First of all, as a commoner soul master with a clean background, joining Spirit Hall was certainly an option for Qi Dao.
Moreover, Qi Dao had one particular advantage.
He was also a soul master with half a rank of innate soul power and a martial soul that had undergone a malignant mutation.
Once he distinguished himself, it would be easy for him to attract Bibi Dong’s attention.
She might even feel that he bore some resemblance to an old acquaintance, leading her to value and promote him.
But if Bibi Dong investigated his background carefully, she would inevitably discover that his relationship with Yu Xiaogang wasn’t particularly friendly.
At that point, things could easily backfire.
What’s more, Bibi Dong’s mental state wasn’t exactly normal right now.
When dealing with someone like that, keeping one’s distance was undoubtedly the best choice!
Next was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The direct descendants of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.
Because they lacked the ability to protect themselves, the sect recruited large numbers of talented disciples from outside the clan.
And within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
As the only Titled Douluo in the first Douluo story to achieve the state of Man and Sword as One, Chen Xin’s understanding of the sword path would undoubtedly be of enormous help to Qi Dao.
However, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wasn’t without its drawbacks.
There was the Spirit Hall’s Soul Hunting Operation.
Based on his current cultivation speed, Qi Dao genuinely had no confidence that he would possess enough strength to protect himself by the time Spirit Hall launched its Soul Hunting Operation.
Finally, there were the various high-level soul master academies.
The most famous high-level soul master academies in the Heaven Dou Empire were undoubtedly the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and the Five Elemental Academies.
However, aside from Sky Water Academy, which accepted commoner students, none of the other academies accepted commoner students.
(As mentioned in the original story.)
However, Sky Water Academy only accepted female students with water-attributed martial souls.
So Sky Water Academy could only be ruled out as well.
Actually, Blue Tyrant Academy was one of the few high-level soul master academies that both accepted commoner students and possessed strong teaching resources.
If Qi Dao joined Blue Tyrant Academy, having Liu Erlong personally accompany him while hunting soul beasts would make it considerably safer.
But considering Liu Erlong’s relationship with Yu Xiaogang, joining Blue Tyrant Academy would simply be asking for trouble.
So that option had to be eliminated, too!
After thinking it over again and again, a name suddenly surfaced in Qi Dao’s mind.
Qian Renxue!
No.
At this point, she should be called Xue Qinghe!
This might actually be a good choice!
First, if he pledged himself to Qian Renxue, he wouldn’t have to worry about obtaining soul rings anymore.
Second, he could use Qian Renxue as a connection to gain access to Sword Douluo.
Third, having Qian Renxue backing him would greatly reduce the risk of someone trying to eliminate him before he could grow.
After all, both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall had examples of suppressing geniuses from opposing factions before they could mature.
As for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?
That clan was rather interesting.
They were extremely proud.
To put it bluntly, with Qi Dao’s level of innate soul power, they probably wouldn’t even take him seriously.
After making up his mind, Qi Dao sighed.
He was currently at rank 19, but at most another six months would be enough for him to break through the rank 20 bottleneck.
Once he reached rank 20, naturally, the sooner he absorbed a soul ring, the better.
Although he could continue accumulating soul power without absorbing a soul ring, the amount of soul power a rank 20 Soul Master accumulated through a day of cultivation was actually not the same as what a rank 21 Soul Grandmaster could accumulate in a day.
That was because after absorbing a soul ring, both the body and martial soul would be strengthened, naturally allowing the soul master to absorb soul power at a faster rate.
…
Just as Qi Dao made his decision, Yu Xiaogang led Tang San into a room tucked away in the corner of the top floor of the dormitory building.
This was Yu Xiaogang’s residence.
The room wasn’t very large, only a little over thirty square meters, but it was packed with bookshelves.
After entering, Yu Xiaogang took out a paper-wrapped package and handed it to Tang San.
A fragrant smell drifted out from the package.
When Tang San opened it, he saw two chicken legs and a steamed bun inside.
In an instant, Tang San’s eyes became slightly moist.
His teacher was so good to him!
He had even brought him chicken legs and a steamed bun.
This was a warmth his father had never given him!
For a moment, Tang San’s heart was filled with nothing but respect for Yu Xiaogang.
The slightest doubt about his teacher that had arisen because of Wang Sheng was completely swept away by those chicken legs.
This was practically his second father!
Seeing Tang San’s deeply moved expression, a hint of delight flashed through Yu Xiaogang’s eyes.
Now this was a good child!
He clearly knew how to be grateful!
Once Tang San grew up, wouldn’t Yu Xiaogang be able to enjoy his blessings?
After Tang San quickly finished eating, Yu Xiaogang smiled.
“Release your twin martial souls.
Let me take a look!”
Tang San nodded before releasing the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul.
The instant the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul appeared, Yu Xiaogang’s pupils contracted violently.
“This…
This is the Clear Sky Hammer!”
“Tang San, Tang…”
“What is your father’s name?”
Yu Xiaogang’s voice trembled slightly from excitement.
Seeing the shock on Yu Xiaogang’s face, a trace of curiosity flashed through Tang San’s eyes, but he still answered,
“My father’s name is Tang Hao.
He’s just a blacksmith from the village.”
After hearing this, Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath.
The look he gave Tang San was filled with a strange mixture of excitement and fervor.
No wonder he had innate full soul power.
Just as he thought, how could an ordinary commoner possibly possess innate full soul power?
That was practically impossible!
Innate full soul power.
Twin martial souls.
The son of the Clear Sky Douluo!
This was the disciple he had dreamed of!
Yu Xiaogang was ecstatic inside, but on the surface, he kept a calm expression.
He spoke solemnly to Tang San.
“Xiao San, you must never casually reveal your hammer martial soul in front of outsiders.
Understand?”
Tang San said solemnly, “Teacher, I understand!”
Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction and continued,
“Good.
Tomorrow, I’ll take you to obtain your first soul ring!”
Tang San immediately became excited upon hearing this.
Once he absorbed a soul ring, he would truly become a Soul Master!
…
Two days later.
Hunting Soul Forest.
“Teacher, what kind of soul beast do you think I should absorb a soul ring from?” Tang San asked curiously.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Yu Xiaogang’s lips.
He pointed toward a verdant bamboo stalk ahead.
“Xiao San, this is a 10-year Lone Bamboo.
Its main characteristic is toughness.
Although its offensive power isn’t particularly strong, its defensive capabilities are quite good.”
“Then should we hunt this Lone Bamboo?”
Yu Xiaogang stroked his chin.
“If we can’t find another soul beast suitable for you, then this Lone Bamboo would actually be a decent choice for your Blue Silver Grass martial soul.”
Yu Xiaogang didn’t take Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass martial soul seriously at all.
In his eyes, Blue Silver Grass was merely a transitional martial soul.
In the future, the martial soul Tang San would primarily use would still be the Clear Sky Hammer.
So if they truly couldn’t find another suitable soul beast, then Tang San should simply settle for absorbing a 10-year Lone Bamboo!
At the same time, in a shadowy corner behind the two of them…
Tang Hao had overheard their conversation.
His eyes were bloodshot with fury, and he was breathing heavily like an enraged bull.
“Damn Yu Xiaogang!
If you really dare to make Xiao San absorb a 10-year Lone Bamboo soul ring, I’ll twist your neck off!”
Although Tang Hao also believed that Blue Silver Grass was merely a transitional martial soul, he still didn’t want his son to have nothing more than a 10-year soul ring as his first!
Especially now that Tang San carried his hopes of returning to the sect.
How could he possibly tolerate Yu Xiaogang letting Tang San absorb a mere 10-year soul ring?