He spoke slowly, his voice low:
"Your martial soul is the Black Tower, correct?"
Xia Yan nodded.
Yu Xiaogang spoke again. "A mutated martial soul, correct?"
Yu Xiaogang had just heard from teachers chatting elsewhere that a student with Innate Full Soul Power had enrolled, so he immediately rushed to the Academic Affairs Office to inspect the records.
It was true.
The Academic Affairs Office had recorded Xia Yan's martial soul information in crystal-clear detail.
There was also the mutated martial soul. Poor people's martial souls with high Innate Soul Power were almost all mutated martial souls. Otherwise, how could they possibly possess such high Innate Soul Power?
So there was no need to ask those two questions at all. They were a complete waste of time, but Yu Xiaogang wanted to ask them anyway, to create an air of knowing everything.
Only then could he make Xia Yan nervous, fearful, and ultimately convinced.
As he had expected, Xia Yan nodded. "It is a mutated martial soul."
Yet he did not display the nervous, uneasy expression Yu Xiaogang had anticipated.
Yu Xiaogang remained unhurried.
"A Black Tower martial soul with Innate Full Soul Power is nearly impossible to find elsewhere on the continent. According to the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul that I developed, Innate Full Soul Power means either that you possess Twin Martial Souls or that your martial soul is extremely powerful. No matter which it is, you should be happy. But..."
He deliberately paused, narrowed his eyes, and fixed Xia Yan with a sharp gaze.
"There has never been a tower martial soul with Innate Full Soul Power in the world. There are no examples to refer to, which also means that this mutation is entirely unknown to you."
"Have you ever considered why the Black Tower mutated? Is this truly a beneficial mutation? Is it really completely harmless?"
With every question, his presence grew more imposing, and his tone more severe.
According to his plan, Xia Yan should have already been so pressured by his presence that he could barely breathe. Next, Xia Yan should have said, trembling, "I want to know," after which he would introduce himself as the foremost theory Grandmaster in the martial soul world.
Xia Yan would immediately kneel respectfully and bow his head, begging to become his disciple.
In the future, he would train Xia Yan into the number one genius in the Soul Master world, win the Soul Master Tournament championship, and clear his name!
He would let the whole world know that Yu Xiaogang was absolutely not trash!
He had cultivated a genius!
A wonderful future lay right before his eyes!
Yet completely beyond Yu Xiaogang's expectations, Xia Yan said as if it were only natural:
"I know. It is caused by the fusion of attributes and bloodlines."
Yu Xiaogang froze, then demanded in a deep voice:
"What attribute fusion? Where did you hear that?"
A brat from a poor village dared to act so arrogantly just because his Innate Soul Power was high. He had heard some term from who knew where and now dared to flaunt it before him, the theory Grandmaster of the martial soul world.
Xia Yan's earlier scrutiny of him from head to toe, utterly lacking in respect, had filled Yu Xiaogang with anger. Yet to maintain the bearing of an expert, he could only endure it for now.
As long as he could prove himself, everything would be worth it.
He had endured for twenty years. He did not mind enduring a little longer.
Now Yu Xiaogang would use his knowledge and theories to crush Xia Yan's arrogance and make him kneel and beg to become his disciple.
Meanwhile, Xia Yan secretly rejoiced.
Originally, if Yu Xiaogang had not come looking for him, he would not have sought Yu Xiaogang out. They would have kept their distance from each other.
But since Yu Xiaogang had come to him, Xia Yan could not be blamed. He was no saint. He could not possibly let this opportunity slip away and allow an enemy he was bound to fight in the future to grow peacefully.
"I can tell you, but what can I get in return? What are you prepared to trade?"
Giving something first made an offer more credible.
Yu Xiaogang was almost angered into laughter. A trade?
The great theory Grandmaster of the martial soul world was supposed to trade with a brat like him?
Who did he think he was?
Still, he maintained his composure. He wanted to wear down Xia Yan's arrogance, not push him to the opposite side.
He spoke slowly.
