"Xiaosan, return to Shrek Academy with me."
The atmosphereinstantly shifted!
Led by Zhao Wuji, the Tang Sect members silently moved to stand behind Tang Lan, making their stance crystal clear.
Yu Xiaogang and Flender stood side by side, full of confidence.
——Their disciple would surely listen to them.
But the reality was…
Tang San hesitated again!
His rationality told him that staying with Tang Lan would grant him greater benefits and more freedom than following Yu Xiaogang.
Not to mention—
The Tang Sect held many research opportunities that fascinated him.
Even without considering these factors—
Tang San had always been inseparable from Tang Lan since childhood. Now that Xiao Wu was gone, he could finally enjoy his brother's undivided attention.
And now, he was supposed to give that up?
A foolish decision.
Yet—
His old-fashioned feudal beliefs made him struggle with a sense of blind loyalty.
A disciple must not disobey his master—a principle etched into his bones.
So, he hesitated.
He wanted to keep Tang Lan's benefits, but he also didn't want to be labeled a traitor for disobeying Yu Xiaogang.
Thus, he turned to Tang Lan for help—
"Brother, you be the bad guy!"
Tang Lan smirked.
——You little rascal, you want to have it all without paying the price?
——Too bad, you're in for a loss.
Tang Lan's expression turned serious as he spoke.
"Grandmaster, I still address you as 'Grandmaster' out of respect."
"Let me ask you this—are you using Xiaosan to prove your 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls'?"
Yu Xiaogang's already rigid expression froze even more.
From Tang Lan's tone, he could sense…
Disdain?
Interesting.
No matter who showed up today, Tang San was his disciple—he had the final say!
Yu Xiaogang stood his ground. "Yes, that is my intention," he said confidently. "As long as he follows the path I've set, his future achievements will be limitless!"
Tang Lan merely smiled, not refuting anything—
Letting Yu Xiaogang fully absorb the silent mockery in his eyes.
"Then, Grandmaster, are you aware that your theory is full of flaws?"
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened immediately!
——He could accept people calling him useless, because that was an undeniable fact.
But!
His theories were his last source of pride—he would never allow anyone to trample on them!
Just as he was about to retort—
Flender grabbed his arm, shaking his head.
——Having read the Tang Sect Encyclopedia, Flender knew that if Yu Xiaogang argued now, he'd only embarrass himself.
But—
Yu Xiaogang didn't know that.
Already fired up, he shook off Flender's grip and snapped angrily—
"Then tell me—what's wrong with my theories?!"
Flender closed his eyes—it was over.
Tang Lan grinned.
"Let's start with the first core principle—'Soul power level is directly proportional to martial soul quality,' correct?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded proudly.
He even gave an example. "Your twin martial souls prove this point."
So confident.
"I see." Tang Lan nodded. "Then according to you, the 'Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon'—recognized as the world's strongest beast martial soul—should guarantee innate full soul power, correct?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded firmly.
"Then here's the problem—"
"If the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is the strongest beast martial soul, then all its inheritors should be born with full innate soul power."
"But you, Grandmaster, know better than anyone else that even within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, innate soul power varies."
"Some are high, some are low."
"And you yourself, due to martial soul mutation, were born with only half a level of soul power."
"So, Grandmaster, how do you explain this?"
Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment—
But then quickly countered, "Even the same martial soul can have different quality variations, which causes the differences in innate soul power. My case is a special exception due to martial soul mutation."
It was a forced explanation, but at least he patched the hole for now.
Unfortunately—
Tang Lan had a killing move prepared.
"Fine, let's assume your point is valid. Then explain this—"
"Why does Xiaosan's 'Blue Silver Grass' have innate full soul power?"
Yu Xiaogang's brows furrowed.
He glanced at the others, clearly unhappy—
Tang San's twin martial soulsweren't something that should be discussed so casually!
But Tang Lan wasn't waiting for his answer.
He turned directly to Tang San and asked, "Xiaosan, tell me yourself—how did you get your innate full soul power?"
Tang San: "…"
—— Wait, weren't you supposed to be the bad guy?
—— Why are you throwing this back to me?!
Tang San knew the truth better than anyone—
His innate soul power had nothing to do with his martial soul.
It was all cultivated manually, using Mysterious Heaven Skill over time.
It had absolutely nothing to do with martial soul quality!
Yu Xiaogang, still unaware of the trap, pressed further—
"Xiaosan, speak up. As long as you uphold the truth, you have nothing to fear."
——
Good heavens!
He was even encouraging Tang San to tell the truth?
Tang San smiled bitterly.
He couldn't lie just to validate Yu Xiaogang's theory.
