Gender-Change Potion

Generally speaking, comedy anime defied common sense and stood up to no logical scrutiny.

Back Street Girls was even more so, telling the story of three minor thugs who made a mistake and were ordered by their syndicate boss to undergo sex reassignment to become idol singers and rake in cash, yet unexpectedly, the three grown men made a magnificent turn and accidentally skyrocketed to fame.

The moment Yang Ming chose to draw, a strange virtual roulette wheel appeared in his retina.

A regular virtual roulette wheel would neatly map out item zones, skill zones, and technique zones at a glance, but this virtual roulette wheel was different; every single display showed a question mark.

Yang Ming was merely trying it out, first using up his draw chance for Stephen Chow's Love on Delivery movie.

The virtual roulette wheel began to spin, and Yang Ming's heart leaped into his throat.

Seeing Yang Ming daze, Xiao Wu extended her slender, jade-like fingers, once, twice, gently poking Yang Ming's cheek, tilting her head, and asking:

"Yang Ming, what are you thinking about, lost in thought like this?"

Yang Ming snapped back to his senses, a trace of a bizarre smile blooming at the corner of his mouth.

The instant the virtual roulette wheel pointer stopped, an item fitting a comedy anime appeared.

Gender-Change Potion!

Drink it, and males could turn into females, females could turn into males, and they could even turn into something neither male nor female!

As for the second draw chance, it hit a blank; absolutely nothing was obtained.

A thoughtful look flashed in Yang Ming's eyes. Last time he used the draw chance for The Big Shot movie, he could only pull Xiao Yan's unworn underwear; this time, he used the draw chance for a comedy film to draw a comedy-anime item of a similar nature, actually acquiring such a miraculous Gender-Change Potion.

He suspected that perhaps different draw counts were related to the draw targets.

Yang Ming composed himself, scooping a ladle of soup—papaya stewed with ribs. The taste was ordinary, a bad review.

Seeing Yang Ming ignore her, Xiao Wu felt a bit unhappy and said:

"Yang Ming, you haven't finished telling me the story of the Dream of the Red Chamber you told me last time; you must finish it this time. I want to know how Lin Daiyu's fate turned out later, did she end up with Xue Baoyu?"

Watching Xiao Wu cup her cheeks with both hands, wearing a look of eager anticipation, Yang Ming truly lacked the heart to tell her the truth. Not only did Lin Daiyu fail to become a pair with Xue Baoyu, she even died of melancholy, her fate quite desolate.

Then, Yang Ming began to get a headache.

Just like every author facing readers sending razor blades, Yang Ming believed that if he dared to tell Xiao Wu the second half of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Xiao Wu would dare to dismantle his dormitory bedboard!

Typically, under such circumstances, an author had only one method, and that was to go on hiatus!

Time to slip away, slip away!

Yang Ming hurriedly finished lunch, and taking advantage of a moment when Xiao Wu wasn't paying attention, immediately slipped out of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, heading toward Spirit Hall to prepare for a martial soul rank evaluation.

Barely a few days had passed since Yang Ming's last ruckus at Spirit Hall, and the guards at Spirit Hall recognized Yang Ming at a glance, instantly observing their noses and hearts, not daring to stop him.

Spirit Hall remained the same as always, usually lacking people, with only a few servants cleaning up.

Following the adjacent staircase up to the second floor of Spirit Hall and arriving at the second-floor corridor, Yang Ming first knocked on the door outside, and upon receiving Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo's approval, pushed the door open and entered.

This was a bright office. Seated behind a vast desk was an elderly man whose neat spirit master attire and the standard three-sword insignia on his body indicated that he was a Battle Spirit Master at the Soul Grandmaster level.

Ma Xiunuo had originally been bent over his desk working, but seeing the visitor was Yang Ming, a trace of a kindly smile instantly squeezed onto his wrinkle-laden face.

"Ah, it's Yang Ming, truly a rare visitor."

Given Ma Xiunuo's rank, he normally didn't need to personally come forward to greet someone, but he still stood up, walked all the way to the door, ushered Yang Ming inside, and seated him opposite his desk to display his warm hospitality.

Ma Xiunuo sat back down in his seat, watching Yang Ming—who changed more every single day—and rubbed his slightly presbyopic eyes.

If the last time he saw Yang Ming, the boy was merely a sharp blade that had just been unsheathed, then now, he was a honed sharp blade, carrying a faint, unusual edge in every gesture.

As expected of an extraordinary genius who awakened dual martial souls with innate full soul power!

A tempest raged in Ma Xiunuo's heart, yet the smile on his face grew even kinder as he enthusiastically poured Yang Ming a cup of hot tea and said amiably:

"Yang Ming, regarding that matter with Su Yuntao last time, I hope you won't take it too much to heart."

"I often tell Su Yuntao that his personality is simply rash and impatient; otherwise, he wouldn't be like me, unable to cross the threshold of rank thirty no matter what. But alas, he always refuses to listen, so this time can be considered buying a lesson."

"As for him... to put it nicely, he's prone to taking unorthodox paths; to put it bluntly, he's prone to splitting hairs. Actually, the young man Su Yuntao isn't entirely bad at his core, and I also hope you won't harbor any bad prejudices against Spirit Hall because of this matter."

Ma Xiunuo was a wily old fox. His words superficially seemed to defend Su Yuntao, but in reality, they were salvaging the reputation of Spirit Hall and indirectly recruiting Yang Ming.

Yang Ming was still young and didn't catch the deeper meaning in Ma Xiunuo's words, but he didn't plan to pursue the matter further; doing so would do no good for anyone.

"Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo, I didn't come to pick a fight today, but to undergo an advancement appraisal, and I must trouble you once more."

"W-What? You've advanced?"

A shock rippled through Ma Xiunuo's heart. Not even a week had passed since Yang Ming's last visit to Spirit Hall, and he had already advanced from a Soul Scholar to a Soul Master?

Yet, upon second thought, Yang Ming possessed innate full soul power. If a good teacher guided him into the Soul Hunting Forest and he chanced upon a suitable soul beast, such a possibility wasn't out of the question.

Thinking thus, Ma Xiunuo's gaze toward Yang Ming grew even more fervent, and his attitude grew increasingly amiable, just like an old grandfather from next door.

"Sigh, Yang Ming, don't call me Grandmaster; the title feels far too distant. Just call me Grandfather Ma Xiunuo."

It was merely a form of address, and Yang Ming didn't mind, simply going with the flow and saying:

"Then I'll trouble you, Grandfather Ma Xiunuo."

Ma Xiunuo's age-spotted face nearly smiled itself into wrinkles, and he led Yang Ming out of the office, proceeding along the second-floor corridor toward the inner reaches of Spirit Hall.

When they reached the end of the corridor, three tall arched doorways appeared before Yang Ming.

"This is the martial soul laboratory where Spirit Hall conducts advancement appraisals."

As he spoke, Ma Xiunuo pushed open the door on the far left, leading Yang Ming inside.

Upon entering the room, Yang Ming felt an indescribable peculiarity, as though the soul power within his body were rhythmically pulsing to a special beat.

This was a very large room, roughly the size of half a football field, with a ceiling three to four meters high. A massive floor-to-ceiling window provided ample illumination inside.

A faint sense of suspense lingered in Yang Ming's heart. What kind of chain reaction would his black soul ring trigger?

(Part 1)