First Meeting with Xiao Gangzi

The days passed one by one.

One day, Tang Ling turned around and was about to return to the courtyard when a crisp notification suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding—Mission Prompt: The current target, Yu Xiaogang, is being pursued by a thousand-year soul beast in Notting Hunting Forest. According to the system's calculations, if he is not rescued in time, Yu Xiaogang will be saved by someone else. At that point, the difficulty of completing the mission will increase drastically.]

Tang Ling rose to his feet, his robes stirring despite the lack of wind.

Notting Hunting Forest.

Yu Xiaogang lay prone behind a massive boulder, holding his breath desperately as cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He had left Notting Academy for field research, never expecting to encounter a thousand-year soul beast in this hunting forest.

It was a thousand-year Soul-Devouring Jackal. It was not large, and its entire body was grayish-black, but it was incredibly fast and attacked in an exceptionally bizarre manner. It could unleash a howl that struck directly at the soul, causing its victims to lose their senses for a short time.

Yu Xiaogang's martial soul, Luo Sanpao, lacked offensive power. Coupled with his own weak soul power, he could not sustain a prolonged battle.

At that moment, a claw wound deep enough to expose bone ran across his left arm. Blood dripped continuously down his arm, staining the soil beneath him a dark red.

His breathing was rapid and ragged, veins bulging on his forehead as he endured the agony. He had already recalled Luo Sanpao into his body and would be unable to summon it again for some time.

The Soul-Devouring Jackal paced slowly through the brush a hundred meters away, its pair of ghostly green eyes gleaming with cruel light. It did not seem eager to kill this human. Instead, it appeared to be savoring the thrill of its prey's death throes.

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and with difficulty pulled a signal flare from his robes.

This was a distress tool issued by Notting Academy. Once launched, nearby soul masters would rush over to help. But this place was fairly remote; even if he fired the signal, there was no guarantee anyone would see it. And even if someone did, by the time they arrived, he would likely have long become the Soul-Devouring Jackal's meal.

The instant he hesitated, the Soul-Devouring Jackal moved.

It waited no longer. Its hind legs kicked off fiercely, its body turning into a bolt of gray lightning as it opened its bloody maw full of sharp fangs and lunged straight for Yu Xiaogang's throat.

A rank stench washed over him, and murderous intent pierced to the bone.

Yu Xiaogang's pupils constricted abruptly. He did not even have time to fire the signal flare. He could only close his eyes instinctively and await the arrival of death.

Yet nothing happened. No fangs tore through his throat, and no searing pain of blood spraying across the ground came.

The entire world suddenly fell silent, so silent that only the pounding of his own heartbeat echoed in his ears. Then, he heard a voice.

"A mere thousand-year beast dares to behave so brazenly before me?"

The voice was as calm as if it were speaking of something utterly trivial, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion. Yet it carried an authority that made one instinctively want to submit.

Yu Xiaogang abruptly opened his eyes.

He saw a hand. Its index fingertip rested lightly against the Soul-Devouring Jackal's forehead. The huge body of that thousand-year soul beast hung stiffly in midair just like that.

A young man in a green robe stood before him with his back turned, his robes fluttering gently in the wind.

Tang Ling withdrew his finger, then flicked it lightly.

The Soul-Devouring Jackal's pupils suddenly dilated. A bloody hole appeared in its forehead first, then its enormous body turned to dust in an instant. It could not even let out a single wail before vanishing completely into the air.

Only a purple soul ring remained, slowly rotating where it had stood, proving that this thousand-year soul beast had once existed.

Killed in one strike. No, it did not even count as a "strike." It had merely been a flick of a finger.

Yu Xiaogang stared blankly at the scene, his mouth hanging wide open. His entire body froze in place as if he had been hit by a binding spell.

He had lived for over forty years and seen countless soul masters. He had even witnessed Title Douluo take action with his own eyes. But no one had ever given him such a shock.

With a flick of a finger, a thousand-year soul beast had been reduced to ashes.

What level of strength was this? A Soul Sage? A Soul Douluo? Or... a Title Douluo? And the person before him looked barely over twenty. There was not the slightest trace of soul power fluctuating around him, and he had not even released a martial soul.

A thought involuntarily surfaced in his mind. He was not a soul master. What he cultivated was not soul power.

Recently, word of Spirit Hall promoting an entirely new cultivation system had reached Notting Academy, causing a huge commotion. And the power this man had displayed...

Tang Ling turned around, his gaze settling on Yu Xiaogang.

