Beyond the Grandmaster's Theory Again

Outside Sunset Forest, Dugu Bo did not follow the two of them back to the academy.

Before leaving, he tossed Ling Yun a small dark-green token. It bore nothing but a snake's head and felt faintly cool in his hand.

"If you want to enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well again, bring this. Even if I'm not there, the poisonous creatures around its perimeter won't stop you." Dugu Bo paused, then added, "Don't forget about Yan Yan. I'll bring her to see you again in a few days."

Ling Yun tucked the token away and agreed readily. "Don't worry. I've collected the long-term membership fee, so the after-sales service will be there. But stop pulling things out of the Medicine Garden at random. If I find a few valuable plants missing next time, we'll have to settle accounts again."

Dugu Bo's face darkened.

That place was clearly his. How had this brat made it sound as though he were the one staying there on sufferance?

"Get lost."

Tang San watched the farewell with mixed feelings. Before Dugu Bo had captured him, he never could have imagined things turning out this way.

Poison Douluo's poison had been dealt with, there was a way to help Dugu Yan, Ling Yun had taken five Immortal Herbs and secured long-term access to the Medicine Garden, and on their way out, he had even had a Titled Douluo find him a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

When Tang San added it all up, Dugu Bo had run himself ragged and seemed to have gained very little.

After leaving Sunset Forest, the two wasted no time and returned straight to Blue Tyrant Academy.

The moment Ling Yun walked through the academy gates, he sensed something was off. The gatekeeper froze at the sight of them, then turned and ran inside without even stopping to greet them.

Before long, Liu Erlong arrived with Flender and the others.

"So you two do know the way back?" Liu Erlong strode up to Ling Yun and looked him over. Once she was sure all his limbs were intact, she smacked the back of his head. "Dugu Bo took you away for so long, and we didn't hear a word. Do you know the academy nearly turned Sunset Forest upside down looking for you these past two days?"

Ling Yun rubbed the back of his head. Even he did not dare joke too much just then. "It happened suddenly. But things turned out all right. Dugu Bo wasn't planning to kill us, and he even helped us afterward."

"Helped you?" Yu Xiaogang had been asking Tang San what had happened. At that, he turned around. "A Titled Douluo doesn't help someone for no reason. Dugu Bo is known for his poison, and his temperament has always been strange. Don't let one safe return make you drop your guard around him."

Ling Yun glanced at him and suddenly remembered something.

"That's why I only asked him to find me a Soul Beast. I didn't dare trouble him too much. If I work a Titled Douluo too hard, he might charge me overtime."

Flender's expression turned peculiar, while Liu Erlong caught the important point at once. "A Soul Beast? You've obtained your fourth Soul Ring?"

Ling Yun nodded.

Yu Xiaogang frowned as well. "You only recently broke through to Level 40, and Dugu Bo knows even less about your Martial Soul. The choice of a Soul Ring affects a Soul Master's entire life. How could you rush it like this?"

There was nothing wrong with that statement in itself. Listening beside them, however, Tang San suddenly had a familiar premonition.

Sure enough, Ling Yun offered no explanation. He merely took two steps back.

His Greninja Martial Soul appeared, a deep-blue phantom rising behind him as a thin mist spread across the ground. Then four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, one after another.

Yellow, purple, purple, black.

When the fourth, pitch-black Soul Ring came fully into view, Flender stopped halfway through adjusting his glasses. Liu Erlong stared at it for several seconds too.

Yu Xiaogang's next words died in his throat.

"A Ten Thousand Year fourth Soul Ring?"

Ling Yun rolled his shoulders. "Around thirteen thousand years. Not especially old."

Flender's eyelid twitched.

Yu Xiaogang no longer cared about Ling Yun's phrasing. He hurried closer and studied the black Soul Ring. "That shouldn't be possible. The normal limit for a Soul Master's fourth Soul Ring is nowhere near ten thousand years. Even if your body is far stronger than others at your level, the Soul Shock after a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast dies isn't something an ordinary Soul Ancestor can withstand."

"Teacher is right," Tang San said suddenly. "Under normal circumstances, that's true. But Ling Yun's body had first been tempered by a special medicine, and he was already much stronger than an ordinary Soul Master. As for the Soul Shock, he endured it in the end. I was right there. This Soul Ring really did come from a Darkwater Shadow Leopard around thirteen thousand years old."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent.

Ling Yun nearly laughed aloud. Tang San's habit of defending his teacher usually annoyed him a little, but today was different. Tang San had testified in person, and his word carried weight.

"Looks like the Grandmaster's theory has run into another special case." Ling Yun withdrew his Martial Soul, his tone not particularly aggressive. "Your theory about Soul Ring limits isn't wrong in itself. As a guide for ordinary Soul Masters, it could keep quite a few people alive."

Yu Xiaogang's brow eased slightly.

But Ling Yun's next words followed swiftly. "The problem is, you keep treating a guide as the definitive answer."

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened again.

Ling Yun pointed at himself. "Seven years ago, you'd never seen a Greninja, so you judged my prospects by ordinary frog Martial Souls and decided they were limited. Later, when my Second Soul Ring broke the thousand-year mark, you said it didn't fit the normal limit. Now my fourth Soul Ring has reached ten thousand years, and it's still the same answer: it doesn't fit normal circumstances."

"So I've noticed something interesting about the Grandmaster's theory. Before something happens, it's impossible. Once someone actually does it, it's a special case."

Oscar lowered his head and pretended to straighten his clothes. Ma Hongjun was even more direct: he turned his face away.

Yu Xiaogang did not fly into a rage. After a moment of silence, he said, "A theory is a general rule drawn from the experiences of many Soul Masters. It cannot cover every unusual Martial Soul or constitution. Your case has indeed exceeded my earlier judgment. I admit that."

Ling Yun was a little surprised, but Yu Xiaogang continued, "Still, don't assume other Soul Masters can repeat what you did just because you succeeded. If Tang San tried to take a Ten Thousand Year fourth ring now, I would still stop him."

"Can't argue with that." Ling Yun nodded, then stepped over to Tang San and draped an arm over his shoulders. "The Grandmaster has finally said something I agree with completely. Tang San, whatever you do, don't follow my example. If something went wrong, I'd be down a sparring partner."

Tang San removed his arm without a trace of expression. "No need to worry about that."

Watching the two of them, Liu Erlong finally burst out laughing.

Ling Yun was in a good mood too. Seven years ago, Yu Xiaogang had told him that the future of his Martial Soul was uncertain and not worth investing too much effort in. Seven years later, he was thirteen and at Level 40, with a thousand-year Second Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year fourth.

Most importantly, Yu Xiaogang had not called it "just luck" this time.

He had admitted aloud that his judgment back then had underestimated Ling Yun.

But before Ling Yun could enjoy that for long, Liu Erlong folded her arms and looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile. "We've finished talking about your Ten Thousand Year fourth ring. Now shall we discuss why you dared absorb one behind my back?"

The smile on Ling Yun's face stiffened.