[Li Yuan: Yu Xiaogang spent every day buried in theoretical research, dreaming of becoming a Grandmaster of theory. But his theories were complete nonsense. Tell me, who can determine a Soul Beast's age down to the exact year just by looking at it?] [Li Yuan: Besides, everyone's physique is different, and so is the limit of what they can withstand.] [Viper-Hearted Big Sister: That's ridiculous! Even my grandpa, a Titled Douluo, wouldn't claim he could judge a Soul Beast's age accurately. But Yu Xiaogang can supposedly pin it down to the exact year? I can only say that defies all reason!] [Big Cat in the Night: Agreed. It's completely unrealistic.] [Richest Little Heiress of Heaven Dou: Agreed times 10,086! Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone are incredibly powerful, and even they say judging a Soul Beast's age comes down to experience. Being off by decades or even a century is perfectly normal. Is Yu Xiaogang somehow better than them?] [Loves Eating Carrots: That's impossible! A Soul Beast's age can't be determined that precisely.]
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, Xiao Wu had more right than anyone to speak on this matter.
Most of what humans knew about Soul Beasts barely scratched the surface.
Judging a Soul Beast's age by its appearance and features alone was largely a gamble.
Some Soul Beasts were born weak. From birth, one might be much smaller than its siblings of the same age, yet still be just as old as they were.
Pinning its age down to the exact year by its size was even more absurd.
That couldn't even be called a theory. It was pure bullshit!
Liu Erlong's face went pale.
For the first time, disappointment appeared on her cool, beautiful face.
Could Xiao Gang really be that kind of person?
Doubt stirred in her heart for the first time, but she quickly pushed it away.
Xiao Gang must have gone down the wrong path. That's why this happened.
It doesn't mean he's worthless.
[Li Yuan: Tell me, isn't publishing a theory this sloppy—even absurd—leading students astray?] [Li Yuan: And after all these years of research, does Yu Xiaogang really not know that publishing an unverified theory could get people hurt?] [Li Yuan: Of course he knows! He's gambling that someone will help validate his theory. Then he can use it to make his name known throughout the world!] [You could say he'd stop at nothing to make a name for himself.] [Li Yuan: Imagine a poor Commoner Soul Master happened to read his "theory," believed it, and followed his method to absorb a Soul Ring. What if Yu Xiaogang had judged the age wrong, and the person's body couldn't take it and exploded?] [Li Yuan: What if that commoner was the hope and breadwinner of his whole family? He'd finally become a Soul Master and was counting on Spirit Hall's small stipend to get by. If he died, what would happen to his elderly parents? To his children crying to be fed?]
On the Douluo Continent, many Commoner Soul Masters couldn't afford to attend school even after awakening Soul Power. They had elders at home and younger siblings crying to be fed.
If they went to school, who would care for the elderly and the little ones?
So they had no choice but to feel their way through meditation, step by step.
Their cultivation progressed slowly. They might already be married with children and in their twenties before reaching level ten.
[Li Yuan: Sometimes, all the scheming a villain can muster can't match a fool's sudden flash of inspiration!]
The Group Chat fell silent for a moment.
The scene Li Yuan had painted was so vivid, so heavy, that it pressed on everyone's heart like a massive stone.
A hardworking, gentle wife. One or two infants crying to be fed. Two elderly parents who needed support. A poor but warm family of six, barely getting by on the husband's daily odd jobs and a small stipend.
Life wasn't good, but they were managing.
The husband, the family's pillar, had a low innate level and no resources. After years of grueling cultivation, he had finally reached level ten.
Spirit Hall's stipend was almost within reach.
To give his family a better life, he had scrimped and saved, then hired someone to hunt a Soul Beast so he could obtain a suitable Soul Ring.
But he put his faith in some "Grandmaster's" theory, which looked precise but was utter nonsense. He misjudged the Soul Beast's age, and at the critical moment of absorbing its Soul Ring...
