The Grandmaster Takes a Blow

Yang Xiu treated Grandmaster as though he were thin air, offering no greeting. Instead, he winked at Xiao Wu.

"Little rabbit, don't be afraid. He won't pose any threat to you," Yang Xiu said with a smile, then turned to Tang San.

"What level is he? A Titled Douluo. Keep cultivating and you'll surpass him sooner or later. Your talent is better than his. Have you reached level twenty yet?"

"Yes, Sect Master. Not just me—Xiao Wu has reached level twenty too."

"Didn't Xiao Wu tell you? Call me Big Brother, not Sect Master."

Tang San scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Big Brother Yang Xiu, I was too anxious just now."

Yang Xiu smiled at Tang San's guileless expression, then joked,

"You brat. Xiao Wu will have to take you home and teach you a lesson."

"Brother Xiu, don't talk nonsense!"

Xiao Wu blushed again, but still spoke up.

"What's wrong, little rabbit? Why so shy? Xiao San may be too wooden to notice, but do you think everyone else is blind?"

"Oh! Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore. Brother Xiu, you're awful!" Xiao Wu stamped her foot, but still glanced sideways at Tang San. Seeing Tang Shan standing there like a block of wood, looking completely confused, she...

"Hmph. Blockhead," Xiao Wu muttered at last.

Only then did Yang Xiu remember that he had never looked at Tang San's or Xiao Wu's status panels. While he was at it, he checked Grandmaster's too.

Perhaps because of Tang San, Grandmaster's loyalty was actually thirty!

Nothing else stood out. Grandmaster was a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, and the Detection Technique showed the flaw in his Martial Soul and how to fix it as clear as day. Yang Xiu disliked him, even knowing he was Tang San's teacher. Although Yang Xiu now had an Innate Soul Power Pill that could solve Grandmaster's problem, he said nothing. He merely glanced at him.

As for Xiao Wu, there was little need to say more than what he knew from the original story. She was now a level twenty Soul Master. Perhaps because she was a Soul Beast, her mental strength was already above level thirty, and her defense was level twenty-eight. Level twenty-six or twenty-seven defense could withstand a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, though only one that had just reached a thousand years. (In the original story, at level twenty, they absorbed rings of seven hundred and some years; at level thirty, Soul Grandmasters could absorb rings of seventeen hundred years. Of course, people varied. Someone weaker, like Oscar, might not even have had level thirty defense at level thirty—he was a food-type Soul Master, after all. Even if they counted his defense as level thirty, he had absorbed a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent of thirteen hundred to eighteen hundred years. Someone stronger might have level thirty-two or thirty-three defense at level thirty, so level twenty-six or twenty-seven defense could handle a ring that had just reached a thousand years.) He would have to mention that when Xiao Wu condensed her Soul Ring. Loyalty was gone from her panel, replaced by trust: ninety-five. The system told him that was the highest trust could reach without enslavement. Like loyalty, the last figure he checked was on Tang San's status panel.

Name: Tang San

Soul Power: Level 20

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor (unawakened), yellow

Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer

Mental strength: Level 30

Defense: Level 23

Trust: 95

His cultivation techniques needed no listing; anyone who looked could see them.

"Tang San really has a pure heart. Trust this high is rare. I'm glad I treated him with all my heart."

Yang Xiu sighed at the ninety-five trust score, especially when he saw Tang San's level twenty-three defense. He must have been malnourished before the age of six. Otherwise, even if the Clear Sky Hammer was not defense-oriented, a top-tier tool Martial Soul should not have left his defense so low. It looked like he would have to give him the Martial Strength Pill early. If it added four or five levels, his defense would surely rise too. Then perhaps his second ring could even be a thousand-year one.

"Big Brother Yang Xiu, this is my teacher, Grandmaster, who published the Ten Great Theories," Tang San said, pointing to the man beside him.

At last, the ignored Grandmaster had a chance to speak.