"When you awakened your martial soul, your innate soul power was weak. The Holy Dragon phantom that was taking shape shattered, the evolution process stalled halfway, and it could not complete its full Holy Dragon transformation. In the end, it devolved into the weak, pig-like, dog-like martial soul known as Luo Sanpao."

"For all these years, you have researched martial soul theory and put forth the Ten Core Competencies, insights that stand apart even in the entire soul master world. But so what? You still could not change anything, could you?"

Yu Xiaogang remained silent for a long time—so long that Tang Ling thought he might turn to stone where he stood.

Suddenly, his forehead slammed heavily against the ground. His voice trembled with excitement, yet carried an unprecedented resolve. "I can never repay Senior for saving my life today. Yu Xiaogang boldly begs Senior to take me as your disciple! Xiaogang is willing to serve by Master's side for the rest of his life and never slacken!"

Tang Ling looked down at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.

A grown man over forty kneeling on the ground to take a young man who looked barely over twenty as his master—no matter how one looked at it, the scene was rather incongruous.

He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"To be honest, with your aptitude, you are not qualified to enter my school."

Yu Xiaogang's heart sank violently, as though an invisible hand had clenched it. Not qualified. Those three words were like three knives stabbing viciously into his chest. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, only to find that he could not say a word.

He had thought he could latch onto a powerful backer, but instead...

"However." Tang Ling changed the subject, his tone still calm. "The fact that we met here and now can be considered fate. Your dedication to scholarship is rather rare as well. How about this? I will accept you as a registered disciple. What do you say?"

Registered disciple. To Yu Xiaogang, those four words sounded like heavenly music.

He jerked his head up, disbelief bursting from his eyes. His entire body trembled slightly with excitement. To become the disciple of such a powerhouse, even if only a registered disciple, was a blessing he had accumulated over several lifetimes.

"This disciple is willing!" Yu Xiaogang practically shouted. He kowtowed three times in succession, each one striking the ground solidly. A patch of red quickly appeared on his forehead. "This disciple, Yu Xiaogang, pays respects to Master!"

Tang Ling raised a hand, and a gentle stream of green spiritual power lifted Yu Xiaogang from the ground. "Rise."

Yu Xiaogang was lifted by that invisible force, his eyes filled with shock.

Tang Ling glanced at him and suddenly said, "Since you have entered my sect, I shall give you a gift to mark the occasion."

With a casual flick of his hand, a ganoderma appeared out of nowhere in his palm.

The ganoderma was only the size of a palm, entirely purple-gold in color, with a faint glow flowing across its surface. The moment it appeared, an indescribably rich and mellow fragrance spread through the area for dozens of yards around.

Yu Xiaogang merely took a breath of that scent and felt the pain in his left arm wound lessen somewhat. Even the soul power that had stagnated within him for years seemed to show faint signs of loosening.

Tang Ling casually handed the ganoderma to Yu Xiaogang, his tone as offhand as if he were passing over a cabbage.

"This is called Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma. It strengthens one's foundation, replenishes vitality, and tempers the muscles and bones. After taking it, you should be able to break through the rank-thirty bottleneck that has troubled you for years."

Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma.

Yu Xiaogang held the purple-gold ganoderma in both hands, his entire body trembling.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing became as ragged as if he had just run ten kilometers. The beads of sweat seeping from his forehead were even denser than when he had faced the Soul-Devouring Jackal.

As a researcher of martial soul theory, he had read countless texts. His understanding of heavenly treasures far surpassed that of ordinary soul masters.

On Soul Land, the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma was a legendary medicinal herb. It possessed heaven-defying effects, capable of remolding one's body and cleansing one's marrow. It could not be measured in gold coins at all; even the sect masters of the Upper Three Sects or Title Douluo would fight desperately to obtain it.

And now, his master had simply handed it to him.

That casual gesture, that calm tone—it was as though he were handing over a cabbage that could be found anywhere.

"Master..." Yu Xiaogang's voice was so hoarse that he could barely speak. He held the ganoderma as carefully as if he were cradling a flame that might go out at any moment. "Th-this is far too precious. This disciple is only a nominal disciple. How could I possibly deserve...?"

"Precious?" Tang Ling was slightly taken aback, then seemed to understand. He shook his head with a laugh.

"This is nothing precious to me. Where I come from, there are plenty of medicinal herbs better than this. It is merely a ganoderma of decent age, enough to lay a foundation for a beginner like you."

His tone was light and casual, without the slightest hint of deliberate boasting.

Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

He took a deep breath, carefully tucked the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma into his robes, then knelt once more and heavily pressed his forehead to the ground.

"This disciple, Yu Xiaogang, once again thanks Master for your great kindness!"