A Fraud and a Cad-Yu Xiaogang

Nod Town.

Li Xun and the others had reached the city gate.

"Brother Xun, congratulations." Tang San kept patting Li Xun's shoulder. "All of a sudden, you've got more rivals in love than you can count."

"Hmph... what's mine will always be mine," Li Xun said confidently. "But what about you, Little San? You're about to meet your destined wife. Excited?"

"Ahem..."

Tang San's face flushed at once. He lowered his head, unsure what to do with himself. In his previous life, he had devoted himself to studying hidden weapons and cultivation techniques as a disciple of the Tang Sect. He had spent his whole life alone, knowing nothing of love. Now that he had suddenly learned he had a destined partner, he felt both curious and anxious, with no idea how to handle it.

Tang Hao, who had been standing silently beside them, spoke up at just the right moment. His hoarse voice cut through their teasing. "That's enough, Little Xun. Stop picking on Little San. Let's find an inn and get settled first. After that, I'll go to Nuoding Academy alone and bring Xiao Wu back."

"Uncle Hao, you're going alone?" Li Xun asked without thinking.

Tang Hao isn't going to kill that little rabbit himself, is he? A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone is awfully tempting to a Soul Master. No, wait. The Heavenly Screen said Xiao Wu is Tang San's wife—his daughter-in-law. Surely Tang Hao wouldn't kill her.

Tang Hao glanced at him, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes. "Why? Is there a problem?"

"No! Not at all!" Li Xun hurriedly waved his hands.

Tang Hao studied him, suspicion thick in his gaze. Li Xun looked odd, as though something was on his mind. But after examining him closely for a moment, Tang Hao found nothing amiss.

He shook his head slightly and let it go. "Come on. Let's head into town."

With that, Tang Hao strode ahead, the first to enter Nod Town.

Li Xun, Tang San, and the others followed him into the city that had produced countless "God Kings."

Meanwhile, the comments on the Heavenly Screen were taking on a remarkably uniform tone. The truly important matters were for the great powers to consider.

For ordinary spectators enjoying the spectacle, those grand concerns were too distant. Their thoughts were far simpler.

Comments flooded the entire Heavenly Screen, all voicing the same audacious idea:

Find a way to get rid of Li Xun, steal away Qian Renxue—the sacred, peerlessly beautiful Angel God—and marry her!

Dense comments covered the sky. Blunt and fervent, they laid bare the envy and jealousy of countless ordinary Soul Masters.

[Before long, the song ended.

After resting for a moment, Li Xun and Qian Renxue opened the recording studio door and came out.

Qian Renxue looked at her son, Li Qingyang, with gentle eyes. She softly brushed his hair and smiled. "Qingyang, you came home early today! Is it because your Martial Soul awakens tomorrow? You must be excited!"

"A little. I wonder whether I'll inherit Dad's Four Swords of Zhu Xian Martial Soul or your Angel Martial Soul?" Li Qingyang was excited, but nervous too. "Oh, and Mom, I learned about your past today—yours, Dad's, and Master's."

Li Xun chuckled. Calm and confident, he headed downstairs as he teased, "Of course you'll inherit my Four Swords of Zhu Xian. It's a genuine super-divine Martial Soul. Nothing on the entire continent can match it."

"Hmph. That's not certain."

Qian Renxue gave an indignant little snort behind him and lightly punched his shoulder. "The Angel Martial Soul passed down through my family is a true divine Martial Soul too. Its heritage is every bit as strong. Qingyang might well awaken our family's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul."

She turned her gaze back to her son, her eyes full of warmth. "Now that you know about your parents' past, what do you think?"

"Auntie asked me the same thing today."

Li Qingyang tilted his head and thought for a moment. "As far back as I can remember, you've been the Spirit Hall Pope, Mom. You're always busy, with an endless pile of work. Dad, on the other hand, seems more like someone who stays home and dabbles in music."

In the living room, Li Xun had already curled up on the sofa with his soft, sweet little daughter in his arms. He watched television quietly with her, smiling contentedly.

Li Qingyang knew his father's temper well. If Dad heard that jab, he would be in for a lecture at the very least. Quick on his feet, he followed Qian Renxue into the kitchen, neatly dodging an impending "lesson from the belt."

The kitchen was warm and cozy. Smiling, Qian Renxue opened the refrigerator and took out fresh ingredients. As she prepared them with practiced ease, she warned him playfully, "You can tell me what you really think, but don't say it to your dad's face. I won't be able to protect you then."

"I know!"

Li Qingyang's eyes darted, and he smoothly changed the subject. "Mom, I found a book called The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul in the library a few days ago. What do you think of it?"

Her knife stopped mid-cut. A faint, derisive smile flickered in Qian Renxue's eyes. "You actually found that book? It's been obsolete for ages."

"Obsolete?" Li Qingyang blinked in confusion. "But the theories in it made a lot of sense to me. Tell me more, Mom."

Qian Renxue arranged the chopped ingredients neatly on a plate, then turned to heat oil in a wok. Her movements were fluid and deft. Firelight warmed her gentle profile, but her voice carried a cool clarity. "Then let me tell you about the author—Yu Xiaogang. He was a fraud through and through, and an utter cad."

"The book opens with that famous line, doesn't it? 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters.'"

Li Qingyang nodded emphatically. The book did indeed begin with those words.

Flames rose beneath the wok, and a light haze of cooking smoke drifted upward. Qian Renxue tossed the ingredients with a steady hand as she continued. "There's nothing wrong with the idea itself. But coming from Yu Xiaogang, it's a colossal joke. He was born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a top-tier sect, and was the youngest son of its leader, Yu Yuanzhen. Unfortunately, his Martial Soul mutation failed, leaving him with a useless Martial Soul. The clan poured vast resources into raising him, yet he remained stuck at level thirty his entire life."

"He made that line his lifelong catchphrase to fool himself, but never dared admit that he was the very model of a 'useless Soul Master.'"

Li Qingyang stared at her, dumbfounded. He had never imagined the author of a theory he regarded as a classic could be such a man.

"And that's not all." Qian Renxue plated the finished dish, her voice tinged with scorn. "Later, he made his way to Spirit Hall and somehow sweet-talked your grandmother. Your grandmother was still the Holy Maiden then, and she fell for him and favored him in every way. He used her influence to gain constant access to Spirit Hall's library, where he read highly classified texts at will. He cobbled together and stole the work of those before him to produce The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul."

"Grandma... used to like him?" Li Qingyang could hardly believe it. It overturned everything he thought he knew.

"Yes." Qian Renxue nodded slightly, her tone calm but full of disdain. "He was rotten to the core. When Spirit Hall's leaders opposed their relationship and put the slightest pressure on him, he abandoned your grandmother without a second thought. Then he got entangled with a woman named Liu Erlong."

"Even then, he didn't cherish what he had. In the end, he cruelly abandoned Liu Erlong too. He was fickle and heartless. How could a man who stole others' work and deceived the world deserve to be called a master of Martial Soul theory? He was nothing but a fraud chasing fame."]