"Bang!"
With the heavy slam of the door, Yu Xiaogang finally stormed out, but Li Changsheng thought he most likely still would not give up.
"Changsheng, I'll give you a proper answer over this matter. Tang San is your disciple. Yu Xiaogang certainly can't harass him as he pleases!"
"No need, Dean. If Yu Xiaogang wants to come, I'll oblige him!"
Li Changsheng declined the dean's help. Now that he knew exactly where the dean stood, he could deal with Gangzi without holding back.
He chatted with the dean for a while longer. Throughout their conversation, Tang San and Xiao Wu looked at Li Changsheng with faces full of admiration.
Only after saying goodbye to the dean did Li Changsheng head outside with Tang San and Xiao Wu.
"Teacher, you actually have such powerful connections?"
"Hahaha, not at all. If we're talking connections, mine are paper-thin at best!"
Li Changsheng did not let Tang San's respectful compliment go to his head. When it came to connections, weren't Tang San's and Xiao Wu's both stronger than his?
One had the Clear Sky Sect and Clear Sky Douluo behind him, while the other had two Ferocious Beasts from the Star Dou Great Forest behind her.
Only after walking some distance did Li Changsheng notice something amiss. "Little San, Xiao Wu, why are you two following me? I'm heading out to buy some meat for Sanpao. If you have nothing to do, why not go back to the dormitory and cultivate?"
"Teacher, Xiao Wu wants to... become your disciple too!"
Tang San lowered his head halfway through his sentence, no longer daring to look at Li Changsheng's expression. Xiao Wu, beside him, was much bolder, her pink eyes gazing at Li Changsheng expectantly.
"Oh? Xiao Wu, why do you want to become my disciple?"
"Because, because you're very knowledgeable, and Xiao Wu doesn't want to be alone all the time anymore... Tang San is my good friend. I want to stay by his side forever!"
"Xiao Wu..."
Hearing this, Tang San froze.
I want to stay by his side forever!
Those few words struck straight into Tang San's heart. He forcibly suppressed the stirring within him, keeping his expression unchanged.
"Is that so?"
Li Changsheng did not notice anything unusual about Tang San just then. He was simply rather surprised himself by the latter half of Xiao Wu's words.
Were Tang San and Xiao Wu already this close at this point in the original story?
"In that case, I agree! From now on, Xiao Wu, you are my second disciple!"
The moment Li Changsheng agreed to take her as his disciple, Xiao Wu seemed to undergo a transformation. It was not a physical transformation, but a change in her ideas and way of thinking.
It was as though creases had been smoothed away, as though she had been washed over by a river again and again.
[Ding! Detected that the host has accepted Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, as a disciple!]
At that moment, the system notification also rang out in Li Changsheng's mind.
[Rewards: Storage Soul Tool Ring ×1, increased template progress, Concealment Pill ×1, Mind Link Method ×1] [Concealment Pill: Conceals any scent or presence on the user that differs from a human's. No other effects!] [Mind Link Method: Exclusively for cultivation by Soul Masters with external Martial Souls. Establishes a mental bond, allowing each to understand the other's thoughts with a single intention, without verbal commands!]
These rewards really were something, weren't they?!
The Concealment Pill's description spoke for itself. He would give it to Xiao Wu.
The last reward was the most important one: the Mind Link Method!
With this, Li Changsheng could try having Luo Sanpao cultivate independently. An external Martial Soul and its Soul Master were one entity. Wouldn't the Martial Soul cultivating amount to him cultivating as well?
The idea was rather fanciful, but as a transmigrator, Li Changsheng had always held to one belief: nothing was impossible.
Just think of those transmigrator predecessors. They could even have Pangu Axe Martial Souls, so what was wrong with him teaching Luo Sanpao to cultivate?
Once the rewards arrived, Li Changsheng put away his skin, then turned his gaze toward Tang San beside him, his eyes filled with approval.
This kid really was something. When there were disciples to recruit, he really knew how to bring them in!
Noticing his teacher's gaze, Tang San gave a slight smile that said, "You can rest easy when I'm handling things!"
But when he noticed Xiao Wu, he became a little embarrassed.
Why was this little girl just standing there in a daze?
"Ahem! Xiao Wu, becoming a disciple has its formalities too. You have to kneel on both knees and kowtow!"
"Little San!"
Li Changsheng hurriedly stopped Tang San's clueless behavior. He already had feelings for Xiao Wu, yet he was making her kneel. Wasn't he just causing trouble?
Why hadn't Li Changsheng stopped Tang San from kneeling?
Because a staunch warrior of feudalism never went in for empty gestures. If he said he respected his sovereign and teacher, he would certainly show that respect, so Li Changsheng had not tried to correct that way of thinking.
"Do you have to kneel to become a disciple?"
Xiao Wu was a little puzzled. She had asked around when she entered human society. Kneeling was rare; most of the time, a bow was enough.
Following the example, Xiao Wu nevertheless gave Li Changsheng a proper, solemn bow. "Your student Xiao Wu greets Teacher Changsheng!"
"Mm! Here, Xiao Wu, take this. Little San has a book too. You can exchange them to read, or study together."
Li Changsheng took a book out of his storage space that was even thicker than Tang San's Compendium of Soul Master Theory.
Compared with the Compendium of Soul Master Theory, this Complete Compendium of Soul Beast Theory was more than twice as thick. Without using Soul Power, even Li Changsheng had to exert some effort to lift it.
"What is this? It's almost thicker than Nuoding City's walls!"
Li Changsheng was a little embarrassed. Why hadn't the system thought to divide this book into volumes? It was too heavy!
"Right, Xiao Wu, you don't have a Storage Soul Tool yet, do you? Take this."
With that, Li Changsheng also handed over the storage ring the system had rewarded him with.
"Put the book away first. If there's anything you don't understand while studying, you can come to me anytime. Remember, although your teacher isn't particularly strong yet, I absolutely won't let my students suffer any mistreatment!"
"Thank you, Teacher Changsheng!"
Both Tang San and Xiao Wu felt warmth in their hearts at his words, especially Tang San. He had spent several days with Li Changsheng now, and that care had truly let him feel what a father was.
He cared about whether Tang San had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, and about his cultivation...
What was a good teacher? This was a good teacher!
"Mm, all right. You two head back first. Your teacher needs to buy some things for Sanpao."
After giving them a few more instructions, Li Changsheng said goodbye to the two of them and walked toward the academy gates alone.
"Come out, Sanpao!"
"Luo, luo!"
A brilliant golden light flashed, and the still-adorable Luo Sanpao immediately appeared at Li Changsheng's feet. The pair of little horns on his forehead had visibly grown and could now be seen quite clearly.
"Once we get back, we'll try this Mind Link Method!"
Li Changsheng looked at Luo Sanpao, who kept wagging his little tail at his feet, and a trace of a smile appeared in his eyes.
In the eighteen years he had lived here, apart from Village Chief Old Rousi, all he had was this Sanpao.
"Once you become a Dragon King, will I be able to say I raised a Dragon King too?"