Yu Xiaogang: Even Without That Book, I Can Still Teach the Strongest Soul Master!

Yu Xiaogang remembered that he had once conducted a study specifically on the Trash Martial Soul known as Blue Silver Grass.

And what was most important of all? Innate Full Soul Power!

He firmly believed that a Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass was absolutely incapable of producing Innate Full Soul Power, but Lei Nuo had no reason to lie to him about it.

Then there was only one truth!

This person had Twin Martial Souls!

Twin Martial Souls! Yu Xiaogang's eyes immediately grew feverish. After all, the continent had so many experts and so many people with Innate Full Soul Power, but almost no one had Twin Martial Souls.

I must have him!

Yu Xiaogang thought wildly. He could already imagine it: the day he took this person as his disciple and, under his tutelage, the disciple became one of the world's top experts; the day he himself became a universally acknowledged master of Martial Soul Theory, respected by everyone under heaven.

Heh heh, you who dared steal my manuscript, just you wait! Even without that book, I can still teach the strongest Soul Master under heaven!

As for the other person Lei Nuo had mentioned, he had unconsciously ignored him.

In his eyes, Lei Nuo was merely a Soul Ancestor with a narrow outlook. How could he possibly recognize the potential to become a Titled Douluo?

He had probably just seen someone a little more talented than himself and confidently assumed that he could break through to become a Titled Douluo.

Yu Xiaogang had seen plenty of people like that.

By comparison, the one with Twin Martial Souls was the one who had to be his target.

Meanwhile, Lei Nuo saw Yu Xiaogang's face suddenly flush as he lay on the bed, a smile that could only be described as lewd even creeping onto his lips. Lei Nuo's buttocks immediately clenched, and he couldn't help taking a step back.

"Xiaogang, what's gotten into you?"

"Ahem, ahem, ahem. Nothing. I just suddenly remembered something important, that's all."

"Good, as long as you're all right." Lei Nuo shook his head and took a small bundle from inside his clothes.

"These are some restorative medicines I got from a friend. Take some as you see fit. Maybe you'll get better a little faster."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Yu Xiaogang smiled faintly. Back when he was still at Spirit Hall, he had held a little power, at least—or rather, all of it had come from Bibi Dong. In any case, he had met Lei Nuo once while he was out and Lei Nuo was still Soul Hunting. He had told the people Bibi Dong had assigned to accompany him to give Lei Nuo a hand. He hadn't expected that one favor to stay with Lei Nuo for so long.

Even so, he accepted Lei Nuo taking him in and fetching medicine for him with a clear conscience.

After all, as he saw it, if not for him, who knew how much longer Lei Nuo would have needed to hunt down a Soul Ring back then?

Lei Nuo didn't mind Yu Xiaogang's attitude. Although he could actually have killed that Soul Beast on his own back then, he would have suffered some injuries. Since Yu Xiaogang had been willing to help him take down the Soul Beast so easily, Lei Nuo wasn't a heartless person either.

It was only a place to stay, after all. Could Yu Xiaogang really eat him into poverty?

"But how did you suddenly end up hurt like this?" Lei Nuo asked.

"It's nothing. Don't think too much about it."

Of course Yu Xiaogang wouldn't tell Lei Nuo that he had ended up like this because his things were stolen and he had flown into a rage.

How humiliating would that be? How could he go on being the Grandmaster?

"By the way, Lei Nuo, I'd like to ask you something, if you don't mind."

"Huh? Sure, go ahead. If I know, I'll tell you."

"It's nothing important. That student you mentioned, the one with Innate Full Soul Power and a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul—what's his name?"

"Him? His name's Tang San. A pretty ordinary name. He's a work-study student, and it doesn't look like his family is well-off. I just took him to hunt for his First Soul Ring and came back."

"A work-study student? Good... That's good..." Yu Xiaogang nodded. Yu Xiaogang nodded, then pressed on. "You took him to hunt for a Soul Ring? What kind of Soul Ring?"

Lei Nuo had no idea why Yu Xiaogang was happy to hear Tang San was a work-study student, but he simply assumed Yu Xiaogang was a little muddleheaded from his serious injuries. He went on, "An Azure Vine a little over three hundred years old. As you know, Blue Silver Grass has no real distinguishing features. The only thing worth mentioning is how fast it grows, but aren't all Plant-type Soul Beasts like that? So I found an Azure Vine, which is known for its tenacious vitality. That can't be wrong, can it?"

He wasn't wrong. Based on the limited knowledge he had, almost all owners of Plant-type Martial Souls with no particular distinguishing features chose to boost their vitality.

It was an approach that couldn't possibly go wrong, but to Yu Xiaogang, it grated on his ears.

"Lei Nuo, how could you be so muddleheaded?" Yu Xiaogang blurted out.

"Huh?"

Lei Nuo stared at him in bewilderment. Wait, how am I muddleheaded? Isn't this the Soul Hunting method accepted throughout the Soul Master World? Could there be a problem with it?

Seeing Lei Nuo's puzzled expression, Yu Xiaogang's eyes immediately filled with the disdain of an "intellectual" looking at an illiterate. "That just shows how little you know. According to the latest research in Soul Master theory, another option for a Plant-type Martial Soul is to absorb an Animal-type Soul Beast. According to Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, that can actually yield better results."

Listening beside him, Lei Nuo became even more bewildered.

"Martial Soul Mimicry Theory? What's that? How come I don't know about it?"

"Heh heh, it's a very important chapter in the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul. In what's called Martial Soul Mimicry, a Plant Martial Soul doesn't necessarily have to absorb a Plant Soul Beast's Soul Ring, and a Beast Martial Soul isn't necessarily unable to absorb a Plant Soul Ring. Under various preconditions, the two can absorb each other's Soul Rings."

"In short, take this Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, for example. One of Blue Silver Grass's greatest advantages is its lack of exclusivity. Because it is too weak, it will not reject any attributes added by a Soul Ring, but will only passively incorporate them. So it has no problem absorbing other Soul Rings. If it absorbs a Mandala Snake's Soul Ring, for instance, it can encourage the Blue Silver Grass to mimic the Mandala Snake and thereby develop poison, something Blue Silver Grass does not originally possess."

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang raised his chin, his face flushed, as though the future disciple named Tang San were standing before him and he were teaching him.

Lei Nuo listened with some skepticism. At last, he voiced his question. "How come I feel like I've heard of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul somewhere before? Is this really the latest research in the Soul Master World?"

"Of course!"

Yu Xiaogang couldn't help rolling his eyes, as though looking at a fool. "That is the theory that brings together all my research. Naturally, it's the most advanced theory in the Soul Master World."

"Uh..."

Lei Nuo scratched his head as realization dawned. No wonder the name sounded so familiar. It was Yu Xiaogang's work.

But...

How come I remember that thing didn't seem to sell very well?

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say something so hurtful.

In any case, Yu Xiaogang was already hurt this badly. He might as well let him enjoy himself...