"No!!!"
(Snowflakes drift~ The north wind howls~)
At that moment, Liu Erlong felt as though the world itself had changed color in response to her emotions.
She felt as if she were standing in a snowfield, frozen to the bone.
Who could have imagined that just a moment ago, she had been vouching for Yu Xiaogang, insisting that her Xiaogang possessed unparalleled talent and had developed his theories through his own research?
Yet the very next moment, the Light Screen's answer had revealed the truth, exposing Yu Xiaogang's true colors.
And that wasn't all!
After the answer appeared, it was followed by more details:
[Most of Yu Xiaogang's theories were plagiarized or adapted from other sources, especially from Spirit Hall, an organization devoted to researching Martial Souls!]
[Yu Xiaogang chose to plagiarize and steal these theories, publishing them as his own to create the false impression that he was an expert in theory, a profound researcher, and a man of outstanding talent!]
[Furthermore, many of the theories Yu Xiaogang published were common knowledge among high-ranking Soul Masters. The only reason they had not been published before was that almost no one besides him would pass off such common knowledge for fame and profit!]
With that further explanation, every word and image struck Liu Erlong like a knife, shattering her heart piece by piece.
"How could this happen? How could it..."
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"
Liu Erlong stared at the Light Screen, nearly dazed. She saw the explanation there, along with several scenes.
They showed Yu Xiaogang repeatedly publishing theories he had plagiarized from elsewhere, all to build his reputation.
The more Liu Erlong watched, the more she felt her heart breaking.
She truly couldn't accept this reality. But the scenes and the answers in the Q&A Game left her no choice but to believe them.
"How could this..."
"Xiaogang, how could you do something like this!"
"You clearly have such exceptional talent and a mind beyond ordinary people's imagination!"
"So how could your theories have been plagiarized and stolen? And how could you shamelessly use them to make yourself look good?"
"You... you!"
"Pfft—!"
The woman who loved Yu Xiaogang most couldn't take it anymore. She spat up a mouthful of blood on the spot.
Flender, standing beside her, was startled and hurried over to catch her:
"Hey, Er Long, don't get worked up! Calm down!"
"How could this happen? Were all of Xiaogang's theories really plagiarized?"
"I didn't know either... Er Long, try to calm down! Xiaogang... Xiaogang might have had his reasons!"
"His reasons?"
Liu Erlong loved Yu Xiaogang, but she wasn't a fool.
What was there to say after something like this?
She knew Flender was trying to comfort her, afraid something might happen to her.
Even so, Liu Erlong gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh:
"Boss Fu, do you actually believe what you're saying?"
"His reasons? What reason could possibly make him so eager to plagiarize other people's theories and publish them as his own?"
"No wonder he said he was feeling unwell and wanted to leave earlier..."
"No wonder Xiaogang went crazy as soon as he saw the question. He was so agitated."
"So he knew all along, and now he's run off!!"
"This..."
Flender lowered his head. It wasn't as if he didn't understand.
In the end, all he could do was sigh helplessly. "Sigh..."
The Shrek Seven Devils standing nearby stared at the two of them, drawing in sharp breaths.
They had all seen the answer, and swallowed nervously.
Dai Mubai was the first to speak, his voice full of shock:
"Holy crap, Grandmaster's theories really weren't his own?"
"We were mocking him earlier, and we actually got it right?"
Ma Hongjun nodded and snickered. "Boss Dai, you're still calling him Grandmaster?"
"Why not just call him Gangzi?"
"If he really could develop theories, I wouldn't criticize you for calling him Grandmaster!"
"But he plagiarized them. So tell me, what should you call him?"
"Gangzi?" Oscar chimed in.
Ma Hongjun patted Oscar on the shoulder. "See? Little Ao isn't stupid!"
"Boss Dai, these days, there aren't any real grandmasters. They're all fake! If you can't stand fakes, neither can I."
Dai Mubai nodded with a bitter smile. "That's true."
"Damn, I actually thought he had some real ability! If the answer hadn't exposed him, who knows how long that bastard Gangzi would've kept wasting our time!"
Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help sighing at this.
Who could have expected that the teacher who had taught them for so long was nothing but a complete good-for-nothing?
Didn't that mean the respect they had shown him, and the lessons they had learned from him, might all have been wrong?
"Damn!" Ning Rongrong couldn't help blurting out.
At that moment, the Shrek Seven Devils' trust in Yu Xiaogang plummeted below zero!
They also realized that Gangzi had probably run off by now...
Not far away.
Tang San stared at the Light Screen, at first afraid he might have read it wrong.
He rubbed his eyes, then activated his Purple Demon Eye and fixed his gaze on the answer and explanation.
Only then did he confirm that the answer wasn't mistaken!
"Damn!"
"Teacher... no, Grandmaster... no... Yu Xiaogang!"
"No!"
"Gangzi!"
"How could this happen? That bastard Gangzi's theories were all plagiarized?!"
"And I even took him as my teacher! I even said that a teacher for a day was a father for life!"
"Holy crap!!"
"Gangzi, you bastard! You lied to me! You're no grandmaster at all—you lied to me!!"
Tang San was nearly as agitated as Liu Erlong. He, too, had poured so much of his affection into Yu Xiaogang.
Who could have imagined that the teacher he had obeyed and trusted so completely was a fraud?
He had thought Yu Xiaogang's theories would help him grow. Now he knew that bastard couldn't help him at all!
Tang San's face darkened. He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
He wasn't about to keep calling him his teacher after this!
He roared, "That damn Gangzi dared to deceive me like this and take me as his disciple!"
"Gangzi has earned a death sentence!!"
"Just you wait, Gangzi! The next time I see you, I'll kill you!"
By the end, Tang San's hatred was plain. He wished he could find Gangzi right then and beat him until he was crippled!
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
The more frightened and desperately Yu Xiaogang fled, the less anyone paid attention to him. By now, he had managed to get quite far away.
He looked up at the answer displayed in the sky, his face just as dark and cold.
But since he knew his own character, he had answered the question correctly.
A surge of energy instantly flowed into Yu Xiaogang's body, helping him break through to level 30.
For Yu Xiaogang, that was the only upside.
But he still wasn't satisfied. Yu Xiaogang pointed straight at the Light Screen and cursed:
"Light Screen, are you asking to die? You actually exposed this master's secret?!"
"And—and you even went into such detail afterward!"
"This Q&A Game has earned a death sentence! Just you wait, you'll see. I'll smash that lousy Light Screen to pieces!"
He had finally benefited from the Light Screen's Q&A Game and successfully broken through a level.
Yet because he had lost face, he turned around and cursed the Light Screen. It was an unexpected reaction.
Unfortunately for Gangzi, his cursing triggered a response from the Q&A Game!
[Repeated provocations against the Q&A Game detected. Yu Xiaogang's actions are serious!]
[Punishment: Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power Level will be reduced by 5 levels!]
Before you continue