Douluo Continent: Simulating Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King, Targeting Tang San

One day, Gong Yu was cultivating Dragon Elephant Prajna when he suddenly heard the system's voice in his mind.

[Ding... A new month has begun. Simulation attempts have been refreshed.]

[Current Simulation attempts: 1]

"No rush. I don't need to use Simulation yet. I'll save it for the next time I need it." After muttering to himself, Gong Yu immersed himself in cultivation once more.

The Soul Scholar stage was the easiest time to increase Soul Power, and he also had an authentic Daoist internal cultivation method like the Quanzhen Great Dao Song to practice.

Thus, after just one month, Gong Yu's Soul Power had risen to level 4 and was close to level 5. He believed it would take only a few more days to reach level 5.

Gong Yu's plan was to try to reach level 7 or 8 within a month, then aim for level 10 within two months of arriving at Nuoding Academy.

"Although my physique has improved, I'm still growing, so I don't dare train my external skills too intensely. It's better to focus on my internal cultivation method. With the Golden Dragon King Bloodline helping me, I'm making rapid progress in Dragon Elephant Prajna, so I can spend a little less time on it."

After a month of cultivation, Gong Yu had gained some experience, so he adjusted his cultivation plan to suit his circumstances.

Just like that, another month passed in the blink of an eye.

By spending less time on Dragon Elephant Prajna and using the extra time to practice his internal cultivation method, Gong Yu increased his Soul Power considerably more than he had the previous month. He gained more than three levels in total, bringing his Soul Power to level 8.

Although he had spent less time on Dragon Elephant Prajna, the Golden Dragon King Bloodline had helped him cultivate its first layer to perfection. He could break through to the second layer at any time.

Dragon Elephant Prajna had thirteen layers in total, each corresponding to ten levels, meaning it could be cultivated to level 130. This also meant that if Gong Yu could cultivate the complete Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, he could reach at least the heights of a First-Level God, or even a God King.

As for the Quanzhen Great Dao Song, the method had only twelve stages, corresponding to the twelve in the cultivation verse "twelve crimson palace chambers in the tiered tower." In theory, it could only be cultivated to level 120.

However, this was an authentic Daoist cultivation method that formed a circulation cycle within the body. Thus, it could be cultivated indefinitely, regardless of level. It was just that its effects probably wouldn't be very noticeable after level 120.

That day, Old Tom brought Gong Yu to Nuoding Academy. From a distance, they saw a gatekeeper giving two people a hard time.

The gatekeeper just wanted a little something for himself. Gong Yu could understand that. After all, there wasn't much to skim off the job, so occasionally taking advantage of new students had become the gatekeepers' only way to make extra money.

Gong Yu quickened his pace and hurried over. This was the famous "way to court death" scene's first appearance in Douluo, and he had no intention of missing it.

When he reached the school gate, he was just about to enjoy the show when the system's voice rang out again. He had received another free Simulation attempt.

Chapter 3: Wanting to Kill at Six Years Old-Has No One Taught You Better?

Immediately afterward, another system notification sounded.

[Ding... Target Tang San has appeared. Ruin Tang San's image as a good child in front of Old Jack to receive one Simulation attempt.]

Hearing this, Gong Yu, who had only intended to watch the show, immediately brightened.

Ruining Tang San's image? That was a good one. Tang San was his enemy's son, so Gong Yu felt no guilt whatsoever about doing it. Besides, he was only exposing Tang San's true nature.

Gong Yu watched from the side, waiting for an opportunity.

Before long, the argument between the gatekeeper and Old Jack grew increasingly heated. In the heat of the moment, the gatekeeper shoved Old Jack.

The gatekeeper was just an ordinary man and wasn't very strong, but Old Jack was old and no longer had the strength he once had, so the shove sent him stumbling back several steps. This, however, angered Tang San.

Tang San stepped forward and shoved the gatekeeper in return, then raised his left hand and aimed it at him. A Sleeve Arrow was concealed inside his left sleeve.

The mechanism on the Sleeve Arrow had already made a faint clicking sound, inaudible to anyone without particularly keen hearing. Gong Yu, however, had cultivated for over two months, and his spiritual power had increased, sharpening his hearing along with it, so he could hear it.

Gong Yu had originally wanted to wait a little longer before acting, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a greasy-looking man with short hair approaching from not far away. He was sure the man had to be Yu Xiaogang.

I can't let Yu Xiaogang steal this chance, Gong Yu thought. He quickly moved to Tang San's side and seized his arm.

"What are you doing? You're actually trying to kill someone!" Gong Yu gripped Tang San's left hand and pressed down on the Sleeve Arrow at his wrist through his sleeve.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. What was going on? How had this become a matter of murder?

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang, who was not far away, also came to an abrupt halt.

