Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled. He couldn't get a single word out.
Su Mo delivered another well-aimed blow. "What's wrong, Grandmaster? Are you too embarrassed to even talk about your own Martial Soul?"
"You... you're talking out of your ass!"
"Talking out of my ass?"
Su Mo gave a cold laugh, his eyes full of scorn.
"You're much better at that than I am."
He glanced at Yu Xiaogang, then at the faint shadow of Luo Sanpao in the distance.
"A stupid pig and a porker—they're a perfect match."
Boom—
The crowd watching burst into laughter.
Some people laughed so hard they crouched on the ground, unable to straighten up. Others had to lean on their classmates to stay on their feet. One girl laughed until tears streamed down her face, wiping them away as she said, "I can't take it, I can't take it. I'm going to die laughing."
Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved with rage. His eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox.
He wanted nothing more than to teach the bastard in front of him a lesson.
But he didn't dare.
His Martial Soul was Luo Sanpao.
One fart could knock someone out with its stench, but if it came to a real fight...
Whether he could win was another matter. He'd definitely make a fool of himself.
Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
If this guy hadn't barged in, Tang San becoming his disciple would have been a sure thing!
He took a deep breath, forcing down his anger, then turned to Tang San again.
"Xiao San, you need to think this through."
His tone grew sincere, even pleading.
"Your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. I'm the only person on the entire continent who can teach you how to cultivate."
As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang straightened up and put on an air of pride.
He really had managed to fool himself into believing his own lies.
Tang San tilted his head, looking at him thoughtfully.
Yu Xiaogang's heart leapt at the sight.
There was a chance!
He continued, "As long as you become my disciple, I'll train you to become the most powerful Soul Master on the entire continent! I'm a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster, the foremost authority on Martial Soul Theory! What could this little kid who just enrolled possibly teach you?"
As someone reborn from a previous life in which he had raised a god, he felt he had every reason to be confident.
Tang San fell silent for three seconds.
Then he spoke.
"But my master knocked a level-seventeen gatekeeper flying with one punch."
Yu Xiaogang: "..."
Tang San continued, "You say you're the foremost authority on Martial Soul Theory, but you haven't even figured out your own Martial Soul."
Yu Xiaogang: "..."
Tang San twisted the knife again. "You say you're the only person on the continent who can teach me, but my master has already taught me everything you just said, and he explained it better. Besides, the stories my master tells me are full of underdogs who turn their lives around and become the protagonists. I've learned a lot from them. Can you tell stories about protagonists?"
Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Stories about protagonists?
What the hell was that?
Su Mo spoke up from the side. "By the way, Grandmaster. What Soul Ring did you say you wanted to give Xiao San just now?"
Yu Xiaogang froze, then puffed out his chest. "Blue Silver Grass is suited to the control type, so it should naturally be paired with poison and control-type Soul Rings. If you can't find anything suitable, a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo is a decent choice too. Its Soul Skill, Blue Silver Pole Vault, can advance or retreat, and it can also improve flexibility—"
Pfft—
This time, Su Mo really couldn't hold it in.
He doubled over laughing, tears almost springing from his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red. "What are you laughing at?!"
Su Mo wiped the corner of his eye and waved a hand. "Nothing, nothing. I just remembered a joke."
"What joke?"
"There was a grandmaster who saw a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo and wanted to give it to his disciple."
Yu Xiaogang frowned. "What's so funny about that? A Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo really is suitable for Blue Silver Grass, and with my ability, there's no need to worry about the danger—"
Su Mo was speechless.
"You think you deserve to be a master? I've never seen anyone so shameless." Su Mo cut him off. "And besides, where's this poison attribute you mentioned?"
He stared Yu Xiaogang in the eye.
"The Datura Snake has a poison attribute, which completely clashes with Blue Silver Grass's life attribute. If you really gave him a poison Soul Ring, he'd never be able to bring out Blue Silver Grass's true potential for the rest of his life."
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed.
How did he know about the Datura Snake? Was it a coincidence?
And what was a life attribute? Why had he never heard of it?
Su Mo continued, "Under normal circumstances, Blue Silver Grass should develop toward life, toughness, resilience, and vitality. Not the poison-and-control approach you came up with."
He shook his head, his tone laced with undisguised mockery.
"And you call yourself a grandmaster. You can't even figure out a Martial Soul's attributes, yet you think you're qualified to teach others?"
Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, wanting to argue.
But he couldn't.
Because he really hadn't thought about any of that.
His experience from his previous life had only taught him that Blue Silver Grass was a Trash Martial Soul, that the control type was useful, and that Datura Snakes were powerful.
As for conflicting attributes?
He didn't know.
He really didn't know.
Su Mo looked at him in that state and sighed.
"Tang San, remember this."
Tang San immediately perked up his ears.
"There are no trash Martial Souls, only a trash Yu Xiaogang."
Tang San blinked, deep in thought.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned completely green.
"You—!"
Su Mo looked at him, his expression calm.
"What, don't agree?"
"Then let's see who comes out on top."
Yu Xiaogang's breath caught.
See who came out on top?
Compete at what?
Martial Soul Theory? He'd just been argued into silence.
Practical combat? He was a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster whose Martial Soul was a porker that only knew how to fart. His opponent was a six-year-old kid standing over two meters tall who had punched a level-seventeen gatekeeper flying.
What could they compete at?
Who could live longer?
He was fifty, and his opponent was six. That didn't exactly give him an advantage either.
Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled for a long moment.
The crowd around them was still laughing.
Tang San was still looking at him with that curious expression.
Su Mo just stood there calmly, waiting for his answer.
Yu Xiaogang suddenly realized—
He had lost.
Lost to a six-year-old child.
Lost to a guy whose only advice was to "read a book."
He had lost completely and utterly.
His lips moved, and at last he forced out a single sentence:
"Tang San, you... you'll regret this."
Tang San looked utterly baffled. "Why would I regret it?"
Yu Xiaogang didn't answer.
He turned and walked away.
His pace was quick.
His retreating figure radiated an indescribable air of disarray.
After walking a dozen or so steps, he couldn't help glancing back.
Tang San was standing close to Su Mo, eagerly offering him water. His smile shone like a sunflower.
Su Mo took the water, drank a mouthful, then casually patted him on the head.
Tang San didn't mind. Instead, he smiled even more brightly.
Yu Xiaogang silently turned away.
He kept walking.
His pace grew faster and faster.
In the end, he was practically fleeing.
Behind him, Su Mo's voice drifted faintly over:
"By the way, Tang San, want to hear the rest of that joke from earlier?"
"I do!"
"There was a grandmaster who spent half his life studying Martial Souls, yet couldn't even figure out why his own Martial Soul only knew how to fart."
"Hahaha! So all that research was for nothing?"
"That's right. So, there are no trash Martial Souls, only a trash—"
The voices faded into the distance.
Yu Xiaogang's steps faltered.
Then he walked even faster.
More and more disheveled.
Almost all the new students had witnessed the whole scene.
"Who was that just now?"