Late at night, in a rented apartment.
The computer screen glowed pale blue.
A young man stared at the Ultra Ball on his computer game screen and muttered,
"If the target you're trying to catch is an Ultra Beast, you'll get an extremely high capture bonus. Otherwise, the catch rate is only 0.1 times."
"Hmm, it's still pretty powerful. I've got a whole bunch of max-level pets now, so I can use the Ultra Ball to catch Ultra Beasts. But if I were just starting the game and had only one Ultra Ball, I probably wouldn't even be able to catch the most ordinary pet."
"That'd make the game pretty hard!"
The young man chuckled self-deprecatingly, not taking it seriously. The game he was playing was the sort where you caught spirits or pets, raised them to grow stronger, then used them to battle and defeat powerful foes, ultimately achieving the game's goals or fulfilling its ideals.
After all, he was already practically at the very top of the game. He was long past being a beginner and could never run into that sort of situation again.
Unless—
The young man suddenly grew sleepier and sleepier. His mind grew heavier, his vision blurrier, and after a struggle, his eyelids finally closed without a shred of backbone.
Douluo Continent.
Six years later.
Notting Academy.
"Lin Hui, stop making one mistake after another!"
In the classroom, Yu Xiaogang was red-faced with anger, veins bulging on his forehead. His breathing quickened, and the storm of emotions and shock in his heart refused to settle.
Though the academy revered him as the Grandmaster, this was the first time anyone had ever questioned him.
And what's more, it was a mere six-year-old child!
What gave a six-year-old the nerve to deny the painstaking research he'd devoted to Martial Souls all these years? He'd poured his heart and soul into it, sacrificing every shred of dignity to compile these findings from Spirit Hall's precious archives!
For the sake of his pride, Yu Xiaogang continued,
"Your Iron Ball Martial Soul is already heavy and sturdy, with enough defense. What you need now is to find a Power Attack System Soul Beast for your First Soul Ring. That's the only way to balance offense and defense!"
"I've already picked out the right Power Attack System Soul Beast for you. The Thunder Shock Tiger in Soul Hunting Forest is perfect."
"Only by making the Thunder Shock Tiger your First Soul Ring can you get ahead at the starting line of the Soul Master path. Make one wrong step, and every step after that will be wrong too!"
Lin Hui stood ramrod straight and asked without a hint of fear or submission,
"May I ask, teacher, do all Martial Souls in the world have to follow one fixed path of growth?"
"For instance, the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit Martial Soul is characterized by ambushes and Charm. A Martial Soul with those traits suits the Agility Attack System just as well as the Power Attack System. And if you choose a different path as a Soul Master, naturally, you'll hunt for different Soul Rings."
"In my view, an ordinary Iron Ball Martial Soul is indeed naturally heavy and sturdy. But relying on the Martial Soul alone for defense is far inferior to having a defensive Soul Skill. If you choose an offensive Soul Ring on top of that, it goes against the Martial Soul's nature, and neither offense nor defense will reach its peak. It'll soon be reduced to mediocrity."
"In that case, you'd be better off choosing a defensive Soul Ring and first taking your defense to the extreme. At least you'd develop a distinctive strength of your own."
"Of course, that's only true of an ordinary Iron Ball Martial Soul." Lin Hui knew his Martial Soul only looked like an Iron Ball, but in truth... Still, he was simply debating Yu Xiaogang about the direction a Martial Soul should take as it developed.
In the classroom, Xiao Wu sat beside Tang San. At the mention of the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit, her ears immediately perked up, and her languid expression brightened.
"Soft Bone Charm Rabbit? How did he end up talking about me? But what he said does seem to make a little..."
Hearing Lin Hui's rebuttal, Yu Xiaogang grew even more furious.
"I've studied Martial Soul Theory for decades. I was the one who proposed the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory. Are you saying a little brat knows more than I do?"
"The Iron Ball Martial Soul lacks offensive power. That's its weakness. If you don't make up for it, a Soul Master with this kind of Martial Soul won't be able to establish himself in the Soul Master World!"
"If your homeroom teacher, Teacher Li, hadn't asked me to help you, I wouldn't have bothered to guide you along the Soul Master path."
