Chapter 156: 174. Gang Zi First Meets Tang San
Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking arrogantly at the gatekeeper as he said calmly, "In a couple of days, when Notting City's Soul Master Academy starts its term, I need you to help me with something."
"What is it? Please tell me," the gatekeeper asked.
"There will be a work-study student from Holy Soul Village. His name is Tang San—easy to recognize. You just need to know that he's a blue silver grass with innate full soul power. Once you see him, you just..." Yu Xiaogang suddenly leaned in close and whispered to the gatekeeper, "Do this and this."
Hearing that, the gatekeeper immediately showed a troubled expression. "Master Soul Master, this doesn't seem appropriate."
Yu Xiaogang's face hardened as he said, "You just do as I say."
Then, thinking that this was his only chance to turn things around, wash away the title of trash, and make a name for himself, Yu Xiaogang considered for a moment and dug out two gold soul coins from his pocket. These were his accumulated monthly stipends from Spirit Hall.
He placed the two gold soul coins in the gatekeeper's palm and said, "This is your payment. As long as you do exactly as I said, once the matter is done, I'll pay you another two gold soul coins."
Don't look down on two gold soul coins. For a commoner like the gatekeeper, that was several months of wages.
After taking the money, the gatekeeper's attitude changed immediately. He said, "Master Soul Master, don't worry. I guarantee I'll handle this perfectly for you."
After Yu Xiaogang left, he immediately found a place and scrubbed hard at the spot on his palm that had accidentally touched that lowly commoner, using soap to wash it clean.
Compared to his first time leaving home, Tang San was much calmer this time. He didn't have much attachment to Holy Soul Village. In his previous life, after leaving Holy Soul Village, he'd only gone back in the first year to visit his father. After his father was no longer there, he never returned, and once he became a god, he never spared that remote little corner a thought again.
Compared to Holy Soul Village, Tang San was far more impatient about the place he was headed next.
Notting City Soul Master Academy—this was where he would meet Xiao Wu.
Old Jack nervously led Tang San to Notting City Soul Master Academy. From a distance, they saw a huge archway. Beneath it were two iron gates, and inside they could see an avenue leading straight inward, flanked by tall trees. On the archway were four large characters: "Notting Academy."
Old Jack brought Tang San to the gate, where they were immediately stopped by the gatekeeper. "What are you doing here? Is this a place for country bumpkins like you to come to?"
Old Jack smiled obsequiously and said, "Little brother, we're from Holy Soul Village. This child is the work-study student our village is sending this year. Please, what procedures do we need to go through?"
The gatekeeper said mockingly, "A golden phoenix out of a nest of weeds? Someone in a village having soul power? The academy hasn't had a work-study student in many years. You're not fakes, are you?"
Old Jack was displeased but still swallowed his anger and handed over the certificate issued by Su Yuntao to the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper glanced at it, then looked them up and down, and deliberately raised his voice toward a certain corner as he said, "Martial soul blue silver grass, and innate full soul power? What a ridiculous joke. I've been the gatekeeper here for four years and have never heard of a student with innate full soul power. This brat's martial soul is blue silver grass, and you say he's full soul power? I'd say this certificate from Spirit Hall is something you forged."
"You—you're doing this on purpose to make things hard for us. Fine, just wait. I'll go find the deacon from the Spirit Hall sub-branch. Little San, let's go."
The gatekeeper curled his lip and continued to humiliate them. "Holy Soul Village? More like Beggar Village if you ask me."
"What did you say?" Old Jack spun around sharply.
"What, not convinced? I called you people from Beggar Village—am I wrong? Look at this little pauper; his clothes are covered in patches. I say you're better off finding a place to beg. Our Notting Academy is not a charity hall. Get lost, hurry up and get lost."
With that, the gatekeeper pushed at Old Jack's chest, trying to drive the two of them away.
This scene fell into Tang San's eyes.
He couldn't help recalling his previous life. Back then, he had nearly killed this gatekeeper. But after living through a whole life, Tang San had gained a certain understanding of this world's essence.
On the Douluo Continent, soul masters were revered. The gatekeeper was someone without even a trace of soul power. Even if there was some discrimination between city and countryside on the Douluo Continent, it could never compare to the contradiction created by class and status.
Being able to enter this academy to study, even as a country work-study student, meant that when he came out, he would be a soul master. Even a low-level soul master was not someone a mere commoner could afford to offend.
In his previous life, he simply disdained to fuss over this matter with such a small fry. If it had been someone else who chose to settle accounts with him in the future, this gatekeeper would have been wiped out long ago.
For the gatekeeper to dare block him here and deliberately make things difficult, behind this there must be—
Sure enough, just as Tang San suspected, once the flat-headed man who had been covertly watching everything from the corner received the gatekeeper's signal, he immediately made his preparations. After the gatekeeper finished making things difficult for Tang San and Old Jack, he stepped out.
"Alright, that's enough, stop." Yu Xiaogang walked out with his hands behind his back, calm and composed.
The moment the gatekeeper saw the master, the anger on his face instantly turned into flattery. Bowing and scraping, he said, "Master, you're back."
Look at that change in attitude. And listen to that word "Master"—it deeply satisfied Yu Xiaogang's vanity.
Yu Xiaogang was very satisfied with the gatekeeper's cooperation. This was also why he had stayed in this small place for so long. In the world of nobles, he had suffered all kinds of humiliation. Even lower-ranked soul masters had stopped respecting him. But here in this little backwater of Notting City, he only had to deal with ordinary people and low-ranked soul masters. Only in front of these people could Yu Xiaogang find a sense of superiority in identity and status, to heal his long-wounded heart.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Tang San and discovered that this kid wasn't surprised at all by the word "Master."
Good, good. Calm and unruffled, unmoved by surroundings—qualified to become a disciple of Yu Xiaogang.
Ignoring the gatekeeper, Yu Xiaogang turned to Old Jack and said, "Old sir, may I have a look at the certificate from Spirit Hall?"
Old Jack hurriedly handed the certificate over. Gang Zi looked at the certificate, and even his breathing became slightly hurried. He forcibly suppressed his facial excitement, but inside he was roaring:
Yes, hahahaha, I, Yu Xiaogang, have finally waited for my chance. Blue silver grass, innate full soul power—hahahahaha! This is a disciple heaven has bestowed upon me, Yu Xiaogang; this is my chance to become famous.
I must cultivate him into a powerhouse, a Titled Douluo. I will let the world know that I, Yu Xiaogang, trained a Titled Douluo—I am not a waste.
(END CHAPTER)
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