The Fatty Has Left Again

"Put it over there."

Tang Qinghe did not show any surprise. Instead, he pointed at the table.

Under Jade Little Sister's watchful gaze, Elder Sister Bai put down the little black book in her hand. She had no intention of hiding it, and simply stared at Bibi with a smile. Her gaze seemed to say: Look, this is what Tang Qinghe gave me.

Under Jade Little Sister's insistence, Tang Qinghe took out the little black book and flipped through it once.

"The ten core principles of martial souls:"

"First principle: Only spirit bodies of beasts possess beast martial souls."

"Second principle: Martial souls are divided into weapon martial souls and plant martial souls."

"Third principle: Martial souls restrain one another. Beast martial souls can absorb the spirit essence of plants, while plant martial souls can absorb the spirit essence of animals."

"Fourth principle: The absorption of every spirit essence has a limit. The first essence lasts 423 years, the second 764 years, the third 1,760 years... and the ninth essence ten thousand years."

"Fifth principle: The higher one's innate spirit power, the stronger one's martial soul. If innate spirit power is high but the martial soul is weak, there must be another, even stronger martial soul hidden within it. This is an exception..."

After reading it, Tang Qinghe cursed inwardly, What a fool. He had not expected her to be so capable.

During the days he had been exchanging pointers with Bibi, he had hidden his true strength in his martial soul. Even so, it could not be considered much.

But he had still exposed quite a bit. Jade Little Sister was the first to notice the flaws in this little black book. She did not know the exact extent of his abilities, but she could be certain that he had far surpassed the ordinary spirit masters of this world. Most of it was common knowledge among spirit masters, known to everyone. Only the sections concerning the three martial souls were something Jade Little Sister herself had added, and even those were full of errors.

Take the first principle, for example: "Only spirit bodies of beasts possess beast martial souls." Wasn't Jade Little Sister herself a beast spirit body?

As for the second principle—"Martial souls are divided into weapon martial souls and plant martial souls"—Tang Qinghe had to laugh. Had she really never heard of the concepts of the highest-ranked martial souls and elemental martial souls in the Douluo Continent?

Still, everyone knew that martial souls were divided into weapon martial souls and plant martial souls. This was not some secret known only to the students of the junior Spirit Master Academy, was it? Could this also count as a mistake?

As for the limit on spirit essence absorption, wasn't it merely referring to the maximum number of rings that could be absorbed at each stage of a martial soul's cultivation? She had simply copied it over.

There was no need to discuss the other mistakes, such as the claim that martial souls restrained one another or how to determine the age of a martial soul. They were all nonsense.

The book was simply full of rubbish.

While Elder Sister Bai was seriously discussing her ten core principles of martial souls, Jade Little Sister's heart was practically roaring with excitement. It seemed she had already guessed that the woman before her had been heavily influenced by Bibi and had entered the innermost layer of the martial soul's hidden core. She had found the solution to the third point of the Thirty-Two Secret Methods, yet had been unable to break through the thirtieth bottleneck.

Or perhaps, without realizing it, she had already become the husband of the empire's princess.

Even if she had not found a way to break through, with Bibi's help, she would still be able to rely on her own spirit body and obtain the recognition of the world, becoming a generation's great master.

However, after Bibi finished reading the little black book, she did not speak. Instead, she began examining him from head to toe. Sometimes she stared at him, and sometimes she used her index finger to tap the tabletop.

After a long while, Tang Qinghe finally opened his mouth. "Is this your work?"

"Yes, Elder Sister." At that moment, Jade Little Sister's heart had already risen to her throat. She felt as though she had lost this battle.

"Why don't you call the Spirit Master Academy's headmaster Elder Sister Bai?" Elder Sister Bai asked.

The so-called Elder Sister Bai was the master of the Spirit Hall's hidden sect. She was also one of the eighty-nine-ring spirit beasts possessing a spirit core that had broken through the ninety-thousand-year mark.

