The Older Generation Has the Final Say

Jing Hongchen could only sigh in resignation.

Things had come to this point, and there was no hiding it anymore.

Besides, he had just said something like "putting measures in place" out loud. If his teacher still couldn't understand, then all those years he had spent researching Soul Tools at Mingde Hall really would have been for nothing.

Helpless, he could only pour out everything he knew about Bao Liang, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube-

His Twin Ultimate Martial Souls; Ultimate Flame and Ultimate Strength; the specific effects of his two ultimate talents, Deflagration and Hot Core; how his ultimate talents burned his meridians to temper his body and could also purify other people's attributes in passing; how a Soul Beast had offered itself in Sacrifice, giving him a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring for his second ring, and had been brought back alive... and so on and so forth. He blurted out every last detail.

Dead silence fell over the hall.

The expression on Kong Deming's face shifted from puzzlement to shock, then to disbelief, before finally freezing as though he had seen a ghost.

"Boom-!"

The old man felt his head buzz and nearly lost his footing. Even the hand gripping his scepter trembled three times.

"Twin Martial Souls?! And Twin Ultimate Martial Souls at that?! His talents can be passed on for others to use?! His second Soul Ring is a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring from a Sacrifice?! He-he even brought back a live Soul Beast?!

"And the Soul Beast is a damned Dread Blueflame Dragon Fire Spirit?!!"

His barrage of questions sent dust raining down from the hall's ceiling.

Kong Deming had spent his life researching Soul Tools, believing that man could triumph over heaven. But the child before him was clearly being fed by heaven itself-and heaven had brought the whole pot right to his face.

This time, he didn't hold back the slightest bit of strength as he twisted the ear.

"Ssss-!!! Ow ow ow ow ow!!!"

Jing Hongchen's screams rang throughout the Worship Hall. His ear reddened and swelled before their eyes, looking ready to give off smoke.

"Traitor!"

"Spy!"

"Warlord!"

"A worm holding back the progress of the Sun Moon Empire!"

"The Soul Tool world's greatest sinner for all ages!"

"A thief in the family who eats at home and serves outsiders!"

"An ungrateful wolf cub that can never be tamed!"

"A vile disciple who betrays his teacher and scorns his ancestors!"

"A crafty old fox who plays dumb when he knows perfectly well!"

"A dog who waves a chicken feather like an imperial decree!"

"A bastard whose elbow bends outward!"

"A wall of dung and rotten wood that can't be carved!"

"A Dou Ling that can't be helped to its feet!"

"A dead loach, mud too rotten to plaster on a wall!"

"You wretch who's made this old man lose every last shred of face!"

"You're driving this old man mad!!!"

Good grief.

He slapped label after label on him without repeating a single one, without even stopping for breath. It all came pouring out in one smooth flow, like drifting clouds and running water-clearly, he had rehearsed it plenty in his heart over the years.

The three children huddled in a corner of the hall, their eyes wide as saucers.

Their eyes had been opened: it turned out a person could hurl abuse with the force of a thousand armies without using a single dirty word.

"Stop, stop... Teacher Kong! I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!" Jing Hongchen shielded his head with both hands and scurried around a pillar like a rat. "Please stop-sss! My ear! My ear's going to fall off!"

"What did you do wrong?!" Kong Deming's mustache bristled and his eyes bulged as he chased him halfway across the hall, scepter in hand. "You dared hide something this big from me. Do you still have any respect for me as your teacher?! Could I possibly harm you?!"

"It's true that I'm an imperial worship elder, but what I protect is this Sun Moon Empire! You! These children! If I'd harbored even the slightest other intention, would I have needed to wait until today?!"

"And what is it you've been hiding? Is this something you can hide?!"

"Twin Martial Souls! Twin Ultimate Martial Souls! I've lived for over a hundred and fifty years, and I've never even heard of them! And you kept him tucked away at home-you want heaven to strike you down?!"

"A prospect like this would be revered in any empire! But look at you, keeping him at home and raising him like a barnyard chicken!"

