The Lie Began to Come True, and an Aura of a Limit Douluo!

"You can make Sanpao evolve?"

At those words, Yu Xiaogang closed his booklet and rose from the bluestone. He glanced at Li Qingshan's face, then at his clothes, and suspicion gradually crept into his eyes.

"Are you a Soul Master too, sir?"

Li Qingshan replied evenly:

"Of course."

Yu Xiaogang pressed him:

"May I ask your level?"

This was exactly what Li Qingshan had been waiting for. He clasped his hands behind his back and tried to keep his voice calm.

"Level 99 Limit Douluo."

He had two reasons for not claiming to be a god. First, Yu Xiaogang might not even know what a god was at this age, which would make it hard to build up the lie's reality.

Second, making a lie about being a god come true would require far more belief than a lie about being a Limit Douluo. Many people would have to believe it.

Yu Xiaogang froze, disbelief written all over his face.

Meeting his gaze, Li Qingshan continued to spout nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "I have Twin Martial Souls: two swords, the Passionate Sword and the Heartless Sword. My title is Love Sword Douluo."

The woods fell silent for a moment.

Only Luo Sanpao remained crouched beside Yu Xiaogang's feet, head lowered as he pawed at a curled, dead leaf.

"Love Sword Douluo?"

The boy repeated the title, his brow furrowing even more deeply.

"Forgive my ignorance, sir, but I've never heard of that title."

Li Qingshan kept his expression still.

It would be a miracle if you had.

He had only come up with the title recently. Since his body's Martial Soul was a sword, he might as well stay on that path. The Passionate Sword and the Heartless Sword would also give him something to build a story around.

As his words faded, a screen of light quietly unfolded before Li Qingshan.

[Identity lie established.]

[Level 99 Limit Douluo; Twin Martial Souls: Passionate Sword and Heartless Sword; title: Love Sword Douluo.]

[Current reality progress: 0%.]

Just as I thought.

He didn't believe a word of it...

Li Qingshan looked at the boy before him and went on. "You're fifteen this year. It's only natural that you haven't met many Titled Douluo."

Yu Xiaogang did not let that distract him. "I haven't met many Titled Douluo, but my family has plenty of books. I know something about the continent's strongest people."

"Especially Titled Douluo at level ninety-nine... There seem to be only three on the entire continent."

He paused.

"Even if I'd never met someone like that, I should at least have heard his title."

Li Qingshan sighed inwardly.

Gangzi from the comic version really isn't easy to fool. The Yu Xiaogang from the original Douluo World would probably be so excited he'd already be on his knees, kowtowing and begging to become my disciple.

He had hoped that throwing out a title would stun the boy for a moment. He had not expected Yu Xiaogang to think so clearly.

"The people recorded in your family's books are those who left their mark on the continent," Li Qingshan explained. "Some chase fame, and some chase profit. Naturally, others want no part in any of it."

"I never traveled under that title, and for the past few decades I've stayed out of the Soul Master World's conflicts, cultivating overseas. What's so strange about your never having heard of me?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at him without nodding.

Li Qingshan knew that, at best, his words offered an explanation. They proved nothing.

Sure enough, the boy asked another question.

"Then how old are you?"

"You seem... only a few years older than me."

He was not wrong. Li Qingshan was twenty, exactly five years older than Yu Xiaogang. Of course, he could not say that. He raised a hand and brushed a leaf from his shoulder.

"A Soul Master's appearance can change with his cultivation, Martial Soul, and cultivation method. You've read plenty of books, so you should know that."

"There are also ways to preserve one's youth. Can you determine my age from my face alone?"

Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a moment, then answered:

"No."

Before Li Qingshan could feel pleased, the boy continued, "But that still doesn't prove you're a Limit Douluo."

"True."

Li Qingshan nodded, taking the opening.

"You ask questions and judge the answers for yourself. That puts you ahead of anyone who hears the words 'Titled Douluo' and drops to his knees."

The praise did not make Yu Xiaogang relax. He studied Li Qingshan, hesitated, then spoke again. "There's one more thing."

"Go on."

"The fluctuations of Soul Power around you don't seem very strong."

The boy chose his words carefully.

