The Scheming Xiao Tian—Sweating Now, Aren't You, Bro?

Inside Yu Xiaogang's office.

Yu Xiaogang's brows were practically furrowed into the shape of the number eight, his face filled with confusion and shock.

"Xiao Tian, can you tell us what's going on now? Why has your strength improved so quickly, and why are your first two Spirit Rings thousand-year ones?"

Xiao Tian looked at Yu Xiaogang's expression, so full of thirst for knowledge, and chuckled. He had wanted to mess with Yu Xiaogang like this for ages.

So he played dumb and said, "Grandmaster, actually, this is all thanks to your guidance."

Yu Xiaogang: ???

What the hell?

When did I ever guide you to absorb two thousand-year Spirit Rings? How come I didn't know I was this amazing?

Boom!

Tang San's gaze instantly landed on Yu Xiaogang, full of doubt.

What did Xiao Tian mean by that?

Could it be that his teacher had given Xiao Tian special tutoring without him knowing?

As if sensing Tang San's faint, almost imperceptible gaze, Yu Xiaogang immediately felt the pressure mount like a mountain and hurriedly said, "Xiao Tian, stop keeping us in suspense. When did I ever guide you to absorb two thousand-year Spirit Rings?"

Xiao Tian gave a dark little laugh in his heart, then hurriedly explained on the surface.

"Grandmaster, Tang San, you've both misunderstood. Grandmaster really didn't teach me to directly absorb thousand-year Spirit Rings. I guess that was my own decision."

Phew~

Hearing Xiao Tian say this, for some inexplicable reason, both of them let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

Yu Xiaogang: That's more like it. Scared me to death. I almost thought Tang Hao was going to kill me.

Tang San: That's more like it. He was the teacher's only Closed-Door Disciple. How could the teacher possibly give Xiao Tian special tutoring?

"But, Grandmaster, you taught me how to use Sword Qi and Sword Intent better. Do you still remember something you said? In daily life, I could cover my whole body with Sword Intent as much as possible. That would help my comprehension of the Sword Dao and also increase my strength."

Yu Xiaogang: ???

Huh? Did I ever say something like that?

He had indeed given Xiao Tian some simple guidance, but since he was not a Sword Cultivator after all, he had merely spoken a little about some of his own views, mixed in with a few guesses, using Xiao Tian as an experiment to verify his theories.

Maybe he really had said that?

Xiao Tian had only been a six-year-old child back then. He couldn't possibly be scheming enough to lie to him at a time like this, right?

And so.

Yu Xiaogang could only bite the bullet and nod, revealing a slightly stiff smile. "Yes, I remember. And then? Don't tell me you're saying that's why you improved so quickly?"

Tang San was expressionless at this moment, his face the very picture of a poker face as he looked at Xiao Tian and Yu Xiaogang, no one knew what he was thinking.

"Mm, yes, yes, yes! Grandmaster, you're so smart!"

Yu Xiaogang:

"Back then, I followed your advice and, as much as possible in daily life, continuously released my Sword Intent and covered my whole body with it. Over time, I discovered that I really did gain a deeper level of comprehension in the Sword Dao.

Most importantly, I could feel my physical constitution constantly strengthening, and my Soul Power cultivation speed also became much faster! It seemed as if improving my Sword Intent helped raise my Soul Power too."

Xiao Tian said with an excited look on his face.

"That was why I dared to take the risk of directly absorbing a thousand-year Spirit Ring as my first Spirit Ring. Though, actually, it was also because I got lucky. Originally, I only wanted to casually find a three- or four-hundred-year Spirit Beast to absorb, so at the time, I didn't ask the academy teachers for help. After all, it was only a Hundred Year Spirit Beast. With my strength, it shouldn't have been a problem.

But my luck was pretty good. Along the way, I encountered a dying silkworm-type Spirit Beast that had just reached one thousand years. I remembered that Grandmaster once said silkworm-type Spirit Beasts were generally very weak, and that the Spirit Skills they provided were usually in the direction of Soul Power. So I..."

After Xiao Tian's round of explanation, all three people present were dumbfounded. There was actually such a method?

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was thrown into such doubt about life by Xiao Tian's outrageous operation that his whole worldview wavered. He had copied theories—no, researched for a lifetime, and this was still the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Could it be that Sword Dao Chen Xin cultivated like this too?

The thought of going to ask him rose in Yu Xiaogang's heart, but it was quickly suppressed. The man probably would not even bother to acknowledge him.

"Xiao Tian, why were you so impulsive back then? Even if silkworm-type Spirit Beasts are weak, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. If you had failed, weren't you afraid you'd explode and die?"

Tang San asked in confusion, his eyes deep and dark. In his heart, he felt somewhat unbalanced.

Tang San: Why was Xiao Tian's luck so good that he just happened to encounter a dying silkworm-type Spirit Beast? Why didn't he explode and die while absorbing his first Spirit Ring?

Xiao Tian smiled with a harmless look on his face. "Actually, I was still somewhat confident. Didn't you say back then that you only took one minute to finish absorbing your first Spirit Ring?

Before absorbing Spirit Rings, my physique should have been about the same as yours. After my body was tempered by Sword Intent later on, I was even more confident.

But honestly, I was indeed lucky. Absorbing that Azure Jade Silkworm took me most of the day. I have to say, as expected of a thousand-year Spirit Beast, it really couldn't be underestimated."

After Xiao Tian said this, the resentment in Tang San's heart grew even heavier.

Of course, it was not directed at Xiao Tian, but at Yu Xiaogang.

As his teacher, Yu Xiaogang had not tested him before he absorbed his first Spirit Ring.

Now he finally understood. Back then, he had been fully capable of absorbing a Spirit Beast with a higher age!

Even if he could not be as lucky as Xiao Tian and absorb a thousand-year one, he could have absorbed an eight- or nine-hundred-year one, right?

His second Spirit Ring had come from a Ghost Vine of around six hundred years old, and when he absorbed it back then, it had not taken all that long.

Now Tang San was regretting it so hard his guts had turned green.

"Grandmaster, don't you always tell us that Spirit Ring absorption has theoretical limits? The first Spirit Ring can't exceed four hundred and twenty-three years, and the second Spirit Ring can't exceed seven hundred and sixty-four years."

Xiao Wu's puzzled voice rang out.

Holy shit!

Xiao Tian could not help giving Xiao Wu a thumbs-up in his heart. What a perfect assist!

"And you too, Xiao Tian. When you got your first Spirit Ring, why didn't you call us along? Do you know how dangerous that was?! And you clearly knew the first Spirit Ring could only be a Hundred Year one, so why did you risk your life trying for a thousand-year one?"

Xiao Wu really was a little angry.

Better safe than sorry—what if Xiao Tian had truly had terrible luck and died?

And he had absorbed a Spirit Ring all by himself, taking more than half a day at that. The fact that Xiao Tian had not been discovered and eaten by other spirit beasts felt like a miracle to Xiao Wu!

Xiao Tian: ...

Looking at the worried expression on Xiao Wu's face, Xiao Tian felt a faint warmth in his heart.

But the expression on Yu Xiaogang's face had frozen. Facing the gazes of the three of them, especially that of his own disciple, Tang San, he was truly starting to break out in a cold sweat.

Xiao Tian looked at Yu Xiaogang's expression at that moment and felt extremely pleased. Sweating bullets now, huh, bro?

For the past two years, in order to milk benefits from him, Xiao Tian had endured Yu Xiaogang nagging from the side every now and then—how a sword should be wielded, how it should be used. Most outrageous of all, he had even insisted Xiao Tian keep running every day!

Xiao Tian had been left utterly speechless. What use was running?

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