A year later.
Everyone else in Dorm Seven had gone home for the holidays, leaving only Yun Tian.
"Yun Tian, you truly don't know what's good for you!"
"I, the Grandmaster, have sought you out for a year, offering countless times to take you as my disciple. Do you know what an extraordinary honor it is to become my disciple?"
At the entrance to Dorm Seven, Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, and he was panting like an ox.
He stared at Yun Tian, who was almost as tall as he was, his face twisting with anger.
In just one year, he had sought Yun Tian out over a thousand times.
Yet Yun Tian had rejected him every single time. He, Yu Xiaogang, was none other than the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's leader.
The Continent's Number One Theoretical Grandmaster, the beloved of the current occupant of the Papal Hall.
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
Tang San left yesterday, and Tang Hao went to see Yu Xiaogang that very night. That means Tang Hao has either gone somewhere else or is secretly following Tang San.
Yun Tian leaned against the doorframe, struggling to recall the plot of the original story.
No matter where Tang Hao went, there's no way he could be in Nuoding City now.
At that thought, Yun Tian couldn't help giving Yu Xiaogang a cruel smile.
With that sneaky old bastard Tang Hao gone, he could truly do whatever he pleased now.
He had put up with Yu Xiaogang for far too long. If not for Tang Hao lurking in the shadows,
and Tang San's unwavering loyalty to Yu Xiaogang, he would have stopped tolerating Yu Xiaogang's day-and-night harassment long ago.
"Yun Tian, do you know that under my instruction, Little San has successfully reached rank fifteen in just one year?"
"You're only rank fourteen at most, aren't you? As long as you accept me as your master, I guarantee you'll reach rank twenty next semester!"
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, his bearded face brimming with inexplicable confidence.
Hmph, damn you, Yun Tian. Just wait. Once I've used you to research a cultivation method independent of Spirit Hall,
you'll have no value left whatsoever. I originally wanted to sincerely take you as my disciple, but you brought this on yourself by refusing to appreciate my kindness and rejecting me for an entire year!
Yu Xiaogang clenched both hands into fists behind his back. Once Yun Tian had outlived his usefulness,
it would be time for him to kill Yun Tian with his own hands!
Yun Tian smiled, then suddenly approached Yu Xiaogang.
Seeing Yun Tian's movements, Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment before laughing heartily.
"Yun Tian, at least you know what's good for you. Now hurry up and kneel, kowtow, and accept me as your master. I can forgive your previous disrespect."
Yu Xiaogang was certain Yun Tian was about to acknowledge him as his master. After all, who on the entire continent could resist the immense temptation of becoming the disciple of the Continent's Number One Theoretical Grandmaster?
"Yu Xiaogang, accept you as my master? Fuck your mother!"
With a bang, Yun Tian slammed both hands into Yu Xiaogang's abdomen.
Yu Xiaogang went flying backward and embedded himself straight into the wall behind him.
"Aaargh!!!"
A great gush of filth spewed from Yu Xiaogang's mouth, the pain in his abdomen making his eyelids flutter wildly.
"Impossible!"
"How could your cultivation possibly be at the Soul Grandmaster level?!"
Yu Xiaogang raised his head in terror. Sensing the soul power fluctuations coming from Yun Tian, he sank into utter bewilderment.
Even Tang San, taught by him, the Continent's Number One Theoretical Grandmaster, had only reached rank fifteen in a year.
Yet Yun Tian, who had no teacher and didn't even attend his regular classes, had broken straight through to Soul Grandmaster in that same year.
This simply made no sense!
"I can't be bothered wasting words on you. You're not worthy of hearing them!"
Yun Tian rushed forward and delivered several more vicious punches to Yu Xiaogang's abdomen, stopping only once Yu Xiaogang passed out.
"Whew, that felt good." Looking at Yu Xiaogang, whom he had beaten unconscious, Yun Tian felt utterly refreshed.
After savoring that refreshing feeling for a while, Yun Tian grabbed Yu Xiaogang.
Merely beating Yu Xiaogang up like this couldn't erase the psychological harm he had inflicted on Yun Tian over the past year.
A whole year of harassment, sometimes even pursuing him into the dormitory-it had done tremendous damage to his young, tender heart!
Yun Tian headed straight to the dungeon of the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City.
Since it was a dungeon, the people of Spirit Hall had no desire to come here. Even the guard assigned to it was only a Soul Grandmaster.
So after knocking that Soul Grandmaster unconscious with a slap, Yun Tian made his way unhindered into the depths of the dungeon.
He walked straight up to a dimly lit cell, and a physically nauseating stench immediately assailed him.
Covering his nose, Yun Tian opened the cell and tossed Yu Xiaogang inside.
"Gangzi, oh, Gangzi, I picked this place especially for you. Those three men inside will take good care of you."
Looking at Yu Xiaogang lying on the cell floor, Yun Tian gave a cruel smile.
As early as half a year ago, he had learned that three prisoners with unusual proclivities were being held deep within this dungeon.
After finding out exactly what those three men's peculiar tastes were, he had slapped the table and settled on the spot on this cell as the most suitable one for Yu Xiaogang.
With everything done, Yun Tian left the dungeon.
"It's time to get my second soul ring."
In fact, he had reached rank twenty a month ago. He had advanced so quickly because he and Sang Biao had been cultivating without rest.
One reason he hadn't immediately gone hunting for a soul ring was Yu Xiaogang.
The other was that Yun Tian had been steadily honing his physical strength.
Every day, he used the monthly Soul Master Subsidy issued by Spirit Hall to buy various rare herbs and soak in medicinal baths.
His goal was to be able to absorb a thousand-year second soul ring.
Now, his body could probably withstand a soul ring of around a thousand years, which met his needs perfectly.
"I'll skip the Soul Hunting Forest, and the Star Dou Great Forest is too far away. I'll go to the Sunset Forest instead."
"It's a suitable distance away, with plenty of soul beast varieties, and it isn't as dangerous as the Star Dou Great Forest."
Having made up his mind, Yun Tian didn't return to the academy. Instead, he went straight out of the city, rented a carriage, and set off for the Sunset Forest.
Although he could ride Sang Biao, and doing so would even be faster, he would need to hunt a thousand-year soul beast later. After thinking it over, he decided it was better to let Sang Biao rest.
Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Yu Xiaogang slowly woke up.
"Damn it, that accursed Yun Tian! Just you wait! Once Little San comes back, once I've trained him into a powerhouse, I certainly won't let you off!"
Yu Xiaogang had barely finished his threats when his entire burly frame shuddered.
"Wh... where is this?!"
Yu Xiaogang looked around in confusion. The dim surroundings and pungent stench
both made him, the Continent's Number One Theoretical Grandmaster, uncomfortable.
"Oh, a newcomer. Number Two, Number Three, get out here. We've got someone new."
Just then, a teasing voice rang out from the depths of the gloomy cell.
"Who's there?!" Yu Xiaogang whipped his head around.
He saw three figures slowly approaching him, led by a burly man.
The man stood two meters tall, with bulging muscles and a deep scar across his face.
The other two, though not as tall as the scarred man, were similarly massive.
Unlike the scarred man, however, their skin was as black as ink!
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