Tang San Pao

"Xiao Yu, did you get your Soul Ring?"

Great Master Yu rose to his feet and asked excitedly.

Bai Yu nodded. "Dean Wu helped me hunt for it."

Great Master Yu sank into thought. Old Wu thought so highly of Bai Yu that he had personally taken him to hunt for his First Soul Ring. Was he telling me not to hold him back?

Old Wu must think that Tang San and Bai Yu both have Innate Full Soul Power. I've already taken Tang San as my disciple; if I take Bai Yu too, what if I ruin them both?

Heh, Old Wu, Old Wu. You actually don't believe in me. My theories are absolutely correct; they just haven't been put into practice.

Yu Xiaogang looked at Bai Yu and asked, "What is your First Soul Skill?"

Bai Yu described it, and Yu Xiaogang's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

What an incredible Soul Skill. This Human Emperor Banner feels even stronger than the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda!

No, I have to find a way to take Bai Yu as my disciple!

Hmm, the first step is to let him know that being my disciple is a good thing, so I need to show him my strengths first.

Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San. "Little San, get ready. Tomorrow, I'll take you to hunt for a Soul Ring."

Then he looked at Bai Yu. "Xiao Yu, you're coming too. You can help."

And while we're at it, I'll let you see how wonderful it is to have me as your master.

Bai Yu nodded obediently, looking as though he understood nothing at all.

Yu Xiaogang nodded, very satisfied with his plan.

Bai Yu is a naïve kid who knows nothing. If I can talk him into becoming my disciple too, then together with Tang San, they'll definitely prove my theories. Of course, practice carries risks, but isn't Bai Yu a Support System Soul Master? A little risk won't matter.

Yu Xiaogang thought selfishly.

Just as he was about to send Tang San and Bai Yu back to rest, someone knocked on the door. Tang San opened it and found an unfamiliar teacher outside.

The teacher poked his head in. Upon seeing Great Master Yu, he coughed twice and said, "Master, an envoy from Spirit Hall asked me to pass along a message. He said your theories look impressive, but they're actually useless. Spirit Hall is planning to wholesale them at two Gold Soul Coins apiece, which means you still owe nine thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Yu Xiaogang's face flushed purplish red, like pig liver.

The teacher continued, "The people from Spirit Hall also said they were busy, so they wouldn't come listen to you haggle. Nine thousand Gold Soul Coins—if you repay ten a month, that's one hundred and twenty a year, and you'll finish in seventy-five years. Oh, and they said that if you make any other contributions, they may reduce the debt as appropriate."

With that, the teacher quickly slipped away.

Tang San and Bai Yu looked at Yu Xiaogang. Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, seemingly wanting to smash the table to pieces with one punch, but he held himself back.

He sat down with his pig-liver-colored face and said in a low voice, "You two, go back and rest."

After the two left, they seemed to hear something shatter.

Bai Yu thought for a moment, then deliberately asked Tang San, "Little San, your teacher owes a huge debt. He isn't going to turn you into a second-generation debtor, is he? Hmm, Great Master gets a stipend, but then he won't have any money left to support your cultivation."

After fanning the flames, Bai Yu saw that Tang San's face had also turned pig-liver red, though not as badly as Great Master Yu's. At most, it was little pig liver.

As expected of master and disciple. Like master, like disciple.

Early the next morning, the three set off for the Soul Hunting Forest.

Perhaps because he had spent the entire night dreaming of embarrassing himself, Yu Xiaogang talked about anything and everything along the way, as if he wanted to regain some dignity through this. Bai Yu grew so sleepy listening that he nearly dozed off.

At last, just before he fell asleep, they arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest.

Yu Xiaogang was about to give another long string of messy instructions when Bai Yu walked toward the entrance and said, "Great Master, no need. I've been here several times already. I know the procedure."

Yu Xiaogang froze. "You've been here several times?"

Bai Yu nodded. "Yeah. I took on a task at the academy. The Su Family in the city thinks I'm quite capable, so they often invite me to explore the Soul Hunting Forest with them."

Yu Xiaogang stood there blankly. I'm a dignified Master, yet no one has ever invited me. But you, a first-year kid, get invited by the Su Family?

At that moment, Tang San, who had followed Bai Yu ahead, turned back and called, "Teacher, hurry up!"

