Master? This is a scammer!

Yu Xiaogang was extremely excited at this moment. He had never expected that someone in tiny Nuoding Province would actually meet his requirements.

He had wanted to stake out the entrance of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, where there were plenty of geniuses—but far fewer fools.

Who would be willing to take a level 29 Grand Soul Master like him as their teacher?

But this was Nuoding Province. A level 29 Grand Soul Master like him could absolutely be considered a minor expert here. Wouldn't fooling some young rookie be easy enough?

Off to the side, the gatekeeper secretly clicked his tongue as he watched the Master grow so excited that he lost his composure. It was the first time he had seen this oddball care so much about any new student.

Lin Ya also sensed an intensely piercing gaze fixed on him. Turning his head, he saw a plainly dressed middle-aged man with a somber air.

It was Master Yu Xiaogang.

Lin Ya understood at once.

In the original story, the man who had spent years lurking around Nuoding Academy, hoping to find a disciple and thereby prove his theories, was none other than Yu Xiaogang, the self-proclaimed number one authority on martial soul theory.

Lin Ya knew this Master's background inside and out, so he naturally understood the storm of emotions raging in the other man's heart.

But Lin Ya had not the slightest interest in taking this "Master" as his teacher.

Leaving everything else aside, those Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls that had been practically deified were, in Lin Ya's eyes, riddled with holes:

1. Innate soul power was proportional to martial soul quality—obvious nonsense.

2. Plant martial souls could absorb beast soul rings—obvious nonsense.

3. Soul ring bottlenecks did not affect the growth of soul power—obvious nonsense.

4. One had to personally kill a soul beast to absorb its soul ring—obvious nonsense.

5. Martial soul quality affected the power of soul skills—obvious nonsense.

6. Martial souls were inherited, usually taking after the stronger parent, though mutation was also possible—obvious nonsense.

7. Sacrifice and hatred could increase the drop rate of soul bones—obvious nonsense.

8. Martial souls were divided into beast martial souls and tool martial souls—obvious nonsense.

9. The soul ring age theory was correct, at least. But he had never possessed a ten-thousand-year soul ring in his life and did not even know that absorbing one could cause spiritual shock. Wasn't that just leading people astray?

10. There were no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters. Well... it was not exactly nonsense, but it was most likely just a bowl of poisonous chicken soup.

Just look at the talents of the Shrek Seven Monsters. Yu Xiaogang had worked his whole life only to prove to the world that geniuses were geniuses, and ordinary people could never catch up no matter how long they tried.

Looking across the entirety of Douluo Continent 1, it could not be said that the Master had been completely useless, but his contributions were barely worth mentioning. He was nowhere near as useful as Old Yao next door.

At the very least, that little bit of usefulness meant nothing to Lin Ya.

Thus, Lin Ya merely completed his registration calmly, picked up his student identification badge, and prepared to turn and leave.

"Wait!"

Yu Xiaogang finally could not hold himself back any longer. He strode forward and blocked Lin Ya's path.

He was only thirty-five years old now, nowhere near as composed as he would be five years later when he met Tang San. Seeing Lin Ya about to leave, he immediately lost his cool.

He tried his best to suppress the excitement churning in his chest and make his tone sound steady and calm, but the faint tremble in his voice had already betrayed his unrest.

"Child, your name is Lin Ya?"

"Yes."

Lin Ya raised his eyes, his expression calm and composed, neither servile nor arrogant. "May I ask what you need, Senior?"

This poise and steadiness, far beyond that of his peers, only made Yu Xiaogang more satisfied.

Outstanding talent and a steady temperament—this was simply the perfect disciple Heaven had delivered right to his doorstep!

"My name is Yu Xiaogang. Others call me the Master."

Yu Xiaogang instinctively straightened his back, doing his best to assume the bearing of an eminent expert. "I have observed you for some time. Your talent far surpasses that of anyone else in this academy."

Lin Ya chuckled inwardly, but merely nodded faintly. "You flatter me, Senior."

"I am not flattering you." Yu Xiaogang's tone suddenly turned solemn as he stared at him with burning eyes. "I have waited at Nuoding Academy for years, seeking only a disciple worthy of receiving everything I have learned in my life. Lin Ya, I have taken a liking to your talent and temperament—are you willing to take me as your teacher?"

As soon as the words fell, the gatekeeper beside them was so startled that he nearly dropped the registration ledger in his hands.

This eccentric man, who had always held himself above others and had even disdained the academy's gifted students, was actually taking the initiative to accept a newly enrolled student as his disciple?

It was simply unheard of!

Yet Lin Ya merely spoke in an even tone, his answer crisp and decisive.

"Sorry, not interested."

"Haha, all right. It seems you're a very proud child."

Yu Xiaogang forced out a laugh to hide his embarrassment.

It seemed that unless he showed the boy some real ability, the kid would not be convinced.

He took the registration form from the gatekeeper, glanced over it, and said in a deliberately profound manner, "Young people should not be too arrogant. You are indeed a rare case of innate full soul power, and you even possess a mutated martial soul. But on the Douluo Continent, geniuses are the one thing never in short supply."

Lin Ya: "..."

"A mutated martial soul? This is clearly a body martial soul, okay!"

He shot Yu Xiaogang a speechless glance, but in the other man's eyes, it became one of shock and awe.

Yu Xiaogang grew even smugger and continued talking at length:

"Looks like you still don't understand how precious mutated martial souls are. Over the past century, a total of nineteen people with innate full soul power have appeared across the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. I studied every one of them. Fourteen possessed top-tier martial souls inherited through their families. The remaining five, like you, all had mutated martial souls!"

"My martial soul isn't mutated," Lin Ya calmly corrected.

But Yu Xiaogang did not take it to heart at all. He merely assumed Lin Ya disliked the word "mutated" and continued making grand promises on his own:

"Young man, while a mutated martial soul grants you exceptional talent, according to my research, most mutated martial souls carry fatal side effects. But I am confident that I can help you eliminate those hidden dangers and aid you in becoming a Soul Sage, a Soul Douluo, or even... a Titled Douluo!"

Yu Xiaogang held his head high and puffed out his chest, simply waiting for Lin Ya to kneel in excitement and kowtow to accept him as master.

Yet all he received was Lin Ya's utterly indifferent reply:

"Are you done? Can you move aside now? I need to go to class."

Yu Xiaogang: "..."

His entire body stiffened. In a daze, he stepped aside and watched helplessly as Lin Ya calmly walked past him.

Staring at that retreating figure that never once looked back, Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, but in the end, he could not bring himself to say a single word to stop him.

Only after a long while, when Lin Ya had completely vanished from sight, did he grit his teeth and mutter in a sour, bitter tone:

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Just you wait, you arrogant brat! It won't be long before I find a disciple even more outstanding than you! When that time comes, don't regret it!"

With that, Yu Xiaogang fiercely flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

In a place like Nuoding Province, finding one promising seedling in a year was already a stroke of incredible luck. He did not believe he would encounter a second person with innate full soul power.

Forget it. There was no point thinking about it...

He should go eat first.