"Student, you wouldn't want anything to go wrong with your martial soul, would you?"
Those words left Li Mingzhu, who had been enjoying the show, utterly dumbstruck.
Fighting the twitch at the corner of his mouth, he stared at Yu Xiaogang in disbelief, as though checking whether he had come from Japan.
At the same time, he began doubting himself.
Problems? Problems with my martial soul? How come I don't know about them?
Seeing Li Mingzhu's bewilderment, Yu Xiaogang felt immensely pleased with himself.
Haha, looks like I guessed right. Every martial soul mutation comes with some problems! I can add another point to my Ten Great Theories of Martial Souls.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes darted about, gleaming with ill intent.
He muttered inwardly, Why not seize this opportunity and spend a little more breath persuading Li Mingzhu to become my willing guinea pig?
Having made up his mind, Yu Xiaogang immediately assumed the bearing of a lofty expert before Li Mingzhu.
But his disheveled appearance made the pose look absurd.
"Student Mingzhu, to tell you the truth, I also have a mutated martial soul. Unfortunately, mine was a harmful mutation, leaving me with only half a level of innate soul power."
"But I have always believed there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters! Through hard work and wisdom, I ultimately cultivated my soul power to level twenty-nine."
Those words struck Li Mingzhu's bewildered brain like a bolt of lightning. He immediately clenched his teeth, struggling not to laugh.
His contempt for Yu Xiaogang's shamelessness only deepened. What hard work? What wisdom?
If Yu Xiaogang really possessed those things, would he have ended up like this?
As the son of a Titled Douluo, Yu Xiaogang belonged to a sect that, even if it lacked heavenly treasures capable of improving high-ranking soul masters, surely had some that could improve low-ranking ones.
He had consumed the heavenly treasures provided by his Titled Douluo father and used the Martial Soul Holy Maiden's resources, yet had only become a Soul Grandmaster. What was there to boast about?
Looking back over his life, wasn't every hardship Yu Xiaogang had suffered something he had brought upon himself?
Li Mingzhu had no intention of indulging him either. He said bluntly, "Grandmaster, whether you have a mutated martial soul has nothing to do with me."
"Besides, you keep saying there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters. Then why can't you break past level twenty-nine?"
"Aren't you just calling yourself useless in a roundabout way?"
That barrage left Yu Xiaogang speechless, and his Down syndrome flared up again.
Being called useless was what he hated most in his life. Li Mingzhu's questions had undoubtedly slapped him in the face.
How could Yu Xiaogang possibly remain calm now? His features twisted as he glared at Li Mingzhu with a savage expression.
"Hmph! What do you know? Anyone else with half a level of innate soul power probably wouldn't reach level twenty in their entire life!"
Yu Xiaogang roared those words, seemingly hoping to make himself sound more convincing.
But Li Mingzhu was displeased. You think I'm going to put up with your temper?
He could only give the man a little psychological torment.
"Ganzi, then we need to hash this out properly. I've heard about your soul skill too. Isn't it just farting like thunder—Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao?"
"Other soul masters with half a level of innate soul power still get a useful soul skill after obtaining a soul ring. You're the only one who can do nothing but fart."
"Shouldn't you reflect on why all you can do is fart? Think about whether you've really worked hard and cultivated properly."
How could a fake grandmaster like Yu Xiaogang withstand the verbal bombardment of Li Mingzhu, who had received nine years of compulsory education? He could not even muster a flimsy excuse.
If anger could make someone a god in this world, Yu Xiaogang would already have ascended to the highest divine throne.
Yu Xiaogang repeated inwardly, Don't get angry. Don't get angry. You're here to use him.
Who knew whether Yu Xiaogang had obtained the copyright from Ah Q? After running through the art of spiritual victory, he immediately calmed down.
Then, wearing a zombie-like smile, he shamelessly said to Li Mingzhu, "Student Mingzhu, since you have a mutated martial soul, you wouldn't want to end up like a useless man like me, with soul skills that only let you fart, would you?"
Li Mingzhu was rather surprised. He had not expected Yu Xiaogang to back down, so he followed along and asked, "Then tell me, how do I avoid becoming as useless as you?"
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. If his art of spiritual victory had not been powerful enough, he might have started farting like thunder right then!
Bastard! This damned brat! Stop calling me useless every other breath!
After viciously cursing Li Mingzhu a few times in his heart, Yu Xiaogang said with an air of unfathomable wisdom, "All you need to do is listen to me and absorb the soul rings I tell you to."
Li Mingzhu was immediately amused. So this was what Yu Xiaogang had been scheming toward all along!
"Ganzi, then tell me, what should I absorb for my first soul ring?"
Yu Xiaogang perked up at the question and began talking at great length.
"For your first soul ring, I recommend a four-hundred-year-old tea stink bug. This insect-type soul beast is perfectly suited to your fragile body martial soul."
In truth, this was hardly a sincere recommendation. It was the first soul ring he himself had absorbed back then, and he wanted to see what would happen if Li Mingzhu absorbed it.
Most of the soul beasts Li Mingzhu had learned about at Nuoding Academy resembled plants and animals from Blue Star.
He happened to recognize the tea stink bug Yu Xiaogang had mentioned. Despite the poetic beauty of its name, this soul beast was actually what they commonly called a stink bug.
This beast was timid by nature. When danger approached, it released a fart foul enough to stink someone to death. Its farts were unbearably rank, and the stench lingered for ages!
Li Mingzhu knew Yu Xiaogang was malicious, but he had not expected him to be this malicious. Now he even suspected that Yu Xiaogang's first and second soul skills had come from this creature.
So Li Mingzhu sounded Yu Xiaogang out.
"Ganzi, a soul skill's strength depends on the soul beast's bloodline. Are you saying this kind of soul beast has a powerful bloodline?"
Yu Xiaogang grew terribly nervous, afraid that Li Mingzhu recognized this type of soul beast. But Li Mingzhu's words delighted him.
Seeing that Li Mingzhu supposedly did not recognize it, Yu Xiaogang exaggerated, "Of course! Such a soul beast has a superior bloodline, and the soul skills it produces are tremendously powerful. Its commonly produced soul skill, Laser Cannon, is especially sought after."
Seeing how earnestly Yu Xiaogang spoke, Li Mingzhu cautiously asked, "Grandmaster, since you know so much about it, have you absorbed this kind of soul beast yourself?"
Being addressed as Grandmaster made Ganzi feel rather pleased with himself, keeping him from thinking too deeply about Li Mingzhu's words.
He immediately raised his neck like a rooster certain of victory.
"Of course. My first soul ring came from precisely that beast."
A snort escaped him. Li Mingzhu could no longer control the corners of his mouth and began laughing mockingly at Yu Xiaogang.
Hearing Li Mingzhu's laughter and recalling what he had said, Yu Xiaogang immediately realized he had been tricked!
Humiliated into fury, Yu Xiaogang wished he could summon his martial soul, but he still harbored hopes about Li Mingzhu.
"Student Mingzhu, my first soul skill came from this soul beast, but that happened because my martial soul suffered a harmful mutation. If you absorbed it, the result would definitely be different."
Li Mingzhu simply watched Yu Xiaogang spin his tale, wondering what magic that mouth of his could possibly possess.
After listening to Yu Xiaogang ramble on for quite a while, Li Mingzhu began to feel annoyed.
He thought that Ganzi was already stupid to begin with, and teasing him like this really was a little unkind.
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