Dumplings Before Departure, Noodles Upon Arrival—Yu Xiaogang Set His Sights on Meng Chen

After returning to the shabby little house, Meng Chen closed the doors and windows, then sat down on the earthen kang bed.

Meng Chen tried to summon his second martial soul.

A flash of white light appeared, and a strange spear materialized in his hand.

The entire spear radiated a blazing white glow. Its shaft seemed almost transparent, while its blade was exceptionally long, taking up nearly a third of the spear's length. Flames flickered along its razor-sharp edge.

The two characters "Atlas" were engraved upon the shaft, shimmering with flowing light and carrying an ancient, powerful aura.

"Atlas Spear!"

Meng Chen was astonished. His second martial soul was actually the Atlas Spear.

In Legend of the Dragon King, Atlas Douluo Yun Ming, the man who had created a pseudo-divine position, possessed the Atlas Spear as his martial soul.

As he stroked the Atlas Spear, Meng Chen could barely contain his excitement.

So what if Tang San possessed the twin martial souls of Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer?

His first martial soul was the Thunder Hell Vine, the strongest destroyer among plant-type martial souls.

His second martial soul was the Atlas Spear, a super weapon martial soul of the assault type. It possessed the Innate Air-Sealing Domain and the ultimate attack attribute—nothing could withstand it, and nothing could remain unbroken before it!

The Thunder Hell Vine alone surpassed the Blue Silver Emperor, let alone Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, which had yet to evolve.

As for Tang Hao behind Tang San...

Heh... Tang San had Tang Hao, but he had a protector as well.

Right, why hasn't my protector arrived yet?

Meng Chen retracted the Atlas Spear into his body and looked outside.

Had something delayed them on the road?

Outside, a graceful blood-red figure flashed past and vanished.

Time flew by, and five days passed in an instant.

Just after dawn, the old village chief came early to call Meng Chen.

After washing up, Meng Chen had breakfast at the village chief's home. The chief's daughter-in-law had made dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork.

The old village chief escorted Meng Chen to the village entrance, where a middle-aged man leaned against a donkey cart, waiting for them.

"Chen, our Xiahe Village has produced only one child with Soul Power in all these years, and you even have Innate Full Soul Power. Study hard when you get to Notting Academy, and strive to become a Soul Master as soon as possible!"

"Here, take this. It's some living expenses the village gathered for you. Make sure to eat on time and don't go hungry. If you run short on money, write back to the village, and we'll help scrape together some more..."

The old village chief handed Meng Chen a small cloth pouch and gently instructed him.

Hearing the Soul Coins clinking in the pouch, Meng Chen's heart warmed. His eyes reddened slightly as he nodded hard.

"Mm, Grandpa Village Chief, I'll definitely study hard and make something of myself."

"Good. Grandpa will wait in the village for your good news. Dalin, I'm leaving Chen in your care."

The old village chief patted Meng Chen's head, then gave instructions to the middle-aged man.

Dalin nodded and called for Meng Chen to get onto the donkey cart.

Meng Chen climbed aboard. The old village chief leaned on his cane and waved them off.

The donkey cart moved forward slowly, its wheels grinding over loose gravel with a teeth-grating squeal.

Meng Chen could not help looking back. Xiahe Village gradually blurred in his eyes, but the aged, stooped figure remained clear.

By the time the donkey cart reached Notting City, it was already noon, with the sun blazing overhead.

"Chen, let's have lunch first. We'll go register at Notting Academy after we eat."

On the broad street, Uncle Dalin drove the donkey cart and spoke without turning his head.

"Alright, Uncle Dalin."

Uncle Dalin found a noodle shop and ordered two bowls of clear broth noodles. After thinking for a moment, he also had them add a poached egg to Meng Chen's bowl.

"Chen, you're still growing. You need proper nutrition."

Looking at the poached egg resting atop the noodles, Meng Chen felt Uncle Dalin's care. He picked up his chopsticks and wolfed down the clear broth noodles, draining every last drop of soup before eating the egg.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Uncle Dalin took Meng Chen to Notting Academy.

"Hello, I'm a work-study student from Xiahe Village. This is my certificate from the Notting Spirit Hall Branch."

Meng Chen handed Spirit Hall's certificate to the gate guard.

