The Day Finally Came

With that thought, Lin Qingchen held the Whale Rubber in one hand and formed a sword gesture with the other, pointing at it.

"Great Five Elements Escape, fire, come!"

Flames sprang from the void where his sword fingers pointed, enveloping the piece of Whale Rubber, which was half the size of a fist.

Under the flames, impurities coating the Whale Rubber burned and melted away, producing a series of sharp pops.

Then a hint of golden light emerged from the Whale Rubber, and a faint fragrance wafted out. It was not strong, but it lingered without dispersing, hovering within a circle roughly a meter across above Lin Qingchen's hand.

As the temperature rose, the Whale Rubber finally melted completely into a small, soft lump of gelatinous material.

"The fragrance is so faint. I reckon it's only a piece of ten-year Whale Rubber."

Lin Qingchen shook his head, blew on it a few times, then tossed the still lukewarm Whale Rubber straight into his mouth.

The Whale Rubber melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Along with a faint fishy taste, a warm current filled his limbs and bones, gradually heating his body.

But that was all. Lin Qingchen did not even feel hot before the energy in the Whale Rubber was assimilated by the Soul Power circulating within him as the power of the five elements.

Lin Qingchen clenched his fists and found that his Qi and blood had indeed grown somewhat stronger, though it was barely better than nothing.

Elsewhere, Tang San and Xiao Wu had just finished class and were about to head to the cafeteria when a strange man stopped them as soon as they stepped out of the classroom.

The man looked to be in his forties or fifties. His short black hair was parted to one side, and his features were ordinary. His hands were clasped behind his back, yet he had a distinctive bearing, and his eyes held a hint of laziness and dejection as they opened and closed.

For some reason, Tang San also felt that the man seemed weak, and there was a medicinal smell about him.

Tang San frowned and waited for the strange man to continue.

But Xiao Wu, the little demon, was not about to indulge him. She planted her hands on her hips, glared at Yu Xiaogang, and demanded, "Hey! Who are you? Class is over, so what gives you the right to stop us?"

Yu Xiaogang had not fully recovered, but he had been too impatient to wait any longer, so he had forced himself to come over for a quick look at his future disciple. Who would have thought that a little girl would glare at him the moment he arrived?

Even a clay figurine had a bit of a temper, let alone a theoretical grandmaster like him. He immediately glared back. "Where did you come from, you little brat? I'll have you know, I'm-"

"Huh? Isn't this Grandmaster? What are you doing here? Weren't you injured, if I remember right?"

Just then, the teacher, who had finished packing up and come out, noticed Yu Xiaogang and asked in surprise, cutting him off.

"Hmph. With my cultivation, a few injuries are nothing. Naturally, I recovered quickly," Yu Xiaogang said disdainfully.

Tang San turned to the teacher and asked, "Grandmaster? Teacher, is he a teacher at the academy too? Is he very formidable?"

"A teacher? No, he isn't." The teacher seemed to recall something delightful and patted Tang San on the shoulder. "From a certain perspective, he's the strongest man on the continent. Otherwise, why would he be an honored guest of our academy head?"

As he spoke, he seemed unable to contain himself any longer. He hurried away, struggling to keep the corners of his mouth down.

Yu Xiaogang shot the teacher a vicious look and frantically comforted himself.

Don't be angry, don't be angry. I'm the teacher of the future strongest Soul Master. There's no need to get worked up over a nobody like him.

In a few breaths, Yu Xiaogang composed himself. Then he put on what he considered a kindly smile and looked at Tang San. "Your name is Tang San, right? I heard about you from Lei Nuo. I can teach you some ways to cultivate Blue Silver Grass. Would you like to hear them?"

Tang San nearly punched the distorted face that had suddenly drawn close, but when he heard the supposed cultivation methods for Blue Silver Grass and Lei Nuo's name, he immediately calmed down.

"Well? Come with me," Yu Xiaogang continued.

Tang San had not wanted to take him at his word so easily, but somehow he suddenly thought of Lin Qingchen and his powerful Soul Skill and Martial Soul. As if possessed, he nodded. "Can you really make me stronger?"

"Of course!" The moment the conversation touched on his field of expertise, Yu Xiaogang's spirits rose. His waist no longer ached, and his back no longer hurt. He folded his arms, raised his head, and said proudly, "I'm not bragging, but when it comes to Martial Soul research, if I call myself second, no one would dare call themselves first!"

Tang San was taken in at once. Above all, he had never seen such self-assurance in his previous life.

With that kind of confidence, even if he isn't the best, he must have some real ability, right?

Tang San thought.

"All right, this isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

Yu Xiaogang suggested.

"All right."

"Hey, Little San, if you leave on your own, what am I supposed to do?" Xiao Wu hurriedly grabbed Tang San's arm.

Tang San patted the back of Xiao Wu's hand. "It's all right, Xiao Wu. I'll be right back."

With that, he followed Yu Xiaogang away, leaving Xiao Wu alone, pouting as she watched their backs. She stamped her feet several times.

"Stupid Little San! How dare you ignore Sister Xiao Wu! Just wait and see how I kick you out of bed tonight!"

Elsewhere, Tang San followed Yu Xiaogang to his dormitory room.

"You have more than one Martial Soul, don't you?"

He had just closed the door when he heard those words come from Yu Xiaogang, who had his back to him.

Tang San: ??!!

He instinctively gripped the safety catch on the Sleeve Arrow at his wrist and flicked it off.

He actually knows I have two Martial Souls. He truly already has a way to die!

But recalling how certain the man had seemed earlier, Tang San decided to hear him out.

He was not the only one who was shocked; even Tang Hao, above his head, was startled. Tang Hao immediately locked onto Yu Xiaogang, ready to strike with a heavy punch at any moment.

With his back to Tang San, Yu Xiaogang had no idea that one foot had already swung twice through the gates of hell. He merely felt a chill down his back and assumed it was because he had not fully recovered.

He braced himself against the desk and gently stroked the cover of a book. Once he felt he had held his expert's pose long enough, he slowly turned around.

Yu Xiaogang looked calmly at Tang San and smiled. "Are you wondering how I knew you had Twin Martial Souls?"

Seeing that Tang San still looked doubtful and uncertain, his smile widened. "There's no need to be surprised. If I couldn't deduce even that, I wouldn't deserve to be called a grandmaster of Martial Soul Theory."

"I once investigated six hundred and forty-seven people whose Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass. Sixteen of them possessed Soul Power, and not one of those sixteen had Soul Power above rank one. Yet you have Innate Full Soul Power."

"According to my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory, Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of one's Martial Soul. Blue Silver Grass clearly cannot account for it, so you must have another Martial Soul, and a very powerful one at that."

Seeing that Tang San still did not believe him,

Yu Xiaogang smiled faintly and brought out the arguments he had prepared long ago and carefully refined countless times. He went from one theory to another experimental record, until he finally managed to tie Tang San, still a novice, in knots.

He succeeded in making Tang San believe that Yu Xiaogang was a powerful theoretical grandmaster.

Seeing that the time was nearly ripe, Yu Xiaogang immediately asked, "Little San, are you willing to take me as your master?"