Elsewhere!
A donkey cart rattled along the main road, its donkey huffing and puffing.
Sitting on the cart, Yu Xiaogang wore a face as long as the donkey pulling it, his expression gloomy, as though someone owed him 5,000 Gold Soul Coins.
That was not far from the truth.
He had already discovered that his Storage Soul Tool was missing. It held his entire fortune, a full 5,000 Gold Soul Coins.
And the Storage Soul Tool itself was worth a fortune. He had obtained it in some ruins back when he roamed the Soul Master World with Flender and Liu Erlong.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang in a foul mood, Tang San kept his head down and said nothing.
Bad luck! Bad luck! Bad luck!
Yu Xiaogang truly wanted to curse up a storm now. Stepping in dog shit and getting sprayed with water yesterday was bad enough, but today he had even lost his fortune. How long was this rotten luck going to last?
By noon, they arrived outside the Soul Hunting Forest.
There was a small market here, with plenty of weapons, equipment, food, clean water, and Soul Beast materials for sale.
There were also many low-level Soul Masters calling out to friends and companions to form teams.
After all, hunting Soul Beasts alone was a high-risk undertaking.
Proud of his level-29 Soul Power and his status as a noble half-step Soul Elder, Yu Xiaogang felt he had little to discuss with these low-level Soul Masters.
Burying the grief of losing his Storage Soul Tool and his entire fortune deep in his heart, Yu Xiaogang offered Tang San a few pointers.
"Xiaosan, Soul Masters follow different paths: the Power Attack System, Agility Attack System, Control System, Auxiliary System..."
"Among them, the Control System is the strongest. A Control System Soul Master is the soul of a team. Only someone with absolute composure and wisdom is qualified to become one."
"You are my disciple, so I intend for you to follow the strongest path, the Control System. Blue Silver Grass is only a trash Martial Soul, but as long as you cultivate it according to my methods, strengthening its toughness and toxicity, you can absolutely become a top-tier Control System Soul Master."
Tang San clenched his fists as he listened, his heart surging.
Yu Xiaogang's advice coincided with certain ideas he already had.
The Tang Sect also used poison, and as a Tang Sect disciple, he had never considered poison a dirty, low-down trick.
It was a shortcut for the weak to defeat the strong.
He believed that, under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, he could become a top-tier Control System Soul Master with the most worthless Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Back in the dormitory, he had heard Li Jin say that he planned to take the auxiliary path with his Koi Martial Soul.
At least my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul can still control things. His Koi Martial Soul is good for nothing but looking pretty. In the future, he won't even be worthy of carrying my shoes.
Li Jin and Xiao Wu will both regret not taking Teacher as their master sooner or later. We all have trash Martial Souls, we all have innate full Soul Power, and we all share the same starting point.
The difference is that I have a renowned teacher guiding me, and they don't.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San walked up to an iron gate, only to be stopped by the armored, armed soldiers guarding it.
Yu Xiaogang produced a token. Fortunately, he had taken it out beforehand. If it had been lost along with the Storage Soul Tool, this trip really would have been for nothing.
Using the Spirit Hall Elder Token Bibi Dong had given him, Yu Xiaogang brought Tang San into the Soul Hunting Forest.
As soon as they entered the forest, pain flashed through Yu Xiaogang's eyes, and he summoned Luo Sanpao.
As Soul Power surged, a purple-skinned pig materialized at Yu Xiaogang's feet, grunting as it rubbed against his leg.
Yu Xiaogang's voice was extremely cold.
"Xiaosan, weren't you wondering earlier why I bought so many radishes?"
"I'll tell you now!"
"This is my Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao. It is the source of a lifetime of suffering for me, a detrimentally mutated Martial Soul that left me with only half a level of innate Soul Power."
"People whose Martial Souls have innate half-level Soul Power almost never cultivate to level ten and become Soul Masters."
"But I am an exception. Through my world-shaking wisdom and unrivaled theories, I successfully cultivated Luo Sanpao, with its innate half-level Soul Power, to level-29 Soul Power."
"I once said that there are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters."
"See how unrivaled my theories are? I cultivated even the utterly unique Luo Sanpao, with its innate half-level Soul Power, to level-29 Soul Power, becoming a noble half-step Soul Elder."
"Although I stopped at half-step Soul Elder, with my guidance, you will never stop here."
"So what if it's a trash Martial Soul? So what if it's Blue Silver Grass? Before long, you'll catch up to me and even surpass me."
"Take out the radishes and feed them to Luo Sanpao. As a Martial Soul that exists outside the body, it can reduce my Soul Power consumption by eating, and increase the power of its Soul Skills."
Tang San's expression was fervent.
As expected of a theoretical grandmaster who could tell at a glance that he possessed twin Martial Souls.
If anyone else had been born with the talent of innate half-level Soul Power, they would surely have faded into obscurity long ago.
But Yu Xiaogang had forcibly risen against the heavens, shattering his shackles completely and going from an ordinary person to a Soul Master.
What Yu Xiaogang said was largely true, but he had concealed the most important piece of information.
He had never been a commoner. A commoner awakening a detrimentally mutated Martial Soul and going from innate half-level Soul Power to a level-29 Soul Grandmaster would indeed be very inspiring.
But Yu Xiaogang was the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch, raised in fine clothes and on lavish food.
Even after awakening Luo Sanpao with only innate half-level Soul Power, he could still draw upon vast resources to aid his cultivation.
Tang San's face was full of admiration, his eyes brimming with respect.
"Teacher, your life story is so inspiring!"
"I'll definitely study hard under you!"
"Li Jin and Xiao Wu have no idea what an immense opportunity they missed. With their Soft Bone Rabbit and Koi Martial Souls, sooner or later, they'll come begging for your help."
"Teacher, you mustn't go soft on them when that happens. Think about how they rejected you back then."
The flattery left Yu Xiaogang somewhat buoyant, and even his gloomy expression eased a little.
They continued onward.
They had not gone far.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up at the sight of a stalk of green bamboo, and he hurried over in a few quick strides.
"This is a ten-year solitary bamboo. Its defining trait is toughness, making it very suitable for your first Soul Ring."
Tang San: ???
"Teacher, didn't you say you wanted to add toughness and toxicity to my Blue Silver Grass? This Lone Bamboo only has toughness, not toxicity."
"Besides, back in front of Li Jin and Xiao Wu, didn't you say you would make me the strongest One-Ring Soul Master and have me absorb a hundred-year Soul Ring?"
"Isn't a ten-year Soul Ring a little too low in quality?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang coughed a few times to conceal his embarrassment and gave the Lone Bamboo one last, deeply regretful look.
What wonderful Lone Bamboo!
It could be killed easily, without him having to take any risks.
Yu Xiaogang valued his life dearly. He had yet to truly make his name resound throughout the world, and he certainly had no desire to throw his life away.
"You're right. I want to make you the strongest One-Ring Soul Master, dominate Nuoding Academy, and slap Li Jin and Xiao Wu hard in the face. This Lone Bamboo was only a backup option, not the best Soul Beast I've selected for you."
"Let's keep going..."