At the pinnacle of the Dao, proud above the world! Where I, Lu Xuan, stand, there are the heavens!

"Gangzi, you just said that even Titled Douluos would treat you with the utmost respect and address you as Grandmaster because of your theories, correct?"

Having figured out the system's rules and claimed its rewards, Lu Xuan simply left the Sea of Consciousness and brought his thoughts back to reality.

The midday sunlight was particularly fierce, bringing a genuine, searing sensation to his skin.

Lu Xuan did not feel hot. Instead, the corners of his lips curled upward.

Seeing that Lu Xuan had finally reacted after standing dazed for so long, Yu Xiaogang resumed his frenzied sneering.

"Of course!"

"Forget Titled Douluos-even the current pope of Spirit Hall has to treat me politely. What the hell are you?"

"Have you ever even seen a Titled Douluo, you mangy dog?"

What fun was there in mocking someone who stood there like a block of wood? Now that Lu Xuan had reacted, Yu Xiaogang mocked him with even greater enthusiasm.

Yet the sight he had anticipated-Lu Xuan flying into a humiliated rage-never came.

And somehow, the way Lu Xuan looked at him was full of mockery, as though after ridiculing Lu Xuan for so long, he had ended up becoming the clown himself.

Facing the doubtful or contemptuous looks from those around him, Lu Xuan remained composed and utterly at ease.

"Have I ever seen a Titled Douluo?"

"Heh."

Lu Xuan sneered. "Open those dog eyes of yours and look carefully. Today, I will show you what it means to be Titled!"

"You? Speaking like some exalted lord?"

"Hahaha!"

Yu Xiaogang acted as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, laughing with unbridled arrogance.

"Don't make me laugh. You've taught at Nuoding Academy for four or five years. Everyone knows you're just a Blue Silver Grass Soul Ancestor. You, a Titled Douluo?"

"Those Soul Rings beneath your feet are still glowing! Has wanting a disciple driven you mad? Hahahaha!"

At the same time, the surrounding passersby were swept up by Yu Xiaogang and began discussing it in low voices.

"Lu Xuan is a Titled Douluo? Isn't he a Soul Ancestor? How many years have we all known him?"

"Exactly! We've known him for so many years. At most, he's a Soul Master with a little more talent than most. A Titled Douluo? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?"

"Could something have upset him and driven him crazy?"

Their mockery was so loud, so very loud!

It nearly drowned out Lu Xuan's will.

But unfortunately...

Facing Yu Xiaogang's brazen arrogance and the crowd's contempt and mockery, Lu Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then abruptly stepped forward.

Boom!!!

A streak of fathomless black appeared among the original four Soul Rings beneath his feet. The aura unique to a Soul King suddenly unfurled, its pressure spreading across the entire scene like ripples.

The entire crowd fell silent!

It was as though someone had pressed pause on the whole world. Everyone was stunned, wondering where the fifth, black Soul Ring beneath Lu Xuan's feet had come from.

Yu Xiaogang in particular stopped laughing abruptly, shock written all over his stubbly old face.

Boom!!!

Lu Xuan took his second step, and another black ring slowly rose.

The oppressive presence of a Soul Emperor made everyone there struggle to breathe.

Boom, boom, boom!

The third step, the fourth...

With every step Lu Xuan took, another black ring appeared beneath his feet.

Until he took his final step... Rumble!

Blood-red light swept in on a wind reeking of blood, bringing overwhelming might that toppled everyone and every building present.

Heaven and earth changed color. In an instant, dark clouds filled the clear sky, thunder rolled, and lightning tore across the heavens, illuminating Lu Xuan's pale, indifferent face.

A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!

Beyond the eighth, black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, wreathed in a wind reeking of blood.

Every passerby sprawled on the ground was dumbstruck. Only a step away from Lu Xuan, Yu Xiaogang collapsed, the foul stink spreading from his crotch scattered by the gale.

"A Titled Douluo? A h-hundred thousand year Soul Ring?"

"How is this possible?"

In a single instant, Yu Xiaogang was scared out of his wits. His finger shook as he pointed at Lu Xuan, and his trembling lips could barely form words.

At the sight, Lu Xuan suddenly smiled!

He glanced at Yu Xiaogang, then raised his head toward the dark clouds and spread his arms to embrace the gale.