"I... I wasn't trying to kill anyone." Gong Yu had hit the mark, leaving Tang San feeling somewhat guilty. His denial was insincere, and his eyes darted evasively.

Old Jack kindly offered an explanation. "Yes, Little San is the best-behaved child in our Holy Soul Village. How could he possibly want to kill anyone? Young man, you must have misunderstood."

"Heh... the best-behaved child? More like the strangest child!" Gong Yu shot back at Old Jack. Then, with his free hand, he pulled up Tang San's sleeve and said, "Hmph... if you weren't trying to kill anyone, what's this?"

The Sleeve Arrow on Tang San's arm was now exposed for everyone to see, but no one recognized it for what it was.

"It's just a toy." Gong Yu was very strong, and Tang San couldn't break free for the moment, so that was what he said. He was also certain that no one in this world besides him knew how to trigger a Tang Sect Hidden Weapon.

"Hehe... a toy? Is there a toy this intricate in the world? Even if there is, look at those clothes of yours, and how sallow, skinny, and malnourished you are. You don't even get enough to eat. How could you afford such an intricate toy?" A mocking smile appeared on Gong Yu's face.

He tightened his grip on Tang San's arm, forcing it straight and aiming it in an unoccupied direction, where a wooden board happened to stand. Then he bent Tang San's wrist with his other hand.

Several soft pfft sounds rang out as several steel needles shot from the Sleeve Arrow device.

The needles struck the wooden door several meters away and still drove into it, each one sinking two-thirds of its length into the wood.

The gatekeeper was startled by the sight, cold sweat pouring down his back. Thinking back to what had just happened, he was still frightened. If those needles had hit him earlier, he probably would have lost his life.

"Y-you... so you really did want to kill me." The gatekeeper pointed at Tang San. He was somewhat afraid of Tang San now, but he didn't want to lose face in front of so many people, so he forced himself to speak, only to start stammering.

Tang San was a little surprised that Gong Yu knew how to trigger the Sleeve Arrow, but he had nothing to say now. After all, he had been exposed, and the evidence was irrefutable. His level of education was low to begin with, and he couldn't put together much of a defense.

"Heh... and you still said you weren't trying to kill anyone. If you'd fired those steel needles at him just now, there's no way he would have survived." As Gong Yu spoke, he pointed at the gatekeeper.

"But how old are you? About the same age as me, right? That makes you six."

"You're only six, and you're already thinking about killing people! Has no one taught you better?"

The words "has no one taught you better" seemed to prick Tang San's heart. He had a father, but his father had never taught him much. His expression instantly turned cold, and he glared hatefully at Gong Yu.

"You still dare glare at me? Did I say anything wrong? You want to kill people at six years old, and you think you're in the right?" Gong Yu glared back at Tang San without the slightest fear.

Turning to Old Jack, Gong Yu spoke again. "Grandpa, you saw it too, didn't you? Do you still think he's a good child rather than a strange one?"

"Look at that thing on his arm, and his extreme temperament. You only had an argument with the gatekeeper, and he wanted to kill him."

"Heavens, if someone like him gets into the academy with something this dangerous, what if he gets into an argument with his classmates one day? Wouldn't he shoot the other students dead?"

"How could that be allowed? He's far too dangerous. You need to teach him properly. This is a school, a place to educate and raise people, not teach them to kill and break the law."

"Besides, if he had killed the gatekeeper just now, do you think the academy's leaders would have let him off? Coming here to study means he has the qualifications to become a Soul Master, but he's too weak right now. If he dared kill the academy's gatekeeper, I guarantee someone from the academy would come and beat him to death within ten minutes."

"And if he killed another student inside the academy, even if he managed to escape, he'd eventually be wanted by both great empires and Spirit Hall. Then, no matter how vast the Douluo Continent is, there'd be no place for him."

Gong Yu pretended to offer earnest advice at length, finally making Old Jack realize the gravity of the situation.

Old Jack couldn't help sighing. "Sigh... Little San, you used to be such a good boy. How did you become like this? It must be that bastard Tang Hao. All he ever does is drink, and he hasn't even given you a proper basic education."

"Sigh... never mind. I don't know whether giving you the work-study student spot to come here was a good thing or a bad thing. I'm not qualified to interfere in your family's affairs. I've brought you here, so my task is done. Go inside and register yourself. Be more careful from now on, and don't do anything extreme again."

With that, Old Jack left, disappointment written across his face, his back hunched as he trudged away.

After Old Jack left, Gong Yu finally heard the system notification. The task was complete, and he had successfully earned one Simulation attempt.

Chapter 4: A Warning from Yu Xiaogang

After Gong Yu entered the campus, Tang San finally got mixed up with Yu Xiaogang.

