Taking Yu Xiaogang, the Comic Version, as a Disciple-and Claiming the Reward!

Li Qingshan put away the Heartless Sword and stood with his hands behind his back. "Now, have you seen clearly?"

Yu Xiaogang came to his senses and hurriedly bowed.

"I was disrespectful earlier. Please forgive me, senior."

"We were strangers. It was only right to ask questions before deciding." Li Qingshan raised a hand. "Stand up and speak."

Yu Xiaogang straightened. He looked far more respectful than before, but his lips moved as though he still had something to say.

Li Qingshan glanced at him. "More questions?"

The young man hesitated, then nodded.

"I don't understand why you chose me."

As he spoke, he looked down at Luo Sanpao by his feet.

"With your cultivation, there must be plenty of geniuses who want to become your disciples. My Innate Soul Power is only half a level. It took me nine whole years just to reach level ten..."

"I already know all that." Li Qingshan cut him off and looked at the booklet on the bluestone. "Let me see that book."

Yu Xiaogang quickly handed it over.

Li Qingshan took it and casually flipped through a few pages.

Besides excerpts on Soul Beasts, it held many of Yu Xiaogang's own notes. Some handwriting was old, some new. Certain passages had been revised repeatedly, with finer annotations added beside them.

How much Luo Sanpao ate each day, what changed after training, where Soul Power was hardest to circulate...

"You kept careful records."

Li Qingshan turned the pages more slowly.

He had indeed come for the system reward.

But seeing those densely packed notes, he could imagine how much thought the young man had devoted to his Martial Soul.

Li Qingshan closed the booklet and handed it back.

"When talent makes cultivation smooth, working hard is nothing remarkable. Your path has been this difficult, yet you've still put in so much thought. That makes you worth teaching."

Yu Xiaogang froze. His grip on the booklet slowly tightened.

Li Qingshan looked at Luo Sanpao again. "Besides, you've all reached a verdict on him too soon."

The little golden dog raised his head, as if he knew they were talking about him. Li Qingshan bent down and rubbed his head like a puppy's.

"We won't know how far he can grow until we try."

With that, he stood and faced Yu Xiaogang again. "I can give you a chance to change your Martial Soul. But you'll still have to endure every hardship that comes with cultivation."

"Now I'll ask you once more."

"Yu Xiaogang, will you take me as your teacher?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer at once. He looked down at Luo Sanpao, then back at Li Qingshan. Hope shone in his eyes, along with a trace of lingering doubt.

Taking a teacher was no small matter.

And what this man promised was more than that.

He claimed he could make a Martial Soul evolve.

Over the years, his father had exhausted every idea he could think of for his Martial Soul—seeking guidance, searching for medicinal herbs, trying nearly everything. Yet Luo Sanpao remained as he was.

It was not that Yu Xiaogang did not want to believe.

He wanted change so badly that he dared not believe too easily.

After a moment of silence, Yu Xiaogang raised his head and asked cautiously, "Senior, can you... really make Sanpao evolve?"

"Yes."

Li Qingshan answered without the slightest hesitation.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't have a way."

At that firm answer, Yu Xiaogang's heart leaped. He could not help taking half a step forward.

"Then how? Do we need some medicinal herb, or must we hunt a special Soul Ring? Or do I need to change how I cultivate first?"

The moment the questions left his mouth, he realized he had rushed. But they had weighed on him for too long. Now that he finally saw hope, how could he hold them back?

Li Qingshan did not answer. He gave him a half-smile instead. "You brat. You haven't even taken me as your teacher, and you already want me to empty my bag of everything I know?"

"Where in the world does it work like that?"

Yu Xiaogang froze.

Embarrassment spread across his face, and he hurried to explain.

"I didn't mean to pry into your secrets, senior. It's just... after so many years of hardship, I'm desperate to know how to change things."

Li Qingshan picked up where he left off.

"I understand how you feel. But answering your questions and passing on my skills are two different things."

He clasped his hands behind his back again and regarded Yu Xiaogang calmly.

"If you become my disciple, I'll teach you what you need to learn. Whether to take me as your teacher is for you to decide. I won't force you."

With that, Li Qingshan fell silent.

He had said enough.

Any more, and it would look as if a Limit Douluo had to beg the boy to become his disciple.

Yu Xiaogang stood where he was, his thoughts in turmoil. The terrifying pressure from earlier returned to his mind, along with the leaves suspended in midair and the mountain forest that had suddenly fallen silent.

And that oppressive force, far beyond his father's, had made even his Soul Power difficult to circulate. He had felt it himself. It could not be faked.

The two swords that had appeared afterward were just as vivid in his memory.

One had gleamed silver, clear as crystal. The other had looked ancient and cold, its blade rippling with a frigid sheen. The man's claim to possess Twin Martial Souls had been proven too.

A powerhouse like that...

Wasn't he qualified to be my teacher?

As for how to make a Martial Soul evolve...

Yu Xiaogang pressed his lips together. If he truly has that ability, how could I learn it all by asking a few casual questions?

Besides, the man had not merely praised himself. He had read some of Yu Xiaogang's records and knew how much thought he had put into Luo Sanpao over the years.

Most people only shook their heads and sighed when they saw Luo Sanpao. Yet this man was willing to tell him the mutation might not have ended at all.

He was even willing to take Yu Xiaogang as a disciple because he had refused to give up for nine years. He's practically a father to me!

At that thought, the last of Yu Xiaogang's hesitation gradually faded.

The opportunity stood before him now. If he let it slip away through indecision, he feared he would never forgive himself.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Xiaogang carefully set the booklet back on the bluestone. Then he straightened his clothes, stepped back, and knelt properly.

"I will!"

His voice was much firmer than before.

"I, Yu Xiaogang, greet my teacher!"

With that, he bowed low.

Li Qingshan remained composed on the outside, but inwardly he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That wasn't easy. It finally worked! This comic-version Yu Xiaogang really is different. He even thinks through every angle before taking a teacher!

Li Qingshan had waited below this mountain for more than ten days and spent so much breath just now. At last, he had gained this disciple.

Almost as Yu Xiaogang bowed, system notifications appeared before Li Qingshan's eyes.

[Disciple accepted successfully!]

[Disciple acceptance reward: Host's Soul Power increased by seven levels, reaching level thirty!]

[The disciple's future growth and changes to his fate will bring the host additional rewards.]

Level thirty?

Li Qingshan's heart jolted. Before he could react, a warm force surged up within him and swiftly flowed into his meridians.

His Soul Power, which had been circulating steadily, suddenly swelled. Barriers that would normally have taken grueling cultivation to cross broke one after another before that force.

Until he reached level thirty.

Only then did the power pouring into him gradually subside.