The past few days had flown by in the blink of an eye.
Grandpa Jack had successfully secured two work-study student spots. Beaming, he now led the two children toward Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
"Grandpa Jack, how do you obtain Spirit Rings?"
Chattering away, Xiao San was curious about everything. She held Lin Yue's hand with one hand while repeatedly asking Grandpa Jack all sorts of questions.
"Spirit Rings are obtained by killing Soul Beasts and absorbing them. The age of the Spirit Ring you can absorb differs depending on your level. Grandpa Jack doesn't know much about that either. Your teachers will teach you later."
With a kindly smile, Grandpa Jack led the two through the bustling streets, tirelessly answering Xiao San's endless questions.
It was Lin Yue's first time in Nuoding City, and he curiously surveyed his surroundings. At last, he had gained a basic understanding of the cities on Douluo Continent.
This small city, built along the borders of the major empires, appeared to have only tens of thousands of residents. Rather than a city, it was more like a larger frontier town...
No wonder the city lord in the original story was only a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. That Rogue Rabbit sure knew how to pick a remote little place...
After winding around for quite some time, the group finally made it from the village to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy on foot before sunset.
Looking up at the ancient plaque hanging over the academy entrance, Lin Yue folded his arms and waited for the plot to unfold.
"Blue Silver Grass? And fucking Innate Full Soul Power? Old man, if you're going to forge something, at least forge it properly!!"
The Junior Soul Master Academy's gatekeeper flung out his right hand, violently throwing Xiao San's Spirit Hall certificate onto the ground. His eyes were filled with intense suspicion and disdain.
A few mud-legged peasants from some village actually dared to dream of awakening Innate Full Soul Power, even using this sort of thing to swindle people.
How many years had he worked as a gatekeeper? How could he not know how important Innate Soul Power was? He had heard that someone with level seven or eight Innate Soul Power could steadily reach the Soul Saint realm. With enough effort, they might even have a chance at becoming a Soul Douluo or even a Titled Douluo.
There wasn't even a single student in the entire academy whose Soul Power exceeded level five. Yet a few villagers had shown up with a piece of paper claiming they possessed Innate Full Soul Power—and their Martial Soul was fucking Blue Silver Grass.
The gatekeeper cocked his head, shook his body, and sneered crookedly.
"My Martial Soul is fucking Soft Bone Rabbit! If Blue Silver Grass can have Innate Full Soul Power, then my Soft Bone Rabbit eats Blue Silver Grass for breakfast. Wouldn't that make me even more awesome than Innate Full Soul Power?"
Seeing Old Jack's embarrassed expression as he instinctively hunched his aged back in shame, the gatekeeper immediately grew bolder. He became more animated as he spoke, planting his hands on his hips and blocking the three without yielding an inch.
By then, Xiao San's previously delighted face had grown increasingly gloomy, her hands clenched tightly within her sleeves.
This bastard actually dared to humiliate her in front of Brother Lin...
[Ding, commission from Tang San—Vent Your Anger Mission content: Teach the gatekeeper a painful lesson Mission reward: 100 points]
The moment the voice sounded in his mind, Lin Yue raised his brows. Just as he had expected.
He watched with his own eyes as the question mark marked by the system popped up above Xiao San's head. Whenever someone nearby held a heartfelt desire or hope, the system would receive a commission.
"Hey, have you said enough?"
Lin Yue stepped forward, placing himself between everyone with a grim expression.
He had not wanted to start trouble, but the gatekeeper was getting more and more carried away, showing no sign of stopping.
Seeing another six-year-old boy clenching his fists as though he were standing up for his companion, the gatekeeper immediately laughed.
"What? You're here to join the Soul Master Academy too? You have Innate Full Soul Power too? Let me guess, your Martial Soul can't really be a Soft Bone Rabbit, can it? Hahahaha!"
Pointing at the Spirit Hall certificate in Lin Yue's hand, the gatekeeper had just begun to laugh when an immense tide of blood energy suddenly erupted before him.
A vast pressure that embodied madness and destruction poured down like an invisible hand, instantly gripping the gatekeeper's laughing throat.
Crimson blood energy erupted from Lin Yue's palm and frantically spread across his entire arm, flashing with an eerie scarlet radiance beneath the setting sun.
Strands of blood energy condensed into the shape of a longsword and settled in Lin Yue's left hand.
"Lin Yue. Innate Full Soul Power. Martial Soul: Ghost Sword. Please enlighten me."
The sword pointed vaguely ahead. Lin Yue's expression remained calm, without a trace of emotion in his icy eyes.
The gatekeeper's mouth hung open, but there was no longer even the slightest hint of laughter on his face. Intense shock and disbelief had completely frozen upon those ridiculous features.
"Cough, cough. Enough. Stand down."
A somewhat hoarse, weathered voice came from the side. When the group turned to look, they saw a man in a scholar's robe, with a crew cut and an unkempt ring of stubble around his lips.
Yet the instant he appeared, the gatekeeper immediately hunched over, putting on a fawning and servile expression as he said ingratiatingly,
"It's Master. You... why are you here?"
"Hmph. I came to the academy library to look up some materials, only to happen upon you, a useless man occupying his position while bullying students. I will certainly report this matter to the dean..."
The proud-faced Yu Xiaogang swept his gaze over the blood-energy sword in Lin Yue's hand, then glanced at the Spirit Hall certificate on the ground that stated Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass, Innate Full Soul Power. A glimmer flashed deep within his eyes.
"Please don't, Master, I..."
"Enough. Get lost."
Picking up the Spirit Hall certificate, Yu Xiaogang stared at the words "Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass." His hand tightened around the paper, as though he had discovered some extraordinary secret.
Seeing the gatekeeper's bitter expression as he prepared to leave dejectedly, Lin Yue immediately stepped forward.
