Chapter 1: Assassinated by Yu Xiaogang
"I didn't expect that the Grandmaster's theories were actually plagiarized."
Notting City, Notting Academy.
Luo Ling walked out of the teacher's office with a strange expression.
As a transmigrator who had read the original Douluo Continent, he had always imagined the Grandmaster as a learned and scholarly man. But now…
"All my theories were summarized from records preserved in the Spirit Hall Library for many years! There can't be any mistakes!"
Recalling Yu Xiaogang's panicked response and expression earlier, Luo Ling was speechless.
He had originally planned to become Yu Xiaogang's disciple, but now that idea was gone.
It had to be said that netizens in his previous life weren't wrong about Yu Xiaogang's character.
Whether he was a scumbag or not, plagiarism had now been confirmed.
He wandered back to his dormitory—Dorm Seven. This was where Luo Ling lived.
Luo Ling had transmigrated into the Douluo Continent seven years ago.
He had been adopted by the village chief of Emperor Soul Village outside Notting City and began studying at Notting Academy a year ago.
In this world, he had no system, no cheat abilities, and no powerful background.
When he awakened his martial soul a year ago, it was a mutated Scarecrow, with an innate soul power of level six.
The talent wasn't bad, but a Scarecrow martial soul was unheard of—considered worthless.
After all, what use could a scarecrow possibly have?
But Luo Ling wasn't discouraged by having a so-called "trash" martial soul. He thought of the Grandmaster.
"There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters."
That was what the Grandmaster said, giving Luo Ling hope.
But after constant rejection and avoidance by Yu Xiaogang, that hope began to fade.
Until today…
Yu Xiaogang had accidentally confessed something he shouldn't have.
"Looks like I can only rely on myself!" Luo Ling raised an eyebrow and headed into his dormitory.
"Xiao Ling, did you go see the Grandmaster again?"
A voice came as soon as he entered.
"Sort of." Luo Ling looked up and saw Wang Sheng.
"Rejected again?" Wang Sheng said with a teasing grin.
"Obviously." Luo Ling replied calmly.
"I told you, there's no point in worshiping that so-called Grandmaster. You're already a one-ring soul master at seven years old, and he's been stuck at level twenty-nine for decades!"
Wang Sheng snorted with disdain. "That Grandmaster isn't worthy of his reputation!"
Luo Ling smiled faintly, not denying his words. He felt the same way now.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was evening.
After finishing his cultivation, Luo Ling was about to have dinner when he saw a middle-aged man approaching.
"Assistant Zhang?" Luo Ling looked at him in surprise.
He knew this man — Zhang Lang, an assistant teacher at the academy. His martial soul was a long blade, and he'd only recently reached level twenty.
"Xiao Ling, the Grandmaster wants to see you. He's decided to take you as his disciple!"
"Take me as his disciple?" Luo Ling froze. After refusing so firmly earlier, now he had changed his mind?
"Yes! Come with me." Zhang Lang smiled, motioning for Luo Ling to follow.
Luo Ling hesitated for a moment but went along.
After all, Yu Xiaogang would one day become Tang San's teacher. Maybe getting close to Tang San could help him obtain some immortal herbs later?
Thinking this, Luo Ling followed Zhang Lang northward through the academy.
After about fifteen minutes, as the trees grew denser, Luo Ling felt uneasy.
"Assistant Zhang, this direction isn't toward the teacher's offices."
His voice echoed through the quiet forest. The man ahead stopped, and a long blade appeared in his hand.
A white and a yellow soul ring rose from beneath Zhang Lang's feet.
"This obviously isn't the office. And you won't be going there anymore." Zhang Lang turned around coldly.
"You're here to kill me?" Luo Ling realized.
But why?
Then a name surfaced in his mind—Yu Xiaogang.
Could it be… because Yu Xiaogang had slipped up earlier, he wanted to silence him?
"You're not stupid!" Zhang Lang sneered. "A trash like you with a scarecrow martial soul, still begging to be accepted by the Grandmaster? What a joke!"
"The Grandmaster didn't want to stoop to your level, but you dared to steal his research notes!"
"Yu Xiaogang told you that?" Luo Ling's face darkened with fury.
What a hypocrite of a Grandmaster—sending someone to kill him and then falsely accusing him?
"You little brat, don't you dare slander the Grandmaster! He already warned me about your lies!" Zhang Lang spat with contempt.
Luo Ling shook his head. Whatever respect he once had was now gone without a trace.
All that mattered was surviving.
Zhang Lang, martial soul: Long Blade. Estimated level: twenty-one, an attack-type Grand Soul Master.
Luo Ling, martial soul: Scarecrow. Level: eleven.
As he strategized, a yellow soul ring rose at his feet.
That ring came from a three-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake, hunted with help from the academy's head instructor.
His martial soul was the Scarecrow, Tang San's was the Blue Silver Grass—both were plants.
So Luo Ling had tried to create a skill similar to Tang San's first ability, "Binding."
And he had succeeded.
A tattered scarecrow wearing an old straw hat materialized beside him—his martial soul.
It couldn't possess his body; it could only manifest externally, classed as a tool martial soul.
"A hundred-year soul ring… quite lucky for trash like you. But I'm a Grand Soul Master!" Zhang Lang's eyes gleamed with jealousy at Luo Ling's ring.
Luo Ling didn't give him the chance to attack first. He unleashed his first soul skill—Scarecrow Bind!
Enhanced by the Mandala Snake's power, the straw became stronger, though not poisonous, and had excellent binding force.
Countless strands of straw shot out, wrapping Zhang Lang tightly like a mummy.
Luo Ling didn't stay to celebrate—he turned and ran full speed.
Their soul power gap was ten levels; the binding wouldn't hold long. But if he reached a populated area, Zhang Lang wouldn't dare attack publicly.
Just as relief began to grow in his heart, a furious shout came from behind:
"First Soul Skill—Slash!"
"Second Soul Skill—Swift Step!"
The straw bindings were shredded instantly. Zhang Lang's second soul ring glowed, and a faint white light formed beneath his feet.
A speed-enhancing ability.
Luo Ling's eyes hardened. This was bad—Zhang Lang was already faster than him, and now with acceleration…
He couldn't escape.
Luo Ling sighed silently.
In seconds, Zhang Lang had overtaken him.
"Run, boy! Why'd you stop?" Zhang Lang laughed maniacally as he charged forward, blade in hand.
Before Luo Ling could react, the long blade flashed, slashing across his chest. Blood gushed out violently.
He was thrown back against a tree, his vision blurring.
Am I the unluckiest transmigrator ever? Dying before I even got started…
Collapsing under the tree, Luo Ling's face filled with unwillingness and rage. In his fading vision, Yu Xiaogang's image surfaced, stirring a deep hatred.
Yu Xiaogang, you hypocrite. If I become a vengeful spirit, I'll make you suffer every agony before killing you myself!
He roared silently in his heart. At the brink of death, a powerful obsession took form.
Luo Ling's eyes widened, turning blood-red.
Not far away, the scarecrow standing silently seemed to respond—it slowly turned, and crimson light flickered within its hollow sockets.
(END CHAPTER)
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