"Little San!"
"No! That was my gift to mark your apprenticeship. How could you bring it out so casually?!"
Yu Xiaogang strode forward, snatched Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges from Tang San's hands, and crouched down to put it back on Tang San himself.
"Teacher..." Tang San grew a little nervous.
Only now did he realize that he should never have offered something so important as a wager.
What he had done was a vicious insult to his own teacher!
It was an act of utter disrespect!
But aside from that, he really could not think of anything valuable he could put up as a wager.
Tang Sect Hidden Weapons were absolutely out of the question. Those things could only be used by disciples of the Tang Sect.
"Little San, Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges was my gift to mark your apprenticeship. You must never casually offer it as a wager. Do you understand?"
Yu Xiaogang stood up and spoke with earnest concern.
Then he took the jade bracelet off his own wrist.
"This bracelet is also a Storage Soul Tool. Its capacity may not match your Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, but it is still incredibly precious. Let us use this as the wager."
The corners of Yu Xiaogang's mouth curved sharply upward.
My approach is simply brilliant!
An approach that increases Tang San's respect for me at no cost-across the entire continent...
I'm probably the only Grandmaster, the foremost authority on theory, who could think of it!
Yun Tian watched the scene before him. When Tang San first brought out Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, he had already been tempted.
But then he had thought of that petty-minded, damned rat Tang Hao lurking in the shadows, which was why he had not agreed immediately.
Now, however, if he won, he would take Yu Xiaogang's bracelet instead of Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
As long as Yu Xiaogang was not in mortal danger, Tang Hao would not bother with him.
If he took Yu Xiaogang's bracelet, he would not have to worry about that stubborn, damned rat Tang Hao secretly snatching it back.
All he had to do was take a little care during his fight with Tang San later and avoid hurting him.
Then he could get a Storage Soul Tool for nothing.
It was practically a guaranteed profit!
"Fine. I agree."
With that, Yun Tian stepped aside and quietly waited for Tang San.
Tang San gave his teacher a moved look. He had never imagined his teacher would go this far for him.
His teacher had brought out something so precious without hesitation.
I have to give it my all. I absolutely cannot let my teacher's Storage Soul Tool go to someone else!
"Teacher, your disciple is going in. Rest assured, I will not disappoint your expectations of me!"
After speaking, Tang San walked straight over to stand opposite Yun Tian.
"Tang San, Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Rank eleven, one-ring Tool Soul Master."
As Tang San finished speaking, a surge of Soul Power rose from him. The next moment, a sprig of Blue Silver Grass that looked far tougher than ordinary Blue Silver Grass slowly materialized in his right hand, while a hundred-year Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.
After waiting a long time and seeing that Yun Tian still seemed utterly unmoved, Tang San asked in confusion.
"Aren't you going to release your Martial Soul?"
Yun Tian smiled and stroked Sang Biao beside his feet.
"He is my Martial Soul."
At those words, a hint of shock crossed Tang San's face.
"A body-detached Martial Soul, just like Teacher's!"
Tang San assumed a fighting stance, and the hundred-year Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly blazed.
"First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Entanglement!"
In an instant, a thick Blue Silver vine burst out of the ground and shot straight toward Yun Tian.
Before Yun Tian could do anything, Sang Biao beside him abruptly raised his front paw, then slammed it down.
An Ice Wall instantly rose from the previously quiet ground. The moment the Blue Silver vine touched it...
It was frozen in place by the cold radiating from the Ice Wall. Immediately afterward, Sang Biao lightly tapped his front paw against the frozen Blue Silver vine.
It shattered piece by piece like glass.
Yun Tian looked at Sang Biao in surprise. He suddenly felt that, now that he had obtained his first Soul Ring, he really needed to study Sang Biao thoroughly.
Thoroughly, inside and out.
Seeing Sang Biao's ferocity, Yu Xiaogang grew so excited that he nearly took flight.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"
"With strength like that, he must be able to cultivate. As long as I, the Grandmaster, uncover the method for cultivating a body-detached Martial Soul by studying him, I will surely become a powerhouse too!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes shone. He seemed already to be envisioning his future self, accomplished in both scholarly and martial pursuits.
Under the guidance of an esteemed teacher like him, the boy might even become a Titled Douluo.
No! He will become one with absolute certainty. If a disciple of Grandmaster Yu failed to become a Titled Douluo under my guidance, that would be simply inexcusable!
When that time came, he, Grandmaster Yu, would be the teacher of two Titled Douluos. And once he obtained the method for cultivating a body-detached Martial Soul from Yun Tian, he would be a powerhouse himself.
That would be the best possible outcome!
"Once Little San finishes fighting him, I'll take him as my disciple!"
Having settled on that thought, Yu Xiaogang turned his attention back to the site of Tang San and Yun Tian's match.
By then, Tang San and Yun Tian were already locked in close combat.
"How is this possible? How are his strength and speed both greater than mine? I have Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track boosting me!"
The longer they fought, the more alarmed Tang San became. As a Tang Sect disciple, he possessed Purple Demon Eye and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
In close combat against a child exactly his own age, he should have been crushing his opponent.
Yet now, Yun Tian seemed able to predict exactly when he would throw his next punch.
He could always dodge a second before Tang San punched or kicked.
Seeing that it was about time, Yun Tian also put on a show of exhaustion.
"First Soul Skill, Cold Abyss Armor Transformation."
The hundred-year Soul Ring beneath Yun Tian's feet shone, and a suit of armor formed from the ice attribute instantly appeared on his body.
Boom!
He blasted out a punch. Tang San struggled to block it, but in the end, Yun Tian's punch still knocked him to the ground.
Yu Xiaogang was instantly dumbfounded at the sight.
"How is this possible? Little San absorbed a Soul Ring that was the best match for Blue Silver Grass. How could he lose?"
Watching Yun Tian walk toward him, Yu Xiaogang felt a pang at the loss.
The bracelet might not have much storage space, but it was still a Storage Soul Tool.
In Douluo I, an era when Soul Guidance Technology was underdeveloped, this single Storage Soul Tool...
Was worth a lifetime of hard work for an ordinary family. Even a low-ranking Soul Master would have to save for over a decade without spending anything on food or drink to afford it.
"Hehe, child, I, the Grandmaster, honor my wagers. This bracelet is yours."
Yu Xiaogang held one hand behind his back. Though it gave him quite a headache, he did not show it.
He had to display his generosity before Yun Tian. That way, taking the boy as his disciple later would go much more smoothly.
"Thank you."
Yun Tian took the bracelet from Yu Xiaogang and put it on his own wrist, sending a thread of spiritual power inside.
The bracelet contained ten cubic meters of space.
It was much smaller than the twenty-four cubic meters within Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, but Yun Tian felt it was enough.
He was not Tang San, who would stuff a pile of hidden weapons into his Storage Soul Tool.
He would only store some clothing, soul coins, and such, though later he would put in some Soul Bones he had no use for.
But ten cubic meters of space was enough for him.
"Well, child, your name is Yun Tian, correct? Would you be interested in taking me as your teacher?"
Yu Xiaogang clasped both hands behind his back, a cryptic smile appearing on his face. He even turned around, presenting Yun Tian with the back of a lofty expert.
"Do not refuse just yet. First, listen to this Grandmaster's credentials."
While Yu Xiaogang prattled on, Yun Tian had long since greased his soles and slipped away.
Being taken as Yu Xiaogang's disciple was no less than a horror film!
In the shadows, Tang Hao glanced in the direction Yun Tian had left.
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