Why Was This Studying Martial Souls? It Was Clearly Making Martial Souls Fit His Theory!

"You!"

Yu Xiaogang's expression completely darkened.

But Gu Ling gave him no chance to speak and continued:

"Besides, I already proved it to you myself with my Martial Soul yesterday. The Bone Dragon's bones can turn into bone claws, bone blades, bone spikes, and can even leave the body to attack."

"My Martial Soul clearly possesses such outstanding offensive talent, yet you turn a blind eye to it and insist on making me abandon those advantages to become a turtle that only knows how to take hits."

Gu Ling pointed at the Rock Armor Turtle in the distance.

"That isn't playing to strengths and avoiding weaknesses. That's having something wrong with your brain."

"Gu Ling!"

Yu Xiaogang shouted in a low voice.

"What do you know about Martial Soul theory?"

"I've studied Martial Souls for many years—"

"See? Here you go again."

Gu Ling rudely cut him off.

"Does studying something for many years automatically make you right? If time spent researching meant you were definitely correct, would the entire Soul Master world still need to research new Martial Soul theories?"

That sentence choked Yu Xiaogang up once again.

Director Su's expression turned subtle.

He looked at Yu Xiaogang, then at Gu Ling, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

Tang San's brows gradually furrowed.

But Gu Ling suddenly turned his gaze toward him and said:

"Since Master likes talking about Martial Soul theory so much, I have a question."

Yu Xiaogang's face sank as he asked doubtfully:

"What question?"

Gu Ling raised a hand and pointed at Tang San, asking calmly:

"What path are you planning to have Tang San's Blue Silver Grass take?"

Although Yu Xiaogang did not know why Gu Ling had suddenly asked this, he still answered without hesitation, "Of course, the control path. Although Blue Silver Grass is only an ordinary Martial Soul, it possesses traits such as flexibility, extension, and Entangling."

"As long as it obtains suitable Soul Rings, it can absolutely develop outstanding control abilities."

At this point, Yu Xiaogang seemed to have finally regained his footing.

"I've already planned out Xiaosan's first Soul Ring."

"Snake-type soul beasts are an excellent choice for him. If he can obtain abilities such as Entangling, paralysis, or poison, it will greatly strengthen Blue Silver Grass's control effects."

"If he continues developing in that direction, Xiaosan can absolutely become an outstanding control-type Soul Master in the future."

Hearing this, Gu Ling looked as though he had heard something ridiculous and said coldly:

"So this is the theory you've researched for so many years?"

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Gu Ling did not answer. Instead, he walked over to Tang San, glanced at his right hand, and said:

"Tang San."

"Release your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."

Tang San was slightly stunned.

"My Martial Soul?"

"Yes."

Tang San hesitated for a moment before finally raising his right hand.

A faint blue glow of Soul Power emerged.

A slender stalk of Blue Silver Grass immediately grew from his palm.

Gu Ling pointed at the Blue Silver Grass and asked:

"Master, what is this?"

Yu Xiaogang's expression was somewhat ugly as he said in utter confusion:

"Blue Silver Grass, of course. What else could it be?"

Gu Ling replied calmly:

"I know it's Blue Silver Grass."

"I'm asking what type of plant it is."

Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. After a moment of silence, he said:

"A vine-type plant."

"Since you know that, this will be easy." Gu Ling reached out and lightly brushed the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's palm. The soft, slender blades immediately curled around his finger.

"Master, do you see that?"

"Blue Silver Grass can naturally grow, control, and entangle. Those are innate abilities it possesses as a vine-type plant... so here's the question."

Gu Ling looked at Yu Xiaogang.

"A Martial Soul that can already entangle on its own—why insist on wasting its first Soul Ring to give it some so-called Entangling soul skill?"

"How is that any different from someone already having two legs, yet you insist on adding a 'walking' soul skill to their first Soul Ring?"

As soon as he said that, Director Su froze.

Tang San also instinctively lowered his head to look at the Blue Silver Grass in his palm.

Yu Xiaogang's expression stiffened at once. His face alternated between green and white, and he was left speechless.

Gu Ling continued:

"How precious are Soul Ring slots?"

"An ordinary Soul Master only has nine Soul Ring slots in their entire life."

"Though the first Soul Ring is only the beginning, it also determines the Martial Soul's initial direction of development."

"Blue Silver Grass can already perform the most basic Entangling without any soul skill. Yet you still want to attach an Entangling-type soul skill to it. If that isn't redundant, what is?"

"Nonsense!"

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed as he immediately refuted him:

"How could the Martial Soul's natural Entangling possibly be the same as Entangling enhanced by a soul skill? A soul skill can greatly strengthen Blue Silver Grass's toughness, length, and control abilities!"

