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**
Suotuo City.
Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang's Bedroom.
In order to find a loophole in Xiao Yan's research papers, Yu Xiaogang had stayed up the entire night without a single wink of sleep. Bloodshot streaks webbed his eyes, which were underscored by a heavy layer of dark circles.
Yet, the more meticulously Yu Xiaogang analyzed the text, the more depressed he became. It was bad enough that the data for the self-condensing soul rings was undeniably authentic, but the research regarding soul tools was even worse.
Yu Xiaogang barely understood half of what he was reading.
With such a superficial grasp of the subject, how was he supposed to find any flaws inside?
Furthermore, now that he knew what kind of impact Xiao Yan's papers would have on ordinary soul masters in the future, Yu Xiaogang finally understood why Zhao Wuji had claimed he could only be considered half a grandmaster.
"Ahhhh! Xiao Yan, I swear there can be no peace between us!" Yu Xiaogang screamed at the top of his lungs.
"No, I absolutely cannot allow Xiao Yan to trick Xiao Lin away. Only by training the strongest Titled Douluo in history can I truly prove who the real Grandmaster is."
After throwing a mad fit, Yu Xiaogang finally calmed down, validating his convictions inwardly.
The strongest Titled Douluo in history...
As he thought about it, Yu Xiaogang's heart sank into silence.
Without Xiao Lin, would relying solely on Little Ma really give him any hope?
Recently, Yu Xiaogang had noticed that Ma Hongjun's evil fire was becoming increasingly volatile. Sometimes, it was so severe that Ma Hongjun couldn't even withstand his training without first venting the fire. Little Ma had also developed a certain resistance to Oscar's sausages.
If this continued, Little Ma's training time would diminish, and his growth rate would inevitably slow down. The title of the strongest Titled Douluo would have nothing to do with Little Ma.
What should he do?
Should he just castrate Little Ma?
No, no, no.
It would be better to wait until Little Ma reached Rank 40, then try to find a powerful ten-thousand-year soul beast with a phoenix bloodline for him. If even that failed, then Little Ma couldn't blame his master.
Master is only doing this for your own good. If you choose soul rings from phoenix-bloodline soul beasts for all your remaining rings, that root of yours can always regenerate.
Sigh!
The more Yu Xiaogang thought along these lines, the more he couldn't help but think of Xiao Lin's Horned Dragon Staff, prompting him to sigh deeply.
A martial soul with Innate Full Soul Power and no side effects, a tool martial soul that was even more powerful than the Clear Sky Hammer...
At this point, Yu Xiaogang had already driven Ma Hongjun to the brink of ruin through his training methods, yet he wasn't thinking about how to help Ma Hongjun recover. Instead, he was considering a permanent surgical solution, all while still coveting Xiao Lin.
Evidently, Yu Xiaogang truly did not deserve to be called a teacher.
Right at that moment, the door to Yu Xiaogang's bedroom was thrown open as Flender barged straight inside.
"Xiaogang, a letter has arrived from Qin Ming! He says he can grant us an opportunity to hold an exchange match," Flender shouted loudly, thrusting the envelope into Yu Xiaogang's hands.
"What!?"
Hearing this news, Yu Xiaogang instantly regained his energy.
If their Shrek Academy joined the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and received his perfect education, wouldn't the championship of the Continental Elite Young Soul Master Tournament two years from now be easily within their grasp?
Quickly, Yu Xiaogang took the letter and began reading it with unwavering focus.
"What? They actually want us to form a four-man team to spar, and we are only allowed to become substitutes if we win? What is the meaning of this!?"
Yu Xiaogang immediately flared up with anger.
This rule showed a complete lack of respect for them. If Ma Hongjun and the others could defeat the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's team, shouldn't they be made the main roster?
Flender understood the confusion in Yu Xiaogang's heart perfectly, as he too was baffled by why Qin Ming would set such a rule.
Could it be because the original members of the Heaven Dou Emperor Team possessed superior coordination and chemistry, so even if Hongjun and the others won, they could only be given substitute positions?
But that didn't make sense either; Hongjun and the others would only get stronger, and their coordination would naturally become more seamless over time.