"You haven't even eaten as much salt as your teacher has eaten rice. Your teacher would never harm you. Listen to me, and you can still be saved. Otherwise, you'll lead yourself astray despite being a rare Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power!"
"If you're willing to listen, I might even consider taking you on as my disciple."
Yu Xiaogang couldn't imagine why the child in front of him was arguing with him. He'd already yielded on the matter of his bearing, and now he'd even offered to take Lin Hui on as his disciple. Surely the boy would back down.
After all, he was a boy with Innate Full Soul Power. His Martial Soul might be a bit of a Trash Martial Soul, but with Yu Xiaogang's guidance, he could still rise to the top of the Soul Master World.
Yu Xiaogang had already taken Tang San as his disciple. If he took Lin Hui too, he'd have two disciples with Innate Full Soul Power.
Surely one of those two would make a name for himself and prove Yu Xiaogang's theory right!
Of course, Yu Xiaogang had only learned a month after the school year began that Notting Academy had another child with Innate Full Soul Power. That was why he'd seized this chance to extend an olive branch. Who could have guessed that his advice would be rebutted the moment he offered it?
"What? He could actually become a disciple of the Grandmaster of the Soul Master World?" One of the students cried out in surprise. They were still young and inexperienced, so they had a blind faith in—and even reverence for—the "Grandmaster" of the Soul Master World.
From the student's voice and expression, it was clear that he thought this was an incredible opportunity.
But how could Lin Hui not know what Yu Xiaogang was scheming?
He'd only offered to take Lin Hui as a disciple after learning that he had Innate Full Soul Power. Wasn't it obvious that he was interested in Lin Hui's potential?
And Yu Xiaogang's later famous saying, "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters," was nothing but a lie even he didn't believe.
Put simply, he didn't think he could truly make an ordinary talent into a success.
But someone with outstanding talent could probably succeed even without you. So what use were you as a teacher?
"I appreciate the Grandmaster's kindness, but I still stand by my opinion. As for not becoming your disciple, so be it."
Lin Hui turned him down casually. Though he hadn't meant to provoke Yu Xiaogang, his tone was like that of someone tossing away a worthless white radish—and it cut Yu Xiaogang's pride to the quick.
"You..." Yu Xiaogang's face turned green with rage. "Countless people have already proven that an Iron Ball Martial Soul can follow an offensive path. How dare you deny the experience of those who came before you?"
"You're a little brat who hasn't even grown a hair. What gives you the right to reject the path taken by those before you?"
"Do you really think you're so clever?"
"Do you really think you're special?"
Though Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man and a teacher at the school, Lin Hui didn't back down.
"Treating the head when the head hurts and the foot when the foot hurts will only reduce an ordinary Iron Ball Martial Soul to mediocrity. Strengthen its natural traits and take one aspect to the extreme. Only then can it have a chance to compete with top-tier Martial Souls."
When Lin Hui finished speaking, many of the students below looked enlightened.
"That's right. The Iron Ball Martial Soul is a classic Trash Martial Soul. If you raise it without giving it any distinctive strengths, won't it just get crushed in every way by top-tier Martial Souls?"
"Strengthen its unique traits and take one aspect to the extreme. Then, in certain situations—or even in group battles—it might be able to serve a purpose beyond what a top-tier Martial Soul can manage."
Seeing that most of the students present were beginning to agree with Lin Hui, Yu Xiaogang's expression grew even uglier. He ground out,
"So you're planning to hunt a defensive Soul Ring for yourself?"
Lin Hui's expression remained calm. "For an ordinary Iron Ball Martial Soul, strengthening its defensive traits with the First Soul Ring is best. But my Martial Soul isn't an ordinary Iron Ball Martial Soul. I have my own path to follow. I might even establish a seventh type of Soul Master beyond the six major types."
With the experience of his previous life, he knew that although his Martial Soul looked like an Iron Ball, it was actually an Ultra Ball that could capture Ultra Beasts!
He would become a Summoning Type Soul Master without precedent!
In the history of Soul Masters on Douluo Continent, that would be an earth-shattering first.
"Hahaha," Yu Xiaogang laughed instead. "You really are shameless!"
"You think you can question decades of my research?"
"Question generations of experience in the Soul Master World?"
"And establish a seventh type?"
"Quit messing around!"