Gu Ling nodded.

"You're right. Soul skills can strengthen it."

"But why must you strengthen Entangling?"

"You could increase its hardness. You could increase its toxicity. You could also increase its growth speed."

"You could even increase its vitality and recovery ability, while making Blue Silver Grass itself tougher in the process."

"Why waste a soul skill slot to obtain an action the Martial Soul can already perform on its own?"

Yu Xiaogang's mouth twitched.

Before he could speak, Gu Ling continued:

"More importantly, you haven't even figured out Blue Silver Grass's true strongest trait. What makes Blue Silver Grass truly powerful has never been control—it's vitality."

Gu Ling looked at the Blue Silver Grass growing everywhere around them and said calmly:

"Why can this thing spread across the entire continent?"

"It grows in forests, by roadsides, in the wilderness, and even in places where ordinary plants can barely survive."

"Because it is weak. Because it is ordinary. People can trample it to pieces, and wild beasts can eat it. But as long as even a little of its roots remain, as long as even a trace of life remains, it can grow again."

At this point, Gu Ling slowly spoke a few words.

"Wildfires cannot burn it all away; spring winds will bring it back to life."

Hearing those words, Tang San's eyes visibly changed.

Gu Ling continued:

"That is Blue Silver Grass's most obvious and strongest trait—its tenacious vitality."

"Yet instead of developing Blue Silver Grass's greatest advantage in vitality, you insist on making it learn control methods like Entangling, parasitism, and poison."

"How is that any different from my Bone Dragon Martial Soul clearly possessing powerful and bizarre offensive abilities, while you insist on making me stack defense for my entire life?"

At this point,

Gu Ling looked at Yu Xiaogang and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

"I understand now."

"Master, your Martial Soul theory has one greatest characteristic. You first decide on a direction for someone else's Martial Soul in your own head. Then, no matter what that Martial Soul is actually good at, you try every possible way to force it into that direction."

"A defensive Bone Douluo emerged from a Bone Dragon, so every Bone Dragon must take the defense path."

"You think Blue Silver Grass is suited for control, so even though Blue Silver Grass can already entangle, it still has to waste a Soul Ring learning Entangling."

"Why was this studying Martial Souls? It was clearly making Martial Souls fit your theory."

As Gu Ling's words fell, the entire forest instantly fell silent.

Director Su opened his mouth, yet could not force out a single word.

He had originally only intended to bring Gu Ling here to obtain a Soul Ring. Who would have thought that, halfway through, he would witness such an argument over Martial Soul theory?

Yet when he thought about it carefully...

Gu Ling's words really did seem to make some sense.

Especially regarding Blue Silver Grass.

What was this plant's greatest trait?

The first thing almost everyone thought of probably was not control, but its tenacious vitality, considering it could grow everywhere.

It could not be trampled to death or burned away.

For such a Martial Soul, insisting that its most suitable path was control did indeed seem rather strange.

Tang San also fell silent. He lowered his head and looked at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, its blades softly winding around his fingers.

No Soul Ring.

No soul skill.

Yet it truly could entangle.

Then...

If his first soul skill also chose Entangling...

The moment that thought arose in Tang San's heart, he instinctively turned to look at Yu Xiaogang.

At that moment,

Yu Xiaogang's face had become ugly to the extreme, and he was breathing heavily.

Yesterday,

Gu Ling had refuted his theory about the Bone Dragon Martial Soul in front of Tang San, leaving him speechless.

Today,

Gu Ling was actually questioning the Blue Silver Grass cultivation path he had planned for Tang San in front of both Director Su and Tang San.

What made Yu Xiaogang feel worst was that he genuinely could not find a sufficiently strong angle to refute him, because Blue Silver Grass truly could entangle on its own.

And vitality truly was one of Blue Silver Grass's most distinctive traits.

"You..."

Yu Xiaogang pointed at Gu Ling, his lips trembling slightly. After holding it in for a long time, he only managed to say:

"What does a six-year-old child like you know!"

Hearing that,

Gu Ling nearly laughed aloud.

"Master."

"When you couldn't argue against me yesterday, I think you said the same thing."

With that one sentence,

Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned from green to red. He began panting heavily again, the veins on his forehead throbbing, while Director Su hurriedly coughed twice.

"Alright, alright."

"We came here today to obtain a Soul Ring, not to debate Martial Soul theory."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Rock Armor Turtle in the distance, then turned back to Gu Ling.

"Since you don't plan to absorb this Rock Armor Turtle, let's keep heading deeper and search."

Gu Ling nodded.

"Alright."

From beginning to end, he did not even look at that Rock Armor Turtle again.

Because a soul beast that purely increased defense was never within his considerations. What he wanted from his first Soul Ring had never been to make his bones harder.