"Huh?"
Lin Yan was speechless. He'd been in contact with Tang San for several days, but only now did he realize that the person in front of him was Tang San—the "Supreme Buddha of Double Standards" people had talked about in his previous life. He wasn't remotely normal.
Ma Hongjun couldn't take it anymore. Pointing at Tang San, he started cursing him out.
"Tang San! That was a pretty ungrateful thing to say."
"Lin Yan's used most of his Soul Power to treat you along the way. Even a dog will wag its tail when you save it. And this is how you speak to him?"
Tang San was at a loss for words.
Some scraps of normal logic still remained in his mind. He knew Lin Yan had helped him so much along the way, and that his attitude just now had been wrong.
But... Yu Xiaogang was his teacher!
Tang San's eyes darted away as he stammered out an explanation.
"Wh-who told him to disrespect my teacher?"
Lin Yan was so angry he laughed.
"How did I disrespect him?"
"He's your teacher, not mine."
"I've been treating you all this time. You might not be tired, but I am. I just want to go back and rest. Is that so hard to understand? What's the problem?"
"Do I even know him?"
After that, Tang San couldn't find another excuse to argue.
Anyone could see he was in the wrong here. A healing Soul Master who'd treated him for several days wanted to go back and rest. What was the problem?
But it came down to the same thing: Yu Xiaogang was his teacher!
Lin Yan simply couldn't treat his teacher with such coldness!
He couldn't come up with any reason to argue, but there wasn't the slightest hint of remorse in Tang San's eyes.
The two sides were at an impasse. Finally, Flender couldn't stand watching anymore and spoke to Ma Hongjun and Lin Yan in a commanding tone.
"Lin Yan. Hongjun."
"Apologize to Grandmaster. Now."
Lin Yan clenched his fists and ground his teeth, feeling that things were getting more and more infuriating. Why was Flender getting involved too?
He stared at Flender in disbelief, demanding an explanation.
Flender spoke slowly.
"Grandmaster is my friend. His theories are the most authoritative in the entire Soul World. I asked him to come here for two reasons: to help guide your studies and growth in the future, and, most importantly, to resolve your Evil Fire problem."
"So apologize to Grandmaster. Now."
At the mention of a way to deal with his Evil Fire, Ma Hongjun looked at Lin Yan with some doubt, silently asking what he thought.
Seeing the two exchange glances, Flender added, "Lin Yan, haven't you already decided to start cultivating your Second Martial Soul?"
"You might not know this, but Tang San also has Twin Martial Souls. If you can receive Grandmaster's guidance, you might be able to overcome the biggest drawback of Twin Martial Souls in the future and give your Second Martial Soul nine Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings."
At that, Lin Yan finally understood why his right eye had been twitching!
As expected, Yu Xiaogang would spend the next while meddling in his Second Martial Soul cultivation under the guise of being Grandmaster.
This was ridiculous! Yu Xiaogang was like a toad: he didn't bite, but he sure was a nuisance. And Flender, the academy's dean, was just as foolish, believing Yu Xiaogang without question.
Sigh...
Lin Yan sighed heavily, his eyes filled with exhaustion.
He waved a hand at Flender.
"No need. My Second Martial Soul already has a Soul Ring."
"What?"
Yu Xiaogang let out a startled squawk.
"You gave your Second Martial Soul a Soul Ring?"
"And you didn't explode?"
Lin Yan looked utterly resigned. "I died. The thing standing in front of you is a ghost."
Sure enough, as long as Lin Yan didn't answer Yu Xiaogang respectfully, Tang San would jump in again.
"Lin Yan, I'm warning you: speak to my teacher with respect."
"Don't think that just because you're my benefactor, you can disrespect my teacher."
Lin Yan rolled his eyes in anger and cursed inwardly.
"High mountains and foul waters bring kindred spirits; barren hills and blighted streams, a pair of twins!"
"I thought Tang San hadn't been that outrageous these past few days, that he'd mostly stayed within the bounds of normal behavior. Turns out he has to be with Yu Xiaogang before he lets his personality run free."
"The two of them really are a perfect pair of master and disciple."
Yu Xiaogang got to his feet and walked over to Lin Yan.
"Show me your Second Martial Soul! What quality was the Soul Ring you added? How did you feel after absorbing it? Tell me everything, in detail!"
Lin Yan looked at Flender.
"Didn't you say he knew how to cultivate Twin Martial Souls? Why does he seem so unreliable?"
Flender froze, then turned to Yu Xiaogang with a puzzled look.
Right! Hadn't this guy said he'd already found a way to cultivate Twin Martial Souls? Hadn't he said he was going to give Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer nine Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings? Why was he asking Lin Yan for cultivation experience and feelings now?
Under Flender's gaze, Yu Xiaogang looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and put on an air of profound wisdom.
"Of course I know how to cultivate Twin Martial Souls. I simply wanted to see whether you'd gone astray. If the Soul Ring you added wasn't of sufficient quality, wouldn't that be a waste of your Twin Martial Souls' potential?"
"Oh? What kind of Soul Ring quality would be sufficient?"
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow.
Taking the cue, Yu Xiaogang put on the manner of a master enlightening his student.
"You're a Soul Elder now, so you should be able to withstand the energy of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Therefore, if you insist on cultivating your Second Martial Soul, its Soul Rings must be at least a thousand years old to barely qualify."
"Otherwise, you'd be wasting your own talent."
"A thousand years?" Lin Yan let out a scornful laugh. "So you think Soul Elders can absorb Thousand-Year Soul Rings simply because they're Soul Elders?"
Yu Xiaogang gave Lin Yan a strange look. "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't that common knowledge?"
Lin Yan laughed. The man had made him laugh.
He hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to have spent over forty years researching Martial Soul Theory without figuring out the relationship between physical strength and the number of years a Soul Ring could have.
Then again, it made sense. He'd even labeled the maximum number of years' worth of Soul Ring energy a Soul Master could absorb at each stage down to the exact year. It would've been a miracle if Grandmaster Yu could figure out the logic behind it.
Who knew what Yu Xiaogang had spent those forty years researching?
Lin Yan curled his lips and fixed Yu Xiaogang with a piercing gaze.
"Have you ever considered that the amount of Soul Ring energy a person's meridians can withstand grows over time? Every time a Soul Master advances a level, their physical strength increases."
"The reason some people can't withstand cultivating Twin Martial Souls at the same time is that the energy in the Soul Rings they absorb exceeds the total their meridians can handle."
"What do you mean?"
Yu Xiaogang looked utterly confused. Clearly, he hadn't understood what Lin Yan was saying.
Lin Yan frowned slightly, making no effort to hide his mockery.
"Tsk..."
"I spelled it out this clearly, and you still don't get it?"
He straightened up and continued explaining.
"It's not that a Soul Master can absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring only after reaching level 30. It's that, in the process of reaching level 30, their physical strength and meridians grow until they can accommodate another Soul Ring."
"As for how much they improve, people may differ in the details, but after generations of people summed up their findings, everyone came to believe that only Soul Elders could absorb Thousand-Year Soul Rings."
P.S. Brothers, this book is now available for purchase!
Thanks to everyone who voted for it and kept reading during the trial period. Next up are the arcs where Tang San and Yu Xiaogang get put through the wringer—and we'll soon be leaving Shrek!
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