That single sentence choked Yu Xiaogang until his face turned purple.
He had walked the soul master world for many years. Though his strength was lacking, he had Flender and Liu Erlong behind him, along with Tang San's recent outstanding performance.
Even Titled Douluo would show him some courtesy when they met him.
When had he ever been humiliated like this by a mere gatekeeper?
"You!"
Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently, and his voice abruptly rose several octaves.
"Ignorant brat! I am the Continental First Theory Master, Yu Xiaogang! People in the soul master world respectfully call me 'Master'! You've actually never heard my name?"
He took a deep breath, trying to use his achievements to overwhelm the other party.
"You've heard the saying, 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless soul masters,' haven't you? You've heard of the Ten Core Competitive Theories, haven't you? I established all of them! They are great theories with epoch-making significance for the soul master world!"
The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more worked up he became. He even began expounding on the details of his theories, attempting to enlighten this "vulgar" gatekeeper with the radiance of knowledge.
However, Li Xin looked at him as though he were looking at an idiot.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Li Xin impatiently waved his hand, cutting off Yu Xiaogang's lengthy speech.
"What competition theories? They're a complete mess, nothing but heretical theories.
You think that pile of junk is worth showing off? Even the aunties who sweep our academy know more than you do."
"What did you say?!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears.
It was not just Yu Xiaogang. The Shrek group erupted in outrage as well.
Someone actually dared to insult Master's theories so bluntly?
"You have chosen the path to death."
Tang San's eyes narrowed instantly. A flash of purple glinted in their depths as his hand silently reached for the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night at his waist.
In his eyes, a teacher for a day was a father for life. Not only did this man fail to recognize his teacher, he dared to be so rude and even insult the work of his teacher's entire life.
According to the general principles of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, this man had crossed his bottom line and chosen the path to death!
Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to stop Tang San, who was about to make a move, but his own face had already turned dark enough to drip water.
He glared fixedly at Li Xin, his voice growing somewhat shrill from extreme fury.
"You may insult my cultivation aptitude, because that truly is my weakness.
But you absolutely cannot insult my character, much less my theories! They are the truths of the soul master world!"
"Truth? Heh, what a lofty claim."
At that moment, a clear and pleasant female voice, carrying a trace of laziness, slowly drifted over.
The Blue Silver Grass parted, and a young woman emerged with graceful steps, holding a Flower Parasol painted with blooming flowers.
A pair of long rabbit ears swayed gently with her steps, making her appear charming and adorable.
Her maple leaf-colored dress outlined her exquisite curves to perfection.
Yet her beautiful eyes were as tranquil as a deep pool as she silently watched the furious Yu Xiaogang.
It was none other than Gongsun Li.
"Yu Xiaogang, right?"
Gongsun Li twirled the Flower Parasol in her hand and spoke casually.
"Your theories are indeed all wrong. And not merely wrong—they are outrageously wrong, practically misleading disciples."
Yu Xiaogang felt blood rush straight to his head. He pointed at Gongsun Li, his finger trembling.
"Yellow-haired girl! What do you know? Since you claim my theories are wrong, then explain exactly why!
Otherwise, this matter will not end today!"
Gongsun Li smiled lightly. The charm of that smile made Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun stare blankly.
"Fine. Then I'll offer you a little guidance."
Gongsun Li's smile faded, and her expression turned indifferent.
"Your proudest theory is, 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless soul masters,' correct?"
"Correct!"
Yu Xiaogang said proudly, "It was meant to encourage soul masters with Innate weak martial souls. As long as they work hard, they can still become strong."
"Then let me ask you this."
Gongsun Li calmly interrupted him.
"If someone's Martial Soul is a hoe and their Innate Soul Power is only half a rank, can they cultivate to become a Titled Douluo no matter how hard they work, limited by the quality of their Martial Soul? Can they even break through level thirty?"
Yu Xiaogang froze, then argued stubbornly, "That would mean they haven't worked hard enough! And it also depends on opportunity!"
"Opportunity?"
Gongsun Li sneered. "Then let's use an even simpler example. At the same level, if a Blue Silver Grass soul master fought a Clear Sky Hammer soul master, and neither had any external assistance, do you think Blue Silver Grass could win?"
"This..."
Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted slightly. His gaze flickered as he instinctively looked at Tang San.
Tang San could win because he possessed Twin Martial Souls and the Tang Sect's secret arts. He was not a pure Blue Silver Grass soul master at all.
Gongsun Li gave him no chance to catch his breath and continued, "And then there is your so-called Spirit Ring Absorption Limit Theory.
Four hundred and twenty-three years for the first Spirit Ring, seven hundred and sixty-four years for the second... How did you arrive at those figures?
Did you compile the data of every soul master across the continent, or did you simply rely on Spirit Hall's limited records and dare to draw such arbitrary conclusions?"
"The human body has limits! That is an ironclad rule!" Yu Xiaogang roared.
"Foolish."
Gongsun Li coldly uttered two words. "The limits of the human body exist to be broken, not to have people like you use so-called theories to lock them in place.
If one's body is strong enough and one's willpower is sufficient, what is impossible about a first Spirit Ring being a thousand years old? Your so-called limits are merely the self-consolation of the weak."
"You... you..."
Yu Xiaogang's face went pale. He staggered back three steps, yet could not utter a single rebuttal.
Because he knew in his heart that his sources were indeed limited, and much of it had been conjecture.
"This... How could this be possible..."
The Shrek group was completely stunned.
Zhu Zhuqing in particular stared intently at Gongsun Li with her beautiful eyes.
This woman looked about the same age as her, perhaps even younger, yet her theoretical attainments were actually so profound?
Every sentence struck at the heart of the matter. Every rebuttal left Master speechless.
This was not merely a crushing defeat in theory, but an all-around assault on logic and understanding.
"Is this what people from Jixia Academy are like..."
Ning Rongrong murmured. The disdain in her eyes had long vanished, replaced by deep wariness.
Tang San's expression became extremely ugly as well. He wanted to refute her on his teacher's behalf, but after racking his brains, he found that her arguments were logically airtight, with no flaw to exploit.
Especially on the point that physical strength determined the age limit of Spirit Rings—he had actually come to understand something similar himself, but had not dared to question his teacher.
Watching Yu Xiaogang sway unsteadily, drenched in sweat, Gongsun Li sighed softly, her eyes filled with pity.
Before you continue