"I've met quite a few Soul Grandmasters in my clan. Your aura feels somewhat like theirs."

Li Qingshan's fingers tightened slightly inside his sleeve.

Well, damn. My age, my title, my Soul Power—he hasn't missed a thing. If I were really trying to swindle him out of money, I'd probably be looking for an excuse to leave by now.

But Li Qingshan had the system.

All he needed was for Yu Xiaogang to believe him a little. Even the tiniest bit would do.

"You sensed correctly," Li Qingshan admitted. "The cultivation I'm showing right now is that of a Soul Grandmaster."

Yu Xiaogang's gaze sharpened in confusion.

"Why?"

Li Qingshan looked up at the sky, putting on an air of unfathomable wisdom. "Once you reach the level of a Limit Douluo, advancing further isn't necessarily a matter of accumulating Soul Power."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand.

A faint glow gathered in his palm, and an unadorned Iron Sword appeared. It had neither dazzling light nor an imposing presence.

"I suppress my cultivation and conceal my Martial Soul's sharpness, making it look like an ordinary sword. I do it to walk the path I once traveled all over again."

"Only then can I see things I overlooked before. One day, that may let me break through the shackles and reach that legendary realm."

He held the Iron Sword across his body.

"So while I'm traveling, you can think of me as an ordinary wandering Soul Grandmaster who uses a sword."

As soon as he finished, Li Qingshan put the Iron Sword away.

If he kept holding it, Yu Xiaogang might come closer for a good look.

After all, it really was just an Iron Sword.

"But aren't your Martial Souls, the Passionate Sword and the Heartless Sword, two swords? Why is there only one?"

Li Qingshan answered quickly, steering the conversation elsewhere.

"You'll see the other sword soon enough! Passion comes from having people I care about, people I want to protect here and now. Since ancient times, deep feeling has left only regret. Heartlessness means that when I draw my sword, I no longer hesitate or spare what must be cut down. What seems heartless can still hold feeling."

As he spoke, he glanced at the booklet in the boy's hand.

"They sound opposed, but that doesn't mean they can't coexist. Just as you feel you've let your father down, yet refuse to give up cultivating."

"Guilt can crush a person, or it can drive him further."

Yu Xiaogang's grip on the booklet tightened slightly. Li Qingshan did not continue talking about swords. Instead, he turned the subject back to Luo Sanpao.

"I didn't come to take you as my disciple because you have a high level of Soul Power."

"You told me your Innate Soul Power was only half a level. Even so, you kept cultivating for nine years, and now that you've reached level ten, you're still considering which First Soul Ring to choose. That perseverance makes you worth teaching."

"As for Sanpao..."

He lowered his gaze to the little golden dog.

"You've all been studying why he didn't retain the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul's power. But have you ever considered that his mutation might not be finished yet?"

Yu Xiaogang jerked his head up, looking thoughtful.

Seeing his reaction, Li Qingshan knew he had finally touched on what mattered to the boy.

"You think his current form is the final result? Others saw your low Innate Soul Power and passed judgment on you early too."

"But he can move independently, eat, and think for himself. Can all those changes really be explained away as nothing more than a harmful mutation?"

The boy did not answer at once.

He looked down at Luo Sanpao, then at his booklet. After a while, he said, "I've thought about those questions too."

"That's why I said you're worth teaching." Li Qingshan met his gaze, his expression solemn. "I won't necessarily take someone as a disciple because his Martial Soul is good or bad. But someone willing to work hard and seek answers for himself? I will."

That was not entirely a lie.

Yu Xiaogang in the comic version of the Douluo World truly was mature-minded and resolute!

Yu Xiaogang stood where he was, his expression finally less tense than before. What this man had said made a great deal of sense. Could a Soul Grandmaster in his twenties really understand so much? Could he actually be a Limit Douluo? Yu Xiaogang decided to test him once more.

He pressed on:

"Have you seen a similar case? Tell me how my Sanpao can evolve."

Before Li Qingshan could answer, a line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Yu Xiaogang has begun to believe the host's claimed identity.]

[Current reality progress: 2%.]

[Manifested: a wisp of a Limit Douluo's aura.]