Chapter 14

"White?"

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened at the sight, his already ordinary features twisting even further as his lips trembled. "I saw how much taller you'd grown overnight and thought you'd encountered some extraordinary opportunity, but I never imagined you'd absorbed only a white ring for your first soul ring!

"Didn't I say I would take you to obtain your first soul ring today? Why are you so disobedient! You said your father was there too. Didn't he do anything to stop you?"

Tang San froze at Yu Xiaogang's sudden fury, instinctively touching the hidden weapons concealed at his waist, but he quickly came to his senses.

Hearing the commotion, passing students stopped in twos and threes a short distance away, pointing and commenting. Tang San lowered his head in embarrassment and explained quietly, "Teacher, please hear me out. My uncle helped me obtain this soul ring. It's definitely the one best suited to me."

"Your uncle? Is he a Titled Douluo too? What is your first soul skill?" Recalling Tang San's father's identity, Yu Xiaogang decided to ask about this uncle before saying anything more.

"Please look, Teacher. This is my first soul skill!" Excitement filled Tang San's face. His first soul ring flashed, and Blue Silver Grass continuously compressed and combined in his hand, finally forming a dagger with a deep blue sheen.

"As for my uncle, he probably isn't a Titled Douluo." Tang San thought of how his uncle was a soul beast. Although he was even stronger than a Titled Douluo, he probably couldn't count as one. Besides, he probably shouldn't tell others his uncle's true identity.

"Huh? Teacher, why did you ask whether he was a Titled Douluo too? Do you know something..." Noticing Yu Xiaogang's face growing darker and darker, Tang San hurriedly shut his mouth.

"He's not a Titled Douluo? He dares question my judgment when he isn't even a Titled Douluo? Does he understand martial souls better than I do? What the hell does he know about Blue Silver Grass!"

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and yanked off the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges Tang San was wearing.

"Teacher, what are you doing!" Tang San instinctively tried to snatch it back. The hidden weapons he had made were still inside the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges!

"Since you don't know how to respect your teacher and honor his teachings, I naturally have the right to take back what belongs to me."

But Yu Xiaogang hadn't expected that Tang San, who had practiced the Tang Sect Secret Manuals since childhood and whose physique had now been greatly strengthened by his awakened bloodline, would snatch the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges back into his hands in a moment of inattention.

Humiliated and furious, Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial soul, Luo Sanpao. Abandoning all decorum, he launched straight into a tirade. "I was going to find you a soul ring that increased toughness. Your Blue Silver Grass could at least have been somewhat useful on the control path.

"But now? You want to follow the power attack system? Your Blue Silver Grass is ruined! I said it!"

"Why can't Blue Silver Grass follow the power attack system?"

Lan Changsheng abruptly appeared beside Tang San and looked at Yu Xiaogang with a trace of displeasure.

"Uncle! You're here!"

Lan Changsheng smiled and stroked Tang San's head, discovering that the boy finally looked a little like Ah Yin's child after awakening his bloodline. Although he was still rather thin, his features leaned toward handsome, his skin had become much fairer and softer, and he had grown taller, making his whole figure look slender and well-proportioned.

"May I ask your esteemed name, mighty... sir?" Yu Xiaogang chose his words carefully and cupped his hands in greeting to Lan Changsheng.

"Just call me Lan Changsheng." Lan Changsheng didn't even raise his head.

At that moment, Grandmaster had no idea how great a fright he would receive when he heard that name again.

"So it's Senior Lan. I didn't know Xiao San was your nephew. Forgive my discourtesy, forgive my discourtesy!" Yu Xiaogang maintained a respectful appearance, but his eyes darted about as he thought, This uncle of Tang San's is certainly no ordinary man! Although he gives off no imposing aura, I've never seen a method like that sudden appearance of his.

How did I never hear of someone like him when I was an elder at Spirit Hall? What a miscalculation. He probably heard what I just said. What should I do?

Yu Xiaogang chuckled while winking and making faces at Tang San.

"With a Grandmaster like you before me, how could I dare call myself your senior?" Lan Changsheng finally spared Yu Xiaogang a glance. "Please explain to me, Grandmaster, why you've decided that someone with a Blue Silver Grass martial soul cannot become a power attack system soul master."

"You jest, Senior. I am hardly worthy, but I do have some insights into this question." As though he had entered his area of expertise, Yu Xiaogang's expression grew confident.

"First, everyone knows that the Blue Silver Grass martial soul is weak. At lower ranks, it can still serve to restrain enemies, but once you pass rank twenty, enemies can break free of the martial soul's inherent toughness and strength simply by exerting force. It can no longer serve to restrain them, much less follow the power attack system.

"Even if you absorb only poison-attribute soul rings and cause a martial soul mutation that produces deadly poison, the same problem remains. Blue Silver Grass itself has little offensive power and is easily defended against, making it extremely difficult to inject poison into an enemy's body. You won't get far relying on skills such as poisonous mist or parasitism alone."

Quite a few passing students stopped to listen to his remarks. Some in particular were won over by his words on the spot and wished they could immediately take him as their teacher.

"When did our academy get such an amazing teacher!"

"I don't know, but what he says makes so much sense. Could I become his disciple and have him teach me?"

Hearing the remarks around him, Yu Xiaogang spoke with increasing confidence, his voice growing louder and more assured.

"So my plan for Tang San was to increase toughness with his first soul ring, then choose parasitism for his second soul ring to improve his ability to sustain combat. Afterward, he would appropriately add poison and other functions, becoming a relatively well-rounded control soul master."

Finishing his explanation, Yu Xiaogang bowed slightly and leaned toward Lan Changsheng, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Besides, this child Tang San awakened twin martial souls. His other martial soul is the foremost tool martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. When the time comes, one will focus on control and the other on offense. That is the perfect combination!"

"Wow, this teacher is incredible! He can even come up with such a perfect plan for a martial soul like Blue Silver Grass!"

The remarks around him made him abandon his humble posture. Instead, he puffed out his chest and raised his head, holding one arm across his chest and presenting Lan Changsheng with what he considered his perfect profile.

He thought, This man must have been won over by my theory. It's a shame this child Tang San failed to lay a good foundation for his first martial soul, but as long as he follows my theory properly from now on, he can still fulfill my ideals with his Clear Sky Hammer martial soul.

But the scene Yu Xiaogang imagined did not appear. His only response was a soft chuckle from Lan Changsheng, containing neither mockery nor agreement.

Keeping his head slightly raised, Yu Xiaogang could only encourage himself silently. My theory is the result of many years of research. There definitely isn't anything wrong with it.

Lan Changsheng's voice rang out. "May I ask, Grandmaster, where this theory of yours came from?"