This Is All the "Grandmaster's" Theory Amounts To?

Yu Xiaogang raised his right hand and extended one finger. "First, Blue Silver Grass consumes very little Soul Power when used—less than any other Martial Soul. This means you can use it extensively with your own Soul Power."

Tang San nodded. Yu Xiaogang was right. When released in small amounts, Blue Silver Grass's consumption of Soul Power was almost negligible. When he infused it with his Martial Soul, it only began to feel like a burden once the Blue Silver Grass grew beyond ten meters in length.

Yu Xiaogang extended a second finger. "Second, Blue Silver Grass is too ordinary. As a result, it's far more deceptive than other Martial Souls, especially against ordinary Soul Beasts with low intelligence. Even if you summon your Martial Soul right beside them, they might not notice."

He then extended a third finger. "Third, Blue Silver Grass has many possible paths of development. Because it starts at such a low level, it can develop in multiple directions. And because Blue Silver Grass itself is so weak, it won't reject Soul Rings of any attribute."

"Martial Souls can reject Soul Rings?" Tang San asked in surprise.

Yu Xiaogang clearly enjoyed Tang San's surprised tone. "Of course. If your Martial Soul conflicts with the attributes of a Soul Ring, attaching that Soul Ring to the Martial Soul will cause a rejection. For example, Beast Martial Souls have great difficulty accepting Soul Rings with poisonous properties. Although a Martial Soul is an energy body, in a certain sense, it's also a life-form—the other manifestation of its host's life. If you forcibly attach a poisonous Soul Ring, you might be poisoned first. Few Beast Martial Souls can absorb poison without passing it on to their hosts. Blue Silver Grass is different. It's a plant, and a weak one at that. Absorbing poison is no difficult task for it."

Finally, Yu Xiaogang extended a fourth finger. "You have a fourth advantage: Innate Full Soul Power. The reason our Douluo Continent has never produced a powerful Blue Silver Grass Soul Master is mainly because the Martial Soul only grants its host a pitiful amount of Soul Power upon awakening. Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the speed of postnatal cultivation. If one is born with too little Soul Power, it's difficult to reach a higher level. Later in cultivation, hunting Soul Beasts also becomes more difficult. But you're different. You have Innate Full Soul Power. You have a future."

Yu Xiaogang was visibly agitated as he continued, "After my careful research, developing Blue Silver Grass toward the Control System is the most advantageous path. Grass is soft and can easily be controlled into various shapes. The simplest use is as a rope to bind enemies."

Tang San's heart jolted. This Grandmaster's words were exactly the same as what Gu You had told him. But Tang San knew that, given his current identity, he shouldn't possess this knowledge, so he pretended to remain calm and said, "But Blue Silver Grass is so fragile that it'll snap with a single tug. How could it possibly hold anyone?"

Grandmaster said, "That's where the direction of development comes in. If you develop toward the Control System, your Soul Ring choices should focus on two aspects. The first is toughness. The other is poison. As your Soul Power increases, your Martial Soul will grow stronger as well. Once you infuse more Soul Power into Blue Silver Grass, it will naturally become far tougher than the Blue Silver Grass found in nature. With the additional effects of Soul Rings in the future, binding enemies won't be difficult. And if Blue Silver Grass gains a poisonous effect, it will naturally be able to attack as well."

Tang San finally understood. The Grandmaster before him was exactly the incompetent teacher Gu You had described. The Control System development path he mentioned—using Blue Silver Grass like a rope and attaching Soul Rings with poison attributes—was nothing more than a possibility Gu You had already considered and told him about in advance.

Gu You had even told him about all the situations he might encounter in battle after choosing the Control System path in the future. This Grandmaster, however, hadn't mentioned any of them.

Tang San was no longer considering taking Yu Xiaogang as his teacher. Even so, he decided to give Yu Xiaogang one final chance: he would ask him about a problem Gu You believed couldn't be solved—how to deal with the Martial Soul itself being corrupted by poison after Blue Silver Grass was given a poisonous attribute.

Tang San said blandly, "Grandmaster, I'm willing to develop along the path of a Control System Soul Master. But you also mentioned that Blue Silver Grass itself is weak. How should I deal with the problem of weak Blue Silver Grass being unable to withstand the poison brought by its Soul Rings?"

Tang San no longer wanted to call him "you" respectfully. When Yu Xiaogang heard Tang San address him without honorifics, he was just about to get angry, but the question that followed stumped him.

Yu Xiaogang suddenly realized that this was indeed a problem. Tang San had Innate Full Soul Power and a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. His future held nine Soul Rings, and the quality of Blue Silver Grass itself meant that it was impossible for it to withstand the poison from nine poisonous Soul Rings.

Yu Xiaogang desperately racked his brain for a solution, but he discovered that this question had become a paradox within his theory.

Because Blue Silver Grass was of poor quality, poison was needed to make up for its shortcomings. Yet because Blue Silver Grass was of poor quality, it couldn't withstand poison that was too powerful.

Cold sweat broke out on Yu Xiaogang's forehead. His lips moved, but he couldn't say a word.

After a while, he said, "Well, you really are a clever child. That's a good question. But your Blue Silver Grass is only a Martial Soul. It can withstand the poison."

Tang San could listen no further. You think my Martial Soul can withstand it, but you won't be the one suffering if something goes wrong. I have Innate Full Soul Power. If the poison truly cripples my Martial Soul, wouldn't that be equivalent to crippling half of a Twin Martial Soul?

Tang San said harshly, "Sir, if you can't answer my question, I won't take you as my teacher. We're also in a hurry to complete the enrollment procedures, so we'll take our leave."

Without waiting for Yu Xiaogang to reply, he reached out and snatched the credentials belonging to himself and Gu You from Yu Xiaogang's hand, then headed straight toward the Teaching Building.

Yu Xiaogang stood motionless where he was. He had never expected the theory he had researched for years to be stumped by a question from a child who wasn't even a Soul Master. He had been completely unable to provide an answer.

Watching the backs of Gu You and Tang San as they left, Yu Xiaogang seemed to see his own future. After losing the two of them, he would remain in Nuoding City, waiting for the next genius to appear, only to wait until he died of old age without ever finding another.

"No, no, no, it shouldn't be like this. My disciple, my honor—all of it is mine. I'm the Grandmaster, an expert in Martial Soul research. No one can stop me from reclaiming the honor that belongs to me."

The look in Yu Xiaogang's eyes as he watched their backs gradually turned sinister. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

After walking dozens of meters and confirming that Yu Xiaogang could no longer hear them, Gu You said to Tang San, "Xiao San, I didn't expect this Grandmaster's plans for your Martial Soul to be the same as the idea I abandoned."

"It's fine." Tang San shook his head. "This Grandmaster is even more useless than I thought. He came looking for me to be his disciple without even properly planning the development of my Martial Soul."

Please recommend, vote, and bookmark. Please, I'm begging you.