You Know Nothing of the Grandmaster's Reputation?

The ancient trees of the Star Dou Forest towered into the sky, their branches and leaves casting deep shadows.

The atmosphere, already taut due to the Phoenix-Tail Cockscomb Serpent, plunged to freezing point at this very moment.

"Who dares to bully my granddaughter?"

A low, majestic voice boomed above the jungle like a roll of thunder.

Immediately following, a terrifying aura—heavy as a mountain and sharp as a cold blade—surged forth like a tidal wave.

Deep within the dense forest, an old man in a deep blue robe slowly stepped out.

He was thin, yet stood as straight as a pine. He leaned on a four-meter-long dragon-headed staff, and as his eyes opened and closed, a sharp light flickered within them, as if he could pierce through the void.

The Dragon Duke, Meng Shu!

Eight Soul Rings—two yellow, three purple, and three black—pulsed beneath his feet, the pressure belonging to an eighty-first-rank Soul Douluo.

In an instant, the low-level soul beasts within a hundred-meter radius fell deathly silent, and even the leaves stopped swaying.

Hiding in the rear, Tang San felt his breath hitch under this pressure, his legs trembling involuntarily.

It was an absolute suppression at the level of life itself, a chasm that no amount of Hidden Weapon techniques could bridge at this moment.

Yet, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He felt that Su Yun had kicked an iron plate this time!

Opportunity! This is my opportunity!

Suppressing his fear, Tang San took a deep breath and stumbled forward, attempting to display his sense of responsibility and discernment before the three girls.

He bowed slightly to Meng Shu, trying his best to make his voice sound neither humble nor arrogant:

"Junior Tang San, greetings to Senior Dragon Duke. We did not intend to offend, but my teacher once taught that in the hunting of soul beasts, the first to arrive claims the prize. My teacher's name is Yu Xiaogang, known as the Grandmaster. I am sure you have heard of him; for the sake of my teacher..."

Tang San spoke with such certainty, as if the title of Grandmaster were a universal pass on the Douluo Continent.

Meng Shu frowned and slammed his dragon-headed staff onto the ground. With a loud thud, the shockwave nearly sent Tang San tumbling.

"Grandmaster? Yu Xiaogang?"

A flicker of confusion appeared in Meng Shu's eyes, immediately replaced by deep disdain.

"Where did this nobody come from? I have roamed the continent for decades; I have heard of Clear Sky, I have heard of Chen Xin, but I have never heard of any 'Grand-shit.' Are you trying to fool me with a name I've never even heard of?"

"Pfft—!"

Su Yun couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

"Tang San, oh Tang San, you really are going to be the death of me."

Su Yun twirled his folding fan, looking at Tang San as if he were a clown.

"Your teacher stole some data from Spirit Hall and cobbled together a few rhymes, and now he actually considers himself a leading academic authority of the entire continent? In the eyes of a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse, your 'Grandmaster' is probably less famous than a roadside cook."

Tang San's face flushed a deep, bruised purple. The humiliation of having his attempt at posturing dismantled in public made him wish he could crawl into a hole.

Ignoring the crumbling Tang San, Su Yun brushed some non-existent dust off his clothes and took a leisurely step forward into the center of the Soul Douluo's pressure.

"Hum—!"

As Su Yun took that step, the space behind him seemed to fold in a wondrous way.

A massive, golden phantom of wings flickered in and out of existence, and a holy, majestic aura soared into the sky, actually forcing Meng Shu's soul power pressure back!

Su Yun pulled a pitch-black token engraved with six patterns from his robe and toyed with it casually.

"Dragon Duke and Snake Granny, quite the display of might."

A playful curve tugged at the corner of Su Yun's mouth.

"I saw this snake first, and I was the one who took it down. However, I am a man who values reason."

The moment Meng Shu saw the token, his pupils contracted violently, and he nearly lost his grip on his dragon-headed staff.

That was an Elder Token?!

No, it was something even more prestigious than an Elder Token—a secret order symbolizing the personal arrival of the Pope!

"You... you are that person from Spirit Hall!?"

Meng Shu's voice turned dry.

Su Yun cut him off directly, his gaze falling upon Meng Yiran, who was blushing and staring at him in a daze.

