Little San! Are You Kidding Your Teacher? A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment, then smiled. "Isn't it perfectly normal for someone to have a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring..."

Halfway through, his pupils contracted. His expression changed so sharply that the teacup in his hand nearly shook hard enough to spill.

Then Yu Xiaogang composed himself, slowly set down the cup, and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha..."

Only after a moment did Yu Xiaogang stop laughing.

He turned to Tang San with a smile. "Little San! Are you kidding your teacher? A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? On someone about your age? Was it his first Spirit Ring? How could that be possible? A first Spirit Ring can't be ten thousand years old! Do you know the maximum age a person can withstand for a first Spirit Ring? I've told you before."

"Four hundred and twenty-three years," Tang San answered without a moment's thought.

"Exactly. Four hundred and twenty-three years at most." Yu Xiaogang rose and walked to the bookshelf. From a stack of manuscripts, he pulled out a finely bound booklet. The cover bore the words Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.

He opened it to a page packed with text and pointed. "I spent twenty years consulting over a thousand ancient texts and historical records, and speaking with dozens of veteran soul masters, before I finally established these ironclad rules."

He slipped into a lecturing tone. "First: the quality of a Martial Soul determines a soul master's upper limit for Innate Soul Power. Anyone who awakens with Innate Full Soul Power has at least a top-tier Beast Martial Soul or Tool Martial Soul. Anyone who awakens with zero Innate Soul Power has the lowest-grade, useless Martial Soul and will never be able to form a Spirit Ring."

"Second: the age of a Spirit Ring a soul master can absorb depends on his physical strength and Soul Power Level. The limit for a first Spirit Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years; for a second, seven hundred and sixty-four; for a third, seventeen hundred... Countless generations of soul masters have tested these limits with their lives. Exceed one, and the soul master's body will burst. There are no exceptions."

Yu Xiaogang spoke with absolute conviction, his expression grave.

"Third: absorbing Spirit Rings is harder for Tool Martial Souls than for Beast Martial Souls. Tool Martial Souls lack the self-healing ability of Beast Martial Souls, so the limit for a Tool Martial Soul master's first Spirit Ring is usually even lower—only around three hundred years."

Yu Xiaogang closed the book and looked at Tang San. "Do you understand, Little San? You say that boy has a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. How could that be possible? Your teacher and countless generations of soul masters have verified this. You must have seen it wrong—or you're playing a joke on me!"

"And how much Soul Power does that boy have?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

"Zero! From what I could tell, his Soul Power was zero!" Tang San answered honestly.

"Hahaha... Zero Soul Power? Then his Innate Soul Power must be zero too. He awakened the lowest-grade Handcart Martial Soul, yet he has a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? That's theoretically impossible!"

"That's as absurd as telling me someone could survive a year without eating or drinking."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San, shook his head, and dismissed the claim once more.

Tang San fell silent. He did not rush to argue.

He raised a hand and pointed to the tear and bloodstains on his collar, then lifted his clothes to show Yu Xiaogang the broad bruises across his chest.

"Teacher, I know all that." Tang San looked up at Yu Xiaogang and spoke slowly. "But I saw that boy today. I saw a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring on him. He left the tear, the bloodstains, and the bruises."

The smile froze on Yu Xiaogang's face.

He examined the torn, bloodstained collar and the broad bruises on Tang San's chest. They had clearly been caused by a fast-moving blunt object, not an ordinary blade.

Yu Xiaogang began to believe Tang San was telling the truth.

But he still did not want to accept it.

He slowly sat back down, picked up Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, opened it, closed it, then opened it again. Unable to settle his thoughts, he repeated the motion several times.

A long silence fell over the room.

Tang San stood quietly, waiting for his teacher's response.

He knew how devastating this news was for Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang had spent half his life building the theoretical framework set out in Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.

Now someone had told him that its very foundation might be cracked.

How could Yu Xiaogang accept that easily?

Another three minutes passed before Yu Xiaogang finally spoke, his voice unsteady.

"Take me to see him."

Yu Xiaogang stood, returned Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul to the shelf, and strode out the door.

Tang San hurried after him and pulled the door shut.

Just then, Yu Xiaogang turned back. When he saw that Tang San had closed the door, his expression changed slightly.

"Uh... I forgot my key."

Tang San stared for a moment, then blushed in embarrassment.

But Yu Xiaogang's voice soon dropped. "Little San, if this is true... then everything I taught you might be wrong."

Tang San's heart clenched. He was worried not only about what his own mistaken knowledge might cost him, but even more about Yu Xiaogang.

He feared this would break his teacher and leave him withdrawn from the world.

That was the last thing Tang San had intended when he came.

Then master and disciple left Nuoding Academy.

On the southwestern border of the Heaven Dou Empire, a small town stood at the foot of Azure Dragon Mountain.

It was called Cangshi Town, named for the Azure Rock building stone produced nearby.

The town had only about a hundred households, but hunters and merchant caravans often stopped there to rest and resupply on their way through the Azure Dragon Mountains. It was lively enough.

After arriving in Cangshi Town, Lu Yuan bought a house there.

Calling it a house was generous. It was an old stone dwelling with a courtyard.

There was also a well in the courtyard.

The owner was elderly, and his son had made a fortune in the city. He wanted to bring his father there to enjoy his remaining years, so they were eager to sell.

Lu Yuan paid thirty Gold Soul Coins for the property.

He got the money by taking a century-old Spirit Bone from Big Luck's Cargo Box.

It was a crimson right arm bone that gave off warm pulses of Soul Power. It was in quite good condition, too.

At first, Lu Yuan had no idea how much the Spirit Bone was worth.

He took it to Cangshi Town's market and asked someone to appraise it.

The moment the appraiser saw it, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.