"Wait. I haven't said you could leave."
His mission was not complete yet. Did this gatekeeper think he could just walk away?
"Y-you... what else do you want?"
Staring at the blood-energy sword in Lin Yue's hand that emitted terrifying fluctuations, the gatekeeper's face turned pale as fear slowly rose within him.
This Martial Soul looked incredibly formidable. It was definitely not some ordinary thing like Blue Silver Grass.
Maybe he really had provoked a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power today.
At that thought, his legs began to tremble as the fear in his heart continued to grow.
Lin Yue lowered his gaze and spoke indifferently.
"You humiliated us like that, and you think you can leave without apologizing?"
"Th-this..."
The gatekeeper wore a bitter expression as he looked toward Yu Xiaogang, only to find him standing aside with his arms folded. Clearly, he had no intention of interfering.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have provoked the two Lord Soul Masters. I shouldn't have doubted you!"
After saying that, the gatekeeper lowered his head and tried to leave, as though afraid they would remember the face that had acted so recklessly earlier.
"Wait!"
Lin Yue swept his sword across, blocking the gatekeeper once more.
"I didn't ask you to apologize to me. I asked you to apologize to every country person you look down on. Apologize to Grandpa Jack!"
The boy stood with sword in hand, his tone sonorous and forceful, his gaze sharp as a blade. The pressure left the gatekeeper struggling to breathe.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Having completely lost his nerve, the gatekeeper repeatedly bowed, his legs trembling as he nearly dropped to his knees. Only after the old man comforted him did he stop, then fled as though escaping for his life.
[Ding, mission complete—Vent Your Anger] [Commission reward obtained: 100 points]
"Alright, this matter is settled. I'll take you into the academy. I'm a friend of the dean, and I'm also a Soul Master."
Having watched all of Lin Yue's actions, Yu Xiaogang pushed up his glasses and smiled. Yet a trace of disgust flashed deep within his eyes, as though he was quite displeased by Lin Yue's "petty" behavior.
He casually exchanged a few words with Grandpa Jack. Upon learning that Yu Xiaogang was actually a respected Lord Soul Master, the delighted old man immediately entrusted the two children to him.
Old Jack still had many matters to attend to. After leaving the two little ones with living expenses pooled together by the villagers, he returned to the village with relief.
Once the old man had left, Yu Xiaogang, who called himself Master, clasped his hands behind his back and raised his chin. With a lofty air of superiority, he remarked,
"Young man, it's good to stand up for your companion, but being too sharp is not a good thing."
After reading the report in his hand, Yu Xiaogang's face carried traces of calculation. His eyes moved smugly between the two children.
His luck was truly excellent. He had actually encountered two geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power at once, and in a backwater place like Nuoding City at that.
With them, he would surely restore the glory of the great theorist! As long as he nurtured two Titled Douluos, everyone who had once looked down on him would completely change their opinion of him!
At that thought, Yu Xiaogang's frail body trembled slightly with excitement. His expression twisted faintly, as though he were about to climax from sheer excitement.
"Oh? What guidance does Master have for me?"
Putting away his Martial Soul, Lin Yue revealed undisguised contempt and disdain in his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang, the most disgusting character in the original story. No contest.
Using the excuse of an innate Martial Soul defect, he was cowardly, incompetent, and utterly lacking in responsibility. He personally ruined two women's lives, yet hid in a corner himself, without even the courage to stand beside his lovers and share their burdens. He was a pathetic waste to the extreme.
There were no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. With one sentence, he had insulted himself twice. Of all the so-called Martial Soul theories he proposed, only that one was truly reasonable.
A Martial Soul defect was not his fault, but being so vile and cowardly was entirely his own problem.
If he had not stumbled into luck and gained a genius disciple and a brother willing to entrust his life to him, he would probably have remained a cowardly turtle for the rest of his life, never amounting to anything.
Seeing the undisguised contempt in Lin Yue's eyes, Yu Xiaogang felt a stab of pain in his heart. His fists clenched instinctively, as though he saw in this child the shadows of countless people from his past who had mocked and ridiculed him.
"Hmph, Lin Yue, don't be so arrogant. Although your Martial Soul looks stronger than Xiao San's, in my eyes, Xiao San surpasses you a hundredfold!"
Yu Xiaogang puffed out his chest and raised his head, clasping his hands behind his back in a display of masterly bearing. He seemed entirely confident that just a few words would make them bow their heads and acknowledge him.
Blue Silver Grass could not possibly have Innate Full Soul Power. Xiao San must possess a second Martial Soul. As long as he pointed this out, not only would Xiao San be filled with gratitude toward him for recognizing her, but even this arrogant brat would surely submit to his judgment. In the end, they would both join his ranks and become the best material to prove his theories!
Thinking of this, Yu Xiaogang could barely conceal his ecstatic expression as he rebuked them.
"You are nothing more than an arrogant brat who awakened an excellent Martial Soul through mutation. If you do not restrain your temperament, your achievements in life will amount to little! Especially compared to those true sect prodigies blessed with abundant resources, you are utterly worthless!"
"On the other hand, Xiao San is a genius far superior to you in my eyes!"
"However, since we have met here, it can be considered fate. I, Yu Xiaogang, am known throughout the continent as a master of theory, my reputation resounding across the land. I can serve as a guiding teacher for you two. Are you willing?"
First suppress them, then take them as disciples while they were confused... Yu Xiaogang secretly congratulated himself on his cleverness. The corners of his lips curled upward, yet he failed to notice that as he belittled Lin Yue, Xiao San's formerly calm face behind him had already flashed with intense hatred and terrifying killing intent!
He actually dared to look down on her Brother Lin. This man had chosen his own death!!