The old man looked to be in his sixties.
He was tall and thin but still energetic.
His clothes were clean and tidy, and his hair was combed meticulously.
Overall, he looked fairly presentable.
The younger one, however, looked rather miserable.
His clothes were covered in patches, and his entire body was thin and gaunt, clearly suffering from severe malnutrition.
Compared to the old man, the two looked like complete opposites.
Yet it was that ordinary-looking face that caught Lin Yuan’s attention.
The timing, the clothes, and that utterly unremarkable face…
There could only be one person.
The only male work-study student in the original story, Tang San.
And the old man was, as expected, Old Jack, the village chief of Holy Soul Village.
Now that Tang San has arrived, Yu Xiaogang should be making his appearance soon as well.
While Lin Yuan was thinking about this, he saw the gatekeeper begin giving Tang San and Old Jack a hard time.
Then his gaze shifted, and he noticed two more people.
If Yu Xiaogang’s appearance was within his expectations, the other person was completely unexpected.
Yan Beifei.
The transmigrator who had somehow given his Blue Silver Grass soul power from nothing.
Judging from the direction he had come from, as well as the change in his clothes, Yan Beifei had clearly been staying at an inn during this period.
What amused Lin Yuan was that when Yu Xiaogang heard the gatekeeper claim that Tang San’s innate full soul power was fake, the previously indifferent Yu Xiaogang immediately revealed an expression as though he had stumbled upon a treasure.
When Yan Beifei saw Yu Xiaogang’s expression, however, a look of disdain appeared on his face.
It wasn’t long before the gatekeeper, after failing to make things difficult for them, was kicked to the ground by Tang San.
Just as Tang San was about to kill him with his hidden sleeve arrow, Yu Xiaogang shouted,
“Enough.
Stop.”
“Grandmaster, you’re back!”
The gatekeeper, who had just narrowly escaped death, had been extremely arrogant a moment ago.
Now, however, he was practically fawning over Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang merely glanced sideways at the gatekeeper before shifting his attention to Tang San’s martial soul certificate.
After confirming that Tang San truly possessed innate full soul power and that his martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, Yu Xiaogang looked Tang San up and down.
He then pretended to apologize to Old Jack and sent him back to the village.
After symbolically reprimanding the gatekeeper, Yu Xiaogang led Tang San into the academy.
At the same time, Yan Beifei walked over.
Having learned his lesson and seeing that Yan Beifei’s clothes were decent, the gatekeeper naturally didn’t dare make things difficult for him.
After showing the martial soul certificate issued by Su Yuntao, Yan Beifei followed Yu Xiaogang and Tang San inside.
Then a dramatic scene unfolded.
Just as Yu Xiaogang had somehow managed to guess that Tang San possessed twin martial souls and was fooling him into preparing to become his disciple, Yan Beifei suddenly spoke from behind them.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t become his disciple.”
Yu Xiaogang froze.
Tang San, who had been preparing to bow and acknowledge Yu Xiaogang as his teacher, instantly turned cold.
Until now, he had been focused entirely on Yu Xiaogang and had neglected the person behind him.
He had never expected someone to have been following them and secretly listening.
Didn’t that mean this person already knew that he possessed twin martial souls?
His father had once warned him never to reveal the secret of his twin martial souls to anyone.
Now that this person knew…
According to the General Principles of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, this person had already earned a death sentence.
As this thought flashed through Tang San’s mind, his eyes gradually reddened.
He was already showing signs of his rage getting the better of him.
Lin Yuan watched the scene from a distance.
Although he couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly, judging from the fact that Yan Beifei had suddenly jumped out just as Tang San was about to bow and acknowledge Yu Xiaogang as his teacher, he could more or less guess what had happened.
Leaving Tang San’s thoughts aside…
Even Yu Xiaogang was someone Yan Beifei couldn’t afford to provoke at his current strength.
As the saying went, obstructing someone’s path to cultivation was no different from killing their parents.
Tang San was Yu Xiaogang’s hope of proving himself.