So he had no choice—
"I don't know my exact innate soul power level," Tang San admitted, "but I can say for sure—it definitely wasn't full soul power."
"I cultivated it bit by bit, similar to Brother's 'Nine Yang Divine Skill.'"
——
One sentence.
Everyone—except Tang Lan—stared in shock!
Yu Xiaogang was stunned, bewildered—his worldview completely shattered!
—— His theory was actually wrong?!
Flender, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others were instead shocked by the idea that—
Innate full soul power can actually be cultivated later?
Then is it even "innate" anymore?!
But some people… focused on something else entirely.
——
Ning Rongrong blurted out, "Wait! Uncle Tang, your innate soul power was only Rank 3, right?"
—— This was something Tang Lan had deliberately hidden back then.
But the others didn't know that!
And just like that, Yu Xiaogang took another heavy hit!
Tang Lan's martial soul quality was undeniably high, yet his innate soul power…
—— Something was definitely wrong with the Grandmaster's theory!
But right now, no one cared about Yu Xiaogang.
They were all staring at Tang San strangely.
—— So you knew how to increase innate soul power…
—— And you practiced it secretly…
—— But never told your brother?!
Tang San looked guilty—he had no argument.
——
Thankfully, Tang Lan stepped in.
"Xiaosan was just a little kid back then. He probably didn't even realize what was happening, so it's normal that he didn't say anything."
He looked at Tang San, his gaze full of trust.
"If Xiaosan had known as much as he does now, he definitely wouldn't have kept it to himself."
"After all, we're real brothers!"
"How could you be so selfish, Xiaosan?"
——
Tang San felt even more awkward.
Because back then, he wasn't some clueless child—he had the soul of an adult.
But due to sect secrecy, he had chosen to keep it to himself.
Now that he thought about it…
Maybe he really had been selfish?
The others, unaware of the full truth, didn't press the issue further.
Instead, they all turned to look at Yu Xiaogang.
—— Master, keep arguing!
——
Yu Xiaogang, however, was completely speechless.
How was he supposed to argue?!
His own disciple had testified against his theory—
He didn't even have a chance to bluff his way out!
He could only struggle to say, "I'll admit, my first theory may have some gaps, but my other theories are definitely correct!"
——
Good heavens!
Tang Lan couldn't help but mentally applaud.
—— This guy's mouth is the hardest part of his body!
——
Out of nowhere, Zhu Zhuqing dropped a bombshell.
"Since soul ring bottlenecks don't actually limit soul power growth, why doesn't anyone just train to Title Douluo first, then get their soul rings later? Maybe they'd all end up with ten 100,000-year rings."
——
Tang Lan turned to Zhu Zhuqing in genuine surprise.
The usually quiet and reserved "Ice Queen" had suddenly spoken such a long and sharp argument—rare indeed.
And highly effective.
—— Directly shutting down Yu Xiaogang!
(Back then, Tang Lan had asked him the exact same question.)
——
Not to be outdone, Ning Rongrong chimed in.
"Your theory that 'Martial Soul True Body amplification is proportional to martial soul quality'—isn't that just common sense?"
"Otherwise, why would martial souls be ranked into top three sects and bottom four sects? Why else would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda be called the strongest support martial soul?"
"This counts as your research?"
—— Yu Xiaogang fell deeper into his existential crisis.
——
Dai Mubai pushed forward for the kill.
"You once said, 'There are no trash martial souls, only trash soul masters.'"
"So what about those people with innate Rank 0 soul power?
Are they all trash?"
——
Tang Lan had previously used this argument against Yu Xiaogang—and he still had no answer.
——
Oscar was itching to add something, but after glancing at Tang San's gloomy face, he shrank back.
—— (Wait, wasn't Yu Xiaogang… his grandmaster-in-law?)
——
Zhao Wuji, on the other hand, had no such concerns.
He had to say something, or he'd feel left out!
"Your 'Martial Soul Mimicry Theory' isn't even yours.
Plant-type soul masters absorbing beast-type soul rings has been around for ages."
"The reverse has happened too."
"I saw a few cases myself when I was younger—it's just that their martial souls weren't strong, so it didn't spread."
"That's not your 'theory'—that's just a 'knowledge point' you summarized."
——
Yu Xiaogang's face twitched violently!
This really had been something he stumbled upon during his travels.
He had leveraged his reputation to pass it off as his own research.
And now?
He had completely exposed himself!
——
Seeing his pride and joy—his theories—torn apart piece by piece…
Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but feel a deep sorrow.
His entire life's work—
Was it all meaningless?
—— Tired.
—— Might as well destroy everything.
——
(End of Chapter)