"We're back!"
Outside Nuoding City, Gu Ping'an looked at the words above the city gates and felt wonderfully at ease.
Without Haozi around, even the air seemed fresher.
"Xiao Wu, come here."
Gu Ping'an beckoned her closer.
"Ping'an, what is it?"
"Nothing, just that we can't let little Tang San see you.
Here, put on this hooded cloak."
Tang San?
Remembering the evil Tang family members Gu Ping'an had told her about, Xiao Wu quickly took it and pulled it on.
"Good."
Only after confirming that Xiao Wu's appearance was hidden from view did Gu Ping'an relax and nod.
"She Long, you used to be an elder of Spirit Hall, so you should have an Elder Token, right?
Do you still have it?"
"My Lord, I do." She Long respectfully offered a dark gold token with both hands.
"No need. Keep it safe. We'll need it when we enter Nuoding City's Spirit Hall branch."
Gu Ping'an pushed the token back and led the others into the city.
"This subordinate, Ma Xiunuo, pays his respects to the esteemed elder!"
Inside Nuoding City's Spirit Hall branch, Ma Xiunuo's pupils contracted sharply. His body trembled as he bowed to She Long, with Su Yuntao, Sisi, and the other ordinary attendants beside him.
"No need for such formalities. We came because there are some matters that require your cooperation."
She Long waved for everyone to rise, then turned toward Gu Ping'an, who stood half a step ahead of him to the left.
Ma Xiunuo had some experience, and immediately realized that the young man before him was the one truly in charge of this group.
"Young master, what might those matters be?"
Ma Xiunuo cupped his hands and bowed slightly again, silently praying that these young masters and ladies would not get some sudden whim and demand something difficult of them.
"Deacon Ma, this isn't the place to talk, is it?"
Gu Ping'an glanced around. Quite a few people were gathered nearby!
Realization dawned on Ma Xiunuo, and he immediately gestured toward the interior.
"Esteemed guests, please come inside."
Only after they entered a private room did Ma Xiunuo turn an inquiring gaze toward Gu Ping'an again.
"I need you to have people search the entire city for several Jade Boxes."
With a wave of his hand, Gu Ping'an set six Jade Boxes in a row on the table beside him.
"Search for Jade Boxes?"
Ma Xiunuo looked at the Jade Boxes beside them, then back at Gu Ping'an, his gaze blank and his expression bewildered.
Weren't the Jade Boxes right here?
Why did they need searching for?
Was he sure he wasn't just messing with me?
"Don't ask too many questions. Just pretend these Jade Boxes have gone missing and need to be found.
Have your people make a show of searching the entire city, but don't reveal what they're looking for. Understood?"
"Yes, this subordinate understands!" Ma Xiunuo lowered his head, not daring to ask more.
Tang San had been an assassin, after all, and possessed a measure of caution.
If Gu Ping'an wanted to give him the Soul Bones, he had to make the whole affair as plausible as possible.
"Deacon Ma, go make the arrangements first!"
Once Ma Xiunuo left, a Clone appeared beside Gu Ping'an. Its height, build, and features shifted until it became a tall, burly stranger.
Before long, Ma Xiunuo returned.
He froze at the sight of the unfamiliar man who had appeared.
"Deacon Ma, for the time being, you'll follow his instructions. Understood? He is also an elder."
"Yes! This subordinate pays his respects to the esteemed elder."
After settling the Clone's role, Gu Ping'an and the others left Spirit Hall as Ma Xiunuo respectfully saw them off.
"Little brother Ping'an, didn't you say we came to beat up that little Tang San? Why are you having Spirit Hall search for the Jade Boxes in your own hands?" Dugu Yan moved closer and asked quietly.
"To find a suitable excuse to give little Tang San a present!"
The corners of Gu Ping'an's mouth lifted slightly. He looked positively up to no good.
"So those six Soul Bones are for Tang San?" Dugu Yan was stunned.
They had long known that Gu Ping'an had selected a set of Soul Bones combining hundred-year and thousand-year ones.
