"I've honestly never seen a Martial Soul more useless than mine. A white piece of clothing, hahaha! What can that do? Keep you warm? It looks pretty thin, too!"
Yu Xiaogang said this to a six-year-old child before him.
He had just used his theoretical knowledge to win over a child and take him as his disciple, one with Twin Martial Souls at that.
The other child beside him came from the same village. Afraid that such trash would also be won over by his theories and become his disciple, Yu Xiaogang mocked him like this to shut his mouth.
When Tang San heard Yu Xiaogang speak that way about someone from his village, he felt that, although it was wrong, it made sense. A Martial Soul that was a white piece of clothing really was far too useless.
And that person's name was Lin Gu!
His dark brown eyes gazed at the shameless Yu Xiaogang, and he gave a faint, scornful chuckle.
"Laugh? Laughing won't help. I, Yu Xiaogang, will only take one disciple in this lifetime."
"Teacher, isn't that a little excessive?"
Tang San muttered quietly beside him.
Yu Xiaogang smiled indifferently, both hands on his hips, truly not knowing how high the heavens were or how deep the earth was.
Lin Gu had remained silent the whole time, thinking, Even a Big Gangzi like you is talking down to me?
A Martial Soul, clothing?
When he first awakened such a Martial Soul, Lin Gu had been rather speechless. But he thought that, by relying on the knowledge he had brought with him through transmigration to seize resources, he might still have a thread of hope.
Afterward, Lin Gu discovered that he could see his own information following his Martial Soul Awakening. Thus, he discovered that his Martial Soul was not actually clothing.
It was an Equipment Slot!
That piece of clothing was his first piece of equipment, but it was only a plain starter item. He needed to complete quests to earn gold coins to buy his first piece of equipment.
Thus, ever since Lin Gu awakened his Martial Soul, a panel had appeared before his eyes:
[Name: Lin Gu!] [Martial Soul: Equipment Slot!] [HP: 100] [Soul Power: 90] [Equipment Slot 1: No equipment purchased yet!] [System gold coins: 2900] [Equipment shop: Equipment costing 1000 gold coins, equipment costing 2000 gold coins, equipment costing 3000 gold coins!]
When Lin Gu obtained this system, he studied the equipment in its shop. He dismissed the items costing one or two thousand; naturally, he would choose the best.
Of the range of equipment the system currently offered, the best cost 3000 gold coins.
There were three pieces of equipment among them:
[Heartsteel]: Fully charges every hour. When attacking an enemy, permanently steals ten percent of the enemy's HP, with no upper limit! [Steel of the Heart]: Increases HP by 100 million! [Steel Heart of]: Increases base HP by ten million. When attacking an enemy, permanently steals one percent of the enemy's HP, with no upper limit. Cooldown: one hour!
Looking at the three pieces of equipment, Lin Gu naturally considered [Heartsteel] the best. Although [Steel of the Heart] directly added 100 million HP, its ceiling was too low; that was all there was to it.
Choosing either of the other two pieces of equipment would let him gain HP infinitely. That way, pushing his HP into the billions, or even tens or hundreds of billions, was possible.
As for [Steel Heart of], one percent was far too slow, so Lin Gu planned to choose [Heartsteel] as his first piece of equipment.
The system offered one quest every day, awarding one hundred gold coins upon completion.
Today's quest was:
[Quest: Kick Yu Xiaogang once. Reward: one hundred gold coins!]
"Lin Gu, there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Do you understand? So don't be discouraged. Work hard!"
The corners of Lin Gu's mouth lifted slightly. What nonsense is Big Gangzi spouting? Insulting himself twice in one sentence?
He barely listened. As long as he completed this quest, he could obtain his first piece of equipment. So he pointed behind Yu Xiaogang with both hands and shouted:
"Grandmaster, look! Who's here?"
Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment, then turned to look.
At that moment, Lin Gu rushed forward, gathering strength in his leg and drawing it back like a fully drawn bow. Like Cristiano Ronaldo reincarnated, he aimed his kick squarely at Big Gangzi's backside.
