Xiao Wu: Gangzi Was Still Too Young

"I haven't disgraced my family!"

"I, Yu Xiaogang, have broken through to Level 30—a Soul Elder!"

As the white light from the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul gradually faded,

the teachers and students of Nouding Academy heard those words.

Then every gaze turned to Yu Xiaogang.

Though Yu Xiaogang lay sprawled on the ground, tears streaming down his face, everyone cared more about whether his wish had come true!

"How is that possible?"

Director Su rubbed his eyes and looked at Yu Xiaogang again. He could not help crying out,

"Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power really has reached Level 30—a Soul Elder!"

With Director Su's confirmation, the whole crowd erupted!

"It came true! The wish came true!"

"Xu Yuan's Martial Soul really can grant wishes!"

"What? Seriously? Yu Xiaogang, who's been freeloading at the academy, broke through to Soul Elder?"

Work-Study Students and noble students alike could no longer sit still.

The noble students who had just given up bidding were especially regretful, slapping their thighs in frustration.

It looked as though they had missed this one auction.

In truth, they had missed every auction to come.

Before this, most people had not believed Xu Yuan's Martial Soul could grant wishes.

But Yu Xiaogang had now proved it himself: the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul lived up to its name!

Next, Xu Yuan would face the nobles of all Nuoding City!

"It makes no sense. None at all!"

"How could the Martial Soul of a mere Level 13 Soul Master let a Level 29 Soul Grandmaster break through to Soul Elder?"

Director Su's thoughts were a tangled mess. Xu Yuan's Martial Soul had burst onto the scene and overturned everything the Soul Master World took for granted.

Even after racking his brains, he could find no reasonable explanation.

Could Yu Xiaogang truly be a genius?

Had he not only seen the immense potential hidden in Xu Yuan's Martial Soul, but also acted decisively to bid for this Wish Slot?

"Brother Yuan, your Martial Soul is incredible!"

The others in the dormitory gazed at Xu Yuan with fervent admiration.

"Brother Yuan, I'm begging you—please save me a chance to make a wish someday!"

"I'll never forget what you've done for me, not for as long as I live!"

Wang Sheng's knees went weak, and he clung to Xu Yuan's leg.

Of everyone in the dormitory, he had the highest Innate Soul Power.

Aside from Tang San, Xu Yuan, and Xiao Wu, that was.

If anyone in Dorm Seven was most likely to reach Level 29 as a Soul Grandmaster, it was Wang Sheng!

But Level 29 Soul Grandmaster was already his limit!

Whether he could even reach Level 29 was another question.

So Wang Sheng had never dared hope for more.

Now, though, he saw hope in Brother Yuan!

If he could make a wish through Brother Yuan's Martial Soul, might he have a chance to break through to Level 30 and become a Soul Elder too?

How vast was the gulf between a Soul Grandmaster and a Soul Elder!

A Soul Grandmaster could collect only ten Gold Soul Coins a month, while a Soul Elder received a staggering hundred!

Ten times as much!

"No problem. I'll save one for you. Now stop pulling on my pants!"

Xu Yuan tugged up his pants and made Wang Sheng let go at once.

He tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of his mouth rose on their own.

Hold on!

Who had just dropped the Golden Sacred Dragon's essence and a crystallized mass of potent medicinal power into my lap?

If nobody wanted them, I'd gladly take them!

But Xu Yuan quickly realized something was wrong. His reaction was too obvious.

"Once I get the Gold Soul Coins, meals for everyone in Dorm Seven are on me from now on!!!"

So he promptly chose to divert their attention.

He wanted them to think he was happy because he was about to get rich.

"Whoa! Long live Brother Yuan!"

The Work-Study Students burst into cheers.

Only Xiao Wu gave Yu Xiaogang a strange look.

Others might not understand Xu Yuan's Martial Soul, but how could Sister Xiao Wu not know?

She had learned that painful lesson at the cost of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

She did not believe Yu Xiaogang could make a wish and come away unscathed.

Ah, this Grandmaster called Gangzi is still too young.

Doesn't he know that fate's gifts always come with a price tag hidden from sight?

Xiao Wu judged him in her heart like someone who had been there before.

Xiao Wu was not the only one. Others noticed the problem too.

"Didn't Xu Yuan say the person making a wish would pay a small price when it came true?"

"I saw the wish come true, but where's the price?"

Boss Xiao could not hold back his question.

His words reminded quite a few people present.

That was right!

The wish had come true, but what had it cost?

Xu Yuan was only a Soul Master. Could he grant a Soul Grandmaster's wish without conditions?

Director Su, who had been unable to make heads or tails of it, caught on as well.

"Grandmaster Yu, can you tell what price you paid?"

Before his words had faded,

everyone's gaze fell on Yu Xiaogang.

"A price? What price? I, Yu Xiaogang, have never felt more refreshed! It's as if I've been reborn!"

Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, Soul Power at the Soul Elder level surging freely through him. He had no mind to spare for any other details.

Besides, apart from his peerless theoretical knowledge, what else of value did he have?

Director Su and the other teachers exchanged looks. Had there really been no price?

Then Xu Yuan's Martial Soul defied heaven itself!

If they made wishes, could they break through their Soul Power Levels too?

"But..."

Director Su did not quite believe Yu Xiaogang.

He thought Yu Xiaogang might simply not want to summon his Martial Soul.

Since Yu Xiaogang had become a guest advisor at Nouding Academy, Director Su did not seem to have seen his Martial Soul even once.

"No price? How could that be?"

Behind Yu Xiaogang, shock showed on Tang San's face.

Even Tang Hao, hidden in the shadows, narrowed his eyes.

"To think such a heaven-defying Martial Soul exists!"

"That boy's Soul Power didn't fluctuate in the slightest throughout the process. This must be the Martial Soul's ability alone!"

"If it doesn't rely on a Soul Master's Soul Power, then perhaps my injuries could also..."

Tang Hao placed his left hand on his chest, a plan already forming.

He had always worried whether he could hold on until Tang San grew strong.

The pressure Qian Daoliu, a Level 99 Peerless Douluo, put on him was immense.

Though he had escaped Qian Daoliu's pursuit several times through Ring Detonation, his injuries had worsened to the extreme.

If Xu Yuan's Martial Soul could heal him, then with his own Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, he was confident he could reach Level 96!

With a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and techniques like Ring Detonation at his command, he might even be able to take on Qian Daoliu.

"Hahahaha..."

"The heavens haven't forsaken my Clear Sky Sect after all!"

"Spirit Hall, just wait until my towering wrath comes down on you!"

Tang Hao pulled a flask from his waist and took a swig. As he left, he casually snatched a chicken leg from a roadside vendor's stall.

Now he would smash a few Spirit Hall Branches to celebrate.

What?

Why slaughter innocents instead of smashing the Pope's Palace?

Because he could not win that fight!

Tang Hao, however, left without seeing how the whole thing played out.

"Teacher, why didn't you have to pay a price for your wish?"

Tang San looked eagerly at Yu Xiaogang,

hoping this teacher of his, whose theoretical knowledge was unrivaled, could give him an answer.

Yu Xiaogang thought hard for two seconds, then realization dawned. "It must be because I spent so long at that level!"

"The Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul merely gave me a little push, so I didn't have to pay much of a price!"

"It seems the foundation I built up over the years and my research into Martial Soul Theory were very useful after all."

"Give me a few more years, and perhaps I could have broken through the bottleneck in my Soul Power myself, even without the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul!"

Such shameless words darkened the faces of Xu Yuan and the others.