Yet Yan Beifei, a Blue Silver Grass Soul Warrior with only a few ranks of soul power, had actually decided to ruin Yu Xiaogang’s opportunity.
He really was treating a rank 29 Soul Grandmaster as if he were nothing.
At the same time, Yu Xiaogang finally recovered from his surprise and frowned.
But he was, after all, an expert at putting on an act.
Although Yan Beifei’s attempt to stop Tang San from becoming his disciple had infuriated him, Yu Xiaogang still pretended to remain calm in front of Tang San.
“Little friend, can you tell me why?”
Yan Beifei, completely unaware of how dangerous his situation was, continued digging his own grave.
“You look far too weak.”
“If Tang San becomes your disciple, there won’t even be anyone capable of helping him hunt for his soul rings.”
“Even if you’re willing to help Tang San hunt for one, you won’t be able to defeat a 100-year soul beast.
All you’ll accomplish is dragging Tang San into death with you.”
“And if you encounter a ten-year soul beast, you’ll only ruin Tang San, a person with innate full soul power.”
“Tang San, you absolutely must not listen to this fraud.”
“Also, I actually noticed this guy standing around near the school gate from the very beginning.”
“When he saw you and that old grandfather being bullied by the gatekeeper, he didn’t come out to stop it.”
“He only appeared after hearing the gatekeeper say that you were a Blue Silver Grass soul master with innate full soul power.”
“All of this was planned from the beginning.”
“His goal was to trick you, an innate full soul power genius, into becoming his disciple.”
“There’s one more important thing.”
“I know this man.
His real name is Yu Xiaogang.”
“Because his martial soul mutated into a pig-like creature, he left home.”
“After that, he went around deceiving people, living off others, and shamelessly taking advantage of anyone he could.
He acts aggressively toward those beneath him but becomes cowardly in front of those stronger than him, and wherever he goes, he calls himself the ‘Grandmaster.'”
“In reality, he’s nothing more than a fraud who hasn’t even reached rank 30 despite already approaching fifty, someone who will only mislead his students.”
“Oh, right.
I almost forgot.
He isn’t fifty yet.”
“But with that pig-like martial soul that will never break through to rank 30…”
“Forget fifty.
Even at sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety, he can forget about breaking through to rank 30.”
After that tirade, Yan Beifei had practically stripped Yu Xiaogang completely bare in front of everyone.
Yu Xiaogang’s expression instantly darkened.
He said nothing.
He merely lowered his head slightly, his eyes hidden beneath the shadows.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
Tang San’s expression wasn’t any better.
Because from Yan Beifei’s words, he realized that this person had been following him from the very beginning.
That meant his secret of possessing twin martial souls had been exposed beyond doubt.
The argument quickly attracted the attention of numerous students.
Some older students who had already looked down on Yu Xiaogang began pointing and whispering among themselves.
Lin Yuan also took the opportunity to blend into the crowd.
As mocking laughter and sarcastic remarks occasionally reached his ears, Yu Xiaogang clenched both fists.
He didn’t care even as his fingernails dug into his palms.
Yu Xiaogang growled,
“What else do you know?
Say it all.”
Yan Beifei was startled by Yu Xiaogang’s appearance.
But when he saw how many people had gathered around them, his courage returned.
He looked at Yu Xiaogang with undisguised contempt.
“There’s one more important point.”
“You just said that you’re nothing more than a freeloader staying here.”
“That means you’ve never taught a single student.”
“Is it because someone wouldn’t let you teach?”
“Obviously not.”
“After all, in a Junior Soul Master Academy, most of the teachers are Soul Grandmasters.”
“The real reason is that you don’t want to teach.”
“You don’t have the ability to teach.”
“All you want is to find a genius like Tang San, someone with innate full soul power.
Then, once he becomes successful, you can bask in his glory.”
“A true grandmaster should be able to turn an ordinary soul master into a genius.”
“Not specifically seek out geniuses to teach.”
“All that does is make it obvious how terrible your teaching ability really is.”
End of Chapter