Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Clay, the Creator of All Things

It tastes pretty good, similar to the homemade wine I drank in my previous life—sweet and without much of an alcoholic flavor.

The four of them then ate and chatted, mainly with Old Man Su and Lu Yan doing the talking, while Teacher Zhou occasionally chimed in.

As for Teacher Li, he was simply doing nothing.

Those who know will know that Teacher Li's martial spirit is a cat; those who don't might think it's a pig.

However, given the greater good, Lu Yan could understand.

"Xiao Liu, your grades in general education courses have always been very good, and you've learned everything you're supposed to learn."

"What are your thoughts on your own path to becoming a Soul Master? Tell Grandpa Su about it." Old Man Su took a sip of his drink and finally got to the main topic of the evening.

"Development direction?" Lu Yan also took a sip of the fruit wine. To be honest, it was sweet and quite delicious.

"Grandpa Su, are you referring to offensive, agile, control, support, defensive, and so on?"

"Pretty much. But you don't have to be so rigid. Classification is static, but people are dynamic. It mainly depends on your thinking."

In fact, Old Man Su had discussed Lu Yan's development direction as a Soul Master with Lu Daguan, but he also wanted to hear Lu Yan's own opinion.

"As for the strategy, let's go with a three-pronged approach: strong offense, control, and defense," Lu Yan replied without hesitation. This was something he had already planned long ago.

"I thought you would be more inclined towards control-based play." Old Man Su was somewhat surprised, because Lu Yan's current playstyle was exactly the standard form of control-based play, which was quite disgusting.

"Hehe, isn't that because my martial spirit is too weak right now? I can only use this kind of fighting style to interfere with my opponent." Lu Yan probably knew what Old Man Su was thinking, and he lowered his head and took a sip of fruit wine with some embarrassment.

“Then there’s no problem. Xiao Lu also told me about your future career path. It seems that you and your father are on the same page.” Old Man Su nodded and continued.

"I've already sent someone to inform Xiao Lu. I estimate he'll be here early tomorrow morning, and then we'll prepare to set off together."

"Ah, Grandpa Su, you're with Teacher Li and Teacher Zhou too?" Hearing this, Lu Yan was slightly surprised. "What about the courses at the academy for the next few days, and the work of leading the Soul Hunting team during the final holiday?"

"Don't worry, we've made all the arrangements. Other teachers will cover for us," Teacher Zhou explained, then added.

"This can be considered a good ending to our teacher-student relationship over the past two years."

"Huh?" Lu Yan understood the implication in Teacher Zhou's words. "You guys found out? I do indeed plan to apply for graduation as soon as I become a Soul Master."

"I was originally planning to tell you after I obtained the spirit ring."

"You've worked so hard to finish all the general education and training courses ahead of schedule. Even Teacher Li can see what you're planning." Teacher Zhou glared at Lu Yan, annoyed.

"Hehe," Lu Yan chuckled like a child whose thoughts had been seen through.

Teacher Li, who had been engrossed in eating, suddenly objected, "Old Zhou, what do you mean by that?"

"It means I want to drink with you. Come on, bottoms up." So the two began to clink glasses.

Meanwhile, Old Man Su began to talk to Lu Yan about the target spirit beast for his first spirit ring.

"Xiao Liu, according to your and your father's ideas, the primary target this time is the Earth Rock Lizard?"

“Yes, Grandpa Su.” Lu Yan replied, then said somewhat embarrassedly, “Actually, my initial idea was to target ‘earth element spirit’ type soul beasts.”

"You really dare to dream. Not to mention that this type of soul beast is extremely rare, even if we did find one, even if the three of us attacked together..."

"Even a team of powerful Soul Masters might not be able to defeat a creature that's only a little over a hundred years old." Old Man Su glared at Lu Yan, annoyed.

"Hehe." Lu Yan chuckled sheepishly, "I even considered the Earth Rock Dragon Lizard, but in the end I succumbed to reality. Soul Hunting isn't about what I want, but what I can hunt."

"It's good that you understand." Old Man Su said in a somewhat complicated tone, "After all, we are just commoners. You are lucky. Your father has found someone, and we have helped you. At least you can still choose your first spirit ring. Getting one in a hundred years shouldn't be a problem."

"What about the other options? What are your thoughts?" Old Man Su merely sighed slightly before continuing with the main topic.

"Petrified lizards, giant rock turtles, rock-armored bears, even rock-armored rats, any kind will do if they're the right age," Lu Yan quickly rattled off a few more names.

"These soul beasts can all enhance the toughness of your clay martial soul, so they are indeed suitable."

"With the clay shaping and control skills you've developed, you can indeed combine offense, control, and defense into one." Old Man Su pondered for a moment and nodded.

In fact, he was also looking forward to the improvement Lu Yan would experience after obtaining the spirit ring.

After all, Lu Yan hadn't even obtained a spirit ring yet, but he was already able to reach the combat power of an ordinary white-ring beginner spirit master by virtue of his terrifying control over his clay spirit and his disgusting fighting style.

If the clay were to become even more resilient, and paired with the right soul skills, Old Man Su couldn't even imagine how cunning Lu Yan's actions could be.

Lu Yan's choice also conforms to the general rules of soul hunting for soul masters and is in line with common sense.

What Old Man Su didn't know was that Lu Yan had another purpose in choosing this type of soul beast.

That is to strengthen the origin of the martial soul and improve its quality.