The moment she heard Tang Qinghe calling her Elder Sister, Jade Little Sister took it as proof that Bibi was her teacher. She immediately knelt and offered her tea to Elder Sister Bai.

"Elder Sister, please accept my tea."

Elder Sister Bai's expression froze for a moment.

Jade Little Sister stood to one side, her face flushed with excitement. The joy on her face was almost overflowing.

Tang Qinghe glanced at her, then hurriedly apologized to Elder Sister Bai before looking back at Jade Little Sister. "Jade Little Sister, are you certain all of this is your work?"

"Yes. Elder Sister, every single word was written by me." Jade Little Sister straightened her chest proudly.

"You intend to submit it to the academy?" Tang Qinghe's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Elder Sister. This is only my..." Jade Little Sister had not finished speaking when Tang Qinghe interrupted her.

"As long as you admit it, that's enough."

He then turned toward Elder Sister Bai. "Elder Sister Bai, I have a request. Please allow me to borrow the core secrets of the Spirit Hall and take them to the Holy Spirit Realm. What punishment will I receive?"

"Ah..."

Even Elder Sister Bai had not expected this.

Elder Sister Bai hesitated before saying, "According to the law of the angels, stealing the Spirit Hall's core secrets and revealing them to outsiders carries a prison sentence of three to six years. The sentence will be increased if the offense is repeated."

"Very well. Look at this. Jade Little Sister has just copied out the ten core principles of martial souls. Inside are more than a hundred thousand words, all of them taken from the Spirit Hall's secret records. She has even dared to alter the wisdom left behind by the previous masters of the Spirit Hall without changing a single character. She has put her own name on it. As for the other ten percent, they are merely some unreliable speculations. If this were leaked, it would not only cause my Spirit Hall to lose face; it would also make the previous masters bear the shame. How many spirit masters in the world would be deceived? It would ruin the reputation of my Spirit Hall. What do you think?"

Tang Qinghe calmly pointed at Jade Little Sister's little black book and placed it on the table.

As the master of the Spirit Hall's hidden sect, Elder Sister Bai naturally knew the Spirit Hall's secrets more clearly than anyone else.

After reading the contents of the little black book, her face shifted between red and pale.

She had never imagined that Jade Little Sister had secretly copied the things she had learned.

She could not help but admire the girl's initiative in presenting herself to the Spirit Hall and becoming an ordinary administrator. So that was why she had been allowed to enter the hidden hall and read the core secrets.

Otherwise, if she had appeared before Elder Sister Bai today, Tang Qinghe would already have become the Spirit Hall's prisoner.

Thinking of this, Elder Sister Bai glanced at Jade Little Sister. Then she looked at Tang Qinghe and said with a stern expression, "According to the divine law of the angels, Jade Little Sister stole the Spirit Hall's core secrets and even obtained access to its deepest core secrets. However, considering her sincere attitude, I sentence her to eight years of hard labor."

Jade Little Sister's face went pale. She could hardly believe her ears. The woman before her had actually handled the matter so irrationally. She could not believe that she had knelt and begged to become a disciple of the academy's master, that she had been attracted by the master's "wisdom," entered the hidden hall, seen the Spirit Hall's core secrets, and even knelt beneath the master's stone throne.

Thinking of this, Elder Sister Bai turned to Jade Little Sister, then asked Tang Qinghe in confusion, "Elder Sister, according to the divine law of the angels, Jade Little Sister did steal the Spirit Hall's core secrets and even came into contact with its most central secrets. But given her circumstances, wouldn't eight years in prison be too harsh?"

Jade Little Sister's eyes were filled with tears. She seemed unable to believe her own ears. The woman before her had actually, against all reason, said that she was willing to kneel before the academy's master and beg to become his disciple. She had been attracted by the master's great wisdom, entered the hidden hall, witnessed the Spirit Hall's core secrets, and even knelt beneath the master's stone throne.

P.S.: To be continued.