The New Xiaogang

Yu Xiaogang glanced at Flender, his tone as casual as if he were talking about eating in the cafeteria that day. "Let's go in first. Don't keep the students waiting."

With that, he headed toward the training field with Luo Sanpao. Man and dog walked at an unhurried but steady pace, Luo Sanpao's slightly plump body wiggling from side to side and his purple tail swaying leisurely.

Flender stood there stunned for a moment, then hurried after them and lowered his voice. "Xiaogang, how did you and Sanpao end up looking like this?"

He looked Luo Sanpao up and down, his brows furrowing slightly. Sanpao was a size slimmer than before, and his belly was less round, but his eyes were bright and his steps considerably lighter. His drooping ears twitched now and then, and he was in far better spirits than before.

Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "It's nothing. We traveled some distance and wandered around."

Aokes rose on tiptoe and poked his head out of the crowd. After looking for a while, he muttered, "That beggar and the slightly chubby puppy are the teaching assistants the dean found? They've got style, all right."

Wang Xingyu unfolded his fan to cover half his face, doubts stirring in his mind as well. A slightly plump purple puppy and a middle-aged man in plain clothes with messy hair-the pair did look like Grandmaster Yu and Luo Sanpao.

But their appearance wasn't quite right. Grandmaster Yu might have neglected his appearance, but he hadn't been this destitute in the original story, and Luo Sanpao was much thinner than Wang Xingyu remembered. Could I have mistaken them for someone else?

Flender led the two of them before the others and cleared his throat. "You may have heard of this man-Grandmaster Yu, the foremost theorist in the Soul Master World."

A low murmur of amazement rose from the crowd. Ma Hong's eyes widened, Aokes's mouth formed a circle, and even Dai Mu took a few extra looks.

In the original story, Grandmaster Yu's name had indeed carried weight in the Soul Master World. Whatever his own strength, his Martial Soul Theory alone was enough to command the respect of any Soul Master Academy.

But Yu Xiaogang neither looked at Flender nor nodded in greeting to the others. His gaze passed over Dai Mu and Ning Rong before settling directly on Wang Xingyu.

Under that gaze, Wang Xingyu's back tensed slightly, and his fan stopped in midair. It really is Xiaogang. How did he end up like this? But why does he keep staring at me?

Yu Xiaogang pushed through the crowd and strode up to Wang Xingyu. The placid shell on his face finally cracked. "Wang Xingyu! What are you doing here too?"

He turned to look at Lin Yuan and Su Wu beside him. "Lin Yuan, Su Wu, all three of you came to Star Sea Academy! Hahaha, fate really brought us together!"

He gesticulated wildly in his excitement, his voice rising several pitches. He was like a different person from the aloof man Flender had mistaken for a villager moments ago.

Su Wu and Lin Yuan thrust out their arms almost simultaneously, one on either side, barring his way to Wang Xingyu. Lin Yuan's tone was calm, but his arm didn't budge. "Grandmaster, please calm down first."

Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment. He looked down at the arms blocking him, then at the slightly awkward expression on Wang Xingyu's face, and only then realized he had lost his composure. He stepped back twice, straightened his collar, then did something none of them had expected-he pressed his hands against the seams of his trousers, bent ninety degrees at the waist, and bowed deeply. "Thank you."

The training field fell silent for a moment. Then everyone's mouths dropped open in shock.

Flender stood to the side, his glasses nearly sliding off his nose. The foremost theorist in the Soul Master World bowing ninety degrees to a student-the sight was simply too shocking.

Wang Xingyu himself was bewildered by the display. "Gang-bah! Grandmaster, what are you-" His mind raced. He hadn't done anything special; he had only suggested feeding him some dragon meat and dragon blood. Was there any need to get so excited after ending up like this? Could he have broken through to level thirty?

"Xiaogang, you know each other?" Flender pushed up his glasses, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Yu Xiaogang straightened and turned back to Flender. "Remember how I stayed at Lin'an Junior Soul Master Academy for a while? The three of them were students at Lin'an Academy."

