Of course, Yu Xiaogang had not really abandoned Tang San.
After all, Tang San was both his disciple and the one putting his theories into practice.
He was still counting on Tang San to help verify his theories, so naturally, he could not leave him unattended.
Thus, he carried Tang San straight back to his dormitory.
After laying Tang San on the bed, Yu Xiaogang began consulting various books.
He wanted to know exactly where his theories had gone wrong.
Su Mo's thousand-year soul ring had dealt him far too heavy a blow today.
A long while passed.
Only then did Tang San wake up.
Hearing movement, Yu Xiaogang looked behind him. "Little San, you're awake? Are you hungry?"
"No..." Tang San lay on the bed, staring numbly at the ceiling.
Yu Xiaogang frowned. Had Little San been crushed by the setback?
No, he could not let Little San sink into despair like this.
"Little San..." Yu Xiaogang was just about to offer a few words of comfort.
"Teacher..." Tang San interrupted him. "Tell me, if someone's martial soul only gave him three levels of innate soul power, but he broke through to level ten in a short time and even possessed a thousand-year soul ring, could someone like that really exist?"
Yu Xiaogang knew Tang San was talking about Su Mo.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to him. He looked at Tang San. "Wait, Little San. Did you say Su Mo only had three levels of innate soul power?"
That was right. He had read the records before, yet he had actually forgotten something so important.
But precisely because of that, he found it even more unbelievable.
A thousand-year first soul ring had already left him baffled. Now, someone with only three levels of innate soul power had broken through to level ten in such a short time.
How was that possible?
It was not as though he had never seen a genius, but even a genius could not cultivate that quickly.
Much less someone with only three levels of innate soul power.
After all, even at the fastest cultivation speed, someone with three levels of innate soul power would need several years to break through to level ten.
Yet Su Mo had shattered that common sense.
For a moment, Yu Xiaogang had the illusion that every theory on the Douluo Continent was wrong.
"No, something must have gone wrong somewhere. My theories can't be wrong."
Yu Xiaogang hurriedly banished that thought from his mind.
He took out a notebook and began writing things down, one by one.
"First, soul ring age. In theory, the limit for a first soul ring is four hundred and twenty-three years. A soul master who exceeds that age is highly likely to explode and die."
"Then how did Su Mo do it? Could there be a method I don't know about?"
He frowned and shook his head repeatedly. Impossible. He was the most learned person on the entire Douluo Continent when it came to soul master theory.
There was absolutely no one in this world who understood theory better than he did.
"Second, acquiring soul rings. Aside from hunting for soul rings, the only other way to obtain one is through a soul beast's sacrifice."
"Right, Little San, didn't you say Su Mo drew his soul ring from his martial soul?"
Yu Xiaogang looked once more at Tang San, who was still staring blankly.
Tang San turned his head slightly, his eyes devoid of light. "Yes. That's what I heard at the time."
He was seriously questioning his life now. He had actually lost, and he did not even know how.
For the first time, Tang San felt defeated.
Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Could he really have drawn it out? That's impossible. It doesn't conform to the theory of soul ring acquisition."
"Could they have been lying? Is it possible that a soul beast sacrificed itself?"
Only that could explain why Su Mo's first soul ring was already a thousand-year one.
"But that isn't right either. How could a thousand-year soul beast sacrifice itself? That's an ability only a hundred-thousand-year soul beast possesses."
"Could it have been a soul beast with intelligence?"
Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to consider that possibility.
He simply could not believe something as absurd as drawing a soul ring from a martial soul.
Tang San spoke in a subdued voice. "I don't think they were lying."
Tang San had actually given it serious thought. Perhaps Su Mo and the others had not lied.
There was simply no need.
They had not known he was eavesdropping, so the likelihood of them lying was extremely low.
Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed even more deeply.
"But that's impossible. Could it be because Su Mo has a mutated martial soul?"
"That does seem to be the only possibility."
Yu Xiaogang believed Su Mo's martial soul must have been an exception, which was why it could break the rules of his theories.
Yes, that had to be it.
"But that isn't right. How do I explain his three levels of innate soul power?"
"How did Su Mo break through to level ten in such a short time?"
Yu Xiaogang felt his head swelling. All of this completely contradicted soul master theory.
Even if his martial soul was special, innate soul power did not lie.
Watching Yu Xiaogang pace back and forth around the room, Tang San sighed inwardly as well.
Did even my teacher not know the reason?
"Right, Little San, have you ever seen Su Mo draw something from his martial soul?"
"Was it like when he used his soul skill today, with an egg popping straight out?"
Yu Xiaogang suddenly remembered that when Su Mo had used his soul skill during his fight with Tang San, an egg had popped straight out of his martial soul.
"I think so." Tang San frowned, thinking carefully.
He had not gotten a very clear look that night either.
But he had indeed seen an egg roll out of the Gashapon Machine.
"Is that so? Then do you know how you lost consciousness?" Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San and asked again.
He really was quite curious about how Tang San had suddenly passed out.
There had not been the slightest warning.
That must have been Su Mo's soul skill.
Yet he had been completely unable to tell how that soul skill was activated.
He had no idea how it had affected Tang San.
Tang San thought for a moment, then said, "At the time, I only felt something strike my head with tremendous force."
"Then my head spun and throbbed, and I passed out on the spot."
Yu Xiaogang sank into thought. "Something struck your head with tremendous force."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I've got it."
"His soul skill must be something like damage reflection."
It had to be said that Yu Xiaogang was actually quite knowledgeable.
Although his strength was nothing impressive, he really did know a great deal.
He had heard of similar soul skills before.
Thus, he thought Su Mo's soul skill must work along those lines.
"So I lost to myself?" Tang San suddenly sat up.
His confidence returned.
I knew it. How could Su Mo possibly be a match for me?
He only defeated me by relying on my own power.
So I didn't lose to Su Mo. I lost to myself.
Sure enough, I was still the strongest.
The corner of Yu Xiaogang's mouth twitched. "Little San, you can't quite put it that way. At the very least, that soul skill of Su Mo's is still quite powerful."
"Have you thought about how to counter it?"
Tang San froze. True, although he had been defeated by his own strength...
That was still because of his opponent's unusual soul skill.
If he could not counter that soul skill...
Then how could he defeat Su Mo?
Tang San thought it over but still could not come up with a good solution, so he looked at Yu Xiaogang. "Teacher, do you have any suggestions?"
Yu Xiaogang smiled faintly, assuming the air of a grandmaster. "I suspect his soul skill has only two possible limitations: either a time limit or a limit on the number of uses."
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