Luo Sanpao? Send Him Flying!

"Master Su, let's keep going. I still need my Soul Power tested."

Su Yuntao finally came back to himself. He rubbed his cheek, doubts churning in his mind. Ridiculous. A Trash Martial Soul of the external Summoning Type, yet it was that strong and had a mind of its own? Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao wasn't this fierce, was he?

He shook his head. It's so cute, but cuteness is all it has. What else could it be but a Trash Martial Soul? I only took that punch because I wasn't ready. Yes, that must be it.

"Come on, let's test your Soul Power." Su Yuntao picked up the blue crystal ball from the floor and held it out to Lin Yuan. "Put your hand on it and focus."

Lin Yuan pressed his right hand to the crystal ball as instructed. It felt cool against his palm.

The next second—

Hummm—

Dazzling blue light burst from the crystal ball. It spread from a single point until, in the blink of an eye, the entire ball became a miniature blue sun. Brilliant light filled the hall, and rings of blue radiance rippled outward.

Su Yuntao's eyes flew wide.

"Innate Full Soul Power!"

Level ten. The makings of a genius seen once in a century. But Su Yuntao's gaze fell on the little penguin still chewing his finger nearby. Such a gift, paired with such a Trash Martial Soul?

He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a long sigh. "What a pity. What a terrible pity. Innate Full Soul Power—a genius seen once in a century—and your Martial Soul turns out to be trash. Even a farming tool would be far better than this thing..."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. A Trash Martial Soul? He glanced down at Guga in his arms. The little fellow clung to his shoulder with his stubby hands, looking around curiously and muttering, "So many people, Guga. So lively, Guga. So fun, Guga."

A Trash Martial Soul? Not necessarily.

"Oh, right." Su Yuntao pulled a registration form and pen from his clothes. "What's your Martial Soul called?"

Lin Yuan glanced at the little fellow chewing his finger in his arms. "Guga. Let's call him Guga."

"Guga?" Su Yuntao nodded. "All right. Guga it is."

He lowered his head and carefully filled out the Martial Soul certificate. When he reached the guardian field, his pen paused—an orphan. Su Yuntao sighed inwardly, then kept writing. Soon he had finished the certificate and stamped it.

The remaining children completed their awakenings one after another, and their parents led them out of the Branch Hall. Su Yuntao went to the rear hall and returned with a sheet of paper and a small cloth pouch.

The Branch Hall gradually emptied. Some children left beaming beside their parents, while others were dragged away with their heads hanging. Before long, Lin Yuan was the only one left.

Guga stood on the floor with his stubby hands gripping Lin Yuan's leg, craning his head to look around. "Gugu gaga!" He pointed at the portraits of Soul Masters on the wall and bounced excitedly twice.

Lin Yuan looked down at his right hand. Innate Full Soul Power, level ten. And Guga, who looked adorable but could send a level-twenty-six Soul Grandmaster flying with one punch. As beginnings went, this one seemed pretty good.

Just then, someone walked through the Branch Hall's entrance.

The man was about forty-four or forty-five, dressed in plain cloth. He was of average build, with an ordinary face, but his eyes were strikingly sharp and carried a researcher's stubborn intensity. He held a thick book in his hands. The moment he entered, his gaze landed on Guga, who was clinging to Lin Yuan's leg.

He stopped dead.

Yu Xiaogang.

Every year around this time, he came to the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City to wait. Martial Soul Awakening day offered the best chance of discovering promising young talent. The world refused to accept his Martial Soul Theory, so he wanted to find someone with real potential, train them according to his theory, and prove himself to those who mocked him.

But after all these years, he had never found the right person. Either their Martial Soul was too poor or their Soul Power was too low. On the rare occasion he met someone gifted, they had already taken another teacher.

But today—

Yu Xiaogang stared at the little figure in the penguin costume, his breathing quickening. An external Summoning Type Martial Soul, just like his Luo Sanpao. What was more, he had never seen this Martial Soul's form recorded in any text.

His expression grew complicated. He couldn't help thinking of his own Martial Soul, that fat pig Luo Sanpao, whom the world had mocked for half his life. Bitterness touched his lips. Two people adrift beneath the same sky.

A moment later, his eyes burned with excitement. A rare Martial Soul meant unknown potential. If he could study it thoroughly, perhaps he could fill a major gap in Martial Soul Theory.

Yu Xiaogang strode forward, his gaze darting between Lin Yuan and Guga. He could barely contain the excitement in his voice.

"Child, is this your Martial Soul?"

Lin Yuan looked up at him. Yu Xiaogang—he recognized him. The Grandmaster of theory from the original story, Tang San's teacher. He simply hadn't expected to meet him here.

"Mm."

"What's your name?"

"Lin Yuan."

"Lin Yuan." Yu Xiaogang repeated the name, took a deep breath, and grew solemn. "Lin Yuan, my name is Yu Xiaogang. People in the Soul Master World call me Grandmaster. I've devoted my life to researching Martial Soul Theory and learned a great deal. Your Martial Soul belongs to the extremely rare external Summoning Type. Its path of cultivation is entirely different from that of ordinary Martial Souls. Without guidance, it's easy to take a wrong turn."

He paused and fixed Lin Yuan with a fervent gaze.

"Would you become my disciple and study Martial Soul Theory under me?"

Lin Yuan froze. Wasn't this a little sudden? It hadn't even been half an hour since his Martial Soul awakened, and Yu Xiaogang had rushed over to take him as a disciple?

When Lin Yuan said nothing, Yu Xiaogang assumed he hadn't understood. He simply summoned his own Martial Soul.

"Luo Sanpao, come out."

Yellow light flashed, and a plump little pig appeared on the floor. He was grayish-purple from head to toe and about half a meter long, smaller than a normal pig. Most unusual was his mane: every bristle stood straight up like a spike on a mace.

"Hrnnk." Luo Sanpao shook his head and gave a couple of grunts.

Yu Xiaogang pointed to Luo Sanpao and said to Lin Yuan, "Look. His name is Luo Sanpao. He's also an external Summoning Type Martial Soul, the same type as yours. I've studied this kind of Martial Soul for decades. No one on the entire Douluo Continent understands them more deeply than I do. Become my disciple, and I guarantee—"

Before he could finish, Luo Sanpao had trotted over to Guga on his stubby legs.

He tilted his head and studied the round little penguin before him, making curious snuffling sounds. Then he leaned in and nudged Guga's little belly with his snout.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Guga had been gazing up at the paintings on the wall. After several nudges, he finally looked down. He stared at the fat pig by his feet, his little brows drawing together.

"Don't touch me, Guga!"

Luo Sanpao didn't understand and nudged him again.

"Guga!"

Little Guga flew into a rage. He swung one stubby leg and kicked Luo Sanpao square in the belly with a bang.

"Oww—"

Luo Sanpao shrieked. His hefty body shot into the air and flew away like a ball of meat. He slammed into the wall, slid slowly down, and lay on the floor groaning. His four stubby legs kicked skyward twice, then went still.

"Sanpao!"

Yu Xiaogang's face changed. He cried out and rushed over, crouching to scoop Luo Sanpao into his arms, his heart aching.

"Sanpao, are you all right? Sanpao!"

Luo Sanpao gave two feeble grunts in his arms. His piggy face was scrunched up, his eyes half-open.

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened, little by little.