He paused, then added, "Flender, do you remember when I asked you to help me find some dragon-type Soul Beast flesh and blood?"

"Of course. You said it was to feed Luo Sanpao. But I remember you'd fed it to him before, and it didn't do much."

"That's right, I had. The low-level stuff had no effect, and Sanpao couldn't digest anything higher-level."

Yu Xiaogang turned to Wang Xingyu. "He suggested I try it back then, and at first I scoffed-I'd tried all that long ago, so what else could there be to it? But before long, news came that all three of their Second Soul Rings were thousand-year rings. I debated with him at the gates of Lin'an Academy, and what he said-'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Were you saying that for the world to hear, or for yourself?'-left me at a loss for words for days. But when I calmed down and thought it over again, everything he said was right."

He drew his gaze away from Wang Xingyu and looked down at the slightly plump purple puppy by his feet, reaching out to stroke Luo Sanpao's head. Sanpao lifted his head and let out a low rumble, wagging his tail.

"Only then did I start reexamining myself. Sanpao couldn't digest it, so I fed him bit by bit. When it had no effect, I kept feeding him. I never expected my Soul Power to really increase a little."

He withdrew his hand and looked at Flender. "I was always thinking about achievements and results, those external things, to prove I wasn't useless, yet I overlooked what I truly had. So during my training on the road, I simply stopped taking him back into my Martial Soul to nurture him. I brought him along to walk, endure hardship, and train with me. I didn't expect Sanpao to be able to produce a little Soul Power himself, enough to stay outside my body and accompany me for long periods. This fellow can eat a lot more now than he used to."

Luo Sanpao raised his head and barked, his purple tail wagging happily. The bark was full of vigor.

The training field fell silent for a moment.

Ma Hong's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. Aokes's eyes were practically popping out of his head, his peach-blossom eyes full of shock.

Dai Mu's brows were slightly furrowed, but there was something new in the way he looked at Wang Xingyu-not doubt, but reassessment.

Ning Rong's eyes shone as she said softly, "Is Wang Xingyu really that impressive?" Su Wu stood beside Wang Xingyu, the corners of her mouth raised high and her chin held up, looking as proud as if to say, "I knew my third brother was amazing all along."

Flender was just as surprised. He pushed up his glasses and watched his old friend stand upright, going over what he had just said in his mind-the flesh and blood of dragon-type Soul Beasts, the thousand-year Second Soul Rings, and the debate at the gates of Lin'an Academy.

He stepped forward, walked up to Wang Xingyu, and likewise bent ninety degrees at the waist. The reflective glasses on his shoehorn-shaped face nearly slid off his nose, but he didn't reach for them. With his hands pressed against the seams of his trousers, his posture was exactly like Yu Xiaogang's. "Thank you for helping Xiaogang."

Wang Xingyu jumped and hurriedly reached out to help him up. "Dean, there's no need, really!" Yu Xiaogang also stepped forward and took Flender by the arm. "Flender, you-"

Flender raised his head. The usual expression of the miserly dean was gone from his face; he was so serious that he was almost unrecognizable. "It's all right. Xiaogang and I are brothers. You deserve this bow, and you should accept it."

Wang Xingyu's hand froze in midair. Flender's tone was even; he wasn't being sentimental or drawing out his words. He was simply stating a fact.

But that unadorned directness was precisely what made Wang Xingyu's face grow inexplicably warm.

He unfolded his fan to hide his face, then felt the gesture was too deliberate. He closed it and tapped it against his palm, opened it again and gave it a wave, and finally tucked it into his waistband and cleared his throat.

"Dean, Gang-bah! Grandmaster, when you two act like this, I really don't know what to say."

Su Wu watched his ears turn slightly red and burst out laughing. Lin Yuan's shoulders shook, but he didn't laugh aloud.

Flender straightened, patted Wang Xingyu on the shoulder, and turned to sweep his gaze over the crowd. "What are you looking at? Dismissed! The Grandmaster and I still have matters to discuss." He motioned for Yu Xiaogang to follow him toward his office.

After taking a couple of steps, he looked back at Wang Xingyu. He said nothing more, but that look was enough.