"Perhaps you have heard of it, or perhaps you have not. I researched and published the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, which has been hailed as the truth of the Soul Master world. As a scholar, the only thing I can offer you is a vast sea of knowledge."
He stretched out a hand, and a thin book with a dark yellow cover appeared out of thin air. He then displayed the nine large black characters on its cover to Xia Yan: Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.
"..."
Xia Yan was speechless. What did I need that for? Use it in the toilet?
"Teacher, I came from a poor mountain village. I know about martial soul mutations, but I know nothing about other things. Could I trade knowledge with you? Knowledge about soul beast habits and distributions, preferably with records of rare soul beasts."
Yu Xiaogang could not help frowning.
His initial reluctance gradually turned into disgust toward Xia Yan. This was a calculating brat who wanted gains without giving anything.
Rare soul beasts, too? Did Xia Yan really think he could absorb their Soul Rings?
This was not the grounded disciple he wanted.
He turned his palm over. The book vanished, and a new, thick brown volume appeared from thin air, as wide as his palm in thickness.
Its title was:
Detailed Explanation of Rare Soul Beasts
The brown cover had been weathered by time. This book had existed for at least five hundred years. It was a book from Spirit Hall's collection. Yu Xiaogang had thought it was good after borrowing it back then, so he never returned it and had kept it by his side ever since.
He shook the book and said irritably:
"There is such a book, but you must first prove that you are worthy of it."
Xia Yan smiled inwardly.
He spoke the words he had prepared two months ago.
"Martial soul mutations can generally be divided into innate and acquired mutations, but in truth, these two kinds of mutation are the same kind of mutation."
Yu Xiaogang almost wanted to sneer. The same kind of mutation?
What outrageous nonsense.
Xia Yan continued, "The essence of cultivation is increasing energy. Increasing energy close to a martial soul's attributes promotes the martial soul's growth. Increasing energy with opposing attributes causes rejection. In mild cases, it damages the meridians; in severe cases, it cripples the martial soul. For example, if a fire-attributed martial soul absorbs a water-attributed Soul Ring, it will suffer backlash."
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back and watched coldly without commenting.
"Yet during cultivation, Soul Masters cannot possibly absorb Soul Rings of only one attribute. As long as the attributes do not conflict, it is acceptable. For example, although the White Tiger martial soul possesses the light attribute, Soul Masters will absorb different Soul Rings for attributes such as strength, sharpness, and speed.
"If they absorb a Wind Tiger Soul Ring for speed, their martial soul will gain traces of the wind attribute. If they absorb a Diamond Tiger Soul Ring for strength, it will gain traces of the strength attribute.
"By absorbing different Soul Rings, martial souls take on different attributes. Once enough are absorbed and passed down through generation after generation, the martial soul may still appear to be a Light White Tiger, but its bloodline and martial soul have long been mixed with far too many impurities.
"Now, when two Soul Masters with White Tiger and bird martial souls respectively come together, because both bloodlines contain many impurities, mutation can occur if certain impurity attributes happen to align. Their child may be a wind-attributed tiger, a light-attributed bird, or perhaps even a tiger with wings..."
"This can also explain why blood relatives can possess similar martial souls but different attributes. For example, one might have the fire attribute while another has the earth attribute.
"So, innate and acquired martial soul mutations are, in essence, exactly the same..."
"Phew... Phew..."
Yu Xiaogang panted heavily, his eyes wide. Even the hand holding the book trembled slightly.
So... so that was why martial souls mutated...
So... my Luo Sanpao mutated because there were too many bloodline impurities!
I... I had searched for forty years!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's inheritance was all dragons, but their attributes differed, as did their forms, such as lightning dragons, water dragons, fire dragons... and Luo Sanpao, which was not even a dragon.
So that was it!
"Phew... Phew, phew..."
Yu Xiaogang's hand trembled. "Where did you see this?"
"Where did you see it?!"
"How do you know about soul beasts like White Tigers and Wind Tigers?!"
Before you continue