At this moment, neither Yu Xiaogang nor Flender knew that Qin Ming was giving them this opportunity simply because he wanted to see the so-called Seven-in-One Fusion Technique.
The Heaven Dou Imperial Academy already possessed a special privilege allowing them to bypass the qualifiers and head straight into the quarter-finals—meaning they didn't even need substitutes to begin with.
Furthermore, Xiao Lin didn't just wield fire; he also possessed lightning, and now he could even use ice. Because of this, Xiao Lin was definitely capable of withstanding the immense amplification from a Seven-in-One Fusion Technique.
(Qin Ming had merely deduced this ice ability from the soul ring Xiao Lin obtained in the Far North, as the letter had been sent out long before).
To be fair, back when the Heaven Dou Emperor Team hadn't undergone their qualitative transformation, Qin Ming had held quite a high opinion of his junior schoolmates from Shrek, and he was genuinely curious about the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique.
But now? It was pure curiosity and nothing more.
In fact, when Qin Ming penned down these rules, he found them a bit absurd himself.
Defeat the Heaven Dou Emperor Team?
There probably wasn't a single team of peers in this world who could rival the current Heaven Dou Emperor Team.
"Although I don't quite understand Qin Ming's intentions, we can still fight for this opportunity," Flender said, a sharp glint flashing across his eyes.
As long as they joined the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, they could utilize its vast resources.
With that backing, they would surely be able to secure the best ice-attributed heavenly treasure for Ma Hongjun, which might even perfectly resolve his evil fire once and for all.
"Very well. Then let us head to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy first and seize this victory," Yu Xiaogang agreed, nodding solemnly.
The thought of failure never even crossed his mind.
At this moment, the two of them had completely forgotten about their near-fallout over the promise they made to Liu Erlong. To both of them, it seemed their own immediate goals were far more important.
Meanwhile, in Heaven Dou City, at the Residence of Dugu Bo.
Ever since Grandmaster Xiao Yan's research papers exploded in popularity again, Dugu Bo had sensed that something was amiss. If things continued down this path, undercurrents would soon surge violently throughout Heaven Dou City, putting Xiao Lin and his friends in grave danger.
Moreover, to his knowledge, Grandmaster Xiao Yan had at least several other research projects underway—such as his research into Soul Cores. Under Xiao Lin's guidance, Dugu Bo had already successfully evolved his own Poison Core.
Now, as the Poison Core rotated within his body, the venom within his martial soul became far more condensed, to the point where the toxins backfiring into his own body barely manifested anymore.
He hadn't even needed to use the medicine Xiao Lin's group gave him for quite a long time. Having received such a profound favor, Dugu Bo naturally refused to let Xiao Lin and the others fall into harm's way, which would only make Grandmaster Xiao Yan worry about his grandson.
From the looks of it, he needed to invite Xiao Lin and the others to stay with him. That way, he could personally protect them. The best place would be his medicinal garden; with the toxic barrier guarding it, even a Titled Douluo wouldn't dare barge in recklessly.
But what kind of excuse should he use? Ah, right.
He would just claim that his Soul Core cultivation had hit a bottleneck. No sooner said than done. Dugu Bo had always been a man who acted purely based on his own whims and preferences.
Since Xiao Lin and his friends suited his temperament perfectly, he was more than willing to look out for them and keep them safe, even without the binding of a martial soul oath.
A moment later, Dugu Bo quietly vanished from his residence.
While making his way toward the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, just as he had anticipated, he spotted several suspicious figures lurking around. Among these sneaky individuals, there were quite a few who possessed remarkably deep soul power.
Dugu Bo's heart sank.
As expected, he wasn't the only one capable of connecting the dots between Xiao Lin and Grandmaster Xiao Yan.
Now that Grandmaster Xiao Yan's papers were out, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had also officially renamed themselves the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. On top of that, his granddaughter Yan Yan's classmates had all undergone a complete metamorphosis.
Anyone with an observant eye would take notice.
If things took a turn for the worse, even formidable Titled Douluo powerhouses might descend upon Heaven Dou City directly to investigate. With that grim thought in mind, Dugu Bo accelerated his pace toward the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 100+ early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!