A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor?!

"What? Six hundred years? How is that possible?!"

The disdain on Yu Xiaogang's face froze instantly, then completely collapsed.

Six hundred years!

That number was like a steel blade, shattering all his defenses in an instant.

The limit for a first soul ring was four hundred and twenty-three years. This was the conclusion he had reached only after years of painstaking research in Martial Soul City and consulting countless research materials.

But now!

Six hundred versus four hundred and twenty-three—any child dragged in off the street could tell which number was bigger!

"Impossible... This is impossible...!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes went blank, his lips trembling as his voice shrank to a mosquito's buzz. "Four hundred and twenty-three years is an ironclad rule. No one can break it, no one can break it! You're lying to me. You're lying to me!"

By the end, Yu Xiaogang's voice had grown louder and louder. He even tried to grab Xu Linjiu by the collar, only for Xu Linjiu to dodge easily.

"Still lying to yourself? That's fine. I have more evidence. Xiaosan!"

Xu Linjiu turned toward Tang San. Tang San understood immediately, and blue light bloomed from his right palm.

Before everyone's eyes, a blade of grass as dark blue as ink emerged from his palm.

Its stalk was thick and powerful, its surface covered in overlapping layers of scale-like bark. Between its veins, countless silver streams of light swirled and flowed.

A chorus of sharp breaths rose from the courtyard.

"Is that still Blue Silver Grass?"

Wang Sheng's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How can Blue Silver Grass look like that?"

"That's way too cool!"

Even Xiao Wu was curious. She poked Tang San and asked, "Xiaosan, what happened to your Blue Silver Grass? How did it become like this?"

Tang San turned around, and the blade of grass in his hand swayed gently with him.

"After absorbing a soul ring under Teacher's guidance, my martial soul changed. It isn't called Blue Silver Grass anymore. It's now called Blue Scale Silver Pattern Grass."

"Blue Scale Silver Pattern Grass... Blue Scale Silver Pattern Grass..."

Yu Xiaogang's earlier madness had completely faded, leaving only a dazed expression behind.

He stared fixedly at the martial soul, which had utterly surpassed his understanding. His lips moved, but in the end, he could only force out a few words. "Impossible... Blue Silver Grass can't be like this..."

He could not understand it. He simply could not understand it at all.

Yu Xiaogang mechanically turned his head toward Xu Linjiu, as though hoping to find an answer in his eyes.

Xu Linjiu understood what Yu Xiaogang meant and nodded. "That's right. Xiaosan's martial soul evolved. Do you want to know how it was done?"

At Xu Linjiu's words, light returned to Yu Xiaogang's numb eyes.

He wanted more than anything to cast off the label of trash from his own martial soul!

He was clearly the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's clan leader, of noble status, yet a useless martial soul born from a failed mutation had ruined his entire life.

Now that he had a chance to shed that label, Yu Xiaogang almost instinctively stepped forward. His voice carried a hint of urgency and humility that even he had failed to notice. "Tell me... How exactly did you do it?"

Xu Linjiu suddenly laughed when he saw Yu Xiaogang like this.

"Master Yu, have you misunderstood something?"

Xu Linjiu's voice was soft, yet every word pierced deep into Yu Xiaogang's heart. "Xiaosan's martial soul evolved because, under my guidance, he absorbed a suitable soul ring in the proper way. But what about you?"

Xu Linjiu's gaze fell upon Yu Xiaogang, carrying an indescribable meaning.

"How many years have you been stuck at rank twenty-nine? Ten years? Twenty years? Even if I told you every single detail of Xiaosan's soul hunt this time, would you have the ability to absorb a soul ring? Could you break through rank thirty?"

The hope on Yu Xiaogang's face shattered bit by bit.

Rank thirty!

For a talented soul master, those simple words might merely be a matter of time. But to Yu Xiaogang, they were an insurmountable chasm!

His cultivation had been stuck at rank twenty-nine!