As soon as the "father and son" met, Yu Xiaogang began showing off his knowledge, leaving Little Scumbag utterly taken in.

The two kindred spirits took to each other, and Little Scumbag immediately bowed his head, kowtowed, and acknowledged him as his father. He even stole the immortal saying, "A teacher for a day is a father for life," without paying any copyright fees.

Gong Yu didn't know what had happened with Tang San, but even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. Tang San had merely taken a fake grandmaster as his teacher. If that "father and son" pair didn't collude in their wickedness, the days ahead would be less interesting.

Gong Yu went to the academic affairs office and enrolled. After completing his registration, he was just about to leave when Little Scumbag and his "father" walked in.

Yu Xiaogang glanced at Gong Yu. Earlier, outside the gate, he had heard that Gong Yu's Martial Soul was also Blue Silver Grass and that his Innate Soul Power was only level 1, so he immediately warned him.

Yu Xiaogang said, "Student, from now on, you and my disciple Tang San will be schoolmates. I don't care about the unpleasantness that happened at the gate just now, but I hope you won't bother my disciple in the future. You can't compare to him."

Yu Xiaogang launched straight into his speech, leaving Gong Yu completely dumbfounded. What the hell? Did I do anything to you? You come up and start warning me? After what happened at the gate, can't a grown man like you tell right from wrong?

Gong Yu had originally not wanted to bother with Yu Xiaogang, but hearing him say "you can't compare to him" made him angry.

Gong Yu smiled faintly and put on an affected manner. "Oh? What makes you think I can't compare to him, greasy uncle? Is it because all you can do is run your mouth that you think everyone else is beneath your disciple?"

Yu Xiaogang folded his arms across his chest, arrogantly raised his head, and looked down his nose at him. "Of course it's because my disciple has Innate Full Soul Power. You both have Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls, but your Innate Soul Power was only level 1. Your upper limit is plain to see. Is there even a need to compare?"

"Hahaha..." Gong Yu immediately clutched his stomach and doubled over with laughter. With some difficulty, he straightened up and stopped laughing. "What's wrong with having level 1 Innate Soul Power? With my level 1 Innate Soul Power, I had him pinned down at the gate just now, unable to resist."

"That shows that Innate Soul Power doesn't determine combat strength. With level 1 Soul Power, I could crush your disciple. In other words, your disciple has Innate Full Soul Power, but he's trash."

Gong Yu had struck a sore spot. Yu Xiaogang angrily shook his sleeves and snorted. "So what? Even if what you say is true, your Innate Soul Power was only level 1. Your growth limit is plain to see. In the future, you'll be running slowly behind Little San, unable even to catch sight of his back."

"Hehe... Yu Xiaogang, you think you're qualified to talk to me about growth limits?" Gong Yu smiled disdainfully. "You must be very curious how I know your name is Yu Xiaogang, but I'm not telling."

After a pause, Gong Yu continued, "I would be happy to talk about your great deeds, though, Yu Xiaogang."

"Yu Xiaogang, level 29 Soul Power, born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the only son of its current patriarch. At six, you awakened a pig Martial Soul that could only fart, with half a level of Innate Soul Power. You were known as the disgrace of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"Later, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan abandoned you. To study Martial Soul Theory, you used trickery and deception to win the trust of Spirit Hall's holy maiden at the time, who is now its Pope. That allowed you free access to Spirit Hall's library.

In Spirit Hall's library, you plagiarized some common knowledge, mashed it together with a few hypotheses, and published your so-called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory."

"In that so-called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory, some things are common knowledge, some are unverified hypotheses, and some are outright wrong. Yet you, the author, are so pleased with yourself, thinking the things you copied are somehow impressive."

"Little do you know that everyone else sees you as a clown. Grandmaster, indeed! Anyone with a bit of common sense knows your stuff is useless. Looks like Spirit Hall had good reason to abandon you. Your theories do nothing but harm people."

At this, Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned red, as if he had gone mad. He could tolerate being called trash, but he would never allow anyone to say his theories were useless, much less that they were plagiarized.

Yu Xiaogang was about to lash out, but since they were still in the academic affairs office, the dean immediately stopped him. "Grandmaster, although you're a friend of the academy director, you aren't a teacher here. If you dare attack one of the academy's students on its grounds, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately calmed down. The dean was a Soul Elder, and Luo Sanpao, who could only fart, was no match for him.

But just because he didn't dare provoke the dean didn't mean he would let Gong Yu off. He also wanted to show off his knowledge. As he saw it, if he couldn't hit the boy, he would win him over with his knowledge.

Yu Xiaogang looked at Gong Yu with an unfathomable expression and said, "Since you say my theories are useless and some are even wrong, I'd be happy to hear your instruction, student. Where are my theories wrong?"

