Douluo: The Mysterious System

"Hmm, I didn't expect someone your age to have such a deep understanding of my theories." At this moment, the Grandmaster looked at Wang Xiaotian with increased fondness.

The more renowned a scholar is, the more they crave recognition for their theories. The Grandmaster was no exception.

"By the way, what is your martial soul? Summon it and let me take a look," the Grandmaster said to Wang Xiaotian. He liked this child quite a bit, especially because he accepted his theories. He was beginning to feel a sense of appreciation for talent. What a pity the boy already had a master; otherwise, he would have tried to take him as a disciple himself.

"Okay, Grandmaster," Wang Xiaotian stood up and nodded.

The usual procedure: open the soul ring, draw the sword... ah no, summon the Sky flame Sword.

Wang Xiaotian had no intention of telling the Grandmaster that his true martial soul was a body martial soul called Undying Body. After all, if you want to play it safe in life, you've got to keep at least one trump card to yourself.

"Hmm..." The Grandmaster walked a circle around Wang Xiaotian, nodding repeatedly. As a Grandmaster, his insight was sharp. He could tell that this martial soul was very strong!

The sword even carried fire-attribute power. Even though the Grandmaster was already a Grand Soul Master, just standing in front of this sword gave him a slight sense of pressure.

"Your soul ring should be around 450 years old, and judging by its attributes, it must've come from a highly aggressive soul beast."

"Based on my deduction, it's likely a Fire Tiger-type soul beast. Am I right?" the Grandmaster asked, staring intently at Wang Xiaotian.

Damn. Freaking amazing! As expected of the Grandmaster his knowledge of martial souls was truly impressive.

Wang Xiaotian inwardly gave him a big thumbs-up. His soul ring was granted by the system and was about 480 years old already the upper limit of what he could currently handle.

Yet the Grandmaster had only walked a circle around him and already estimated it so accurately. That's a serious skill.

As for which soul beast it came from well, he couldn't say anyway. So whatever the Grandmaster guessed, he just rolled with it.

"Yeah, that's right, Grandmaster. My father hunted that Fire Tiger for me back then, and... and..." Wang Xiaotian nodded, pretending to look sorrowful.

"Xiaotian, I have a question for you. Would you be willing to become my student? Don't worry, I know you already have a master. I mean it as becoming your teacher, not your formal master," the Grandmaster said directly. He wasn't one to beat around the bush. Even if Wang Xiaotian already had a teacher in the traditional sense, he could still mentor him as an academic instructor.

Most importantly, Wang Xiaotian accepted his theories and had a top-tier tool-type martial soul. In Wang Xiaotian, he saw the potential to bring his life's work to prominence!

"Grandmaster no, Teacher I'd be honored!" Wang Xiaotian immediately bowed. Since it was just a teacher and not a formal master-disciple bond, there was no need to kneel. Still, this was an unexpectedly easy win the task of meeting the Grandmaster was already complete.

Who would've thought the first meeting would be a success? Too easy.

"Good! Good!" The Grandmaster helped Wang Xiaotian up with great excitement. Finally, someone he could pass his decades of theory on to.

"But I must tell you," the Grandmaster continued, "my soul power is not strong. Due to a mutation in my martial soul, I've been stuck at level 29 for life, unable to break through. Have you thought this through?"

At this point, even the Grandmaster felt a bit uncertain his strength was, well... lacking.

"Teacher, you don't need to worry about that. When it comes to cultivation, my master has said he'll appear from time to time to guide me. I will wholeheartedly learn theory from you," Wang Xiaotian said casually. He had the system, after all, so training was the least of his concerns. Learning theory from the Grandmaster was enough.

"That's great. Don't worry I'll teach you well." The Grandmaster placed both hands on Wang Xiaotian's shoulders with excitement. His decades of theoretical knowledge would finally find a purpose. But at the same time, he felt a little regret after all, he wasn't Wang Xiaotian's true master.

They chatted for a while longer, and then the Grandmaster handed over a cultivation manual he had compiled, instructing Wang Xiaotian to practice well. Even though Wang Xiaotian had a mysterious master, the Grandmaster still intended to fulfill his responsibilities as a teacher.

Since Wang Xiaotian still had to visit the logistics and academic offices, the Grandmaster didn't keep him longer. He told him to come see him every other night for lessons if anything came up.

Wang Xiaotian felt honored and promised to attend regularly.

After all, his knowledge was mostly based on superficial content from novels. Learning more about the real world here wouldn't hurt.

As for the Grandmaster's cultivation manual it was a true treasure. It functioned somewhat like the inner cultivation methods in wuxia novels, boosting practice efficiency significantly.

That stingy system hadn't given him any manuals, so he had to rely on the Grandmaster's.

Just as he walked out of the Grandmaster's room, the system chime rang:

"Ding! Senior Brother mission complete. Reward: One storage soul tool. Soul power experience +1000 points."

Wang Xiaotian still needed 900 points to level up, and this 1000-point reward immediately pushed him to the next level he was now a Level 12 Soul Master!

Nice. Comfortable. So this is the real way for transmigrators to level up just complete missions! Way faster than grinding.

"Ding! Epic mission triggered: Mediation."

"Objective: Successfully mediate the conflict between Bibi Dong and the Grandmaster."

"Mandatory mission. Cannot be refused. Time limit: None. Reward: Epic-grade reward. Failure penalty: Soul power drops 50 levels."

Wang Xiaotian, who had just been celebrating his level-up, immediately exploded in frustration.

What kind of bullshit epic quest is this?!

And it's mandatory?! Fail, and you drop fifty levels?!

This is insane. What is he supposed to do?

The conflict between the Grandmaster and Bibi Dong? Back then, once the Grandmaster found out Bibi Dong was the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, he turned around and left without a second glance.

On Earth, that's the textbook definition of a scumbag abandoned by both men and women alike. And now the system wants him to mediate between them?

Mediation? HOW? Is he supposed to get them back together?

Yeah right. That's never happened in this lifetime. Thankfully, the task doesn't require them to become a couple again otherwise, he'd throw in the towel right then and there.

No wonder it's an epic quest with no time limit. This mission is seriously tough.

But this also implied something important during the final divine battle, he must ensure that Bibi Dong doesn't die. He might even need to make sure Spirit Hall doesn't get destroyed. Otherwise, how could he even start mediating anything?

Ugh... headache... serious headache...

For now, better check out the storage soul tool.

Claim reward!

A blue men's bracelet appeared in his hand. It looked very plain no patterns, of decorations. Just... ordinary. Negative points for style.

He put it on his wrist and used soul power to sense it. Not bad it had 50 cubic meters of space. For comparison, Tang San's future Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges belt only had 24 cubic meters.

Still, Tang San's belt had a name. He should too.

Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges came from an old poem: "Where is the lady who taught me to play the flute?" It was a nostalgic name.

So for his storage device, he needed a nostalgic name too. He decided to call it:

"Five-Three" short for "Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulated Tests".

Perfect.