Yu Xiaogang saw from a distance that the doorman was kneeling and bowing to someone, even to a child, which was incredibly bizarre.
Now, up close, he could see that the doorman's forehead was bruised from the bowing, yet he seemed completely unaffected. He asked in a low voice, "What just happened?"
The doorman, panicking in his heart, instinctively wanted to cover up the situation, but remembering the divine guidance just moments ago, he decided not to lie. Instead, he explained that he had been difficult with Old Jack and the others. Suddenly, he woke up to his mistake and knelt down to apologize.
His facial expression of regret and deep shame made his apology all the more convincing.
Yu Xiaogang simply nodded slightly, not showing much reaction. He then turned to Old Jack and asked, "Sir, may I see the proof from the Soul Hall?"
Seeing this middle-aged man's commanding presence, capable of making even the rude doorman obey, Old Jack hurriedly handed over the proof he was holding.
Yu Xiaogang examined the proof briefly, then his gaze shifted to Xiao Yan, scrutinizing him up and down.
Xiao Yan felt uncomfortable under the gaze. He had the feeling that this old man might not have good intentions.
Yu Xiaogang set the proof down and said to Old Jack, "The proof is legitimate. Sir, I apologize on behalf of the academy for the earlier situation. This child will be under my care now."
The fact that a Soul Master figure was apologizing to him greatly satisfied Old Jack's vanity, and he quickly waved his hands. "No need to apologize, no need. We are also at fault. Master, then this child is in your hands now. Xiao Yan, go with the Master, and make sure to listen to him."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, but in his heart, he let out a long sigh. Old Jack had an ingrained respect for Soul Masters that was too deep. Clearly, the doorman had been in the wrong, yet Old Jack was still apologizing.
After giving Xiao Yan a few more instructions, Old Jack left.
Yu Xiaogang gave a brief, cold glance at the doorman. "This is your first and last warning. If you ever make the same mistake again, you won't be staying here."
The doorman nodded repeatedly, hastily stepping aside.
Yu Xiaogang lowered his head and looked at Xiao Yan, forcing a smile. His face seemed stiff, and the smile looked almost more painful than a frown.
Xiao Yan simply glanced at him and felt disgusted. The man was unpleasant to look at, and now he was reaching out to grab Xiao Yan's hand, making him hurry forward.
Yu Xiaogang's hand awkwardly stayed in the air as he saw Xiao Yan entering the academy, so he could only follow.
After walking a few steps, Xiao Yan felt like he had done something wrong, so he stopped and said to Yu Xiaogang, "Master, how do I go about enrolling? I'll trouble you with that."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Master? I'm not a teacher at the academy."
Xiao Yan was confused. "Then you must be someone in charge at the academy?"
Yu Xiaogang smiled faintly. "You're a smart child, even at six years old. However, you're still mistaken."
Xiao Yan didn't say anything more. He didn't like the vibe of this person and didn't want to argue.
Yu Xiaogang then explained, "I'm just a freeloader here, eating and living off the academy. You can call me 'Master,' just like everyone else does. I've even forgotten my real name. According to the proof from the Soul Hall, you're called Tang San, right? I wonder why that old man calls you Xiao Yan."
Xiao Yan, possessing the soul of a mature person within his six-year-old body—someone who had lived over fifty years as Tang San—was deep in thought.
Upon hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, several thoughts crossed his mind.
The first was that someone who could stay at the Soul Master Academy for free must have a certain status.
The second was that this person seemed to have an extraordinary past, as his words carried a sense of melancholy.
Xiao Yan replied, "I was originally called Tang San, but when I came to the academy, I changed my name."
Yu Xiaogang didn't ask further. Instead, he said, "There's a big difference between 'Master' and 'teacher.' Don't mix them up, unless..."
His voice trailed off, and his eyes flashed with a burning intensity. "Unless you actually want me to be your teacher."
Xiao Yan felt like this ugly man's gaze was as predatory as a wolf's eyeing a lamb. He had disliked him from the start, and now he felt even more repulsed.
Earlier, he had used his Purple Extreme Magic Eyes to scan this man's strength, which was slightly stronger than that of Su Yun Tao at level 26, but not by much.
For someone his age, around his forties or fifties, he was essentially useless.
This man, claiming to want to take him as a disciple, was shameless, given he could easily defeat dozens of people in one hand.
Now Xiao Yan understood that this ugly man wasn't helping him enter the academy out of kindness. He was clearly eyeing Xiao Yan's potential.
Seeing Xiao Yan say nothing, Yu Xiaogang forced another stiff smile. "Good. You really are a smart child."
Xiao Yan froze for a moment, thinking, How could this ugly man be so shameless? His face was thicker than the walls of Notting City, and yet he was smugly assuming that Xiao Yan had agreed.
Xiao Yan then replied, "Master, the teacher I want to follow at Notting Academy is one of the academy's actual instructors."
Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened, and he forced out a very awkward smile. "You're truly gifted. If you let the academy's teacher take you on, your rare twin martial souls will end up being wasted."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan was shocked. His twin martial souls were something only Tang Hao knew about, and perhaps Tang Hao had seen something. But he never expected this ugly man to figure it out as well!
This man was indeed extraordinary. The Soul Hall's usual attendants couldn't spot anything, yet he had immediately realized something unique about Xiao Yan.
It seemed his identity wasn't simple, and his motives for finding Xiao Yan wouldn't be pure.
It was likely far from as simple as what he had claimed about wanting to be Xiao Yan's teacher.
Yu Xiaogang, seeing Xiao Yan quiet, smiled confidently, "You're probably wondering how I knew you had twin martial souls?"
As he spoke, he shook the proof Old Jack had given him. "It's because of this proof. Maybe others can't see the flaws in it, but if I couldn't, I wouldn't deserve to be called 'Master.'"
Xiao Yan glanced at the proof, noticing only his name, martial soul, and innate soul power listed. How could this ugly man have deduced it from that?
Yu Xiaogang continued, **"I once investigated six hundred and forty-seven people with Blue Silver Grass martial souls. Of those, only sixteen had soul power, less than three percent. And even among those, none had soul power exceeding rank one. Yet you, with your Blue Silver Grass, possess innate full soul power at rank ten."
Based on my research into the core competitive qualities of martial souls, I know that the size of the innate soul power is directly proportional to the quality of the martial soul. Blue Silver Grass obviously isn't sufficient, so I can confirm that you must have another martial soul, one that is very powerful."**
Seeing Yu Xiaogang looking so smug, Xiao Yan sat down on a nearby chair, his mind constantly thinking.
After a moment of reflection, Xiao Yan caught several flaws in Yu Xiaogang's story.
(End of Chapter)