The referee's voice rang through the dead-silent Soul Fighting Arena.
"The Shrek Seven Devils have lost the ability to fight. Divine Lord Meng Zhang wins."
Scattered applause rose, quickly swelling into a deafening roar.
Xuan Qing paid it no mind and walked straight off the stage. Seeing this, Zi JI left the box and followed at his side.
Dugu Bo, meanwhile, went to find Dugu Yan.
Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath.
"Come on. Let's go make contact. Someone like him is a must-have ally."
The three hurried out, chasing after him.
Xuan Qing walked out of the Great Soul Arena and onto the street. Suotuo City was lively at night, its streets brightly lit and teeming with people.
He had taken only a few steps when a voice like a cracked gong barked from behind him. "Stop!"
Xuan Qing turned and saw a group of people coming toward him.
At the front was a freak in black, wearing cloth shoes, with a stiff, zombie-like face and a crew cut!
Behind him came Flender, with his shoehorn-shaped face and glasses, and the short, stocky Zhao Wuji.
The Shrek Seven Devils had come along too, every one of them looking battered and miserable.
Yu Xiaogang walked up to Xuan Qing and put on the air of a wise master. He cleared his throat and launched into his usual spiel.
"Young man, you have excellent talent, but your character is poor. You humiliated your opponent after winning. That is not the kind of magnanimity a strong person should have."
"You may have won, but you exposed plenty of flaws. You rely entirely on brute force, your technique is crude, you waste Soul Power, and you have no tactics to speak of."
"Without someone to guide you, all that talent will go to waste. What a shame. Such a shame."
He paused, then put on a look of compassion. "I am Yu Xiaogang, known as the Grandmaster. I have studied Martial Soul Theory for decades, and I teach without discrimination."
"If you become my disciple, I can guide your cultivation. With your talent and my theories, you'll surely become a Titled Douluo one day."
He spoke with absolute confidence, convinced Xuan Qing would be tempted.
After all, he was the Grandmaster. Countless people wanted to become his disciples, and he had never even given them the time of day.
Xuan Qing looked at him like he was an idiot for three seconds, then laughed—a laugh full of scorn.
Then he let loose a torrent of abuse, pointing a finger at him and unleashing a storm of profanity.
"Yu Xiaogang, fuck you! You're a piece of trash who's only Level 29 and still hasn't broken through at fifty. What makes you think I'd become your disciple?"
Yu Xiaogang's face turned livid in an instant.
Xuan Qing kept going, letting him have it with both barrels.
"With my talent, if I joined Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu would personally come to take me as his disciple—and even then, it'd depend on whether I agreed."
"If I joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or the Heaven Dou Empire, they'd be eager to send their princesses to my bed and bind me to them through marriage."
"What are you, exactly? What makes you think you can take me as your disciple? Because you're old? Because you don't bathe? Because you plagiarized Martial Soul Theory? Or because you're a kept pretty boy living off Bibi Dong?"
Xuan Qing suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh, right. With a face like yours, all I can say is Bibi Dong must be blind to have taken a liking to a freak like you."
Those words were vicious, every one striking home. Yu Xiaogang trembled with rage and pointed at Xuan Qing. "You—you—you..." He stammered for a long while without managing to say anything else.
Just then, Ning Fengzhi and the others arrived, along with Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. There were too many people, and the scene grew a little chaotic.
They had just heard Xuan Qing's last few remarks, and the expressions on their faces were priceless.
Ning Fengzhi fought to hold in his laughter, his face nearly turning red.
Xue Qinghe and Dugu Yan turned away, their shoulders shaking.
Gu Rong and Dugu Bo threw their arms over each other's shoulders and laughed until they were doubled over. The two weren't particularly close, but they simply couldn't hold it in.
Xuan Qing's tongue was vicious.
Ning Fengzhi seized the opportunity to speak.
"Did you mean what you said, young friend? If we send our little princess to your bed, will you join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"I'd mean it. My daughter is right here, and I can agree on the spot. Rongrong, come over."
He was basically casting out a fishing line to see if he'd get a bite. What if it worked?
Ning Rongrong heard him and flushed bright red.
She left the Shrek Seven Devils' group and came to stand beside Ning Fengzhi, though she moved somewhat awkwardly.
She stole a glance at Xuan Qing. Thinking it over, she realized the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect required its daughters' partners to be Power Attack System Soul Masters.
Xuan Qing was a perfect match in talent, strength, and background. If anything, she was the one marrying up.
The only downside was that he looked younger than her, but that wasn't a problem. It was actually an advantage. A woman three years older could hold a gold brick.
Thinking this, Ning Rongrong lowered her head, her face red enough to bleed. Her little hands twisted the hem of her clothes, and she didn't dare look at anyone.
Xuan Qing draped an arm over Zi JI's shoulder and looked at Yu Xiaogang, his tone full of mockery.
"Did you hear that? That's what I'm worth. And you still want to take me as your disciple? Are you worthy?"
Yu Xiaogang spat out a mouthful of blood in his rage.
Tang San stepped forward and snapped, "What do you know? My teacher's Martial Soul Theory is the best in the world! Innate Soul Power, Martial Souls, Soul Rings, Soul Bones—none of these things matter in the face of theory!"
This time, Xuan Qing really did look at him like he was an idiot.
"If they don't matter, why doesn't he take a Soul Master with Innate Soul Power of Level One as his disciple? Why doesn't he get you three Ten-Year Lone Bamboo Soul Rings?"
Yu Xiaogang argued, "Those people have poor talent. They wouldn't understand what I teach!"
Xuan Qing remembered a line from a game in his previous life and used it on the spot.
"Does a disciple really have to be talented? That's just a lazy teacher looking to get twice the results with half the effort, or hoping to borrow a disciple's success to make a name for himself."
"And as luck would have it, you're exactly that kind of person."
"Only someone who can turn a piece of trash into a genius is a true Grandmaster."
"Whether or not a student can learn, only someone willing to teach without reservation is a true teacher."
"And you're neither. You're just a pathetic insect trying to make a name for yourself through your disciples."
He pointed to the onlookers.
"Otherwise, with all these people here, why don't you take them as your disciples? Why are you fixated on me?"
"Isn't it because I'm stronger than your disciple, and taking me on would let you claim the Grandmaster title for good?"
"If I were the one who lost today, would you think any better of me? You're such a hypocrite that you'd probably be calling me an idiot behind my back."
His words made sense, and the onlookers began to gossip and point.
"This young master's right! If he's the Grandmaster, why doesn't he turn trash into geniuses? Why is he fixated on a monster like this?"
"Just look at his Soul Rings: one yellow, one purple, and one black. How many resources and how much effort did it take to cultivate him? Would it really make a difference whether the Grandmaster taught him?"
"Have you still not figured it out? He's a fraud! I've even got one of his books here. I regret buying it. It's full of nonsense, like 'there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters.' He's already insulted himself twice with that line!"
The crowd grew restless. Yu Xiaogang's face went pale. He wanted to argue, but couldn't find the words.
Xuan Qing stared at him, his voice perfectly calm.
"Now, reach down and ask that last bit of human decency left in your heart, and tell me."
"Were you planning to sweet-talk me into becoming your disciple so you could pry the method of absorbing Soul Rings beyond your limits out of me, then publish it under your own name?"
"Yes or no?"
Before you continue