"Teacher Li! We grew this fruit ourselves. Why don't you take some and try it?"
"Teacher Li, my daughter's been pestering me lately about having you tutor her. When would you be free?"
"..."
As Li Changsheng walked through Nuoding City's busiest market, voices called out to him from every direction.
Although Li Changsheng turned them all down, his tone was not particularly stern. He was a teacher and had to set an example; outside its grounds, he represented Nuoding Academy.
Yet despite refusing them all, he still ended up with his hands full of fruit and small gifts.
After all, Li Changsheng had spent so many years at Nuoding Academy. His reputation as the handsome young man of all the surrounding villages was certainly no empty boast.
At last, he escaped the crowd, and three shops came into view.
A butcher's, a general goods shop, and an equipment shop.
First, he bought a large quantity of Soul Beast meat for Luo Sanpao. In fact, Li Changsheng had always been the only person who bought this shop's lesser dragon meat.
But the owner did not mind in the slightest. The money Li Changsheng spent on lesser dragon meat alone had already covered his costs and even earned him a considerable profit.
Afterward, he bought lumber, tools, and some decorations as well.
Since he wanted to test whether Luo Sanpao could live in the outside world for extended periods, or even cultivate there, he naturally needed to build him a little den.
"Luo, luo!"
Throughout the trip, Luo Sanpao was delighted, constantly circling Li Changsheng, his little tail wagging as fast as a helicopter's rotor.
"Come on, Sanpao. Let's both work hard over the next few days!"
Li Changsheng softly encouraged Luo Sanpao at his feet. The latter seemed to understand, bobbing his large golden head up and down as if in agreement.
Back in his room, Li Changsheng did not begin working immediately. Instead, he prepared to check his template's progress first.
[Martial Soul: Luo Sanpao (Light Dragon King, evolution progress: 1.5%)]
It had increased by 0.5 percentage points, which was actually quite a lot. Even a change in the mindset of Tang San, the child of destiny, could only raise it by less than 0.5 percentage points, yet taking disciples had yielded this much.
Did that mean taking disciples was actually the main quest?
Would he really have to go to Shrek Academy? After all, by the system's calculations, the Shrek Seven Devils would count as the undisputed main characters.
Li Changsheng rejected the thought as soon as it surfaced.
He knew exactly what sort of place Shrek Academy was. Its teaching environment was poor, and it even followed the educational philosophy that "those who dare not stir up trouble are mediocrities."
These matters were still rather distant. Li Changsheng decided to focus on the present instead. Teaching Tang San and Xiao Wu well was his most important task.
Putting away the skin, Li Changsheng finally began building a little den for Luo Sanpao.
Meanwhile, over in Dorm Seven.
Becoming fellow disciples had not created any distance between Tang San and Xiao Wu. On the contrary, they still got along just as they always had.
"Xiao Wu, could you lend me your book? I'll give you this Compendium of Soul Master Theory!"
As soon as they returned to the dormitory, Tang San proposed exchanging books with Xiao Wu.
These days, apart from attending classes, Tang San had spent all his time cultivating, reading, and looking for part-time work. He had already committed many of the Martial Souls in the book to memory.
However, one thing he regretted was that the Compendium of Soul Master Theory contained too little information about the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul, nor did it list any notable figures who possessed it. Tang San could not learn anything about his mother.
"You've already finished reading the Soul Master theory?"
Xiao Wu was stunned. She had always loved playing around and naturally let her mind wander in class. She had never expected Tang San to be such a tryhard.
Scratching his head, Tang San paid little attention to Xiao Wu's surprise. He simply took out his book and said:
"Xiao Wu, I've already written notes in this book. You can use it to learn the basics first!"
"All right, then."
The two exchanged books. As soon as Tang San received the Soul Beast theory book, he began flipping through it. He had long yearned to learn about Soul Beasts and Soul Ring ages.
Ten-Year Soul Beasts and the like were all far too weak. If he was going to read about them, he would read about the strongest!
In a rare display of boyish spirit, Tang San started flipping straight from the back.
Strangely, the last few pages seemed to have been firmly nailed to the final page. No matter how Tang San tried, he could not turn them.
"What's going on?"
His brows furrowed slightly. Why had the final few pages been sealed?
Since this was Teacher Changsheng's book, he must have had a reason for doing this! Without dwelling on it, Tang San began reading from the pages he could turn.
The first thing that caught his eye was the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Sky Azure Bull Python. It lived in the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, together with another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Titan Giant Ape.
"The Sky Azure Bull Python, the Titan Giant Ape!"
Tang San's eyes filled with shock. So these were Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?
Looking at the illustrations of the two Ferocious Beasts, he could feel their oppressive presence bearing down on him even through the book.
A special annotation below read: Killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast grants a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and guarantees one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!
Both the Soul Ring and the Soul Bone can provide a Soul Master with two skills!
The rewards for killing one were enticing, but a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could rival several Titled Douluos!
Such strength was absolutely beyond the reach of ordinary people's ambitions!
Tang San read with rapt attention, completely failing to notice that Xiao Wu's face beside him was gradually turning pale.
She had seen someone in the Compendium of Soul Master Theory, someone she could never forget!
Death Spider Emperor, notable representative: Bibi Dong.
This woman was the very person who had killed her mother back then!
Xiao Wu might not have known her Martial Soul, but she had firmly memorized her appearance and the presence she exuded. It was definitely her!
"She's actually the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall?"
Closing the book, Xiao Wu collapsed onto her bed, her eyes vacant. What should she do? Her enemy was a Titled Douluo. Did she really have a chance to avenge her mother?
At last, Tang San noticed Xiao Wu's movements. A tear streaked down her face, and his heart immediately tightened at the sight.
"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"
"I-I'm fine."
"Is it because of what happened with Yu Xiaogang today? Don't worry. Teacher Changsheng will take care of it!"
Yet Tang San's words of concern made Xiao Wu's eyes light up.
That was right. She still had Teacher Changsheng. As long as she cultivated diligently and learned from him, she would be able to take revenge one day!
"Yes! We have to trust our teacher!"
Xiao Wu was filled with drive once again. Seeing this, Tang San finally relaxed. He himself did not know why he had been so nervous.
After taking a moment to settle himself, Tang San threw himself back into searching for Soul Beasts. He wanted to find some he could absorb, so he would not have to keep troubling Teacher Changsheng when he went Soul Hunting in the future.
If he left both the mental and physical work to Teacher Changsheng, how would he ever grow as a student?