"Hehe... since you don't even want your dignity anymore, how could I refuse to oblige?" Gong Yu was more than happy to trample on Yu Xiaogang now.

Several teachers were still in the academic affairs office. They had nothing to do and found the matter interesting, so they said nothing. Instead, they were quite willing to hear what Gong Yu could come up with. Even the dean took out a pen and paper, ready to take notes.

Gong Yu began. "First, the origin of Martial Souls. You proposed that a Martial Soul is inherited from the superior of one's parents. In most cases, a person can inherit only one parent's Martial Soul, but under special circumstances, they may inherit both parents' Martial Souls and possess Twin Martial Souls."

"You proposed that, didn't you? I'm not mistaken, am I?"

After stating the first point, Gong Yu asked Yu Xiaogang to confirm it, lest he deny it later.

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "That's right. I did propose it."

"Good, then let's start with that point." Gong Yu smiled faintly, then raised his voice. "First, that Martial Souls are inherited from parents is common knowledge, not your theory. You're merely copying common knowledge. Does anyone need you to teach them that? Anyone who isn't a fool knows it."

"Furthermore, even that common knowledge is incomplete. Martial Souls can not only be inherited from parents but also formed after birth. As long as you find a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and it willingly becomes your Martial Soul,

it can fuse its Spiritual Origin with yours and sacrifice itself to become your Martial Soul. That is one way to form a Martial Soul after birth. Of course, it's only one method.

Next is method two. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is at its weakest when transforming into a human. If a human Soul Master forcibly fuses with the Soul Beast while it is in an embryonic state, it is very likely to become an entirely new Martial Soul for that person.

Then there's method three. If a deity is willing to assimilate its divine consciousness into a Soul Master's Martial Soul, that can also form a Martial Soul after birth. That is also why Sea God Martial Souls and Six-Winged Angel God Martial Souls exist in the world."

Gong Yu's explanation for how Sea God Martial Souls and Six-Winged Angel Martial Souls formed was only a guess. The possibility did exist, however, since both the Sea God and the Angel God had become gods later in life and might not have had descendants.

Moreover, even if they did have descendants, neither of those Martial Souls had existed in the world before the Sea God and the Angel God became gods. The only possibility, then, was that the two Martial Souls were created after birth and subsequently passed down to their descendants.

Chapter 5: Gong Yu: Yu Xiaogang, You Are Not Yu Yuanzhen's Son

"Impossible! A Soul Master's Martial Soul can only be inherited from their parents. There is absolutely no other way to obtain one. What you're saying has no basis whatsoever. It's utterly preposterous!"

In truth, Yu Xiaogang believed Gong Yu's words a little, but as the grand Grandmaster, a man whose theories were "number one under heaven," he could never admit that someone else was better than him. He would rather die than agree with Gong Yu.

"Hehe... no basis? So what? Let me ask you one question: where did the first person in history to possess a Martial Soul get theirs? Don't tell me they inherited it from their parents."

Gong Yu smiled contemptuously. Yu Xiaogang wanted to refute him but didn't know where to begin. They were talking about the first person to possess a Martial Soul. Being the first meant there had been none before them, so they couldn't have inherited it from their parents.

Seeing Yu Xiaogang remain silent, his face as ugly as if he had eaten fly shit, Gong Yu continued, "Besides, you yourself are a living example that proves your first theory wrong."

Yu Xiaogang was surprised to hear Gong Yu say this, but he still said nothing. He waited for Gong Yu to continue, wanting to see what he could come up with.

Seeing Yu Xiaogang's astonished expression, Gong Yu smiled again. "Since you say a person's Martial Soul is inherited from their parents, let me ask you this. You're the son of the illustrious Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch, yet your Martial Soul is a pig. Tell me, does either of your parents have a pig Martial Soul?"

Of course Gong Yu knew that Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul had mutated into a pig, but so what? He intended to twist the facts and send a message to the outside world: Yu Xiaogang was not Yu Yuanzhen's son.

"Besides, you say a Martial Soul is inherited from the superior of one's parents. I'd like to ask, just what kind of pig has a higher quality than a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?

So much so that you, the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's patriarch, awakened a pig instead of a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?

According to your theory, you definitely aren't Yu Yuanzhen's son. Your mother cuckolded Yu Yuanzhen with another man and conceived you."

With his identity called into question, Yu Xiaogang immediately roared, "Mine was a Martial Soul Mutation! A mutation!"

Gong Yu laughed again. "Mutation? Who can prove it? Besides, there are two kinds of mutation: evolution and degeneration. If a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon evolved, the next step would be a Golden Sacred Dragon.

But even if it degenerated, it wouldn't turn into a pig. That crosses both species and races. When a dragon degenerates, the next step down is another true dragon species.