"A true genius?"
Lin Nuo murmured under his breath.
Coming back to his senses, Lin Nuo slumped weakly against his chair. His sudden change had not come from a prick of conscience; Li Mingzhu's talent had simply shocked him to the core.
It was so outrageous that he felt as though he had glimpsed a future Titled Douluo.
It was not that he had never seen geniuses before. He had simply never seen one this absurd. Three levels of soul power in less than a month-what kind of progress was that?!
"Even the Clear Sky Twin Stars, whose fame once swept across the continent, couldn't have cultivated as quickly at his age!" Lin Nuo gazed out the window, looking slightly dazed.
Normally, gaining two levels within a year was already the mark of a genius. Even Tang San in the original story, who had innate full soul power, had gained nineteen levels over six years without eating any immortal herbs. Broken down, that was only three levels a year.
Such examples were everywhere. Take Hu Liena at the future continent-wide Soul Master Tournament: she was twenty-one with level fifty-one soul power, unable even to gain three levels in a year! (Hu Liena had level-nine innate soul power, averaging only 2.8 levels a year. Note that I'm calculating the yearly average, not how many levels she actually gained in any particular year!)
Still, Lin Nuo had been absolutely right to recognize which way the wind was blowing. If he tried stabbing Li Mingzhu in the back, he would be joining Brother Scar.
After all, pursuing one's own interests was human nature. Betrayal was the true evil!
Li Mingzhu had not gone far when he suddenly spotted Yu Xiaogang creeping over. To determine what Yu Xiaogang was after, Li Mingzhu had no choice but to hide himself carefully.
"Huh? Why do I feel a chill all over?"
As Yu Xiaogang approached Li Mingzhu's hiding place, he kept feeling that someone was watching him.
Yet he craned his neck and looked all around without discovering anything. Rubbing his palms together to dispel his unease, he headed straight toward Dean Lin's office.
After Yu Xiaogang went inside, Li Mingzhu followed close behind.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang arrive, Lin Nuo felt rather irritated. He no longer dared to sell Li Mingzhu out.
He was just about to cut Yu Xiaogang off before he could speak when he noticed Ganzi's excitement. Realizing that Yu Xiaogang's visit had nothing to do with Li Mingzhu, Lin Nuo relaxed.
"What do you want this time?" Lin Nuo raised an eyebrow, his tone unfriendly.
"Hmph! Lin Nuo, mind your attitude. I came here to ask you to help me hunt for a soul ring."
"Hunt for a soul ring?"
Lin Nuo was somewhat surprised. Yu Xiaogang did not have a disciple. Had he broken through himself?
Lin Nuo's question and disbelief gave Ganzi's vanity an enormous boost.
He immediately began boasting arrogantly. "That's right, hunt for a soul ring! Thanks to my tireless efforts lately, I've finally broken through to level thirty soul power. I came here because I want your help!"
Yu Xiaogang delivered those few sentences with dramatic rises and falls in his voice, as though proving just how hard it had been for him.
Lin Nuo showed little reaction, but his heart had sunk into the depths. He would never credit Yu Xiaogang's breakthrough to Yu Xiaogang's own efforts. He could only marvel at the benefits of coming from a powerful faction: even someone with half a level of innate soul power could be piled up into a Soul Elder.
His own innate soul power had been much higher than Yu Xiaogang's, yet he was still only in the forties!
Watching Yu Xiaogang boast endlessly, Lin Nuo could hardly interrupt. He could only listen to his requests in silence, hoping to send him away as soon as possible.
After explaining his purpose and requirements, Ganzi intended to show off a little longer, only for Lin Nuo to firmly send him packing.
Alone in his office, Lin Nuo sighed mournfully. "The gap between people really is wider than the gap between dogs!" His heart ached: whether it was Li Mingzhu's talent or Yu Xiaogang's background, he had neither.
As for Li Mingzhu, he continued doing the same thing, keeping close to Yu Xiaogang. When Yu Xiaogang left, Li Mingzhu followed behind him.