His Luo Sanpao was nothing but a useless thing that could only fart!

"Pfft!"

Among the working students nearby, someone could not hold back their laughter at Yu Xiaogang's miserable appearance.

Then, the mockery instantly spread into a chorus.

Yu Xiaogang collapsed onto the ground as the working students' laughter surged over him like a tide.

"Trash!"

"And you call yourself a master? You can't even break through rank thirty."

These working students all came from poor families. What they hated most in their daily lives was being looked down on by others.

Yu Xiaogang's earlier remark—"A bunch of people with no ambition. No wonder you're all working students"—had already thoroughly offended them. Now that they had the chance, they naturally showed no mercy.

Yu Xiaogang's face turned green, then purple, his features twisting more and more.

"You lied to me..."

"You're lying to me..."

"YOU'RE LYING TO ME!!!"

The sudden outburst startled the working students, and they all fell silent.

Yu Xiaogang climbed back to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as they swept around before finally locking onto Xu Linjiu.

"What rank twenty-nine? What soul power bottleneck? It's all a lie you made up! You simply don't want to tell me how to evolve a martial soul! You're afraid I'll learn it, afraid I'll surpass you!"

As he spoke, he staggered two steps forward, a glow of soul power emerging around his body.

As the light twisted, a purple pig creature with a fat head, oversized ears, and a bump on its head appeared in place. It was the detached martial soul, Luo Sanpao.

Yu Xiaogang then looked at Xu Linjiu again. "Xu Linjiu! I am the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's clan leader, the wisdom of the Golden Iron Triangle, a theory master acknowledged by the current Martial Soul Hall Pope! Today, no matter what, you will spit out that method of martial soul evolution!"

"Spit it out?"

Xu Linjiu looked at Luo Sanpao standing on the ground, then at the Yu Xiaogang who had flown into a rage out of humiliation, and could not help laughing.

"You? I'd like to see what you can do to make me spit out the answer!"

"Fine! You forced me to do this!"

As he spoke, the storage soul tool at Yu Xiaogang's waist flashed, and two white radishes instantly appeared in his hands.

"White radishes!"

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

Yu Xiaogang tossed both hands, and the two white radishes fell straight into Luo Sanpao's mouth.

The purple pig creature did not look very big, but it ate the radishes quickly enough.

In just a few bites, both radishes had disappeared, while Luo Sanpao's belly visibly swelled at a rapid pace.

"Hmph! Kid! Today, I'll teach you something. When facing someone stronger than yourself, you must learn to show respect!"

Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly. Soul power surged around him, and Luo Sanpao's yellow first soul ring lit up beneath its feet.

"Fart Like Thunder! Heaven-Shattering Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao!"

Upon receiving the command, Luo Sanpao pushed off with all four limbs and launched itself five meters into the air, its rear aimed at the target.

With a thunderous boom, a stream of shit-yellow, foul-smelling gas burst from Luo Sanpao's rear.

Yet before the gas had even traveled half a meter, an invisible force stopped it in midair.

Then, the cloud of foul gas curled back through the air, enveloping Luo Sanpao instead.

"Gekgekgekgek—!"

Struck by its own soul skill, Luo Sanpao quickly let out a miserable howl from within.

"Ugh, that's disgusting! I'm never eating white radishes again!"

Xiao Wu wrapped her arms tightly around herself, shuddering in revulsion.

Yu Xiaogang's arrogant expression froze instantly at the sight before him.

"H-How is that possible?! I'm a peak Grand Soul Master! You're only a teacher from some backwater school!"

Yu Xiaogang could not accept this. Xu Linjiu's eyes were merely glowing faintly—he had not even used a soul skill!

Xu Linjiu lightly brushed dust from his clothes, though there was none. "When did I ever tell you I was just an ordinary teacher?"

With that, he no longer concealed his aura!

Violent soul power surged around him. Two yellow and two purple soul rings appeared beneath his feet in succession.

He was actually a four-ring Soul Ancestor!