Because of Yu Xiaogang's unexpected breakthrough, Han Li, who had originally planned to take a brief tour with a few others, decided to speed up their return.
As for Yu Xiaogang, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night, spending the entire night training—a rare occurrence for him.
The next morning, after finishing his cultivation, Yu Xiaogang felt refreshed. For the first time since his martial soul awakened, he experienced the joy that comes from cultivation.
He opened the window, feeling the slightly cool morning breeze against his face, which helped him come down a bit from his extreme excitement.
He had indeed made a breakthrough, and he even had a premonition that after this breakthrough, his strength might not just stop at level thirty but could potentially rise to even higher levels.
However, even though he could continue cultivating, it would still require time—a lot of time.
He was now over fifty years old, long past the prime age for cultivation. Even if he were given the cultivation speed of someone with innate full soul power, it would still be difficult to quickly raise his level.
Not to mention, compared to others, he had one fatal problem: his martial soul.
His martial soul was completely different from others. Although it was a beast martial soul, it existed outside of his body strangely. While it possessed considerable intelligence, it did not provide him with any physical enhancement whatsoever.
If it weren't for this, he wouldn't be in his current situation. Despite being a beast martial soul owner, his physical condition was even worse than that of some auxiliary tool soul masters.
Thinking about this, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but blame Luo Sanpao again, tightly clenching his fists.
After a while, he slowly released his grip. No matter what, being able to continue cultivating was a good thing.
However, this matter must be kept secret for a while. Tang Hao and Flender were well aware of his situation.
He had been injured yesterday and made a breakthrough today. If they were to ask Grandmaster Gou about it, they could easily deduce what had happened.
His breakthrough was, in the eyes of others, an utterly unreasonable occurrence.
And this secret must be kept in his hands. Until he had enough strength, he absolutely couldn't reveal it, not even to his dear disciple, Tang San.
Anyway, Xiao San's cultivation speed wasn't slow, so he didn't need this method. Yu Xiaogang comforted himself inwardly.
At worst, he could confirm it later and secretly use it on Xiao San.
Yes, that's what he would do. With Xiao San's recognition of him, even if he didn't want to share this secret, Xiao San should understand, right?
He also needed to find an opportunity to investigate the hundred-old vegetable dog—or rather, grass dog. Yu Xiaogang had already decided that his third soul ring would be the one from the grass dog.
He believed that accidentally replacing his leg bone with the grass dog's bone was the first sign of his rise. But afterward, should he consider replacing the bone in his right leg as well?
This required careful planning. It would be best to conceal his identity and use different healing soul masters to avoid arousing Grandmaster Gou's suspicions.
After planning his future development, Yu Xiaogang turned his attention back to the present. The matter of Xiao San joining the Emperor's Battle Team One needed to be settled quickly.
Both aspects need to be advanced simultaneously. Both hands needed to grasp firmly. The master-disciple duo needed to blossom together—this was Yu Xiaogang's idea.
Let Tang San attract everyone's attention on the surface, while he quietly accumulated strength in the shadows. When he finally revealed his power, wouldn't everyone be shocked?
Believe in yourself, hold onto your faith—you can do it, Yu Xiaogang. You are indeed a genius, not only a master of theory but also someone who will possess great power in the future.
Strike only after a long silence, but when you do, it will be earth-shattering.
Perseverance!
Yu Xiaogang silently brainwashed himself until his conviction reached its peak. Only then did he close the window. He believed that a bright future awaited him.
...
At the training ground of the Emperor's Battle Team Two, Tang San seemed a bit out of sorts.
As the head coach, Flender had assigned them the morning's training tasks and then left.
Tang San, who had received information from Yu Xiaogang last night, knew that Flender was likely going to find Qin Ming. However, since he hadn't received any updates from Yu Xiaogang, he felt somewhat anxious.
As a dutiful disciple, he should have checked on his teacher's condition this morning, but for some reason, Xiao Wu had been very reluctant to go near Yu Xiaogang's room. Helpless, he had no choice but to come to the training ground with Xiao Wu first.
"Brother, why don't you go check on Grandmaster?"
Xiao Wu had learned of Yu Xiaogang's injury from Tang San last night. She had planned to visit him this morning, but for some reason, her instincts told her to stay away from that area.
So, she pretended to feel unwell and dragged Tang San away.
But seeing Tang San now, she felt a bit sorry. In her eyes, Tang San was very concerned about Grandmaster's condition.
Feeling Xiao Wu's concern, Tang San's irritability subsided. He smiled at her and said, "It's okay. I'll go check on him during the lunch break. Master should be fine."
Perhaps there was some connection between master and disciple because just as Tang San finished speaking, Yu Xiaogang appeared at the entrance of the training ground.
"Xiao San, come here."
After scanning the training ground and not seeing Flender, Yu Xiaogang's face showed a satisfied expression. He then called out to Tang San.
"Go ahead, Brother."
Xiao Wu nudged Tang San, pointing towards the entrance.