When they had asked what he planned to do with them, he had only said they were a gift.
"Oh, right, remember to call Xiao Wu 'Xiao Rou' for now. Don't let Tang San recognize her."
He remembered having Spirit Hall plant a little girl as an undercover agent beside Tang San. It would be bad if Tang San recognized Xiao Wu and it affected their relationship.
"Stop! Who are you?"
The gatekeeper outside Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy was still the same man from over a year ago.
He was actually still here.
"We're planning to look around inside. Is there a problem?"
Four Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-rose around Gu Ping'an.
Yellow, purple, black, black would be far too shocking. He might as well keep a slightly lower profile!
"No problem! No problem! Please, come inside!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the gatekeeper immediately stepped aside.
"An academy, huh!" Gu Ping'an walked through the grounds with a touch of wistfulness.
Students passed by in groups of two or three.
In the distance, some students were sparring and cultivating, though they were in the minority.
"Sure enough, there's always a difference between children with guidance and those without."
Apart from the few children with strong self-discipline, most were absorbed in playing.
"Stop! Who are you?"
A mature, hoarse voice with a steady undertone sounded beside them.
"Yu Xiaogang!"
Gu Ping'an turned and saw a man with a short crew cut, one hand held behind his back, exuding the air of a king of posturing.
"What does who we are have to do with you?"
At the sight of Yu Xiaogang, disgust involuntarily showed on Gu Ping'an's face.
"Brat, you..."
Seeing Gu Ping'an's expression, Yu Xiaogang instantly lost his composure.
He was transported back to his childhood, after awakening his martial soul.
His father had poured vast amounts of resources into him, but there were only so many to go around.
What he used naturally left less for everyone else.
Some of those whose resources had been reduced had looked at him with that very same expression.
"Brat, I am a master of theory in the Soul Master World and a close friend of this academy's headmaster.
You had better get out of this academy immediately, or don't blame me for showing you no mercy."
Yu Xiaogang spoke fiercely, though he was inwardly weak.
"Oh? And just how would you show us no mercy?"
Dugu Yan stepped forward and activated Martial Soul Possession. Four Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-rose from beneath her feet.
A pair of small jade-gold dragon horns emerged on either side of her forehead, and several tiny jade-gold dragon scales appeared on her cheeks.
Her hands transformed into dragon claws, while a jade-gold dragon tail swayed slowly behind her.
Yu Xiaogang immediately stared, transfixed.
As everyone knew, he, Yu Xiaogang, was a master of theory in the Soul Master World.
What he loved most was studying martial souls and theory.
The sudden appearance of a talented Soul Master with a martial soul he had never seen naturally sparked his immense interest.
Perhaps studying it would allow him to put forward a new theory.
"Young lady, I am a master of theory in the Soul Master World, the author of 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.' Everyone calls me Grandmaster."
"Tell me about your martial soul, and I can help you chart a better path as a Soul Master."
Gu Ping'an reached out and held Dugu Yan back before she could strike, then looked at Yu Xiaogang.
"You're that infamous Yu Xiaogang who broke past fifty years old before reaching level thirty?"
"You..." Yu Xiaogang's aged face flushed crimson.
"What could a child your age know about martial souls or theory? I was held back by a malignant mutation of my martial soul. Otherwise, I would have long since joined the ranks of Titled Douluos."
"Pfft!"
"Pff-hahahaha!"
At Yu Xiaogang's words, Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, and Shui Bing'er could not help laughing.
How could someone who had broken past fifty years old without reaching level thirty ever become a Titled Douluo?
Even Yu Long could not suppress a chuckle.
Only Gu Ping'an remained expressionless.
He remembered that supplementary material later in the original story had indeed stated that Yu Xiaogang became a Titled Douluo.
But they had not come to concern themselves with whether Yu Xiaogang could become a Titled Douluo in the future. They had come to find Tang San.
They would beat Tang San as his peers until his mentality crumbled, so he would be unable to resist absorbing the Soul Bones the moment he got them.
Before you continue