"Those who do not know are not guilty. Now, you should address me as-Grandmaster."
Yu Xiaogang's tone was flat.
At those words, Tang Hao froze for a moment, then shook his head.
"How did that old dragon father a thing like you?"
Back then, the Upper Three Sects had stood together against the growing threat of Spirit Hall, so the younger members of all three sects had been quite familiar with one another.
Tang Hao still vividly remembered the pig that had stunned everyone on the awakening platform.
Later, he had heard that this fellow had published theories on martial soul research, stirring up considerable controversy, and his opinion of him had improved somewhat.
He had never imagined that the man was merely a clown who courted attention and fished for fame.
"Y-you, who exactly are you? You skulking coward! What gives you the right to insult me?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed sharply as he demanded an answer.
The mysterious man's words had struck him squarely where it hurt.
"I'm merely a victim who was almost ruined by those theories of yours that lead students astray."
Tang Hao took a whip out of his Soul Tool.
His gaze fell on the pile of student records marked with crosses on the desk.
His eyes abruptly grew piercingly cold.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. "What do you think you're doing?" he snapped.
"Have you ever studied the soul master cultivation system? What qualifies you to judge my theories?"
"What do you mean, I lead students astray? Those students simply lacked talent!"
"Almost means it didn't happen, right? So what gives you the right to draw conclusions?"
"Even if I concede ten thousand steps and say it did happen, that would only prove your child lacked talent! What would that have to do with my theories?!"
The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more wronged he felt. His eyes reddened as he glared at the mysterious man, panting like an ox.
He had poured decades of painstaking effort into researching his theories.
What right did an outsider have to question them?
So what if he's a high-ranking soul master? At worst, I'll die!
Yu Xiaogang stiffened his neck, filled with the resolve to sacrifice himself for scholarship.
His words came hurtling out like a barrage of cannon fire.
Even Tang Hao was left thoroughly speechless.
When it came to verbal sparring, Yu Xiaogang was the Titled Douluo. Tang Hao could not compete.
"Good thing I know a little about throwing punches."
Tang Hao snorted coldly and lashed out with the whip.
Crack! Yu Xiaogang screamed and went flying backward.
Tang Hao rolled up his sleeves and strode forward.
He, Tang Hao, was also a failure who had played an excellent hand into utter ruin.
But at least he knew shame! He had a sense of shame!
And this fellow with the crew cut? He led students astray, then justified himself with righteous conviction, utterly shameless!
Today, he was going to teach this old bastard a proper lesson.
The whip fell again and again, turning Yu Xiaogang into a spinning top as he howled.
Tang Hao controlled his strength expertly, making Yu Xiaogang feel the pain in his flesh without endangering his life.
Once the Clear Sky Sect regained its former glory, it would still have to deal with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Naturally, he could not kill him.
By the time the dean of Nuoding Academy and a group of teachers came running at the noise,
all that remained was a long whip and a crew-cut man in tattered clothes, his body covered in lash marks.
"Xiaogang, you... enjoy this sort of thing?"
"Eww, how disgusting... At your age, you really ought to behave yourself."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Say what you will, Grandmaster really has kept himself in good shape."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes blazed. "What nonsense are you talking about? Someone just attacked me!"
"How did he attack you?"
"He used a whip, lashing me over and over and making me spin around again and again."
"You're saying someone attacked you at night just to whip you into spinning around? And he deliberately controlled his strength so he wouldn't injure you?" Nuoding Academy's dean frowned.
"As hard as it is to believe, that is exactly what happened."
Naturally, Yu Xiaogang would not reveal anything more specific.
"Pfft!" A male teacher could not hold back a laugh.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened. "What are you laughing at?"
"I remembered something happy. My wife gave birth today, hahaha."
"Hmph!"
Yu Xiaogang put on a stern expression. "Dean, I suspect an insider is responsible. Please investigate thoroughly."
"Pfft-hahahaha!" The five or six teachers gathered around him completely lost control.
Yu Xiaogang flew into a rage, panting like an ox. "I've put up with you lot long enough! What exactly are you laughing at?"
"Our wives gave birth too, hahaha."
Yu Xiaogang went wild. "Your wives all gave birth on the same day?"
"We have the same wife, hahahaha!"
Yu Xiaogang pointed at a female soul master. "You share a wife with them too?"
"Yeah, I'm fucking bisexual, hahahahaha!"
"Fuck!" Yu Xiaogang completely lost his cool.
"Time to get up, Xiao Wu."
Azure hair spilled down to her waist, and her eyes were as clear as sapphires.
Xiao Wu flashed a lecherous grin. "San Niang, you're so cute!"
Ever since absorbing her first soul ring, Tang San Niang's hair and eyes had turned completely azure, just like blue silver grass, making her look like a woodland elf.
"Xiao Wu, hurry up and get out of bed."
"Big Brother said he's going to teach us stance training today."
Tang San Niang urged her along.
Stance training was also one of the foundations of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but Tang San Niang had never focused on it before. To her, the Mysterious Heaven Skill was merely a supplement to hidden weapons.
But now that her brother had required it, she naturally dared not slack off.
Xiao Wu sat up with her hair hanging loose and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Mmm... all right."
Only after mumbling indistinctly did she climb out of bed.
She had been part of this family for a week now.
Xiao Wu was gradually beginning to adapt to human life.
She changed, washed up, tied her hair into a scorpion-tail braid, and left the room.
"Good morning, Big Brother."
A handsome, black-haired boy approached with a basin of hot porridge, and Xiao Wu greeted him sweetly.
Tang Yin smiled. "Morning. Come and eat."
In fact, he and Little San Niang had already returned from gathering purple qi.
Xiao Wu had a lazy disposition.
She refused to get up early even if her life depended on it, so he had only taught her the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Tang Yin had originally thought Tang San Niang would object to him teaching Xiao Wu the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Instead, the girl had been unexpectedly agreeable.
She did not treat Xiao Wu as an outsider at all.
That made Tang Hao seem like the outsider instead...
After breakfast, Tang San Niang and Xiao Wu cleared away the dishes while Tang Yin went behind the house.
Over the past week, he had cleared a small patch of land behind the house to serve as their daily training ground.
There was still a month before classes began at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
He did not intend to waste that time.
He usually set aside time each day to visit the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding and borrow books.
Nor had he ever stopped his daily forging practice. The recoil generated while using the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer would greatly temper his flesh, muscles, and bones, giving Tang Yin the feeling that he was growing stronger every day.
Improving himself was crucial, but he could not neglect his younger sister's and Xiao Wu's cultivation either.
Once the clearing was ready, Tang Yin immediately arranged special stance training for his two younger sisters.
Precisely because his previous world had lacked supernatural powers, people's study of technique had almost reached its ultimate limits.
In the world of Douluo I, however, soul masters often relied on innate talent, soul rings, soul skills, and the like for cultivation and combat.
For example, blue silver grass already possessed the ability to grow and entwine things, yet a soul skill called Blue Silver Entanglement had to be awakened anyway.
And since awakening the Blue Silver Entanglement soul skill made it easy to control the extension of blue silver grass, couldn't it then be woven into webs and cages?
That made the first few soul skills Tang San had awakened practically child's play.
Tang Yin did not think Yu Xiaogang had failed to realize this entirely because he was stupid.
Rather, soul masters had never developed precise control over their own soul power, so naturally, their use of martial souls could only depend on awakening soul skills.
One could say they had been so busy gazing at the stars that they had forgotten to keep their feet firmly on the ground.
Ultimately, soul power was the source of both soul skills and martial souls!
Before you continue