The wind sent his clothes snapping and tore loose his high ponytail. His hair now billowed like a "cape," revealing his divine might.

"At the pinnacle of the Dao, proud above the world!"

"Where I, Lu Xuan, stand, there are the heavens!"

"Yu Xiaogang, can you see my nine Soul Rings clearly?"

His sacred, soul-power-infused voice rang through the clouds. Everyone throughout Nuoding City heard those words clearly, as though they were a divine decree descending from heaven!

Yu Xiaogang's face was as white as paper. He kept pushing against the ground with his hands and scrambling backward, muttering all the while.

"This is impossible! You're clearly just a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master. You're clearly just a Soul Ancestor... you..."

"Impossible?" Lu Xuan scoffed.

"It seems you'd rather trust your sense of pain than your eyes!"

The ninth Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up. Fierce winds rose around him, and rain poured from the sky.

A blue-and-gold longsword slowly took shape in Lu Xuan's palm.

From the hilt to the blade, from the blade to the tip! The sword's formation was exquisitely beautiful and remarkably graceful.

The instant after the longsword finished taking shape...

Splurt!!!

The dull sound of a blade slicing through flesh came without warning, though it paled beside the heart-rending scream that followed.

"Aaaaargh!"

Yu Xiaogang's right arm, which had been propping him up, fell away. Blood gushed from the artery, and no matter how he tried to cover it, he could not stop the flow.

Everyone nearby was badly frightened by the sight. Some had already fled in panic.

At the same time, Lu Xuan spoke.

"A master of theory? Grandmaster?"

"Heh."

"Do you really think that picking a few theories out of Spirit Hall's library and adding some of your own interpretations makes them conclusions you reached yourself?"

"You fool-you can't even copy properly!"

"With your intelligence, adding even one word to an existing theory is like drawing legs on a snake. You're leading students astray!"

Lu Xuan's voice reached the ears of everyone present with perfect clarity.

Yu Xiaogang could do nothing but howl in agony, but the passersby who had gathered around them and were now knocked to the ground still retained their senses.

"All of Grandmaster's theories were copied?"

"Lu Xuan really is a Titled Douluo? And he even has a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"

"A Titled Douluo! We were just talking about him. He won't... he won't kill us, will he?"

The mockery and doubt were like a dump truck swerving around a corner: they bypassed Lu Xuan and plowed straight into Yu Xiaogang's pitiful self-esteem.

"No! Impossible..."

How could the pain of an arm severed at the shoulder compare to seeing his life's work in theory reduced to a laughingstock?

Yu Xiaogang looked possessed, his eyes bloodshot and his breath coming like an ox's.

"You're nothing but a commoner Soul Master. How could you possibly know any of this?"

"My theories aren't wrong! They aren't wrong! You lowborn scum are the ones who are wrong!"

Yu Xiaogang prided himself on his origins in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and had repeatedly made remarks about social class. Now, at last, they came back to bite him.

Before Lu Xuan even needed to speak, many in the crowd who had barely managed to regain their footing began muttering and cursing.

"What the hell is he? Calling us lowborn scum and mangy dogs at every turn, when he lives worse than ordinary people!"

"We call him Grandmaster out of habit, and he really thinks he's somebody? He doesn't teach or work. He spends all day eating and drinking at others' expense, and he doesn't even wash his clothes! If that's how he's going to live, he might as well die!"

"Exactly! Even before Lu Xuan revealed his strength, he was always neatly dressed and treated people kindly. He's better than him by who knows how many times. How does someone like that have the nerve to say those things?"

Lies did not wound; truth was the sharp blade.

Every comment from those around him stabbed at what little self-respect Yu Xiaogang had left. He knew they were right, which only made him more ashamed and furious.

Gradually, as he lost more and more blood, Yu Xiaogang, whose voice had at least retained some strength before, turned deathly pale and grew increasingly listless.

It was hard to tell whether it was because of his physical pain or the blow to his heart.

Or perhaps it was both.

But it did not matter. Lu Xuan had no desire to concern himself with any of that.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at the small, thin figure still sprawled on the ground.

"Tang San!"

"I saw a reflection of my former self in you. That was what moved me to take you as my disciple."

"Now you face an important choice in your life. If you must choose either me or Yu Xiaogang as your teacher, whom do you want to choose?"