"The cultivation technique can even evolve!?"
"Yes."
"Then surely you must have practiced it yourself, Teacher?"
"Er, no."
"Then surely someone must have practiced this technique and become a supreme expert!"
"Er, no, not that either."
Xiao Yan's eyes gradually darkened, and the veins on his forehead twitched involuntarily.
Suppressing the urge to hit him, he said speechlessly, "So what you're saying is, you don't know a thing about it?"
Yao Lao smiled faintly, looking profound and inscrutable. "Not so, not so."
"For a technique that starts at Yellow Tier, its practitioner naturally has to start cultivating from the very beginning as well."
"Whether it was me or the experts who obtained this technique before, we must all have missed the best time to practice it."
Yao Lao narrowed his eyes at Xiao Yan, whose anger had not subsided, and said sheepishly, "But you are its chosen one!"
"Chosen one?"
"More like the heavens' chosen sucker!" Xiao Yan sneered.
Yao Lao promptly smacked the back of Xiao Yan's head. "What kind of joke is that? How could your own teacher treat you like a sucker?"
"Haven't you done that often enough!?"
Yao Lao reassured him, "I'm serious this time!"
"When the time comes for you to obtain your first Soul Ring, you'll understand the benefits of this technique of mine!"
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched.
So, as things stood, he wasn't even qualified to practice the technique yet!
"It's getting late. We should head to the banquet."
A layer of twilight had long since settled over the horizon.
A gloomy gray, a pale yellow.
The red clouds ablaze with sunset were a rare sight of beauty in this world.
Xiao Yan made his way toward the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City.
He paused for a moment. Some important figures were arriving in the distance.
One person held a red invitation, his bearing magnificent!
His eyes were full of composure, and clad in splendid golden robes, he looked exceedingly dignified!
He stepped down like an imperial noble from a carriage drawn by six-legged Gale Ferghana Horses, then entered amid a crowd of attendants.
"That's the lord of Nuoding City, a Soul Saint expert!"
The passersby were astonished to see someone they would never normally encounter.
"The deputy hall master has recovered his cultivation and invited guests from all directions. Even the city lord has to show him respect!"
"As expected of the Spirit Hall, an honored guest of the empire!"
"He might be the only one with a red invitation!"
There were plenty of passersby, but few were able to enter the banquet.
Every one of them was a renowned figure in Nuoding City!
"The dean of Nuoding Academy is here too. He's a Soul Emperor!"
Another man arrived. He was around fifty, with an air of quiet refinement.
He was the dean of Nuoding Academy, and he held a black invitation!
"Huh? Who's that behind him!?"
"A middle-aged man whose Soul Power isn't even above rank thirty is actually qualified to follow behind the dean!"
He was a dispirited man with an unkempt face, and he looked utterly defeated.
His eyes also gave off a faint chill.
His dust-covered clothes made him look like a beggar.
"He can attend a banquet dressed like that? He really has no respect for the deputy hall master!"
"Maybe some important figure sent him to put the deputy hall master in his place after he recovered his cultivation!?"
"Brother, who is that?" A little curious about the man's identity, Xiao Yan asked the person beside him.
The passerby glanced at Xiao Yan and burst out laughing. "Him? Why, that's the famous Grandmaster, hahaha!"
He called him Grandmaster.
But the passerby's words were plainly laced with mockery.
"What field is he a grandmaster in?" Xiao Yan had an inkling, but asked uncertainly.
"Why, he's a grandmaster in the field of Soul Masters, of course! This man is the genius who wrote the Ten Great Theories of Soul Masters!"
Every word was clearly praise, yet Xiao Yan could still tell the man was mocking the Grandmaster.
"Looks like you really don't know a thing, kid!" The passerby shook his head with a look of pity. "Let me tell you about him today!"
"With his Ten Great Theories, he even extended Soul Master cultivation all the way to Titled Douluo. Guess what his own cultivation level is!"
"Someone like that?"
Xiao Yan murmured, "He should at least be a Titled Douluo!"
The passerby clutched his stomach and roared with laughter. "But he's only a Soul Grandmaster with Soul Power in the twenties!"
At the entrance to the Spirit Hall,
Lan He, as Yu Tianming's adopted grandson, was receiving guests at the entrance.
The dean of Nuoding Academy entered, but the Grandmaster was stopped.
Lan He glanced at the Grandmaster. "My apologies, but the banquet does not admit people who are improperly dressed."
"Stop looking down on people, you dog-eyed snob!" the Grandmaster cursed.
He believed Lan He was another one of those who usually mocked his Ten Great Theories!
Now Lan He was deliberately putting obstacles in his way!
Lan He frowned. "I respect you from the bottom of my heart, Grandmaster!"
"At the same time, please show respect to our Ancestor Yu!"
"Grandmaster, I mean no offense, but your clothes really are rather untidy!"
"I believe this shows disrespect to the deputy hall master of the Spirit Hall."
The Grandmaster before him wore black hemp robes covered in dust.
Forget tidy; they looked as though they had been dug out of a garbage heap.
"These are merely outward things. Just like your prejudices, I pay them no mind!"
"You're overreacting. I only hoped you would wear clothes with a little less dust on them!"
"Hmph! Dean!" The Grandmaster turned to look at the dean beside him.
The dean of Nuoding Academy shook his head and stepped in front of Lan He, smiling helplessly. "He is indeed a good friend of mine, and he has always had this temper. Let him off this once!"
Lan He had no words, but he could not deny the dean face.
This man ranked among the ten most prominent people in Nuoding City!
"You dog-eyed snob!" The Grandmaster spat and left, cursing as he went.
A thick gob of phlegm stood out on the red carpet at the entrance.
"This Grandmaster really does do things his own way." Xiao Yan's eyes shifted, and he simply thought that perhaps the Grandmaster really did not care about such things as appearances.
Otherwise, he had been invited to a banquet, yet he still wore clothes like that.
Wasn't that just slapping the host in the face?
Even Xiao Yan, who usually paid little attention to such things, had specially changed into a brand-new outfit.
After giving it some thought, Xiao Yan grew even more curious about the Grandmaster.
He headed toward the entrance as well.
"Kid, don't get so close just to watch the excitement. Careful they don't kick you out!"
A passerby beside him pulled him back.
"Exactly. Do you really think just anyone can attend today's banquet? The city's important figures have all gathered here!"
"Get too close, and you might bring trouble down on yourself!"
Xiao Yan smiled helplessly and caught sight of Lan He at the entrance, looking anxious and glancing around.
Turning to the passersby beside him, Xiao Yan grinned. "Believe it or not, that fellow who stopped the Grandmaster will invite me in like I'm his grandpa in a moment!"
The passersby all looked at Xiao Yan as though he were a fool.
"That's the deputy hall master's grandson. What, are you saying you're the old man's younger brother!?"
Younger brother!?
I'm his older brother!
Xiao Yan said teasingly, "Let's bet one gold coin. If I do it, each of you gives me one gold coin!"
"If I lose, I'll give each of you ten!"
The surrounding passersby instantly crowded around.
"A promise is a promise. Even a kid can't go back on his word!"
"Of course!"
Xiao Yan smiled faintly and casually straightened his clothes.
At the entrance, Lan He happened to look over at that very moment.
As the passersby stared open-mouthed, Lan He came rushing over, crying out in distress, and hugged Xiao Yan's leg.
"Grandpa Yan, you're finally here! My grandpa almost thought I hadn't invited you. He was going to beat me to death!"
Xiao Yan turned and gave the passersby an innocent smile.
The passersby all cried, "Holy shit!"
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(That's what motivates the author to keep updating, brothers.)
(End of chapter)