Untying the Knot

Bibi Dong caught the sheepskin scroll, her gaze settling on the title.

Treatise on the Truth of Martial Souls.

It wasn't many words, but the strokes were steady.

Su Chen sat back down at the desk and rubbed his sore wrist.

"Teacher, fair warning. This is written pretty bluntly. If Yu Xiaogang sees it, he probably won't sleep a wink."

Bibi Dong said nothing.

The first chapter was about the Martial Soul Origin.

"Martial Souls aren't born noble or lowly. The difference lies in the completeness of their origins. Innate Soul Power is merely the outward expression of that origin, not the only measure of a Martial Soul's worth."

Lines of examples followed.

Su Chen had reorganized nearly a century's worth of awakening records from Spirit Hall's branches, Soul Master cultivation records, and changes observed after Soul Ring absorption.

Among Soul Masters with the same Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, some had half a level of Innate Soul Power, while others reached level seven.

Likewise, some Soul Masters with Beast Martial Souls had high Innate Soul Power, yet their cultivation stalled after reaching level twenty.

Su Chen didn't offer empty talk about "working hard." He laid out the problem plainly.

Meridians, Soul Power circulation, Soul Ring attributes, Martial Soul compatibility—any missing piece could affect a Soul Master's future.

"Yu Xiaogang's claim that 'there are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters' isn't entirely wrong."

Su Chen picked up another sheet of draft paper and casually handed it over.

"But when you put that line first and don't explain how to do anything, it's just nonsense. Lesser Soul Masters hear it and think they can't improve because they haven't worked hard enough. But some have blocked meridians, some use the wrong method to circulate Soul Power, and some choose the wrong path with their First Soul Ring. What are they supposed to do—just try harder?"

Bibi Dong turned to the second page.

Refuting the Fallacy of "Trash Martial Souls".

A sentence was written on it.

"Common iron can be forged, and plants can grow. What matters isn't whether a Martial Soul is ordinary, but whether the Soul Master has found its origin."

Bibi Dong's fingertip paused slightly.

Those words made her think of her Twin Martial Souls.

Death Spider Emperor, Soul-Eating Spider Emperor.

From the moment they awakened, they had been bound to fear, devouring, and slaughter.

The outside world revered the strength of His Holiness the Pope, but no one had ever asked how much pain those two Martial Souls had brought her.

The Rakshasa Divine Sense had taken advantage of her weakness precisely because of that pain.

Su Chen looked up at her.

"Teacher, your Martial Souls aren't evil, either."

Bibi Dong raised her eyes.

"You can tell?"

"A Martial Soul is power, and power doesn't have a brain. Whether it's used to save people or harm them depends on the one who wields it. Something like the Rakshasa God's influence—that's what you call taking a crooked path and treating it as truth."

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment, then continued reading.

The latter half of the second chapter covered widening meridians and reshaping Martial Souls.

Su Chen had broken down the basic principles of the Supreme Guidance Art, leaving out the core techniques and discussing only how Soul Power circulation affected the body and Martial Soul.

One page contained a diagram of the human meridians.

Countless lines extended from the dantian to the limbs and bones.

Beside it was an annotation.

"Soul Power shouldn't merely accumulate inside the body. Each effective cycle of Soul Power increases the body's capacity to bear it and gives the Martial Soul more room to grow."

Bibi Dong read slowly.

At her level, she naturally understood the value of these ideas.

This wasn't merely an article refuting Yu Xiaogang.

It was a new direction for cultivation.

If ordinary Soul Masters could learn the basics of circulating Soul Power, the Soul Masters Spirit Hall trained each year would be much stronger than before.

"What about the third chapter?"

Su Chen pushed Ten Core Competencies to the edge of the desk.

"That's where the real show begins."

Bibi Dong opened the third chapter.

<Tracing Sources and Separating Theory from Falsehood>.

It began with neither insults nor mockery.

Only a list of dates.

Spirit Hall's records of Soul Hunting across the generations.

Spirit Hall's internal casualty statistics.

Records comparing Soul Beast age with Soul Masters' ability to withstand Soul Rings.

Yu Xiaogang's claim that "the limit for a First Soul Ring is 423 years" was right there among them.

What's more, similar conclusions had already appeared in Spirit Hall's records more than twenty years ago.

Only those records were more detailed.

Age, physique, Martial Soul strength, the Soul Master's Soul Power Level at the time, even the causes of death and injury after failed absorption—all of it was documented.

Su Chen had written one line at the end.

"These records were bought with the lives of countless Soul Masters. Later generations pluck out fragments, conceal their sources, and claim them under their own names. This is no theory—it is theft."

