"Just leave it on the table."
Tang Qinghe didn't look angry. He simply pointed at the table.
Jade Little Sister set the little blue book down, then looked at him without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Her gaze stayed fixed on Bibi, and a faint smile played on her lips. She was clearly the same mischievous little girl who had once teased Bibi.
Under Jade Little Sister's watchful gaze, Tang Qinghe picked up the blue book and leafed through it.
"The Ten Core Principles of Martial Souls:
"First principle: Only soul beasts have Spirit Bodies, and only soul beasts have martial souls.
"Second principle: Martial souls are either weapon martial souls or plant martial souls.
"Third principle: Martial souls can be cultivated. Animal martial souls can absorb plant Spirit Essence, and plant martial souls can absorb animal soul rings.
"Fourth principle: There are limits to how much Spirit Essence each soul ring can absorb. The first ring is 432 years, the second 764 years, the third 1,760 years... and the ninth is ten thousand years.
"Fifth principle: The greater one's innate Spirit Power, the weaker one's martial soul. If someone has high innate Spirit Power but a weak martial soul, there must be another, stronger martial soul...."
After reading it, Tang Qinghe silently cursed. What a damn genius.
Over the past few days, while competing with Bibi to see who was taller, he had spent quite a bit of time hidden away in the Martial Soul Hall.
But not too much. Jade Little Sister's little blue book was at least ninety percent accurate. Its odds of being correct were certainly over ninety percent, and most of its contents were common knowledge among soul masters. Only the final principle was Jade Little Sister's own invention. It was so astonishingly original that it was hard to believe.
Take the first principle, for example: "Only soul beasts have Spirit Bodies, and only soul beasts have martial souls." Wasn't Jade Little Sister herself a Spirit Body?
As for the second principle—"Martial souls are either weapon martial souls or plant martial souls"—Tang Qinghe didn't even bother challenging it. The Douluo Continent had no concept of the highest-ranking martial souls or elemental martial souls.
But saying martial souls were either weapon or plant martial souls? Hadn't every first-year student at the Spirit Hall Academy learned that? How could that possibly count as a core principle?
And then there was the principle about limits on Spirit Essence absorption. Wasn't it directly copied from the maximum soul-ring ages soul masters could absorb at each stage? She'd just slapped it down on the page.
As for the rest—how to cultivate martial souls and how to determine their rank—there was no need to mention it.
It was all utter nonsense.
And yet this Concubine had actually devoted herself to studying the Ten Core Principles of Martial Souls. Jade Little Sister was so moved that she could hardly contain herself. It seemed she had finally made a deep impression on Bibi, and had entered the innermost chamber of the Martial Soul Hall's library—where she'd found a way to break through the bottleneck that had kept her from reaching rank thirty.
She might even, someday, stand before this Concubine and become the husband who helped her establish a great dynasty.
Even if she couldn't find a way to break through, she could still rely on her Spirit Body theory, with Bibi's help, to earn fame throughout the world and become a great scholar of her generation.
But after reading the little blue book, Bibi didn't say a word. Instead, she began looking Tang Qinghe up and down, tapping the table with her index finger as she studied him.
After a long silence, Tang Qinghe finally spoke. "Is this really your work?"
"Yes, Concubine." Jade Little Sister's heart was already in her throat. She felt as if she'd already failed.
"Elder Sister Bai taught you to say that, didn't she?"
The Elder Sister Bai in question was the head of the Martial Soul Hall's library. She was an eighty-ninth-rank Spirit Douluo whose martial soul was the Jade Swan.
The moment Tang Qinghe asked, Jade Little Sister realized that Bibi was the one who'd seen through her plan. She immediately stood up and bowed to Elder Sister Bai.
"Please forgive me."
Elder Sister Bai paused, caught off guard.
Jade Little Sister stood to the side, beaming with excitement. Her joy was practically written all over her face.
Tang Qinghe ignored Elder Sister Bai's confusion and turned back to Jade Little Sister. "Jade Little Sister, are you certain you wrote all this yourself?"
"Yes. Concubine, every word is mine." Jade Little Sister stood up straight and puffed out her chest.
"And you planned to publish it?" Tang Qinghe narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, Concubine. This book was originally—"
Before Jade Little Sister could finish, Tang Qinghe cut her off. "As long as you admit it, that's enough."
Then he turned to Elder Sister Bai. "Elder Sister Bai, I'll trouble you to confiscate her martial soul research, keep it under close guard, and ensure it never sees the light of day. What punishment should she receive?"
"Ah...?"2
The sudden turn of events left Jade Little Sister stunned. Even Elder Sister Bai hadn't expected it.
Elder Sister Bai hesitated. "Concubine, is there some misunderstanding? Jade Little Sister only joined the Martial Soul Hall with His Majesty's approval."
It had been done to intimidate the Jade Yuan Ming royal clan. Even the heir to the clan had joined the Martial Soul Hall, so how could the royal family possibly save face?
And that was exactly why the Jade Yuan Ming clan's elders were now discussing how to drive Jade Little Sister out of the sect.
But she was only one person.
"Elder Sister Bai, I'll handle that. You only need to answer my question." Tang Qinghe's expression stayed calm.
Elder Sister Bai hesitated before replying, "Under the laws of the Angelic Order, stealing the Martial Soul Hall's core research and attempting to leak it is punishable by three to six years in prison. The sentence is severe."
"Good. Then take a look at the book Jade Little Sister was just about to publish. It's called 'The Ten Core Principles of Martial Souls.' More than ninety percent of it is just a hodgepodge of the Martial Soul Hall's research. She has brazenly plagiarized the wisdom of the Hall's founders, without changing a single word, and put her own name on it. The remaining ten percent is also nothing but incoherent nonsense. If this gets out, not only will the Martial Soul Hall be humiliated and our founders' reputations ruined, but we'll also become a laughingstock among the soul master community. It'll do terrible damage to the Hall's public standing. What punishment do you think she deserves?"
Tang Qinghe had the little blue book taken from Jade Little Sister and laid it on the table.
As the head of the Martial Soul Hall's library, Elder Sister Bai naturally knew the Hall's collections better than anyone.
After reading the contents of the little blue book, her expression darkened.
She couldn't believe Jade Little Sister had secretly copied the Hall's research while right under her nose.
She'd thought the girl had volunteered to join the Martial Soul Hall as an ordinary administrator out of goodwill. So that had been her plan all along.
Fortunately, she'd let him open the restricted library's core research archive.
Otherwise, if this had come to light today, he would already have become a criminal in the Martial Soul Hall.
Thinking of that, Bibi glanced at Jade Little Sister, then told Tang Qinghe in a solemn voice, "Concubine, under the divine laws of the Angelic Order, Jade Little Sister attempted to steal the Martial Soul Hall's core research. Although she accessed the Hall's most restricted materials, her offense was minor. I sentence her to eight years in prison."
Jade Little Sister was completely bewildered. She could hardly believe her ears. The Concubine before her had acted against all expectations and declared that she hadn't known Jade Little Sister was plotting to steal the great Hall's research. She'd even blamed herself for allowing it—and praised Jade Little Sister's "wisdom" for gaining access to the Hall's inner library, viewing the Martial Soul Hall's core research, and even worshipping at the great Hall's stone statue?
ps: first one.
Before you continue