After several hours of waiting, everyone who had come to awaken today finally finished their awakening.
During that time, Li Ye grew a little tired of waiting, so he asked Ma Xiunuo how to cultivate Soul Power, then went off to the side to cultivate.
"Ah, Master Ma Xiunuo, a total of 181 children came to awaken today, but only 35 of them had Soul Power. Of those 35, only 15 had Soul Power above rank one and martial souls that were somewhat worth nurturing. That doesn't include Xiao Ye."
After the awakening ceremony ended, an attendant in the hall walked over to Ma Xiunuo and reported the results.
Since Li Ye had already lived here for two years, practically everyone in the hall knew the little rascal.
"Ah, we can only see whether Yun Tao and the others bring back any good news." Ma Xiunuo could not help sighing as well.
He had watched all those children just now. How he wished every one of them could become an outstanding Soul Master, so the common people would no longer suffer oppression.
Yet the results were still so disappointing. Not a single one of them had Innate Soul Power above rank four, making this year considerably worse than previous years.
"Master Ma Xiunuo, I..." Only after the attendant finished his report did Yu Xiaogang approach Ma Xiunuo and speak, looking a little embarrassed.
"Grandmaster, just say whatever you want to say." Ma Xiunuo did not even glance at Yu Xiaogang. His eyes were filled with nothing but Li Ye, who was obediently cultivating nearby.
"Could I ask you to entrust this child to me to train? I swear I will make him one of the continent's greatest experts." His eyes full of sincerity, Yu Xiaogang pleaded with Ma Xiunuo.
"Grandmaster, you know Xiao Ye's Innate Soul Power is higher than rank ten, and his martial souls are rare mutated martial souls at that. Although you rank among the best in the Soul Master World when it comes to Martial Soul Theory, with your..."
Ma Xiunuo left the rest unsaid, but Yu Xiaogang knew what he meant.
But Yu Xiaogang simply could not stand by and watch such a promising seedling be taken away by Spirit Hall.
Although he had some selfish interests, more than anything, he wanted Li Ye to become a peerless expert.
Although Spirit Hall could accomplish that too, it had far too many geniuses to nurture. It simply could not assign several people with outstanding accomplishments in Martial Soul Theory to devise a cultivation plan specifically for Li Ye.
Although he, Yu Xiaogang, was useless in many respects, in this particular field, if he claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.
After a moment's thought, Yu Xiaogang seemed to make up his mind about something and said to Ma Xiunuo, "Master Ma Xiunuo, you should know of the Golden Iron Triangle from many years ago."
"Yes." Ma Xiunuo seemed to have thought of something, but he did not spell it out and merely nodded.
"Unworthy though I am, I am its Horn of Wisdom. And my good friend, the Flying Corner, is in Suotuo City. He is currently a rank seventy-three Soul Saint," Yu Xiaogang continued, leaving the meaning behind his words unspoken.
Ma Xiunuo naturally knew what Yu Xiaogang meant. He also knew that entrusting Li Ye to Yu Xiaogang would certainly be far better than having Spirit Hall train him.
He was an old hand at Spirit Hall and naturally understood its rules. Whatever Li Ye might gain by going there, his freedom-the most important thing to a person-would be stripped away from the very beginning.
Li Ye had been accustomed to freedom since childhood and certainly would not be able to bear that, so for now, Yu Xiaogang was the best choice.
"Let Xiao Ye make this choice himself." Ma Xiunuo slowly rose and walked away with aged steps, effectively giving Yu Xiaogang a chance.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang said nothing, merely bowing in the direction Ma Xiunuo had left to express his gratitude.
But in the current situation, he did not even know how to interrupt Li Ye.
Li Ye had actually entered a state of deep cultivation. His cultivation progressed at tremendous speed in this state, but he could not be interrupted carelessly.
So, for Li Ye's sake, Yu Xiaogang could only sit nearby and wait for him to emerge from that state.
Meanwhile, in his mental world, Li Ye was desperately keeping two old men apart to stop them from fighting.
These two old men were none other than Spear Old Demon and Sword Old Ghost, who were sealed within Li Ye's two martial souls.
"Hmph, Sword Old Ghost, the Li Ye brat ought to-no, he must practice my spear techniques first! As for your sword techniques, he should only practice those after he's mastered my spear techniques!" Spear Old Demon roared at the Sword God, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Pah! Practice those trash spear techniques of yours? Are you trying to make him fall into the demonic path or what? Xiao Ye, don't listen to him. If you're going to practice anything, practice Grandpa's sword techniques. I guarantee you'll become the strongest person in this world within a few years."
After blasting the Spear Demon, Sword Old Ghost immediately put on a kindly, approachable expression and took Li Ye's hand as he spoke.
"Enough, Grandpas. Can't I just practice both? Could you please stop arguing? My head's about to explode." Li Ye really could not stand these two old fellows endlessly arguing in his ears anymore, so he made the suggestion.
"Hehe, that's just what I wanted." At Li Ye's words, Spear Old Demon and Sword Old Ghost immediately stopped arguing, as though they had planned all of this together.
"Ah, what sin did I commit to deserve this?" Li Ye lowered his head and sighed helplessly.
He had originally intended to practice one first and the other later, so he could slack off a little and have spare time to do other things. But these two old men actually refused to play by the script.
Huh, wait, why can't I practice both at once? That shouldn't send my cultivation berserk, right? Hehe! Li Ye thought sheepishly.
Unfortunately, Spear Old Demon and Sword Old Ghost could not hear Li Ye's thoughts. Otherwise, they would have given the brat a few good slaps across the face.
He was just too fucking clever!
Since ancient times, what martial arts grandmaster had not been proficient in a hundred weapons? Those who used both spear and sword were too numerous to count, and mounted generals with formidable martial prowess were especially well versed in this.
"Holy crap! You little menace, you scared the hell out of me!"
After emerging from the mental space constructed by Spear Old Demon and Sword Old Ghost, Li Ye saw a stubble-covered face smiling at him from very close by-a face that looked utterly listless from a distance and gave people a fright up close.
This person was none other than Yu Xiaogang, who had seen Li Ye finish cultivating and wanted to move closer to leave a good impression.
"Uh, haha, hello, Li Ye. My name is Yu Xiaogang. I'm the person who helped you awaken today. I also have a title in the Soul Master World: the Grandmaster, unrivaled in theory. I wonder if you've heard of me."
Seeing the distaste in Li Ye's eyes, Yu Xiaogang spoke with some embarrassment.
"I have! You're that useless Grandmaster who'll never break through rank thirty in his whole life." Li Ye blurted it out.
Who knew whether he had done it deliberately or intentionally? In any case, once Yu Xiaogang heard it, even the veins on his forehead bulged.
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