Lin Yue shrugged at Tang San, then bent down to pick up the book cover that had been torn off and left on the ground. She handed it to Yu Xiaogang, pointed at the publication date on the cover, and said each word distinctly.
"Open your damn eyes and look carefully. This book was first published in the Douluo Calendar year 2500.
It's the year 2637 now. More than a hundred years ago, your grandpa hadn't even sired your dad!"
"You keep claiming these are your theories, but people had already studied them inside and out a hundred years ago. You've got some nerve."
Lin Yue's voice grew colder and colder. "Don't you just think that once someone takes a master in Douluo Continent, they can't leave their school, or the whole continent will scorn them? So you wanted to trick us into becoming your disciples first. Even if we found out the truth later, we'd have nowhere to run. We'd be stuck with you for the rest of our lives, serving as proof of your worth. Am I right?"
Her words tore away the last scrap of Yu Xiaogang's dignity. He stumbled backward two steps, then dropped hard onto the ground, his face ashen as he muttered "impossible" over and over. He was completely numb.
Watching him in such a daze, Tang San felt even more contempt for him.
For the sake of his own vanity, he had actually tried to use such despicable methods to keep Tang San by his side, exploiting his talent to make himself look good. A man like that was utterly unfit to be a teacher.
Yu Xiaogang sat on the ground, his mind in chaos, with nothing left but boundless panic and despair.
What now? Tang San wouldn't become his disciple. His whole plan had gone up in smoke.
He had been reborn to use Tang San to secure a chance at eternal life, but now he couldn't even get past the first step of taking him as a disciple!
Why? Why had things turned out this way? In his previous life, at this point, Tang San had already knelt before him and respectfully called him "teacher"!
How had a Lin Yue suddenly appeared?
How had the Blue Silver Emperor incident six years ago become known across the entire continent?
How had the theories he'd painstakingly researched already been written into a book a hundred years ago?
Where had it all gone wrong?
Could it be that everything he'd experienced in his previous life was fake?
Had he really been living in a beautiful dream?
In truth, he had no idea that he wasn't dreaming. He was relying on the memories of his previous life and had not the slightest memory of this life, which had created his current delusion.
Lin Yue watched Yu Xiaogang sprawled on the ground, muttering "impossible" over and over like a madman. She decided she'd had enough of the sight, grabbed Tang San by the arm, and said irritably, "Let's go, Tang San. Why waste your breath on a lunatic who's just fishing for fame? It's a complete waste of time."
Tang San let her pull him along, his feet following almost by instinct while his mind raced through the possibilities.
His identity was his greatest weakness. If the Soul Beast bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor was exposed, he'd be doomed. Truly powerful Soul Masters had formidable mental strength and keen Soul Power perception. If one of them noticed, while personally teaching him, that the origin of the Soul Beast inside him was utterly unlike a human's, the consequences would be unthinkable.
By contrast, this Yu Xiaogang might be a fraud who'd stolen other people's theories, but he'd spent his whole life stuck at the Soul Grandmaster level. His knowledge and ability were limited, so there was a good chance he wouldn't see the secret in Tang San's bloodline.
Besides, the man had immersed himself in Martial Soul Theory for decades. Even if most of the core content was stolen from others, he might have picked up some obscure tidbits that others had overlooked.
There was no harm in listening. Becoming his disciple was out of the question, but Tang San could drop by now and then, remember anything useful, and tune out the rest. He had nothing to lose.
Put bluntly, it was like sifting gold out of shit.
"What are you thinking about? You're totally out of it. Don't tell me that fraud really managed to fool you?"
Seeing him distracted, Lin Yue poked his arm and warned him with an alarmed look, "I'm telling you, people like that are experts at finding loopholes and tricking others. Don't get carried away and actually believe his nonsense, then kneel down, kowtow, and call him Dad."
Tang San came back to himself, smiled, and shook his head lightly without saying much.
He couldn't tell anyone his secret. Not even Lin Yue, who had grown up with him and knew him inside out.
The two soon returned to the academic affairs office. The teacher in charge of registration had already reported every detail about the two geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power to the academy's dean.
The moment the dean heard, he slapped the table.
Notting Junior Soul Master Academy had been around for decades without producing a single genius with Innate Full Soul Power. Not long ago, one had arrived, and now two more had come. One of them had even become a Soul Grandmaster at the age of six, with a hundred-year Soul Ring as her first.
They were living billboards that appeared once in a century!
Forget waiving their tuition. The academy would have to treat these three little treasures like royalty, even if it meant paying them.
In the original story, Tang San had been assigned to the work-study dormitory because the academy figured that Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power couldn't amount to much and wasn't worth nurturing.
But things were different now. The certificate from Spirit Hall headquarters was clear as day, black ink on white paper. The academy wouldn't dare neglect them for a moment.
Naturally, the final dormitory arrangements couldn't be the gloomy, damp work-study room on the first floor, where more than a dozen students were crammed together in one large dorm.
The academy had directly set aside its finest dormitory building and arranged bright, private single rooms for the two of them, one room each. Each room had its own desk, wardrobe, and washstand. The academy had already prepared brand-new bedding, toiletries, and other daily necessities for them. It even gave each of them a monthly training allowance of five Gold Soul Coins.
More importantly, male and female students lived in separate wings of the dormitory building. Tang San was on the third floor of the east wing, while Lin Yue was on the third floor of the west wing. Even to run into each other, they'd have to go downstairs first. This completely erased the ill-fated entanglement from the original story, where the male and female leads were crammed into Dorm Seven and even slept in the same bed.
Lin Yue opened the door to her single room and looked at the spacious, bright interior, along with the empty area set aside for her. She couldn't have been more pleased.
She didn't have to squeeze into a room with a dozen people, and she even had a dedicated place to practice with her spear. The accommodations were ten times better than her place in Holy Soul Village.
Tang San also breathed a sigh of relief. Having a single room meant he'd have a completely private space to cultivate the Tang Sect Secret Arts, without worrying about anyone discovering his Purple Demon Eye or Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. The academy's arrangements suited him perfectly.
Even the air smelled sweeter.
After unpacking their things, the two agreed to head downstairs and get familiar with the academy. They had just reached the first floor of the dormitory building when they heard a racket coming from Dorm Seven at the far end of the hall, mixed with children's cheers and teasing. It sounded lively as could be.
Lin Yue loved a good spectacle. Her eyes lit up at once, and she nudged Tang San's arm. "Hey, sounds like something fun's going on in there. Come on, let's take a look?"
Tang San hadn't been interested, but Lin Yue was already pulling him along. He was also curious about what the work-study dormitory on the first floor was like, so he let her lead him to the wooden door of Dorm Seven and pushed it open with her.
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