All that rang out was a wretched scream of "Owww!"
Clutching his backside, Yu Xiaogang collapsed to the ground in pain. His face contorted in agony as he looked at Lin Gu and groaned:
"You naughty child! You dared trick me! My backside! It hurts so much!"
Lin Gu dusted off his hands and looked at his panel:
[Quest complete. Reward: one hundred gold coins!]
"Finally, three thousand gold coins! I can buy equipment now. Hehehe, I, Lin Gu, am going to rise!"
Watching this from the side, Tang San was utterly speechless, thinking it was childish horseplay.
He thought Yu Xiaogang's words had wounded Lin Gu, which was why Lin Gu had played this prank on him.
Tang San began to doubt whether becoming his disciple had been the right choice. A Soul Master who had cultivated for forty or fifty years had actually failed to dodge a kick from a six-year-old.
Lin Gu paid Tang San no attention. He walked past him, planning to find somewhere deserted to buy equipment and study it properly.
"Xiao Gu!"
But just then, Tang San suddenly spoke.
"We're from the same village. If you need help, you can come find me anytime!"
Lin Gu looked at Tang San without speaking. He simply nodded and calmly left.
And so, the two work-study students entered Nuoding Academy.
Back in Holy Soul Village, Lin Gu had transmigrated here from Blue Star and been adopted by the old village chief, Jack. He had awakened his Martial Soul alongside Tang San and obtained a work-study student place. Thus, after learning the secret of his Martial Soul in the village, Lin Gu had completed quests every day to save up gold coins.
And these quests seemed to be related to the unfolding plot of the Douluo Continent.
With one quest a day, Lin Gu had spent an entire month doing them. The previous quests had all been everyday tasks in Holy Soul Village!
Yet today's quest had actually been this satisfying. He watched the gold coins awarded for today's quest arrive.
He quietly made his way beneath a large tree at Nuoding Academy. Seeing that no one was around, he opened his system shop.
Without hesitation, he bought the equipment [Heartsteel].
"Heartsteel, here I come!" Lin Gu rubbed his hands together and said excitedly!
The instant he bought it, his Martial Soul was no longer a white piece of clothing. It instantly became a breastplate.
At the center of the breastplate was an orange-red, ring-shaped charging halo. It looked as though its defense was absolutely maxed out.
The moment he put it on, Lin Gu's base HP did not change.
But he saw [Heartsteel] in his Equipment Slot flashing with orange-red light. He could feel that [Heartsteel] was already fully charged.
Impatient to try it out, he wanted to find someone to test [Heartsteel]'s equipment effect.
Lin Gu thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth curling into a mischievous smile. "Big Gangzi, here I come again! Hehehe!" Then he got up and went to Grandmaster's office.
"Come in!"
Grandmaster spoke, and Lin Gu pushed the door open and entered, laughing wickedly to himself.
Seeing that it was Lin Gu, Yu Xiaogang was rather puzzled. His backside still throbbed faintly. What did Lin Gu want now? So he asked:
"Lin Gu? Why are you here instead of reporting to your dormitory?"
Lin Gu's eyes shifted. Putting on a very earnest look, he bowed to Yu Xiaogang, then said:
"Grandmaster, I came to apologize. My behavior just now was far too excessive. Please forgive me, Grandmaster!"
In truth, he was thinking, Once you let your guard down, Big Gangzi, I'll steel you again. Haha!
Seeing this six-year-old child actually acknowledge his mistake and correct it, Yu Xiaogang reconsidered. Could he be apologizing because he wants to become my disciple and soften my heart? That won't do. I can't even bear to look at that Martial Soul of his. So he coughed and said with an air of importance:
"It's enough that you understand. I won't hold it against a child, either. However, I truly have no intention of taking another disciple."
Lin Gu was utterly speechless inside. I'd become your disciple? Am I blind?
Forget it. I'll hurry up, test it, and leave. So he put on a very obedient look, nodded, and deliberately said:
"Grandmaster, come here. There's a problem I'd like to show you. Look, why has my Martial Soul changed?"