Without the Things He Copied, He Wasn't Even Worth Dust

His description was calm and cruel, stripping a seemingly profound theory back to its most essential nature: an experimental process built upon countless lives.

Bibi Dong's face instantly turned deathly pale.

More than anyone else, she knew the terrible price Spirit Hall had once paid to research the limits of Soul Rings.

Those experimental records had been bought with the lives of countless death-row prisoners guilty beyond redemption, as well as enemy Soul Masters captured during soul-hunting operations.

They were among Spirit Hall's most closely guarded secrets!

What right did Yu Xiaogang have to obtain them?

Li Yifei's voice seemed to pierce through her heart as it continued to echo through the Group Chat.

[Li Yifei: Speak.]

[Li Yifei: Why have you stopped talking again?]

[Li Yifei: I'm asking you two.]

His prodding lashed at Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong's souls like a whip.

At this moment, their silence was already tantamount to an admission.

In her office at Blue Tyrant Academy, Liu Erlong's entire body went cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, yet she could not feel the slightest warmth.

She felt as though the idol she had worshipped for decades was being smashed to pieces hammer blow by hammer blow, while she did not even have the strength to reach out and stop it.

Li Yifei seemed to have lost his patience.

[Li Yifei: Fine, since you won't talk, I'll continue.]

His tone made it sound as though he were discussing something utterly insignificant.

[Li Yifei: That so-called Soul Ring Age Theory of his had existed long ago, hadn't it?]

[Li Yifei: Bibi Dong, search your conscience and think about it.]

[Li Yifei: Before that 'Master' of yours published his theory, how many members of Spirit Hall's elite Angel Legion didn't use the optimal configuration of yellow, yellow, purple, purple Soul Rings?]

The question was like a bolt of black lightning, splitting open the curtain over Bibi Dong's memories.

The Angel Legion.

It was Spirit Hall's core armed force, glory inherited from the Angel God.

Every member had been painstakingly selected from among the most gifted talents across the continent.

Their Soul Ring configurations had followed an extremely strict standard long before Yu Xiaogang was even born.

Though those standards had not been precise down to individual years, their core principle was identical to Yu Xiaogang's theory.

They sought Soul Rings of the greatest possible age within the limits of what the body could endure.

[Li Yifei: And the Upper Three Sects with their long inheritances, those direct descendants of Great Families—when obtaining Soul Rings, which of them didn't follow similar rules?]

[Li Yifei: Many families specializing in a single Martial Soul had already figured out through countless generations of trial and error what kind of Soul Beasts to hunt at each stage, and what kind of Soul Skills they could obtain.]

[Li Yifei: Their first, second, and Third Soul Skills were practically fixed.]

[Li Yifei: Did they learn all that only after reading that 'Master's' theory too?]

Every word Li Yifei spoke revealed a truth concealed beneath a halo.

Yu Xiaogang was no pioneer.

He was more like an... organizer of information.

A... plagiarist living off others' scraps.

The thought made Bibi Dong tremble from head to toe as an unprecedented wave of nausea surged up from her stomach.

She looked at Li Yifei's concluding statement in the Group Chat and felt her entire world turning to ashes.

[Li Yifei: So Yu Xiaogang's Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul are actually very simple.]

[Li Yifei: The theories were plagiarized.]

[Li Yifei: The data belonged to others.]

[Li Yifei: There was no testing.]

Three sentences, three blades.

Every blade drew blood. Every blade was fatal.

They thoroughly nailed the "Master" whom countless people—including herself—had placed upon a pedestal to the pillar of shame.

[Li Yifei: What kind of Master was he?]

[Li Yifei: A Master of Plagiarism?]

That light, casual question carried pure curiosity, yet it hurt more than any vicious curse ever could.

It completely shattered the last lingering fantasies in Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong's hearts.

Master of Plagiarism.

Those four words were like a scorching brand, burned deep into their souls.

They turned all their past worship, love, and defense of that man into an absurd joke.

The man they had loved, the man they had defended, was merely a... fraud who had stolen others' achievements and packaged them as his own wisdom?

The realization left Bibi Dong suffocating.

She remembered how, back then, she had secretly copied Spirit Hall's confidential research materials and joyfully handed them to that man.

She had thought it was support for the career of the man she loved.

She had thought she was helping him complete a great theory.

Looking back now, what was she?

A mole who had leaked secrets?

An accomplice aiding evil?

A... fool blinded by love?

A black tide of shame, rage, and regret instantly swallowed her reason.

"Pfft—"

Bibi Dong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the magnificent Pope Robe before her red.

Her face was pale as paper, and those Phoenix Eyes that had once looked down upon the world were now filled with emptiness and confusion.

She had not been wounded by Li Yifei's power.

She had been... utterly ravaged by her own past stupidity.

Blue Tyrant Academy.

With a thud, Liu Erlong slipped from her chair and collapsed limply onto the cold floor.

She did not vomit blood, but her gaze was quieter than death itself.

She recalled every moment she had spent with him.

He would always furrow his brow and tell her he was considering great matters concerning the future of the Soul Master world.

He would always hold ancient books in his hands and tell her he was seeking inspiration in the wisdom of those who came before him.

She had once been deeply captivated by his "focus" and "erudition."

Now that she thought about it, was that so-called contemplation merely him thinking of how to repackage others' theories?

Was that so-called search for inspiration actually... a search for targets to plagiarize?

She did not dare think any further.

With every additional second she thought about it, her understanding of that past relationship collapsed another degree.

Li Yifei did not seem to care in the slightest about the devastating blow his words had dealt the two women.

His mind continued operating with calm precision.

[Li Yifei: Of course, it's not like I can't understand him.]

That sudden claim of "understanding" made every girl silently watching the Group Chat freeze for a moment.

Even Dugu Yan was confused.

Was Brother Yifei... going to speak up for that piece of trash?

[Li Yifei: After all, without this theory he copied, what did he have left?]

[Li Yifei: Nothing at all.]

Those two sentences instantly transformed everyone's newly arisen confusion into an even deeper chill.