To leave Tang San with a good impression, Yu Xiaogang glanced at the gatekeeper. "This is the first time, and it will be the last. If you do it again, you won't be staying here."
Then, his stiff cheeks forced out a faint smile. Taking Tang San by the hand, he said, "Let's go in."
At a glance, Yu Xiaogang was very satisfied. Tang San had thought of a way to befriend him so quickly. No one else could match that kind of wisdom.
His approach soon paid off.
"Teacher, thank you," Tang San said gratefully.
Yu Xiaogang continued reading in high spirits. To his surprise, Tang San was a clever child.
After Yu Xiaogang denied being a teacher, Tang San had actually guessed that he was either the dean or some other leader.
As he read on, Yu Xiaogang's eyes settled on the passage explaining the difference between a grandmaster and a teacher.
"Unless you're truly willing to let me be your teacher."
Just as the book described, Yu Xiaogang's eyes now gleamed with fervent light.
After some discussion, Tang San said nothing more.
"No answer means he's agreed, of course." Yu Xiaogang's stiff smile appeared once again. "What a clever child."
Xiao Wuji raised a hand and rubbed his chin. Even now, he couldn't understand this kind of logic. Could someone really take becoming a disciple for granted like that?
Seeing Tang San's astonished expression in the book after Yu Xiaogang revealed he had Twin Martial Souls, Yu Xiaogang smiled even more broadly.
Curious about how he had taken on a disciple, he began reading more intently.
"I once investigated six hundred and forty-seven people whose Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass. Of them, sixteen possessed Soul Power..."
After reading this, Yu Xiaogang straightened his chest, deeply impressed with himself. Remembering the information perfectly was the result of his daily morning reading.
When Tang San challenged him, he answered without missing a beat.
Immersed in his own performance, Yu Xiaogang suddenly looked puzzled.
Tang San nodded, then suddenly stepped back, putting some distance between himself and Yu Xiaogang. Next, he dropped to his knees and respectfully kowtowed to Yu Xiaogang three times.
This time, Yu Xiaogang was the one left dumbfounded. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Yu Xiaogang asked aloud, echoing the question outside the book.
"Teacher," Tang San said respectfully. "Please accept me as your disciple."
Yu Xiaogang suddenly understood, then burst into delighted laughter.
To become the disciple of someone who could teach a person to become a god, only the rites used to bow to a king or one's parents were fitting.
Still, he had to offer a few polite words.
To Yu Xiaogang's great surprise, Tang San was utterly solemn.
"Once a teacher, a father for life. You deserve my kowtow."
"Good, good, good! I, Yu Xiaogang, wasn't wrong about you." Yu Xiaogang was deeply moved. At least this meant his efforts to teach Tang San to become a god hadn't been in vain.
Chapter 2: The Development of Martial Souls and the Selection of Soul Rings
"It's my turn to perform again." Yu Xiaogang had never been so engrossed in a book.
He quickly skimmed past taking Tang San to register, thoughtfully giving him a quilt, inviting him to eat in the cafeteria, and, after Tang San refused, bringing him chicken legs and steamed buns. It was all trivial plot.
Before reaching the parts that were all about him, Yu Xiaogang slapped his forehead. "How could I forget something so important? I need to learn about Xiao San's Second Martial Soul. Good thing the book is so thorough."
Tang San raised his left hand. Black light surged out and once again condensed into a small hammer.
Yu Xiaogang shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with excitement as he stared at the hammer.
He knew top-tier Martial Souls extremely well. From this brief description, Yu Xiaogang guessed that the hammer was very likely the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul.
"Tang San... His surname is Tang. The Clear Sky Sect has withdrawn from the world, and only the Clear Sky Douluo remains out there." Yu Xiaogang was beside himself with excitement. "He's His Excellency Haotian's son!"
In the Soul Master World, Tang Hao was Yu Xiaogang's idol. Being able to teach his idol's son was an incredible honor.
He read on as Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San not to use that Martial Soul or attach Soul Rings to it. His excitement finally began to settle, and he reached the part he had been looking forward to most.
"Tang San, what do you think of your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul?" Yu Xiaogang asked.
Tang San thought for a moment. "Everyone says it's a Trash Martial Soul, but I think everything has some use and its own characteristics. Even the most common Blue Silver Grass should be the same."
Yu Xiaogang was very satisfied. "Exactly. I've always maintained that 'there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless people.'"
"As expected of my own theory. I've even taught someone with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to become a god." Yu Xiaogang smiled.
Watching himself in the book explain the direction a Martial Soul should develop in, as if he knew it like the back of his hand, Yu Xiaogang grew a little carried away. He felt as though he, too, had become a god.
After listening to the explanation, Tang San said respectfully, "Teacher, you're a grandmaster who studies Martial Souls. Since you've researched Blue Silver Grass so thoroughly, please give me your guidance."
Yu Xiaogang didn't hold back. After all, in his eyes, Tang San was just a child. Asking his opinion had been little more than a formality.
Besides, Yu Xiaogang already had an answer in mind.
"You already have an answer?" Yu Xiaogang raised an eyebrow, then quickly forced himself to remain calm. "I wonder if it's the same as mine?"
In his research, Lone Bamboo—a Plant-type Soul Beast containing the attribute of toughness—was the best fit for Tang San.
Other people might think little of this Soul Beast, but Yu Xiaogang's research had shown that it was extraordinary.
"Have I researched Lone Bamboo?" Yu Xiaogang frowned, unable to recall anything of the sort.
Xiao Wuji began to feel a little nervous. How well Yu Xiaogang took this would determine what he wrote in the chapters to come.
Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "A theorist like me researches countless Martial Souls and Soul Beasts. It's only natural to forget one now and then."
Thinking this, Yu Xiaogang continued reading.
"The ten-, hundred-, thousand-, ten-thousand-, and hundred-thousand-year classifications of Soul Beasts, along with their white, yellow, purple, black, and red colors, don't really apply to Lone Bamboo.
"Except for ten- and hundred-year Lone Bamboo, whose Soul Ring colors are normal, thousand-, ten-thousand-, and hundred-thousand-year Lone Bamboo all return to their original state and appear uniformly white."
"What? Something like that exists?" Yu Xiaogang drew in a sharp breath. "Is that true?"
"Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo never grows taller than ten meters. Beyond ten meters, it is hundred-year Lone Bamboo. Once it reaches a thousand years, Lone Bamboo shrinks and disguises itself as a ten-year specimen. A ten-thousand-year one disguises itself even better, measuring only about a meter. A terrifying hundred-thousand-year one disguises itself as a bamboo shoot."
"So that's how it is." After reading carefully, Yu Xiaogang nodded, feeling that it made a lot of sense. The book explained it in such detail—how could it be wrong?
Before you continue