With everything settled, Yu Xiaogang was positively glowing with pride, swaggering as he walked. Had he spotted a stray dog by the road, he would have given it a couple of kicks.
Once Ganzi came out, Li Mingzhu stopped following him and went straight back to his own lodgings.
Back in his room, Li Mingzhu quietly considered the information he had gathered.
First, there was no question that he would go to Winchester Academy, but he still needed to raise his soul power a little before that. As for Ganzi obtaining a soul ring, whether he should interfere was another matter.
Li Mingzhu's brows furrowed slightly. In his view, interfering would waste time, but not interfering would let Yu Xiaogang obtain a soul ring without a hitch.
After a moment's thought, Li Mingzhu's brows slowly relaxed.
He had a grudge against Yu Xiaogang, so he absolutely had to interfere. How could he let Ganzi reap the benefits so easily?
Besides, having received Ganzi's gift for nothing, how could he fail to pick out a good soul skill for him?
"Heh heh-!"
Li Mingzhu sneered, seemingly having already decided what sort of soul skill he should arrange for Yu Xiaogang.
He already knew the time, place, and people involved in the soul hunt. All that remained was to put some well-placed obstacles in their way!
What puzzled Li Mingzhu, however, was that while Yu Xiaogang might choose not to ask the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for help, why had he not even approached Flender?
After all, Li Mingzhu had decided to interfere precisely because he had learned that Yu Xiaogang had only asked Lin Nuo!
Hmm? Could Ganzi be afraid that Flender would discover his unspeakable secret?
Li Mingzhu's thoughts took a turn as he speculated about Ganzi's motives from a fresh angle.
How could Li Mingzhu have known that Ganzi was merely afraid of exposing the still-undiscovered secret behind his breakthrough? After all, Yu Xiaogang had always upheld the principle: you bear the hardships alone, and I enjoy the blessings alone.
Before he started thinking, it was fine. Once he did, Li Mingzhu became increasingly convinced that his guess was sound.
Still, considering Lin Nuo's strength as a high-level Soul Ancestor, helping Yu Xiaogang hunt down a thousand-year soul ring would be a simple matter.
With that, he stopped dwelling on it.
The soul hunt would take place in the same old spot-the Soul Hunting Forest-which left Li Mingzhu plenty of room to maneuver.
What Li Mingzhu could not understand was how Yu Xiaogang's mind worked. He had finally earned the chance to absorb a new soul ring, yet he was not choosing a beast with a stronger bloodline. What could he possibly hunt in the Soul Hunting Forest?
Early three mornings later, Yu Xiaogang and Lin Nuo met up and took a carriage toward the Soul Hunting Forest.
Li Mingzhu had already set out ahead of them, preparing to wait at the road leading into the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Xiaogang, what type of soul beast are you planning to hunt this time?"
Inside the carriage, Lin Nuo curiously asked Yu Xiaogang what soul beast he wanted to hunt, wondering what novel ideas this theoretical grandmaster might have now.
At his question, Yu Xiaogang adopted a proud expression and said, "Based on my many years of research into and understanding of martial souls, as well as my plans for the future, I intend to hunt a poison-attribute soul beast."
Cough-splutter-
Hearing this, Lin Nuo failed to contain himself and sprayed a mouthful of water straight into Yu Xiaogang's face, giving him a hearty mouthful of secondhand water.
"Lin Nuo, what is the meaning of this? Are you questioning my decision?" Yu Xiaogang wiped the water from his face and clenched his fists, furious.
"A poison-attribute soul beast?" Lin Nuo could hardly believe his ears and repeated the question to Yu Xiaogang.
Seeing Lin Nuo's confusion, Yu Xiaogang decided it was time to let him hear his genius idea.
He immediately straightened his appearance, resumed the airs of a grandmaster, and began lecturing him!
"Do you understand how important a poison-attribute soul beast is to me right now?"
Before you continue