"Lu Yang, your martial soul is nothing but a trash martial soul. Without a renowned teacher's guidance, even a talent like innate full soul power won't amount to anything!"
"And I am the foremost Grandmaster on the entire continent. Only I can teach you to become someone of worth."
Early that morning, while Lu Yang was exercising on the grounds of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy in Nuoding City, a man with a crew cut and a face as stiff as a zombie's blocked his path.
Half a month earlier, Lu Yang had awakened his martial soul with the help of Deacon Su Yuntao of Spirit Hall. His innate full soul power had even given Su Yuntao quite a shock.
His martial soul was rather unusual, however. With Su Yuntao's limited knowledge, he could not discern its potential, so he had pronounced it a "trash martial soul."
Still, Su Yuntao had recommended him for enrollment at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy. After all, in Su Yuntao's eyes, even a trash martial soul had innate full soul power. As long as Lu Yang obtained a Soul Ring, he could at least collect a monthly allowance of one Gold Soul Coin from Spirit Hall, ensuring that he grew up without worrying about food or drink.
Lu Yang had not taken Su Yuntao's judgment to heart. Who knew how many God King-level powerhouses this Soul Grandmaster, nicknamed the Blind God King, had already branded as having "trash martial souls"?
Besides, Lu Yang knew exactly what his own martial soul was. He did not need anyone else to teach him how to cultivate it.
Who could have guessed that Yu Xiaogang would set his sights on him just days after he arrived at Notting Junior Academy? Given a choice, Lu Yang truly would not have wanted to study here. But Windbreath Village, where he was born, was near Nuoding City. This was the closest junior Soul Master Academy.
Faced with Yu Xiaogang blocking his way, Lu Yang felt utterly helpless. He had already turned Yu Xiaogang down several times, but this old bastard was like a rabid dog... no, more like a stupid pig that simply could not understand a word he said, coming to pester him every few days. Worse still, his pitch was almost identical every time: Lu Yang's martial soul was trash, and he had to accept Yu Xiaogang's instruction to become a powerful Soul Master, and so on. Lu Yang was sick of it.
Lu Yang's martial soul was the sun god's The Winged Dragon of Ra. By the Douluo Continent's martial soul rankings, it was a divine martial soul, and even among divine martial souls, it would rank near the top. If he actually believed Yu Xiaogang's nonsense and developed his martial soul according to those theories, who knew what a wreck this divine martial soul would become?
"Look, Grandmaster, I'm begging you. Could you stop bothering me? I already have an idea of how to cultivate my martial soul, so there's no need for you to worry about it. If you have this much time on your hands, why not spend it researching your theories? Your Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls still need quite a bit of work, don't they?"
Lu Yang truly loathed Yu Xiaogang, yet there was little he could do. Whatever else he might be, Yu Xiaogang was a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. His pig might not have much fighting ability, but beating him up with Lu Chen's current six-year-old body would still be a little troublesome.
Most importantly, there were the powers backing him. Even setting aside that madwoman Bibi Dong, the old lizard of the Blue Lightning Lizard Sect would never truly abandon this son of his.
"You... you! You're utterly unreasonable! Beyond saving! Do you think cultivating as a Soul Master is child's play? You cannot afford even the slightest mistake! Without my guidance, what makes you think you can become powerful?" Yu Xiaogang flew into a rage at Lu Yang's words.
His voice was loud, but raising that hoarse voice only made him sound more like a quacking drake. And the way he stamped his feet in fury made him look exactly like a clown raging impotently.
"Haah!" Lu Yang let out a heavy sigh. "Grandmaster, the first time you came to see me, you said you wanted me to add Soul Rings produced by soul beasts with the LIGHT attribute to my martial soul and become a Control System Soul Master. But do you really understand what my martial soul is?"
"Your martial soul is just a ball of light! Keep strengthening that aspect and use different kinds of light to confuse your opponents and control them. What's wrong with that?!" Yu Xiaogang continued shouting. He believed the plan he had devised with his exceptional intellect and unbeatable theories was the most powerful possible.
"Moreover, Control System Soul Masters hold an absolute advantage against both Agility Attack System and Power Attack System Soul Masters. Only Control System Soul Masters are the strongest! I'm doing all this for your own good. As long as you follow my guidance, you're certain to become a peerless powerhouse," Yu Xiaogang continued.
Perhaps because of his inexplicable confidence, Yu Xiaogang grew more assured with every word. By the end, he even felt that his words were the truth itself, and that everyone ought to follow his advice unconditionally.
"Haah!!!"
Lu Yang sighed again, even louder this time, instantly freezing the confident expression on Yu Xiaogang's face.
But Lu Yang truly had no interest in continuing to indulge Yu Xiaogang's narcissistic self-assurance. He walked around him and headed toward the student dormitories.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang hurried after him, but before he had taken more than a few steps, he ran into several students from Nuoding Academy.
At the sight of them, Yu Xiaogang immediately slowed his pace and resumed his usual pretentious airs. He had an "idol image" to maintain, after all, and had to carry himself just right in front of people he did not acknowledge.
By the time those students had gone far enough away, Lu Yang had already returned to his dormitory. And the student dormitories were somewhere Yu Xiaogang had no desire to visit. In particular, he did not want anyone witnessing him trying to recruit Lu Yang. He feared being pestered by those talentless people who were unworthy of becoming his disciples. After all, he was the Grandmaster-a man far beyond those students' reach!
When Lu Yang returned to the dormitory, Wang Sheng and the others, who had gathered to chat, spotted him.
"Brother Yang, why are you back so early today?" Wang Sheng was the first to ask.
"Ran into a pest. Couldn't stand it, so I came back." Lu Yang waved a hand and answered helplessly.
Wang Sheng and the others all laughed at that. When Lu Yang first arrived at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, his innate full soul power had stunned them, and he had naturally become Dorm Seven's current boss.
"That Grandmaster again, huh? He still hasn't given up on making you his disciple, Brother Yang?" another resident of Dorm Seven asked.
"That zombie-faced old man is no good. He usually looks down on us work-study students and wishes he could stay miles away, as if we have something filthy on us. Now that he's seen how talented you are, Brother Yang, he comes sidling up all eager. Disgusting."
"Brother Yang, don't let him fool you. I've heard the other teachers say that Grandmaster has been at our academy for over ten years and hasn't taught a single student. The teachers treat his theories as jokes to laugh about after class!" someone warned Lu Yang.
"Don't worry. I've never considered agreeing to become the Grandmaster's disciple. I won't fall for it," Lu Yang replied with a smile. He knew perfectly well just what kind of trash Yu Xiaogang was.
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