The guard glanced at Meng Chen's clothes and was just about to mock him.

Then Uncle Dalin stepped forward. He stood over six feet tall, with bulging muscles built from years of farm work, and the guard immediately lost his nerve.

After all, this was only a junior Soul Master Academy. The guard was not a Soul Master, just an ordinary man who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

"Go in."

The guard reluctantly let them through. Uncle Dalin carried Meng Chen's bedding and luggage as he entered the academy with Meng Chen.

"Pah! Country brat. Does he think getting into Notting Academy means he can really become a Soul Master? He doesn't know his own limits."

The guard spat on the ground and cursed under his breath.

Just as he was about to close the gate, the guard saw an old man and a young boy approaching. Their clothes were not much better, so he immediately stopped them.

"What are you here for? Do you know what place this is? It's a Soul Master Academy, not somewhere you can come begging."

"Young man, we're not here to beg. We came from Saint Soul Village. This child is our village's work-study student this year..."

Inside Notting Academy, Meng Chen quickly completed the procedures for becoming a work-study student.

However, Meng Chen did not want to live in the work-study dormitory. He spent another two silver Soul Coins per term for lodging and moved into a four-person room.

Uncle Dalin carried Meng Chen's bedding and luggage into the dormitory. After making the bed, Meng Chen fetched a kettle of water from downstairs, then ran to the cafeteria and bought five large meat buns, wrapping them in oil paper.

"Uncle Dalin, take these for the road."

Uncle Dalin accepted the water and meat buns. "Chen, I deliver vegetables to the east side of the city at the start of every month. If you need anything, come wait for me there at the beginning of the month."

"Alright, Uncle Dalin. Take care."

Meng Chen saw Uncle Dalin off. As he walked onto the road leading into the academy, a dejected middle-aged man approached from the opposite direction. His temples were streaked with gray, and his face was stiffer than a corpse's.

A boy around Meng Chen's age followed behind him. He was plainly dressed and covered in quite a bit of dust.

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San?

Seeing the pair, Meng Chen formed a guess.

As they passed each other, Yu Xiaogang glanced at Meng Chen from the corner of his eye but did not slow down or pay him any attention.

Yu Xiaogang took Tang San to the Academic Affairs Office to register. When the director saw Tang San's Spirit Hall certificate, surprise appeared on his face.

"Another one with Innate Full Soul Power."

"Another one?" Hearing that word, a trace of confusion appeared on Yu Xiaogang's stiff face. "Director Su, is there another student in the academy with Innate Full Soul Power?"

Director Su nodded and pointed at an enrollment form placed off to the side.

"Yes. Not long ago, another work-study student came to register. He also has Innate Full Soul Power, and he has a mutated martial soul."

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and picked up the enrollment form. His brow furrowed as he muttered to himself.

"Meng Chen, Innate Full Soul Power, Thunder Hell Vine martial soul? What kind of martial soul is that? A mutated martial soul is just a mutated martial soul. Why give it such a ridiculous name?"

After setting down the enrollment form, Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San, who was diligently filling out his papers, and a gleam flashed in his eyes.

He had actually encountered two students with Innate Full Soul Power. One most likely possessed Twin Martial Souls, while the other had a mutated martial soul.

If he could take them as disciples and nurture them into powerful figures, proving his theories, who would dare mock him again or say his theories were all glitter and no substance?

Once Tang San finished filling out the form, Yu Xiaogang took him to his office and used his invincible theories to expose Tang San's secret of possessing Twin Martial Souls.

Tang San was deeply shocked. He immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowed, and took Yu Xiaogang as his master. Yu Xiaogang had not expected Tang San to perform such a grand gesture and was greatly surprised.

"A teacher for a day is a father for life. Since you are my teacher, I should naturally respect you as I respect my father!"

The Tang Sect's teachings regarding etiquette were extremely strict. Having grown up under such instruction, it had long been deeply engraved in Tang San's heart.

As for stealing the Tang Sect's secret arts, Tang San was pure and innocent. He had clearly only borrowed them! Borrowed them!

At those words, Yu Xiaogang forcibly squeezed an ugly smile onto his stiff face.

"Good, good, good. Little San, then your teacher will give you a task. When you get to the work-study dormitory, if you meet that work-study student named Meng Chen, bring him to see your teacher..."