"Since you want an explanation, I will give you a chance."

Su Yun snapped his fan shut and pointed it at Meng Yiran.

"Let this little girl have a match with me. If she wins, this snake is yours to deal with; if she loses, she belongs to me... ahem, the snake belongs to me, and you lot must step aside and behave yourselves."

When Meng Yiran heard the words "she belongs to me," her heart skipped a beat. Her pale, pretty face turned so red it looked as if it might bleed, and a series of chaotic images involuntarily flashed through her mind.

He... he actually wants me?

Although Meng Shu was wary of Su Yun's identity, he saw that Su Yun was young—appearing to be no more than a Soul Master—and coupled with his granddaughter's confidence in her flying dagger techniques, he said in a deep voice:

"Fine! Since you have such refined interests, Yiran, make your move! Don't disgrace our Meng family."

The contest began.

Meng Yiran took a deep breath, struggling to calm her erratic heartbeat.

Her eyes sharpened. With a flick of her hands, twelve flying knives shimmering with a ghostly blue light transformed into a sky full of streamers, sealing off every blind spot for Su Yun.

"Break!"

This was the ultimate technique she took pride in; every blade was imbued with soul power.

However, Su Yun did not even release his martial soul.

Phantom Shadow Perplexing Track activated!

This was a god-tier footwork technique improved by the system based on the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Su Yun's body instantly became illusory, as if he had transformed into a wisp of golden mist.

Amidst his twists and turns, the flying knives dancing across the sky could not even touch the hem of his clothes.

In fact, because he was moving so fast, countless afterimages of Su Yun were left on Meng Yiran's retinas.

"Cling!"

With a crisp sound, Su Yun's long, jade-like fingers precisely pinched the blade of the final flying knife.

Before Meng Yiran could react, Su Yun's figure had already vanished from where he stood.

The next second, a warm, masculine scent instantly enveloped her.

"Bang!"

Su Yun braced one hand against the tree trunk behind Meng Yiran's head, his entire body pressed almost flush against her.

This was the classic wall-slam.

Su Yun looked at Meng Yiran, who was wide-eyed from shock and shyness at such close range, blew a gentle breath, and gave a wicked, charming smile.

"Beauty, your blade technique is far too slow."

With Charm Aura activated at maximum power, Meng Yiran felt a wave of dizziness wash over her brain, her legs turning so soft she could barely stand.

"I... I lost."

Meng Yiran lowered her head, murmuring like a mosquito, while her heart screamed frantically:

Help! He's so smooth! Why does he have to be this handsome!

In the distance, Tang San watched Su Yun's incredibly natural and domineering flirtatious move.

He watched the Phoenix-Tail Cockscomb Serpent and the knife contest that originally belonged to him.

He watched the three girls cast looks of disdain in his direction.

He felt so jealous that every cell in his body felt like it was about to burst!

Ding! Intercepted a major iconic scene: Meng Yiran's first love. Tang San's Luck Value -1000.

Ding! Host is showing off invisibly. Ning Rongrong is overcome with jealousy (Affection +5%), Zhu Zhuqing's dependency +10%.

Su Yun let go, stepped back leisurely, and once again pulled out his black Diary.

[Today's dose of satisfaction: Dragon Duke and Snake Granny are indeed sensible, though mostly it's because my charm is simply irresistible.]

[Watching Tang San try to throw out Grandmaster's name earlier only to be rejected, I nearly spat out my drink. Little San, in the eyes of true experts, that teacher of yours really doesn't amount to a fart.]

[As for this girl Meng Yiran, she's quite cute when she blushes. The wall-slam felt great; the texture was even smoother than the original work described.]

[Alright, the snake is mine. Next, it's time to go see that unlucky Human-Faced Demon Spider. Tang San, keep up; I'm going to go fetch that spine for you right now.]

Closing the diary, Su Yun led the beauties away, strolling leisurely into the depths of the jungle under Meng Shu's complex gaze.

Tang San stared fixedly at Su Yun's retreating back, the wood-chopping knife in his hand creaking as he gripped it tight.

Never before had he craved for Su Yun to die with such madness!