"You can't absorb this Soul Ring!"
A shout interrupted them all. Zhou Tong and the others looked toward the voice.
"Who's there?"
Zhou Tong frowned and looked in the direction the voice had come from.
A somewhat thin, middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties came running over, shouting.
Several companions followed behind him.
"I'm Yu Xiaogang, the foremost theoretical master on the Douluo Continent. Could I have a few words with you?"
The middle-aged man came up to the three of them.
He was panting, sweat running down his face, yet he still put his hands behind his back and struck the pose of a lofty expert.
Without waiting for them to speak, he carried on as if they weren't there. "We spotted this Earth Dragon first and chased it all the way here."
"You've stolen our Soul Beast. That's going too far."
"If you know what's good for you, hand over the Soul Beast, and we'll pretend this never happened."
The shameless words instantly infuriated Dugu Yan.
"Yu Xiaogang?"
"The foremost theoretical master on the continent?"
"How come I've never heard of anyone like that?"
Hearing Yu Xiaogang boast about himself, Dugu Yan stared at him in disbelief.
Giving himself a nickname like that was unbelievably arrogant.
Yu Xiaogang had dared to steal her Soul Beast. He was practically asking to die.
Dugu Yan was like a venomous snake ready to strike. Her jade-green eyes grew cold, and she looked ready to kill Yu Xiaogang on the spot.
"Grandpa, have you heard of this Grandmaster?"
Dugu Yan turned to ask him.
With a Titled Douluo's experience, he shouldn't have missed the existence of a theoretical master.
"What Grandmaster? What little master?"
"I've never heard of him."
"A fame-hungry fraud. Get out of here, now."
"Piss me off, and I'll slap you to death!"
Unlike when he was dealing with Yu Tianxiao and the others, Dugu Bo had no intention of tolerating the temper of this arrogant stranger who'd barged in.
Especially at such a crucial moment, when Dugu Yan was about to absorb a Soul Ring. The man had suddenly shown up and claimed the Soul Ring they'd hunted belonged to him.
He'd dared to snatch something right from under Dugu Bo's nose. He was practically begging for death.
Only then did Zhou Tong realize that the man was Yu Xiaogang.
When old enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred.
He still remembered how Yu Xiaogang had mocked him all those years ago.
Now, Zhou Tao was a thirty-second-level Soul Elder. Against Yu Xiaogang, a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster, he could do whatever he wanted to him.
But Yu Xiaogang didn't seem to recognize Zhou Tong.
Perhaps after all these years, Zhou Tong had changed a lot. He was no longer the ordinary young Soul Master he'd once been. Now he was tall, handsome, and dressed in fine clothes. He looked like a completely different person.
It was only natural that Yu Xiaogang hadn't recognized him.
But Zhou Tong would never forget Yu Xiaogang's ridiculous habit of acting like a big shot despite being utterly useless.
The next moment, Zhou Tong spoke. "So it's you, Little Xiaogang."
"After all these years, you're still the same. Going around conning people and pretending to be a master of theory."
"These Soul Beasts have been here the whole time. They never left. We killed them, so they're ours."
"You chased them in your dreams?"
"Let's see—your Soul Power's still stuck at level twenty-nine?"
"You're a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. Who gave you the nerve to try and steal our Soul Beast?"
"Little Xiaogang, are you looking to die?"
Zhou Tong turned to Dugu Yan. "Yan Yan, go ahead and absorb the Soul Ring. We'll protect you."
"These nobodies can't stir up any trouble."
After the three of them tore into Yu Xiaogang, his face swelled red like a pig's head. He panted like an ox.
A flash of displeasure crossed his eyes.
He'd run into three tough opponents.
And one of them was Zhou Tong.
Zhou Tong had been his old nemesis for years.
A few years ago, Zhou Tong had argued with him and mocked his Martial Soul Theory.
Remembering the past only made Yu Xiaogang angrier.
"Zhou Tong, you're still alive?"
"I thought you'd disappeared without a word to avoid Little San's revenge."
"Little San isn't what he used to be. Don't get cocky, or Little San will make you regret it."
As a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang was weak and worried he couldn't beat Zhou Tong. So he could only bring up Tang San.
At that moment, a somewhat dull-looking man behind Yu Xiaogang stepped forward.
It was Tang San.
"Grandmaster is known throughout the Soul Master World as a researcher whose theories are unrivaled. Even the Spirit Hall Pope greatly admires his writings."
"You're ignorant and have never heard of Grandmaster's theories. You're just a bunch of country bumpkins."
"Grandmaster's Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls is a bestselling theoretical masterpiece across the continent. It's only natural that low-level Soul Masters like you have never heard of it."
Tang San was full of himself, chin raised as he looked down at them, as if he thought the three were beneath him.
At that, Zhou Tong burst out laughing.
These two ignorant, arrogant fools truly had no idea how high the sky was. They'd actually dared to look down on a Titled Douluo. They were practically begging for death.
Dugu Yan stared at them, frowning. She suspected the two of them had nothing but grass between their ears.
Two Soul Grandmasters dared to mock her grandfather, a Titled Douluo?
Seeing this, Dugu Bo was furious.
As a Titled Douluo, he stood at the pinnacle of the Soul Master World. He'd roamed the continent for years, yet had never met Soul Masters so arrogant and rude.
A vast surge of Soul Power welled up from him and fell upon Yu Xiaogang and Tang San in an instant.
The two of them immediately felt as if they were suffocating, as though a mountain were pressing down on them. They could barely breathe.
"I've roamed the Soul Master World for years, and no one has ever called me a country bumpkin."
"You two useless fools dare insult me? You clearly don't take me seriously."
"Tell me, how do you want to die?"
The powerful Soul Power pressed them flat against the ground. They couldn't even get back to their feet.
Dugu Bo stood right in front of them, venting his anger without restraint.
As a Titled Douluo, a man at the very top of the Soul Master World, he'd just been mocked by two idiots.
If he didn't teach those idiots a harsh lesson today, he'd lose face completely.
"Poison Douluo?"
"You're a Titled Douluo?"
"This is a misunderstanding!"
"It was all a misunderstanding!"
As soon as Yu Xiaogang heard Dugu Bo's name, he nearly wet himself.
He'd thought Dugu Bo was just an ordinary old man and hadn't taken him seriously. He never expected to run into an iron wall.
What surprised him even more was that Zhou Tong had somehow gotten mixed up with a Titled Douluo.
Had the kid really gotten lucky and managed to make connections with one?
Yu Xiaogang's mind was filled with confusion and shock.
This was a complete disaster.
He'd meant to steal a Soul Beast, only to snatch one from a Titled Douluo.
Yu Xiaogang hurriedly apologized and begged for mercy for half an hour before Dugu Bo finally agreed to lift the pressure of his Soul Power.
Before you continue