"Alright, you guys keep training. I'll be right back."
Tang San agreed almost without hesitation and walked towards Yu Xiaogang, his steps slightly hurried.
"Teacher, how is your injury?"
Tang San asked with concern, looking at Yu Xiaogang, who was wearing a mask.
Although Tang San was eager to make progress, he knew very well that the first thing he should do now wasn't to ask about that but to show concern for his teacher's health. That was what he thought and exactly what he did.
Sure enough, although Yu Xiaogang's face was covered by the mask, Tang San could still read a sense of comfort in his eyes.
As expected of his good disciple, still so respectful and devoted—it seemed his judgment was correct, Yu Xiaogang thought with satisfaction.
"Xiao San, has Flender already gone out?"
Yu Xiaogang asked though he was almost certain of the answer.
"Yes, the Dean left after assigning the training tasks. Judging by the direction, he should have gone to Team One," Tang San reported, then looked at Yu Xiaogang as if waiting for some good news.
Feeling somewhat uneasy under his disciple's gaze, Yu Xiaogang could still understand his feelings.
Yu Xiaogang coughed and said, "I was planning to go too. After the treatment last night, it was already very late, and since I had some insights from the daytime, I didn't want to disturb Tianheng, who was already resting."
"I came here now to ask Flender to go with me, but since he's already left, I should head over there myself."
Yu Xiaogang chuckled, and as he mentioned having gained some insights the previous night, he couldn't help but straighten his posture slightly.
Tang San's eyes narrowed as he noticed this small detail. Had his teacher realized something? Or had he made some progress?
Having spent so much time together, Tang San was very familiar with his teacher. Yu Xiaogang was the type who would want to announce to the world whenever he had something to show. His behavior today was a bit unusual.
As for Yu Xiaogang's excuse for it being too late last night and postponing things until today, Tang San didn't mind that much. Yu Xiaogang being unreliable wasn't exactly news to him—he was used to it.
Besides, delaying by just a day or so was still acceptable to him. Moreover, he believed that Flender's role in this matter was more significant.
"Teacher, let me check your body again. I'm still a bit worried," Tang San said, making a move to squat down and examine Yu Xiaogang's left leg.
He couldn't help it—he had done something covert, and he felt a bit guilty. Plus, Yu Xiaogang's behavior today was a bit off. He wouldn't feel at ease unless he checked things out himself.
Seeing Tang San's actions, Yu Xiaogang instinctively took a step back with his left leg. This was about his secret, after all.
It was only then that he realized his reaction was a bit too much. Tang San was still just a child. Although he could craft all sorts of strange hidden weapons, what did he know about medicine and the human body?
"I only got injured yesterday, and you've already scared me. Look, I'm fully recovered," Yu Xiaogang said, extending his right leg forward and taking half a step closer to Tang San.
In his mind, apart from those things that were likely taught by Tang Hao, everything else was something he had taught. Could Tang San understand this?
"Disciple was just worried. Seeing it with my own eyes will put me at ease," Tang San said the words that a good disciple should say, his tone sincere, but his eyes, now lowered, had turned purple at some point.
Purple Demon Eye, activate.
Yu Xiaogang's behavior made it hard for Tang San not to be suspicious. He had to see for himself what anomaly could make his usually boastful teacher act so uncharacteristically low-key and even hide it from his always respectful disciple.
As he felt the gentle soul power of Mysterious Heaven Skill flowing through his left leg, carefully passing over the spot where he had been injured, Yu Xiaogang was very pleased with Tang San's actions. This disciple truly cared about him.
However, he didn't notice that Tang San's eyes, glowing with purple light, had widened in shock.
How could this be? He had broken through!
Tang San, who had checked Yu Xiaogang's condition just yesterday, used his Purple Demon Eye to accurately assess his current soul power level.
Moreover, in Tang San's eyes, there was now an inexplicable and mysterious energy surrounding Yu Xiaogang.
His teacher, who had almost no chance of breaking through to Soul Elder, had broken through. And what was this strange energy?
Why would he hide this from me? Didn't he say he wanted to train me? Or has he discovered something and is now trying to mislead me?
For a moment, the killing intent that had subsided in Tang San's heart surged up again, and he remained squatting there.
"Xiao San, Xiao San? What's wrong?"
Yu Xiaogang noticed that Tang San had withdrawn his soul power but hadn't stood up yet, so he called out, genuinely concerned about Tang San's condition.
"Oh, oh, Teacher, you've recovered very well. I'm happy for you," Tang San replied, his thoughts interrupted. He instantly suppressed his Purple Demon Eye and killing intent, standing up with a smile.
"Alright, I told you, there's nothing to worry about. You continue with your training, and wait for good news from your teacher."
Yu Xiaogang didn't notice anything unusual. He patted Tang San on the shoulder, encouraged him, and then left the training ground with great enthusiasm.
At the training ground's entrance, Tang San's gaze flickered as he watched Yu Xiaogang's departing figure, lost in thought.