Most Soul Masters may not realize this, but the rules and common sense subconsciously lead them to make relatively correct choices.

Unless, of course, a few individuals insist on challenging common sense to prove how "invincible" they are.

"That's right, I might have higher requirements for the age of the soul beast." Lu Yan added somewhat embarrassedly, "It should be at least three hundred years, and around four hundred years would be best."

"Around four hundred years? It seems you have quite the ambition, Xiao Liu!" Old Man Su sighed. "Alright, it seems this old body of mine will have to give it my all this time."

"Grandpa Su, thank you for your hard work." Lu Yan sincerely thanked the old man Su, and at the same time, he toasted each of the three elders and thanked them one by one.

"What's the trouble? Old Lu already agreed and paid us." After finishing his drink with Lu Yan, Teacher Li said nonchalantly, "Old Zhou and I each received 100 gold soul coins, and Teacher took 150."

Lu Yan was immediately embarrassed and stiffly turned his head to look at Old Man Su.

Old Su took a sip of his wine without changing his expression before speaking to Lu Yan: "What are you looking at? Feelings are feelings, and business is business. Little Liu, you're not a child anymore. Today, Grandpa Su will give you your last lesson."

"Old Su, Teacher Zhou, give me back my feelings of being touched!" Lu Yan complained playfully, and then drank a few more cups with the three old men.

The atmosphere in the private room immediately became lively, and it was not affected at all by the fact that the three of them had received payment.

Personal favors aside, the fact that the three of them gave Lu Yan extra tutoring and showed him care and concern during his studies at the academy was already a great favor.

This soul hunt is risky, especially since Lu Yan has high requirements for the species and age, making the risks even greater for them.

They usually lead teams to hunt souls for ordinary students in the academy on a voluntary basis, but they don't get this kind of treatment; it's basically a matter of fate.

If you happen to encounter a ten-year-old soul beast that's suitable, just lend a hand.

It's impossible for a hundred-year-old soul beast; the conditions simply don't allow it. If they're not careful, there could be casualties, and they themselves might get injured.

Furthermore, in the event of any truly dangerous situation, the academy allows them to prioritize their own safety.

This is true even if you hire a Soul Hunter team.

Therefore, it's fair to say that Old Man Su and his two companions accepted the money with a clear conscience, and that they were even being relatively stingy.

At least they could guarantee that if a dangerous situation arose, Teacher Li, the fastest agility-type battle spirit master, would take Lu Yan and run away.

Lu Yan was clearly able to understand and comprehend this, and he also agreed with Lu Daguan's choice.

And so, everyone parted in high spirits.

However, when Lu Yan returned to his dormitory, he saw a figure standing upright with his hands behind his back in the moonlight.

This air of tangible pretentiousness, yet one that is utterly incomprehensible, belongs to none other than the master Yu Xiaogang.

Chapter 14 Yu Xiaogang's "Words of Wit"

What's this guy doing standing at the door of his own dorm room?

Upon seeing Yu Xiaogang, Lu Yan couldn't help but frown.

Although he and Yu Xiaogang haven't completely fallen out yet.

After all, he was just a child.

He was certain that he had not said anything offensive to the other party, and that he had been quite polite and courteous in all his interactions with them.

However, given the prior remarks made by Old Man Su and Lu Daguan, minor frictions ensued.

Although the dean mediated, the matter was eventually dropped.

But no matter what, Lu Yan didn't feel that he had a good impression of Yu Xiaogang.

It was already quite good that he didn't snort coldly or leave in a huff.

Did you come all the way here to see him?

I bet he's hiding something good in his heart.

Thinking that he had just broken through to level ten and that Yu Xiaogang had come to his door that very night, Lu Yan narrowed his eyes.

So he pretended to be drunk and didn't see Yu Xiaogang, just to see how the other party would react.

As a result, Lu Yan's steps became somewhat unsteady, but he didn't need much acting skills because he was already a little tipsy.

And so, Lu Yan ignored Yu Xiaogang's "master" figure standing not far from the dormitory entrance, took out his key, and prepared to open the door and go inside.

"cough cough"

Immediately, Lu Yan heard Yu Xiaogang's feigned cough coming from behind him.

"Who is it?" Lu Yan turned his head with drunken eyes to look in the direction of the master.

When acting, you can't act too fake; if it's too fake, it becomes somewhat insulting.

Clearly, Lu Yan had no intention of insulting the master.

Although the original work, numerous fan works, and his real-life encounters in this life have instilled in him no goodwill towards Master Yu Xiaogang.

All that remained was contempt and disgust, along with a touch of clown-like disdain.

However, unless the other party has provoked him or there is a specific conflict of interest, he will never take the initiative to provoke or offend the other party.

This is of no benefit to his own interests or development.

Emotions are acceptable, but if Lu Yan is going to pay for something simply to vent his emotions, he needs to think it over carefully.

We should give him some face, at least out of respect for the power behind him.

Although Yu Xiaogang's cowardice was almost ingrained in his bones.

But this person's inferiority complex was also ingrained in his bones, which even distorted into a kind of absolute arrogance.

Lu Yan couldn't be sure if someone with a twisted mind would suddenly go berserk and shamelessly use their connections to punish those who offended them.

Therefore, he was always very polite and courteous to the masters.

To some extent, he is also a rather hypocritical person.

However, he knew one thing: it's okay to fool others, but don't fool yourself.

It is important to know oneself, to dare to face one's deepest desires, and to dare to take action to fulfill them.