Bang!
The burden, heavy as a thousand jun, fell all at once onto his wife, a homemaker.
How hopeless would that scene be?
The mere thought of such despair sent a chill down their spines.
Those words were the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Liu Erlong, who had still held on to a sliver of hope for Yu Xiaogang, sank into utter despair.
"Xiao Gang... No, Yu Xiaogang. I always thought you studied theory to contribute to the Soul Master World. I thought it was a noble cause that could move heaven and earth."
"But I never imagined you were only doing it to win fame and prove your pitiful self-worth..."
"All these years... Fu Lao Da, I, and everyone who ever trusted you—we were all fooled..."
"Yu Xiaogang, you beast! I was wrong about you!"
Tears blurred her vision. Liu Erlong snatched up the framed photo on the table—the only picture of her and Yu Xiaogang together, treasured for years—and hurled it to the floor.
Crack!
The sound of shattering glass was piercing.
But that wasn't enough. She stamped on it again and again, until the face in the photo that had once made her heart race was broken beyond recognition.
From that day on, there would be no more Golden Iron Triangle!
[Richest Little Heiress of Heaven Dou: That... that's taking people's money and lives! No, it's worse than robbery. At least robbers come at you with weapons drawn. He kills without spilling a drop of blood.] [Viper-Hearted Big Sister: Disgusting. How can someone like that exist? He treats human lives like a joke, publishing an unverified theory for all to see, leading students astray and getting people killed!] [Big Cat in the Night: Shameless!] [Loves Eating Carrots: He's awful, rotten to the core. Wait—hold on. I just remembered someone named Yu Xiaogang is at our academy too, and his nickname is Grandmaster.]
The realization hit Xiao Wu late, and she felt sick.
So the scruffy middle-aged man who wandered around the academy all day muttering to himself and dragging Tang San aside to talk about bizarre theories...
He was the very menace they were discussing in the Group Chat!
[Richest Little Heiress of Heaven Dou: Then make sure you stay far away from him! Whatever you do, don't believe a word he says.] [Loves Eating Carrots: Don't worry. I won't believe a single word.]
Xiao Wu was seething. If beating up a teacher on academy grounds wouldn't reflect badly on her, she would have rushed over right then.
She wanted nothing more than to give that sanctimonious "Grandmaster" a thorough lesson in physical education!
[Yandere Mad Beauty of Martial Soul Hall: Xiao Gang isn't wrong. The world is! Do you know how hard he worked on his research? Do you know how much pain he carries? And that Ji Juechen—who knows whether you made him up to deceive us?] [Li Yuan: Fine, fine. If you think I made him up, then I made him up. I can't be bothered arguing with an ungrateful wretch like you!] [Yandere Mad Beauty of Martial Soul Hall: You dare call me ungrateful? Explain yourself. Who's an ungrateful wretch?] [Li Yuan: If not you, then who? Both your parents died when you were little. If Qian Xunji hadn't brought you back to Spirit Hall, you'd have starved to death on some street corner long ago!] [Li Yuan: Spirit Hall gave you fine food and clothing, the best cultivation resources, and everything it had to nurture you. It even named you Saintess and granted you a position above all but one! [And what did you do? You grew up, your wings hardened, and instead of thinking about how to repay Spirit Hall for raising you, you set your heart on marrying Yu Xiaogang—the son of the leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Spirit Hall's enemy. If that doesn't make you ungrateful, what does?] [Yandere Mad Beauty of Martial Soul Hall: I never wanted to be Saintess! Qian Xunji, that beast, ruined everything for me!] [Li Yuan: If you'd never met Qian Xunji, who do you think you'd be? With your Twin Martial Souls and that face, do you have any idea what would have happened to you out in the world? The world outside isn't a fairy tale. Don't assume everyone's a gentleman.] [Just think, everyone. How would things end for a beautiful, strong-willed young woman with Twin Martial Souls and no one to rely on?]
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