"Greetings, Sect Master Yang."

"No need for formalities, Grandmaster," Yang Xiu said with a smile.

"Xiao San, I didn't expect you to take a teacher. With your talent, I especially didn't expect you to choose Grandmaster. But since you've already become his disciple,

"I won't say more. You understand." Yang Xiu knew perfectly well; he was only pretending otherwise. Tang San's and Grandmaster's expressions both changed. Grandmaster's face, already unsightly, turned uglier still. He knew his own situation. Yang Xiu clearly thought little of him.

"Big Brother Yang Xiu, my teacher is very capable."

Yang Xiu waved a hand.

"When it comes to foundational knowledge, I believe no one on the Douluo Continent surpasses him. I'll give him that. But some things can't be settled by fighting battles on paper. Without putting them into practice, you'll never know right from wrong. They're only guesses. For instance, is your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul really just Blue Silver Grass? If it were ordinary Blue Silver Grass, you would have died when you obtained your First Soul Ring."

"You can still ask your teacher about foundational knowledge, but you mustn't follow his advice about Martial Souls anymore," Yang Xiu told Tang San.

Then he turned to Grandmaster. "Given what you've learned, you should know that ordinary Blue Silver Grass couldn't coexist with the Clear Sky Hammer. You nearly got the son of the man you've always admired killed. You can still teach Xiao San the basics. I disagree with much of what you say, but some of it is right. If you know what's good for you, Xiao San will help solve your Martial Soul problem someday. Don't ask how; I won't tell you now. And are the age limits for Soul Rings really so fixed?" As Yang Xiu finished speaking, he released his Martial Soul.

"Purple, purple, purple, black!"

"How is that possible... This..."

Grandmaster was not the only one stunned. Xiao Wu and Tang San were too. When Tang San had first heard Yang Xiu criticize his teacher, he had been a little displeased. He hadn't known his own Martial Soul was anything other than ordinary Blue Silver Grass. But after seeing Yang Xiu's Soul Ring Configuration, he began to believe him.

Grandmaster had been dismissive at first, even a little angry. The more he heard, the more stunned he became. How did Yang Xiu know so much? He had no answer to give him. And when he saw Yang Xiu's Soul Ring Configuration, he suddenly wondered whether everything he had studied all his life was wrong.

Yang Xiu withdrew his Martial Soul.

"Surprised? Now you know I wasn't wrong."

Unable to accept it, Grandmaster kept muttering to himself. He heard nothing else Yang Xiu said.

About a quarter of an hour later,

Grandmaster sat alone, staring blankly ahead. Yang Xiu chatted with Tang San and Xiao Wu, while Zhao Yun and Dragon Ten stood nearby like two bodyguards. Zhao Yun wore Han-style robes, while Dragon Ten wore a suit, making Dragon Ten look more the part. Tang San and Xiao Wu had each received a suit, a set of Han-style robes, and a badge, though they could not wear the clothes yet. They had been made to adult proportions and might not fit until the two went to Shrek. For now, they were students and might as well wear their school uniforms. There were only so many years in life when one could.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the room. Zhang Liao had returned. His breathing was a little ragged; it seemed he had enjoyed a good fight. But he was unhurt, which meant neither of them had gone all out.

"How did it go?"

"A draw. Neither of us used our full strength."

Yang Xiu smiled. "Is that so? Interesting. Did you pass on my message?"

"I did. He said he would appear when the time was right."

Yang Xiu knew Tang Hao did not want Tang San to see him. "I understand."

"Xiao San, Xiao Wu, let's go. The man we were waiting for is back. It's time to get your Soul Rings."

For some reason, Grandmaster followed along too. His face had returned to its old, expressionless dead-fish look. Yang Xiu neither asked why he had followed nor tried to stop him. After all, he was still Tang Shan's teacher, and Yang Xiu couldn't drive him away without embarrassing Tang San.

Soon, the group left Notting City.