Bibi Dong's fingers slowly tightened.

She had seen those records.

When Yu Xiaogang was young, he had also asked her about Soul Beasts, Soul Rings, and Martial Soul Mutations.

Back then, she hadn't thought much of it.

She'd even believed that although the man's Soul Power was low, at least he was willing to study theory and had convictions of his own.

Now she saw that his so-called convictions had simply turned other people's blood and sweat into his own fame.

Su Chen leaned back in his chair.

"And here's the most interesting part."

"On one hand, Yu Xiaogang says there are no trash Martial Souls. On the other, he says the stronger the Martial Soul, the higher the Innate Soul Power."

"By that logic, does a Martial Soul with zero Innate Soul Power count as trash? If it doesn't, why can't it be cultivated? If it does, then who's that first claim supposed to fool?"

"The two claims contradict each other. He can't even make them fit together."

Bibi Dong slowly closed the sheepskin scroll.

"That's enough."

Su Chen blinked.

"Feeling sorry for him, Teacher?"

"Sorry for him?"

A trace of coldness surfaced at the corner of Bibi Dong's lips.

"I only think I misjudged someone back then and wasted some time."

Her words were soft, yet they were like a stone that had weighed on her heart for years, finally shifting aside.

Memories of the past surged through her.

Yu Xiaogang's inferiority, his retreat, the lofty excuses he'd given when he left.

She had once thought it was helplessness, that fate had played a cruel trick on them.

Now she realized that a man who couldn't even face himself had no right to talk about truth, Martial Souls, or the future of Soul Masters.

Bibi Dong looked at Su Chen.

"Did you write this to get back at Yu Xiaogang on Spirit Hall's behalf?"

"I just happened to."

Su Chen pointed at the thin booklet.

"Something like this belongs in the Library Pavilion to mislead students. If someone chooses a Soul Ring based on it and gets hurt, who's responsible?"

"Besides, Spirit Hall's records shouldn't be free for outsiders to use to pose as grandmasters."

The coldness in Bibi Dong's eyes slowly faded.

In its place was a wave of satisfaction she could barely suppress.

"Ghost Elder, Elder Ju."

Two figures entered from outside the pavilion.

Yue Guan had barely stepped through the door before he pinched his voice and complained.

"Your Holiness, you finally remembered us. That old Ghost's been standing outside forever, looking like a coffin lid. People passing by were too scared to breathe."

Gui Mei glanced at Yue Guan.

"Shut up."

"Oh, so I'm not even allowed to say it?"

Bibi Dong handed them the sheepskin scroll.

"Read it."

Yue Guan hadn't thought much of it at first.

What could something written by a six-year-old possibly be, no matter how astonishing?

But by the end of the first chapter, the smile had vanished from his face.

When he reached the third chapter, Yue Guan picked up Yu Xiaogang's book and began comparing the two.

"This... this guy really had the nerve?"

Gui Mei turned to the records' sources, his expression darkening.

"Some of these files came from the last records of Soul Masters who died in service to Spirit Hall."

"He used what the dead left behind to make a name for himself. Isn't he afraid of retribution?"

Yue Guan gave a cold laugh.

"And people out there still call him Grandmaster. Turns out he's just a book thief—and one who can't even keep his own claims straight."

Su Chen picked up the tea, now gone cold, and took a sip. He frowned.

"Who made this tea? It's bitter as medicine."

Yue Guan immediately put on a different expression.

"The prince is still young. You shouldn't drink things like this. I'll have someone bring you fruit tea tomorrow, something sweeter."

Gui Mei looked at the sheepskin scroll, his voice still low.

"Your Holiness, this book shouldn't be circulated only within the hall."

Bibi Dong raised her hand.

"I command you."

Yue Guan and Gui Mei both grew serious.

"Spirit Hall will transcribe Treatise on the Truth of Martial Souls and send it to all major halls, branch halls, and academies."

"All Soul Master Academies under Spirit Hall are to use it as the first textbook for theory classes."

"The third chapter is to be printed in full, without edits."

Yue Guan's eyes lit up.

"So we're going to hang Yu Xiaogang out for the whole continent to see?"

"Not hang him out."

Bibi Dong gazed at Ten Core Competencies, her tone calm.

"We're letting everyone see what this so-called Grandmaster is really made of."

Gui Mei took the order and turned to leave.

Yue Guan followed behind him, then looked back and smiled at Su Chen.

"Your Highness, by the time this book reaches Heaven Dou City, even the vegetable sellers on the street will probably be talking about Yu Xiaogang."

"That's his good fortune."

"Fame always comes at a price."