Yu Xiaogang: Impossible! Absolutely Impossible!

Nuoding City, Martial Soul Hall.

Yu Xiaogang wore a clean gray robe, his face bearing that trademark stiff smile.

Today was the day to collect the Soul Master subsidy.

Ten Gold Soul Coins.

For many Soul Masters, this was a considerable sum, enough to support a decent life for a month or two.

But for Yu Xiaogang, who hailed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, this amount was truly insignificant.

Deep in his heart, he even felt a trace of disdain toward it.

This was nothing more than Martial Soul Hall's petty favors to win over low-level Soul Masters and buy their loyalty.

But disdain aside.

"Why not take advantage of it?" Yu Xiaogang thought coldly to himself.

The place for collecting subsidies had few people, and he quickly received a small money pouch.

The pouch felt slightly heavy in his hand. Yu Xiaogang counted the coins one by one.

After confirming there was no mistake, he tucked the pouch into his robe and turned to leave.

As he reached the entrance of Martial Soul Hall, fragments of discussion drifted into his ears.

"Ten Great Theories..."

"Master Yu..."

"..."

The disjointed words immediately caught Yu Xiaogang's attention.

"Could they be discussing my Ten Great Theories?"

Yu Xiaogang's steps paused slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting a little, a flicker of self-satisfaction passing through his heart.

Yu Xiaogang adjusted his expression to appear more befitting of a "Master," then strode toward the direction of the voices.

Around the bulletin board, three or four people were gathered.

At that moment, they were pointing at a notice and discussing it heatedly.

A youth with a clean-cut face said, "If only I had gotten my soul ring later! According to what's written on the notice, if I prepared Whale Rubber in advance, I'd have a chance to absorb a six-hundred-year first ring!"

The youth slapped his thigh hard, his tone full of regret.

His first soul ring was only three hundred years old—compared to a six-hundred-year soul ring, it was like heaven and earth apart!

Six hundred years?

First Soul Ring?

Yu Xiaogang's brows furrowed tightly.

Absurd!

Nonsense!

He could no longer maintain his previous composure. His voice shot up sharply as he barked at the group, "Nonsense! How is that possible!"

His voice rang out abruptly, cutting off their discussion.

The group turned to look at him, confusion in their eyes.

Who is this guy?

Meeting their gazes, Yu Xiaogang puffed out his chest slightly and said with a serious tone:

"According to my theory, a Soul Master's physical constitution and meridian strength have their limits."

"The absorption limit for a first soul ring, after rigorous calculation and verification through numerous cases, is four hundred and twenty-three years!"

"This is the truth!"

"A six-hundred-year first soul ring? That's pure fantasy—utterly impossible!"

He spoke quickly, with an urgent edge.

But the expected look of realization or a request for guidance never came.

The youth stared at Yu Xiaogang's face for a few seconds, as if recognizing him. A flicker of understanding crossed his face.

"Oh—I thought it was someone important. Turns out it's 'Master' you."

Then, the youth curled his lip.

"Let's go, let's go."

He waved his hand, preparing to leave with the few Soul Masters.

His companion wanted to argue a bit more, but the youth forcibly tugged at his sleeve.

Fragments of their voices drifted back:

"He's called Yu Xiaogang, nicknamed Master. Back when I was at the elementary Soul Master Academy, I'd already heard of his reputation."

"A waste, and not too clear in the head either."

"Arguing with someone like that is just a waste of my time."

That youth turned his head to look at Yu Xiaogang and made a face.

"You all..."

Yu Xiaogang's finger froze mid-air, the words stuck in his throat.

A familiar, icy wave of shame and anger surged into his heart.

Again!

That same look again!

Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently, his face flushing slightly red with rage.

He wanted to rush over and argue further, but found he had nothing to say.

Yu Xiaogang prepared to leave, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the bulletin board.

The title of the announcement was in large, eye-catching font.

Master Yu Cheng's Ten Great Theories

"Yu Cheng?"

Yu Xiaogang's heart inexplicably jumped.

These people just now—they weren't discussing him, Yu Xiaogang?

His eyes quickly shifted to the main text.

The next moment, Yu Xiaogang's pupils suddenly contracted!

"Whale Rubber, after being refined by fierce fire, can assist in absorbing soul rings. In experimental records, the highest successful absorption age for a First Soul Ring case is: Six Hundred Year Ghost Vine."

"Six hundred years, First Soul Ring!"

Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at this line of text, as if trying to bore through it.

Impossible!

This is absolutely impossible!

He took a sudden step back, a stifling pain in his chest, his breathing becoming rapid.

The limit of the First Soul Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years!

This was one of his core theories, calculated, summarized, and demonstrated with all his effort!

How could it be broken!

"Impossible, how could my theory be wrong!"

Yu Xiaogang muttered absentmindedly.

His gaze scattered, his originally straight back hunched over, as if his backbone had been pulled out.

After a long time, he staggered around and left the Martial Soul Hall.

Teacher's dormitory.

Tang San pushed open the door and was immediately startled by the sight of Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang was leaning against the headboard, scratching his scalp forcefully. His face was slightly flushed, and he seemed to be in great pain.

"Teacher, what's wrong with you!"

Tang San quickly came to Yu Xiaogang's side and asked with concern.

The last time he saw Yu Xiaogang with this expression was when they came out of the Notting dungeon.

Back then, Yu Xiaogang lay in bed all day.

Tang San brought him all three meals.

"Xiao San, you're here."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San, forcing a faint smile onto his face. But that smile seemed uglier than crying.

"Take a look at this."

Yu Xiaogang handed Tang San an announcement.

"Yu Cheng's Ten Great Theories?"

Tang San took the announcement and read it word by word.

"Teacher, is what's written here true?"

Tang San said incredulously.

Yu Xiaogang nodded helplessly and said nothing more.

Back then, his theory was also published by Martial Soul Hall, so Yu Xiaogang was all too familiar with it. Forging the Martial Soul Hall's seal would incur severe punishment.

"So that's how it is!"

Tang San suddenly realized.

He thought back to a year ago, when Yu Cheng had defeated him and taken a six-hundred-year Ghost Vine soul ring.

"So the dean said back then that Yu Cheng was an experimental subject chosen by Martial Soul Hall—it really was true."

Tang San thought to himself.

Back then, he had chatted with Lin Dashan and happened to mention Yu Cheng. From Lin Dashan, Tang San learned about some of the dark secrets on Douluo Continent.

Some major powers would select commoner Soul Masters without backgrounds to conduct experiments.

If the experiment succeeded, everyone was happy.

If it failed, that Soul Master could only count himself unlucky.

Back then, Yu Cheng had left without saying goodbye, and Tang San assumed he had suffered physical damage from absorbing a soul ring beyond his level, which was why Martial Soul Hall had taken him away.

Tang San had even felt a bit of regret.

Who would have thought!

Yu Cheng had actually overturned his teacher's theory!

Watching Yu Xiaogang's dejected appearance, Tang San still had many questions in his heart, but he didn't voice them.

For some reason, a thought suddenly arose in his mind:

His teacher was not infallible.