Quote Isn't Plagiarism

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Tang San's expression darkened instantly.

As a feudal warrior hardened by long trials, the ideals of ruler and subject, father and son, ran deep in Tang San's heart. By now, his teacher Fang Yuan held the status of a father for life in Tang San's mind.

This strange middle-aged man had barely opened his mouth before slandering his teacher's abilities. He had already earned himself a death sentence!

His tone turned grim as he spoke coldly. "I don't know who you are, nor do I know why you want to take me as your disciple. But I already have a teacher. For a disciple to insult his teacher is improper. Please leave immediately."

Yu Xiaogang was left stunned by those words. He had not expected the child before him to be so resolute. He had merely stated the truth, yet Tang San had immediately ordered him to leave, and irritation rose in his heart.

However, when he thought of the child's Twin Martial Souls—the perfect test subject to prove his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls Theory—Yu Xiaogang forcibly suppressed his irritation and said stiffly,

"You're still a child, so you don't know who I am. I am a master of Soul Master cultivation guidance, the founder of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls Theory, the recognized foremost theoretical researcher in the Soul Master world, and a practical researcher of mutated Martial Soul cultivation.

"Child, if your talent is wasted by an incompetent teacher, it will be a loss to the entire Soul Master world. Your unique talent can only be matched with the most suitable cultivation method by a Martial Soul theorist like me. This concerns your entire life. You must think it over carefully."

Listening to Yu Xiaogang continue spouting nonsense about his beloved teacher, a murderous glint appeared in Tang San's eyes. His arm lifted slightly, and the sleeve arrow hidden within his sleeve was ready to fire. He simply did not know the cultivation of this self-proclaimed master before him, so he continued to restrain himself.

But before Tang San made up his mind to act, a familiar voice came from behind Yu Xiaogang.

"You said I'm an incompetent teacher? No, bro, what level are you to dare talk to me like that?"

Yu Xiaogang turned around and saw a tall young man standing behind him, carrying things in both hands. A subtle expression rested on his handsome face.

"You're Tang San's teacher?" Yu Xiaogang gleaned his identity from his words and asked.

The young man was naturally Fang Yuan. He ignored Yu Xiaogang and walked around him to Tang San.

"Xiao San, this is the bedding I prepared for you. This box contains your lunch. It's all made from Soul Beast meat, so it'll help nourish your body."

Tang San stretched out both hands and accepted what Fang Yuan handed him. The bundle in his left hand was soft and fluffy; it was clearly comfortable, warm bedding. The lunchbox in his right hand was heavy, and an appetizing fragrance wafted from it.

Seeing the thoughtful things his teacher had prepared for him, Tang San could not help feeling a deep sense of attachment.

Seeing Tang San gaze at him with those watery eyes, his sticky, lingering look almost clinging to him, Fang Yuan clicked his tongue inwardly.

What the hell did I turn Tang God-King into?

After handing the items to Tang San, Fang Yuan turned to look at Yu Xiaogang.

Thinking of how events were originally supposed to unfold—how Yu Xiaogang should have taken Tang San as his disciple, with the two playing out a loving father-and-filial-son scene—yet now he himself was Tang San's teacher, openly exchanging tender looks with Tang San right in front of Yu Xiaogang, Fang Yuan suddenly thought of cows.

"Strange. I don't eat beef, so why did I think of cows?"

Suppressing the strange thought, Fang Yuan said to Yu Xiaogang, "I'm Tang San's teacher. You here to poach my disciple?"

Watching the close interaction between the teacher and disciple before him, Yu Xiaogang somehow felt the top of his head itch, as if he could smell the vast grasslands.

His tone turned somewhat stern as he said calmly, "Judging by your age, you're still a student at some advanced Soul Master Academy, aren't you? You don't understand what this means. You took Tang San as your disciple on a whim, yet you lack the ability to guide him properly. You're simply fooling around!

"Tang San's talent is of tremendous importance. Only in my hands can he grow into someone capable of influencing the future of the Soul Master world. You may have heard of me. My name is Yu Xiaogang. People call me Master, a master of Martial Soul theory and an expert in Soul Master cultivation research."

This young man looked far too young, so Yu Xiaogang naturally assumed he was merely a student from some academy.

Students were the easiest to fool. As long as an adult put on a grave expression as if something enormously important were at stake, these flowers raised in ivory towers would usually back down.

However, his calculations fell flat. Fang Yuan was not only unafraid of him, but knew his background inside and out.

"No way, you're Master? The guy who came up with 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters,' insulting himself twice in one sentence, and who broke through to become a mighty Soul Grandmaster at level twenty-nine despite being over fifty?"

At first, when he heard Fang Yuan express surprise at his identity, Yu Xiaogang raised his head slightly, quite pleased. But upon hearing the latter half of Fang Yuan's words, his eyes widened at once.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan continued. "Say, Yu Xiaogang, what type of Soul Master are you? An assault type? But your Martial Soul can't beat anyone. An agility attack type? Your Martial Soul is as dumb as a pig. A support type? Don't let your soul skills stink your teammates to death."

As Yu Xiaogang's expression grew increasingly livid, Fang Yuan suddenly realized something. "I get it. You're a control type! After all, anyone who sees your Martial Soul gets hard-controlled for two seconds, right?"

"Enough! How dare a junior spout such madness!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned bloodshot, and he panted like a bull.

The two were standing before the student dormitory, and the surrounding students all looked over curiously. Having his dirty laundry exposed before a group of children, Yu Xiaogang felt the blood rush to his head as his entire body gradually turned red with rage.

"You've gone too far! Who in the Soul Master world doesn't know the name of Master? The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls I proposed is a theory that has influenced the structure of the Soul Master world! Without my guiding theories, do you know how many Soul Masters would misjudge the age of a Soul Ring while absorbing it and explode to death? My theories—"

Fang Yuan interrupted him and asked, "Knowledge gained from books is always shallow in the end; to truly understand a matter, one must put it into practice. Yu Xiaogang, with only a hundred-year Soul Ring, how did you research the absorption limit of thousand-year Soul Rings?"

Yu Xiaogang's endlessly chattering mouth abruptly stalled.

"If I'm not mistaken, there are only two possibilities for how you researched the absorption limits of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. The first is that you shut yourself away and fabricated it all based entirely on a few samples and your own imagination. The other is that you plagiarized the results of someone else's research."

Hearing Fang Yuan accuse him of academic plagiarism, Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red at once. Veins bulged across his forehead as he argued, "Quoting doesn't count as plagiarism! How can a theorist's work count as plagiarism?" He then began spouting incomprehensible things about destroying Spirit Hall at any cost and how he had raised a god, drawing laughter from everyone around him. The air was filled with cheer.

Tang San stood to the side, listening to the conversation between his teacher and this strange middle-aged man, and came to an understanding.

This guy was a con artist!