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Over the next few days, Ye Wen occasionally observed Tang San's training.
It wasn't that he coveted Tang San's Tang Sect ultimate techniques—after all, at Ye Wen's current level, one principle could illuminate countless others, and the Xuantian Technique was nothing special. The main reason was to check for any traces of the Asura God's interference.
Unfortunately, it seemed the flow of time in the divine realm differed from that of Douluo Continent, as Ye Wen found no clues whatsoever.
Finally, Tang San arrived at the moment of his enrollment into school.
Ye Wen found this situation illogical. Even if Tang Hao was a complete failure, was it really necessary to send Tang San to such a school to learn basic soul master knowledge? Especially since Tang San was inherently extraordinary.
The familiar plot unfolded: the gatekeeper of Notting Academy sneered disdainfully at Tang San and the village chief, both dressed in patched-up clothes. He tossed Tang San's martial soul certificate onto the ground and said,
"What nonsense is this? Notting Academy isn't some place where country bumpkins can just waltz in. A green vine martial soul with full innate soul power? Do you think I haven't read Master Ye Wen's works?"
What? How did this involve him?
From his hiding spot, Ye Wen was utterly baffled. While it was true that he had written about the significant relationship between innate soul power and martial souls in his theories, what business did a gatekeeper—who didn't even possess soul power—have reading such things? Was he just bored out of his mind?
The gatekeeper continued to rant, belittling the village chief's village as a "beggar village."
The village chief was furious. Though their village hadn't produced any powerful figures in generations, it didn't deserve such slander. Moreover, Tang San's full innate soul power couldn't be faked. In anger, the village chief declared,
"You wait right there! I'll go find Steward Andrew to settle this fairly!"
With that, he picked up the martial soul certificate from the ground and tried to pull Tang San away.
From his hiding spot, Ye Wen had clearly sensed Tang San's killing intent earlier. His left hand had even subtly begun to rise, though he seemed to have restrained himself at the last moment.
[Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Third Rule: If your opponent is an enemy and has given you a reason to act, show no mercy. Otherwise, you'll only bring trouble upon yourself.]
In the original story, Tang San had apparently used the excuse of the gatekeeper bullying an elder as justification to eliminate him.
Moreover, Tang San had arrogantly believed that no one would discover his involvement.
Ye Wen couldn't comprehend Tang San's logic. When two parties were in conflict, and one side suffered harm, the other naturally became the prime suspect. Though Tang San was just a child and unlikely to be suspected, he also lacked a storage-type soul tool to hide his hidden weapons. A simple body search would expose everything.
Furthermore, the old village chief had already stated that he intended to seek justice from the Spirit Hall's steward. What business did a mere child like Tang San have intervening?
Was he here to study or to cause trouble?
As for why Tang San ultimately refrained from acting, it was naturally because Yu Xiaogang appeared.
Yu Xiaogang subconsciously loved to show off, so he unintentionally emitted traces of soul power. Tang San, with his sharp senses, detected this and realized the man before him was a formidable expert, suppressing his murderous intent.
"What's going on here?"
Yu Xiao Gang, who had just returned from "showing off" outside, glanced indifferently at the commotion at the entrance of Notting Academy and asked calmly.
"Dr. Yu, you've returned! Please come in quickly. It's nothing serious—just two country folk causing trouble. I'll drive them away right now."
The gatekeeper adopted an obsequious demeanor, bowing repeatedly with a servile smile.
After all, Yu Xiaogang was no longer the useless 29-level soul master from the original story. The gatekeeper didn't even dare harbor thoughts of looking down on him afterward.
However, Yu Xiaogang ignored the gatekeeper's words and instead turned to the village chief and Tang San, asking,
"Old sir, could you explain what happened?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down the gatekeeper's forehead. He hadn't secured his position as Notting Academy's gatekeeper through sheer competence.
After all, an ordinary person without soul power wouldn't have much strength. He owed his job entirely to a relative who was a soul master.
But this man was naturally a petty thug who enjoyed bullying the weak. Seeing these newly enrolled civilian soul masters, who lacked strength, he naturally harbored some greedy intentions.
Since he had connections to fall back on, he wasn't afraid. Worst case scenario, he could always run away.
The village chief looked nervously at Yu Xiaogang, dressed in luxurious robes and exuding the air of a successful individual. He explained,
"Respected soul master, we're here to enroll as new civilian students. But this gatekeeper insists our martial soul certificate is fake and wants to drive us away. I was planning to seek justice from the Spirit Hall steward who helped awaken our martial souls."
Because Luo Sanpao's light attribute had been activated, Yu Xiaogang's subconscious now harbored not only a love for showing off but also a hint of righteousness.
"Is that so? Old sir, may I see the martial soul certificate?"
The village chief handed over Tang San's certificate with great respect.
The moment Yu Xiaogang touched it, he knew it was genuine. The material was something only the wealthy could afford—not the kind of thing poor people, who couldn't even buy new clothes, could counterfeit.
However, when he saw that Tang San possessed full innate soul power, his eyes gleamed. With a gentle smile, he said,
"It's real, old sir."
Then, turning coldly toward the gatekeeper, Yu Xiaogang rebuked him, "If something like this happens again, consider yourself fired."
Realizing he had narrowly escaped punishment, the gatekeeper repeatedly bowed in apology, inwardly cursing his bad luck for encountering this freeload-loving busybody, Dr. Yu.
Indeed, though Yu Xiaogang held a doctoral degree from the Truth Pavilion and was staying at his old friend's Notting academy, he hadn't taught a single class.
Like in the original story, he lived there as if on vacation, still collecting a teacher's salary every month. After all, he wasn't hunting soul beasts anymore, and he couldn't exactly live off thin air. Many teachers in the academy grumbled privately, but fearing Yu Xiaogang's strength, they kept their mouths shut.
Under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, Tang San successfully enrolled. Along the way, Yu Xiaogang also pointed out the secret behind Tang San's extraordinary martial soul.
After all, the green vine wasn't blue silver grass, and its soul imprint differed from that of ordinary green vine martial souls—it was clearly not a conventional martial soul.
Based on Ye Wen's theory, even the weakest martial soul with full innate soul power should be considered a top-tier martial soul.
Yu Xiaogang then asked Tang San to summon his martial soul so he could examine it and identify which top-tier plant-type soul beast it belonged to.
Unfortunately, Tang San's green vine was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary green vine, save for being slightly more resilient.
A look of frustration crossed Yu Xiaogang's face as he muttered,
"This shouldn't be possible… A super plant martial soul with full innate soul power, yet it's only this strong?"
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Yu Xiao Gang's mind, and he blurted out,
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