Only then did Great Master Yu come back to his senses and hurried after them, even more determined to talk Bai Yu into becoming his disciple.

When Bai Yu reached the gate, he saw that the guard was an acquaintance. He smiled and greeted him, "Big Brother, long time no see. You're on duty again today?"

The guard recognized Bai Yu as well and looked somewhat stunned. "Long time no see? You were only gone for a few days. I saw you going in just before my shift ended a few days ago, and now I've come back for duty and you're here again?"

Bai Yu coughed twice, pointed at Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, and said, "My friend's teacher is taking him to hunt for a Soul Ring. I'm just here to help out."

At that moment, Great Master Yu hurried over and handed his token to the guard. Even though it bore only one emblem and was the lowest-grade token, Yu Xiaogang still puffed out his chest with a proud expression.

See that? You need the Su Family to enter the Soul Hunting Forest, but if you acknowledge me as your master, I can bring you in whenever I want!

Through the narration constantly popping up from the system, Bai Yu learned what Yu Xiaogang was thinking and could not be bothered to mock him.

The guard gave Great Master Yu a strange look, as though looking at an idiot, but he still opened the gate and let the three of them in.

The three entered the forest, and Yu Xiaogang warned, "The Soul Hunting Forest is dangerous. You two must stay close to me!"

Tang San nodded and obediently followed behind Great Master Yu.

Bai Yu put on an act and followed as well, quietly grumbling to himself, I've come here dozens of times and barely encountered any Century Soul Beasts. Great Master, your dog luck is so good—could you lure one over for me?

Of course, if nothing unexpected happened, that Mandala Snake would still come to its death. Bai Yu hoped another Century Soul Beast would appear as well. Then again, Tang Hao might be watching from behind. Forget it. He would not perform Soul Refining this time.

Having made up his mind, Bai Yu continued forward with the other two. They encountered a few low-level Soul Beasts but gained nothing else. Not until night fell, when that pack of little wolves attacked and was blasted away by one of Luo San Pao's farts, did Bai Yu finally perk up.

Looking at Luo San Pao, which resembled both a pig and a dog, Tang San's mouth twitched. "Teacher, this is your Martial Soul?"

Great Master Yu nodded, his face filled with sorrow. "San Pao can only attack three times, so that's why it has this name. After every attack, I feed it something that promotes farting, which reduces my Soul Power consumption."

Tang San's eyes lit up. That's right, why hadn't I thought of that? I can also eat food that promotes farting to strengthen myself!

Suddenly, Bai Yu said beside him, "Little San, if your teacher is called Luo San Pao, does that mean you should be called Tang San Pao? That name sounds kind of weird."

Tang San and Great Master Yu's expressions stiffened at the same time. They thought of that day's "acceptance ceremony."

[Plot: Tang San was very bothered by the nickname "Tang San Pao" and planned to stop you from mentioning it in front of him.]

Bai Yu changed "very" to "not." Tang San, whose toes had just curled hard enough to dig out a four-bedroom apartment, suddenly said, "That's a good name. Tang San Pao—I like it a lot. Since my teacher is called Luo San Pao, I'll be called Tang San Pao from now on! Teacher, your Martial Soul is a pig, and mine is a dog. Together, we're the pig-and-dog combination, unstoppable!"

Since Tang San was not bothered by this nickname, the latter half naturally became void.

Bai Yu patted Tang San on the shoulder and smiled. "Little San, you like that nickname? That's great!"

Yu Xiaogang stared dumbfounded.

Fuck, I don't even like that nickname. It's already become a stain I can never wash away, yet who would've thought my disciple would flock to it like he'd found treasure? What kind of bizarre taste is that?

Great Master Yu suppressed the disgust in his heart and said, "Fine. Since you like it, Little San, you can call yourself whatever you want."

Anyway, my goal is to take Bai Yu as my disciple. Bai Yu, look at that—I don't even interfere when Tang San makes fun of himself. How open-minded am I? Being my disciple gives you so much freedom!

Bai Yu kept calling Tang San "Tang San Pao," and once Tang San came to his senses, he realized that he himself had voluntarily allowed Bai Yu to call him that. He could not argue against it and could only swallow his anger, clenching his fists every time Bai Yu happily called out, "Tang San Pao!"

Damn it. If my teacher didn't have that name, how could I have ended up with such a humiliating nickname?