Taking a Master

"This time, we really found a treasure." The beautiful woman was both shocked and delighted.

Innate Full Soul Power, a noble True Dragon Martial Soul bloodline, and it was Water Attribute!

This was practically a priceless treasure Heaven itself had bestowed upon Skywater Academy!

"All right, put your Martial Soul away." Smiling, the beautiful woman gave a light wave of her hand, signaling Jiang Lan to retract his Martial Soul.

"Headmistress, may I enroll now?" Jiang Lan retracted his Martial Soul, looked up at the beautiful woman before him, and asked.

"Though your talent is extraordinary, Skywater Academy has always accepted only female students with Water Attribute Martial Souls. How could we make an exception for you alone?" As she spoke, the woman suddenly changed her tone. A sly glint flashed through her ice-blue eyes as she continued, "Of course, if you become my disciple, then your joining Skywater Academy would not count as an exception. You would merely be my disciple, not an official student of Skywater Academy."

A master-disciple relationship was far closer than that between a student and a teacher.

No matter what, she had to keep Jiang Lan at Skywater Academy.

Jiang Lan: "..."

Abusing loopholes, huh.

"Disciple Jiang Lan greets his teacher!" Hearing this, Jiang Lan did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately moved to kneel and take her as his master.

There was gold beneath a man's knees—now was the time to cash it in.

Never underestimate the thick skin of a modern person!

"You child, what are you doing? A bow is all that is needed to acknowledge a master." With a sweep of her sleeve, Shui Qinghan's surging Soul Power rose and lifted Jiang Lan up from afar. She looked at him with mild reproach.

"It makes me seem more sincere." Jiang Lan scratched his head and chuckled.

"You little rascal~" Shui Qinghan smiled, then lightly tapped Jiang Lan's forehead with her index finger. "Lan'er, where are your parents?"

"My parents... are no longer in this world." Jiang Lan blinked and tried his best to squeeze out a tear.

"You poor child~ From now on, your teacher will be your family." Hearing this, Shui Qinghan lovingly stroked Jiang Lan's head and spoke gently.

She already had a daughter who was not much older than Jiang Lan, and she was at the peak of Motherly Love. Upon suddenly hearing this, her heart filled with pity, and she immediately decided to treat Jiang Lan as her own child.

She had two "daughters" and had been wanting a son.

"I'll first take you to the Frozen Forest to hunt a Soul Ring. Afterward, I'll introduce you to your two senior sisters." Shui Qinghan continued.

"Yes!" Jiang Lan looked delighted.

"You all did very well this time. Once I return from hunting the Soul Ring, I will personally reward you." Using a secret voice transmission technique, Shui Qinghan praised the students and promised them rewards. Then she grabbed Jiang Lan by the shoulder, took him into the air, and flew toward the nearest Soul Beast gathering ground to Skywater City—the Frozen Forest.

Although there was a Soul Hunting Forest near Skywater City, it was ultimately artificial. Not only were the varieties of Soul Beasts within limited, but their cultivation ages were limited as well. There were simply no powerful Soul Beasts there.

Though this was Shui Qinghan's first time hunting a Soul Ring for a student with a True Dragon Martial Soul, she knew that a True Dragon Martial Soul had to absorb Soul Rings from ice- or Water Attribute draconic Soul Beasts possessing True Dragon Bloodlines.

And ice- and Water Attribute draconic Soul Beasts could only be found in Soul Beast habitats such as the Frozen Forest, the Great Star Dou Forest, and the Far North.

Three days later, outside the Frozen Forest.

The Frozen Forest lay in the northernmost reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire and bordered the Far North.

It was covered in snow year-round and unsuitable for human habitation, so few people ever came here.

Only scattered Soul Hunting teams operated within this forest.

"Haa~" Jiang Lan looked at the coniferous forest ahead and gently exhaled a puff of warm breath.

After traveling for three days, they had finally arrived.

The thin T-shirt he had been wearing had been replaced by a thick cotton coat and padded trousers. He wore heavy leather boots on his feet and a bright red scarf around his neck, his entire body bundled up so tightly that he looked like a little chubby boy.

Shui Qinghan had specially bought these clothes for him after seeing how lightly dressed he was, afraid that he might fall ill from the cold.

There was a kind of cold called "I think you're cold."

Jiang Lan was quite helpless about this.

Because of his Martial Soul, Jiang Lan not only did not feel cold, but was instead perfectly suited to this environment. He felt like a fish in water, like a tiger with wings, and even the Soul Power within his body had become more active.

"Lan'er, have you given any thought to the direction you want your future cultivation to take?" After Shui Qinghan led Jiang Lan into the Frozen Forest, she suddenly asked.

Over these past three days, they had done more than travel. Shui Qinghan had also taught Jiang Lan some common knowledge about Soul Masters, along with the academy's advanced meditation method.

Though she had already planned out a path for Jiang Lan, she wanted to hear his own opinion.

After all, Jiang Lan was the one who would walk the road ahead. As his teacher, she could only protect and guide him.

"Teacher, I want to take the Assault System route," Jiang Lan answered without hesitation.

Starlight King had an attack base stat as high as 142, while its HP base stat was an astonishing 170. Even both of its defensive base stats were 114. It was ridiculously tanky while still dealing massive damage.

One Starlight · Overturning Mountains and Seas that ignored defense and shields, one Starlight · Riding the Wind and Waves that gave all attributes +2 at full health, and its fifth skill, Starlight · Thousand-Mile Tide Strike.

My God, it's the king-size supreme edition!

Shui Qinghan nodded slightly and smiled. "Mm, a very wise choice. The strongest aspects of True Dragon Martial Souls are their physical bodies and offensive power. Most True Dragon Martial Souls are absolutely suited for the Assault System."

"As for your First Soul Ring, I'll give you several options for reference. You can choose for yourself."

"The first is the Azurewave Dragon Sturgeon. This Soul Beast possesses a partial Water Attribute True Dragon Bloodline. Its speed, strength, and explosive power are extremely formidable, though it cannot sustain combat for long. It is a natural ruler of the waters."

"The second is the Ice Thorn Crocodile Dragon. This Soul Beast possesses a partial Ice Attribute True Dragon Bloodline. Its strength and defense are both extremely powerful, making it highly suitable for your Martial Soul."

"The third is the Coldwater Dragon Lizard. It possesses both Ice Attribute and Water Attribute True Dragon Bloodlines and can provide you with an elemental enhancement-type Soul Skill."

Shui Qinghan directly offered three types of Soul Beasts for Jiang Lan to choose from.

After hearing her out and pondering briefly, Jiang Lan said, "Teacher, I choose the Azurewave Dragon Sturgeon as my First Soul Ring."

"Good. Then the Azurewave Dragon Sturgeon it is." Shui Qinghan nodded slightly, took out a map from the Storage Soul Tool on her wrist, compared it with their direction, and led Jiang Lan toward the Azurewave Dragon Sturgeon's habitat.

Shui Qinghan could have directly flown Jiang Lan to the Azurewave Dragon Sturgeon's habitat and helped him hunt a suitable Soul Ring.

But as a qualified teacher, she did not choose such a lazy method. Instead, she led Jiang Lan on foot, teaching him the corresponding knowledge of hunting Soul Beasts along the way and combining theory with practice.

As Jiang Lan tried to memorize the theoretical knowledge Shui Qinghan explained, he muttered inwardly.

Soul Master theory wasn't bad at all. How exactly had Yu Xiaogang earned the title of Grandmaster?

Or did everyone in the Soul Master world already understand it, and simply treat Yu Xiaogang as a joke?