"What if you hold up the child's cultivation?! Everyone in the Sun Moon Empire specializes in Soul Tools, and we've finally produced a Martial Soul genius rarely seen in an age. If you use your Soul Tool methods and hold up his Martial Soul cultivation-isn't that utter nonsense?!"

The three children watched, dumbstruck, not daring to breathe.

"Yes, yes, my heart was blinded by lard!" Jing Hongchen was finally cornered against a wall. Clutching his swollen ear, he nodded repeatedly. "I've come to fully recognize my mistake. Please forgive me, Teacher Kong!"

"Hmph, blinded by lard, my foot."

Kong Deming snorted coldly and finally released the poor ear.

"I say your heart was blinded by toad oil!"

He had finished scolding him, and most of his anger had dissipated. The old man stood with his hands behind his back, his chest rising and falling several times. His brows gradually knitted as he began to consider a more practical question-

How should the child be taught?

As for Soul Tools, there was no question.

With Kong Deming personally overseeing him, this little toad assisting, and Little Ye brought in to lend a hand as well, they could guide Bao Liang all the way to the peak in Soul Tools.

But the problem was that Bao Liang had Twin Ultimate Martial Souls.

If he followed the Sun Moon Empire's approach and specialized in Soul Tools, it would inevitably take time and effort away from his Martial Soul cultivation-not to mention that the child himself had said his Martial Souls had weaknesses and could run wild.

If the foundations weren't solid, building the tower faster would be a waste of effort.

Kong Deming himself had made that point years ago when he lectured Jing Hongchen's class of students.

Yet when it came to someone of his own grandson's generation, the little toad had nearly led him into a ditch.

"Teacher Kong, as for his Martial Souls, perhaps I could also-"

"You too?" Kong Deming shot him a sidelong glance. "First fill that bottomless pit at Mingde Hall, then we can talk about teaching the child."

Jing Hongchen fell sheepishly silent.

Who would teach him about his Martial Souls?

Looking across the entire Sun Moon Continent, the people whose Martial Soul attainments were worthy of the words "Twin Ultimate" could be counted on one hand. And from those, he still had to subtract several imperial worship elders who were advanced in years, stuck at their current realms, and barely able to look after themselves.

As for the remaining guest worship elders, either their Martial Soul attributes were as far removed from Bao Liang's as north was from south, or they devoted all their attention to Soul Tools. Asking a Soul Engineer to teach Martial Souls would be like asking a cook to embroider.

Counting them off on his fingers, he found there was only one person left who was truly qualified and had the time and strength to teach the child.

But that person's situation was difficult even for Kong Deming.

The place where that person now lived was less than clean.

The people gathered around him were even less clean.

Some circles were easy to enter but hard to leave.

That person, however, was caught up in it all without having touched any of that filth himself-and that was why Kong Deming dared vouch for him.

Only...

The old man's brows knotted, and his knuckles tapped against his scepter again and again. After a long while, he finally sighed.

There was no other way.

However difficult it was, he would have to bite the bullet and ask him.

"Child." Kong Deming looked at Bao Liang, his tone growing more serious. "This may be abrupt, but what I'm about to say concerns your cultivation on the path of Martial Souls, and even taking a teacher.

"Let me make this clear first-as far as Soul Tools are concerned, you have me, the little toad... ahem, your grandfather Jing Hongchen, and Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin. That will be enough."

"But I can't teach you about your Martial Souls, and neither can your grandfather. We'll have to find another expert."

"However, although this person has some ties to Evil Soul Masters, he is certainly not one himself. I can guarantee that with my head.

"Whether you're willing is for you to decide."

After listening, Bao Liang was tempted.

Jing Hongchen also pricked up his ears beside him.

To be honest, he was curious too-what kind of person could catch his teacher's eye, yet make his teacher look constipated when speaking of how "difficult" the matter was?

Seeing Bao Liang nod and Jing Hongchen raise no objection, Kong Deming slowly spoke a name:

"The teacher I want to find for you is none other than the possessor of the Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul, a Level 99 Limit Douluo-"

"Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao."