Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang

Hm?

Could that voice be...?

Luo Chen curiously shifted to the side and looked behind him.

The source of the voice was a plainly dressed middle-aged man, an ordinary-looking guy with a buzz cut.

Even so, Luo Chen could tell at a glance that he was brimming with arrogance, as if he were the real protagonist of the whole scene.

His swagger practically spilled off the screen. He was even more full of himself than the actual protagonist.

"Xiaogang?"

Luo Chen couldn't help muttering to himself.

This had to be Grandmaster—the man he'd found most repulsive in the original story, even more so than Little Scumbag...

Just as Luo Chen was mentally roasting him, Yu Xiaogang had already begun making his way over from the edge of the crowd at an excruciatingly slow pace.

And Luo Chen happened to be standing directly in front of him, right in his path.

The problem was that there was no one beside Luo Chen. Maybe it was because of the Death Spider Emperor; the strange aura around him left the space near him deserted. And the onlookers nearby had been standing around in scattered clusters to begin with, so no one was within a meter of him.

With an open path right beside him and his mind elsewhere, Luo Chen didn't notice anything was wrong at first.

Until...

"Cough, cough!"

The rough cough dragged Luo Chen out of his thoughts about the original story. At last, he realized someone had stopped behind him.

Yu Xiaogang was standing right there, directly behind him.

There were two wide-open roads on either side of him!

Luo Chen couldn't help frowning.

Was something wrong with this Grandmaster? Couldn't he see the road? Did he have to walk in a straight line just to show off?

"Hello. Are you coughing because you're feeling unwell? If so, you can go buy some medicine. If you don't have money, look around for someone kind enough to help. I'm just a poor country boy."

Luo Chen paused, then added, "I don't have any Gold Soul Coins to spare you."

It wasn't his job to help you show off!

Luo Chen couldn't help frowning to himself. Even in his previous life, he'd looked down on this Grandmaster and found him utterly repulsive.

And now he expected Luo Chen to meekly back down and get out of his way so he could show off?

Dream on!

"Little friend, do you know who I am?"

Yu Xiaogang froze completely.

He had more or less confirmed that this Tang San had Twin Martial Souls, and that was exactly why he'd come here.

He'd planned to put on a grand display and intimidate Tang San first, which would make it easier to take him on as a disciple later. But who would've thought that some ignorant little brat would pop up out of nowhere!

He'd already decided to teach Luo Chen a proper lesson and recover some of the face he'd just lost.

"Do you know..."

But just as he was about to continue questioning him, his eyes met Luo Chen's.

The words had barely left his mouth when he abruptly stopped.

The instant he looked directly into Luo Chen's dark purple eyes, Yu Xiaogang briefly lost focus.

He was a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster!

And this little brat in front of him looked at most six or seven years old, about the same age as Tang San, the boy with Twin Martial Souls he'd taken an interest in.

How could that be...?

Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed even more deeply as he fell into thought.

Everyone present was dumbfounded by the scene. Even Tang San and the guard, who'd been on the verge of coming to blows, stopped what they were doing and looked over.

But the most confused person of all was Luo Chen himself.

After saying those few words, he hadn't done a thing. He hadn't even had a chance to answer Yu Xiaogang's question, and now the Grandmaster in front of him was changing expressions over and over, like a madman.

Could Yu Xiaogang have a mental illness? Was this some hidden plot point the original story never mentioned?

Luo Chen was speechless. He took a few steps back, intending to put some distance between himself and Yu Xiaogang.

But his movement seemed to snap Yu Xiaogang out of his thoughts.

He grabbed Luo Chen by the arm.

Luo Chen was startled. He quickly raised a hand and shoved Yu Xiaogang away, then looked up at him in surprise.

"Sir, we're in public. What are you doing?"

If he hadn't imagined it, the burning look Yu Xiaogang had just given him seemed different from the hostility he'd shown at first...

Could Yu Xiaogang have some sort of unusual fetish on top of being mentally ill?

Luo Chen's mouth twitched.

He was starting to think he should get out of there. He'd known Yu Xiaogang was repulsive, but he hadn't expected him to be this twisted.

But Yu Xiaogang acted as if he hadn't even noticed Luo Chen's movements. He just kept staring straight at him.

His gaze was so burning, you'd think he was looking at the person he loved.

"Little friend, what is your Martial Soul? How much Innate Soul Power do you have? Do you have a clan? Are you the heir to a clan? Are you a local of Nuoding City?"

As Yu Xiaogang asked these questions, all his attention was fixed on Luo Chen. He'd completely forgotten about his original target, Tang San.

By now, Luo Chen had slowly regained his composure. He thought he understood.

Had Yu Xiaogang realized that he was exceptionally talented?

He had to admit, in that one respect, Luo Chen had to hand it to Yu Xiaogang. When it came to finding prodigies and misleading them, the man was in the top tier throughout Douluo I.

"I don't think I need to talk to you any further. We're strangers."

Luo Chen shook his head inwardly and spoke slowly.

He'd only come to watch things play out today. He hadn't expected to accidentally become Yu Xiaogang's target instead of Tang San.

Meanwhile, when Yu Xiaogang saw Luo Chen's cold response, he gave two unsurprised sneers, then released his Martial Soul right there in front of everyone.

As two yellow Soul Rings lit up around him, his Martial Soul appeared.

It was a very fat, doglike creature.

Luo Chen knew this had to be Luo Sanpao.

Even so, he simply looked at Yu Xiaogang in silence.

"Sir, may I ask why you're showing me this?"

Luo Chen spoke slowly. Having lived two lives, he naturally knew what Yu Xiaogang was getting at. But so what?

Did Yu Xiaogang really think Luo Chen knew nothing and could be intimidated by this?

Did he seriously think Luo Chen was as easy to fool as Tang San?

That was laughable.

Just as Luo Chen had expected, Yu Xiaogang was indeed a little surprised by his calm reaction. He hadn't expected a brat from a small town to show no reaction at all upon seeing two hundred-year Soul Rings and a Soul Grandmaster like himself.

"Child, do you know that I'm a Grandmaster of Martial Soul Theory?"

Luo Chen: "Never heard of you."

Yu Xiaogang: "..."

After a long silence, Yu Xiaogang's face finally darkened.

He, a dignified Grandmaster of Martial Soul Theory, had humbled himself to take this brat as his disciple, and the kid was still this disrespectful.

"Little friend, how about we make a wager?"

"We'll have a match. If I win, that'll prove how strong I am, and you'll have to become my disciple."

"I can guarantee that I'll be your guiding beacon on the road to becoming a Soul Master! You'll reach at least the level of a Soul Douluo in the future!"