However, Tang San was, after all, a meticulous thinker.
He carefully reflected on Yu Xiaogang's long speech just now.
If this man wasn't boasting, if he really published that monumental work called the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul and was truly as knowledgeable and talented as he claimed...
Tang San silently calculated in his heart:
Then his attainments in martial soul theory must be terrifying! Since I have only just arrived here and want to gain a deeper understanding of this world's cultivation system, taking such a martial soul master as my teacher would indeed be an excellent choice.
Moreover, the belief that a teacher for a day was a father for life was deeply rooted in Tang San's mind.
He did not reject the idea of finding someone to rely on.
Just as Tang San weighed the pros and cons, reached a decision, and prepared to kneel and perform the formal disciple ceremony—
An extremely abrupt, undisguisedly mocking sneer suddenly sounded beside him.
"Heh..."
Xue Bingchen stood with his arms crossed, casting a condescending glance at Yu Xiaogang. His tone brimmed with mockery.
"Oh? You say you're a martial soul master? Then why do I sense... that the Soul Power fluctuations within you are merely level twenty-nine?"
The moment those words were spoken, Yu Xiaogang's face turned deathly pale!
Yet Xue Bingchen showed no intention of stopping. Every word struck at Yu Xiaogang's heart, each sentence like a resounding slap across his face.
"Looking at your age, you must be nearly fifty, at the very least? You've lived half your life, yet only possess the cultivation of a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. Is this what you mean by 'there are no useless martial souls, only useless Soul Masters'?"
"You're a useless man past fifty who hasn't even reached level thirty, yet you shamelessly want to take a genius with Innate Full Soul Power as your disciple? Wouldn't that be leading a student astray?!"
Yu Xiaogang had been struck where it hurt. His body jolted, and he pointed at Xue Bingchen, trembling with fury.
"You... you're talking nonsense! Mine was a martial soul mutation..."
"Shut up!"
Xue Bingchen cut him off without mercy, then dropped an even more devastating bombshell!
"And that Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul you were just boasting about..."
A mocking sneer curled Xue Bingchen's lips as his blade-sharp gaze pierced Yu Xiaogang.
"If I remember correctly, weren't those theories valuable insights compiled through the blood and lives of countless high-ranking Soul Masters and sages of Spirit Hall throughout the generations?"
"You merely took advantage of your time freeloading in Spirit Hall's library to steal and piece together the crystallized wisdom of those predecessors. You changed it slightly, then shamelessly put your own name on it and went around deceiving people!"
"A level twenty-nine waste who has never personally absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring—how did you determine the maximum age of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring that a Soul Elder could absorb? By dreaming?!"
Boom!!!
Xue Bingchen's words were like a bolt from the blue, striking Tang San's mind with crushing force!
Tang San's eyes widened abruptly, his face filled with shock.
He instinctively sucked in a breath and stumbled back several steps, instantly widening the distance between himself and Yu Xiaogang.
Tang San had belonged to the Tang Sect in his previous life. What did the Tang Sect hate most?
Besides betrayal, it was thieves who secretly learned martial arts and stole others' reputations!
Tang San stared coldly at Yu Xiaogang, whose face had already turned liver-colored, as murderous intent rose in his heart.
So... this man is actually an academic thief who steals fame and deceives the world! A waste who couldn't even break through level thirty by fifty!
He saw that I was young and knew nothing of the outside world, so he came here pretending to be some Grandmaster, hoping to trick me into becoming his disciple?
If I truly took him as my teacher, wouldn't I become a laughingstock throughout the entire Soul Master world?!
At that thought, Tang San's right hand, hidden within his sleeve, silently gripped the trigger mechanism of the Silent Sleeve Arrow.
This man is utterly hypocritical and wants to ruin my future...
A trace of icy killing intent flashed through Tang San's eyes as he sentenced Yu Xiaogang to death in his heart.
He has invited his own death!
Martial soul defect!
Unable to break through level thirty for life!
These few short words were like a rusty, blunt knife viciously stabbed into Yu Xiaogang's heart, then wildly twisted within it!
This was Yu Xiaogang's lifelong pain, the deepest and most untouchable sore spot in his heart!
And now, this bloody scar had been ruthlessly ripped open before a crowd by an unknown white-haired youth!
"Boom!"
An indescribable humiliation and rage surged straight to his head. Yu Xiaogang's face, already flushed red with anger, instantly turned liver-colored.
His eyes immediately became bloodshot, turning crimson. His chest heaved violently, and heavy breaths blasted from his nostrils. He looked like a wild boar cornered into a desperate situation, breathing like an ox.
When he turned his head, hoping to find even a trace of comfort, he saw something that drove him even closer to collapse.
Tang San, the "chosen disciple" he had yearned for and believed Heaven had bestowed upon him, was now looking at him with extreme wariness, even a measure of contempt and killing intent. Tang San's feet had also unhesitatingly retreated several steps, completely widening the distance between them!
That motion, as though Tang San were avoiding a plague god, completely ignited the final fuse of Yu Xiaogang's reason!
"Insolent! You brazen madman!"
Yu Xiaogang was furious beyond measure. His composure shattered as he roared, his voice so shrill it nearly cracked.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you know who I am?!"
He suddenly thrust out his chest, attempting to use his former glory to crush this young man who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. He bellowed:
"I am one of the Golden Iron Triangle that once shook the entire Douluo Continent! The Horn of Wisdom, Yu Xiaogang!"
"Those things you just said are utter nonsense! Do you know how much harm your ignorance and arrogance have caused to a great scholar who devoted his entire life to the study of martial soul theory?!"
Yu Xiaogang pointed at Xue Bingchen's nose, his finger trembling violently.
"You are young, yet you act so arrogantly and tyrannically. You truly have no respect whatsoever for the senior figures of the Soul Master world, nor for the Golden Iron Triangle, renowned across the land!"
This furious series of rapid-fire roars echoed before the gates of Notting Academy.
To be fair, Yu Xiaogang's impassioned, righteous appearance truly managed to intimidate the inexperienced Tang San for a moment.
"Golden Iron Triangle? Renowned across the continent?"
Tang San's tightly furrowed brows lifted slightly, and the fingers already resting on the Sleeve Arrow trigger loosened a little.
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