; once he joined, he would inevitably come into contact with Bibi Dong.

Before he had the ability to protect himself, Jiang Lin did not want to interact with that madwoman.

After Jiang Lin awakened his martial soul, he did not rush to obtain his first soul ring.

Instead, he first ate several pieces of century-old and thousand-year-old Whale Shark meat, but the effect was nowhere near as good as in the fan fiction he read before transmigrating. After eating several more pieces of higher age, he barely managed to raise his first soul ring to around 1,000 years.

However, thinking about it, it made sense. Even in the second installment of Douluo, set ten thousand years later, aside from the protagonist and Wang Dong, those at level twenty only had century-old yellow soul rings.

Jiang Lin was a cautious person; because he had a cheat, he didn't need to gamble with his life.

Therefore, his first soul ring was only a yellow one of over 900 years. Of course, the main reason was that the soul beast providing the first soul ring had a very high bloodline grade.

Later, after absorbing the first soul ring and barely being able to withstand ten-thousand-year Whale Shark meat, Jiang Lin began to try a few pieces of ten-thousand-year Whale Shark.

He only stopped consuming them when the effects became negligible.

Precisely because of this, Jiang Lin's current physical fitness was definitely no weaker than a high-level Soul King.

If it weren't for his mental power being a shortcoming, he would have tried for a ten-thousand-year third ring regardless of the cost.

Thinking of mental power, Jiang Lin couldn't help but associate it with Dugu Bo and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the must-visit list of Douluo.

But he didn't have a redemption code. Who knows how those transmigrator predecessors could remember what Tang San said at the time, even after reading the novel for over a decade or even twenty years, as if they knew they would transmigrate.

Jiang Lin knew the general principles, but he couldn't recite Dugu Bo's symptoms word for word.

However, providing Dugu Bo with a line of thought was not a problem.

For example, soul bones.

He remembered that it required the blood of someone who had completed the Ice and Fire Body Tempering by consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot to be used as medicine to transfer the toxins.

As for what the original prescription was?

Jiang Lin could only express his helplessness.

He planned to first see if he could trade this idea of using soul bones to transfer toxins for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well from Dugu Bo.

If that didn't work, his fists were also a pretty good redemption code.

Jiang Lin had been bound to the system for so long that he discovered the refresh frequency of the Title Douluo summoning card was actually quite high.

It was just that he couldn't afford it right now.

He wanted the immortal herbs, and he didn't intend to let the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well go either.

After entering the city, Jiang Lin skillfully entered a teahouse.

On the second floor of the teahouse, Elder Chen had been waiting for a long time.

After Jiang Lin sat down opposite him, his eyes glanced toward the city gate from time to time.

"Little Lin, taste it and see how it is."

Seeing Jiang Lin staring blankly at the city gate in deep thought, Elder Chen handed a cup of tea toward him.

Elder Chen's martial soul was the fire-attribute Three-Eyed Fire Leopard, but he didn't have the flamboyant personality of a fire-attribute soul master; instead, he was very steady and loved brewing and tasting tea.

Jiang Lin glanced at the teacup in front of him and didn't stand on ceremony, picking it up and taking a small sip.

"The same tea, but when Elder Chen brews it, the taste is just different—fragrant but not overpowering, mellow but not bland."

"Haha, you rascal, you only know how to make this old man happy."

Elder Chen stroked his beard, chuckled twice, and then followed suit by taking a light sip of tea.

"By the way, how did you know that a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast would appear here?"

"Elder Chen doesn't believe me?"

"That's not the case. After all, you brat managed to bring this old man back from the dead; let alone a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, even if you were to ascend to godhood right here and now, I wouldn't be surprised."

Hearing this, Jiang Lin shook his head with a helpless smile.

"Elder, please stop teasing me. If I could ascend to godhood right now, who would still care about a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

As a Title Douluo summoned by Jiang Lin, Elder Chen would obey his commands and never betray him, but Jiang Lin did not intend to treat him as a subordinate to be ordered around at will; treating him normally was enough.

In Jiang Lin's view, he was a person with his own thoughts and soul, not a puppet or a tool.

In the original story, Bibi Dong never treated Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo as human beings, casting them aside the moment they were no longer useful.

After serving as dogs for Bibi Dong for so many years, they gained no benefits and ultimately met a miserable end.

Even as an outsider, Jiang Lin found it tragic.

Although Jiang Lin didn't consider himself a saint, he wouldn't treat his own people as anything less than human.

Thinking this, when Jiang Lin's gaze turned back to the scene below, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

He saw two figures, one old and one young, entering the city, with the old man asking passersby for the location of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

Tang San had arrived; could that Hundred-Thousand-Year Hooligan Rabbit be far behind?

He had to seize this opportunity before Tang Hao noticed Xiao Wu.

Otherwise, if Tang Hao discovered Xiao Wu's existence, he didn't believe the man wouldn't be tempted.

"Elder Chen, they've arrived."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan paused his tea-sipping and followed Jiang Lin's gaze toward the old man and the boy.

"Very well, this old man will go to the city gate to intercept her. Are you coming?"

Hearing the question, Jiang Lin thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"You are a Title Douluo; intercepting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that is bound to show up shouldn't be a problem."

Even if an accident occurred, Jiang Lin wouldn't be able to help.

If an accident were beyond the reach of a Title Douluo, what could a slightly stronger Soul Elder possibly do?

In front of the gates of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

Because Old Jack and Tang San needed time to ask for directions to the academy, Jiang Lin, being more familiar with the area, had arrived first.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, a flash of nostalgia crossed Jiang Lin's eyes.

In the year after awakening his martial soul, Jiang Lin had undergone some basic studies at this Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

At the age of seven, after finishing the books on martial souls and soul beasts in Gangzi's collection, Jiang Lin applied to graduate from the academy.

As for Gangzi's own theories, Jiang Lin didn't dare to read a single word more.

Come to think of it, he hadn't believed the rumors back then, driven by curiosity to see if the Gangzi mocked by netizens in his past life was truly as bad as they said.

What if he was the manga version of the Grandmaster? That would be a true master.

However, the result was self-evident; Jiang Lin believed it now, and he admitted he had been a bit disgusted.

Jiang Lin still remembered Gangzi's words: "Your martial soul is of good quality, but its killing intent is too heavy. To avoid future complications, I suggest absorbing a life-attribute soul ring to neutralize it."

Jiang Lin had been so angry he laughed at the time. Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd, absorbing a life-attribute soul ring—heh, all one could say was that Gangzi was performing at his usual level.

Thinking of this, Jiang Lin's gaze swept toward another direction.

Not far away on the side of the street, a thin, middle-aged man in a gray robe stood there, his eyes fixed on the students coming to report, lost in thought.

Yu Xiaogang, that "Grand-mistake" who hadn't even reached level thirty by the age of fifty.