Yu Xiaogang: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

In a small border city in Fasinuo Province.

Notting Academy.

The streets buzzed with voices, and pedestrians streamed by without end.

Since academies themselves required Spirit Certificates issued by Spirit Hall,

Primary Academies were almost all connected to Spirit Hall in some way. Under Qian Daoliu's arrangements,

the various Spirit Hall branches had chosen academies as the sites to announce Scholar Lin Feng's theories.

At the same time, people from all walks of life had been invited to attend.

A frail, dispirited figure stood in a corner of the crowd, listening with a touch of curiosity to the announcement from the Spirit Master on the High Platform.

Ma Xiunuo wore formal attire. Looking over the plaza packed with people, his face was filled with pride.

He shouted:

"Everyone! The history of Spirit Masters spans tens of millions of years. Since its inception, the Meditation Method has never changed.

Today, Spirit Hall announces here that the future of Spirit Masters will undergo another revolution!

The cultivation methods of Spirit Masters across the world will rise to a new level once more!

The 'Innate Soul Evolution Art,' created by Scholar Lin Feng of Spirit Hall, has uncovered the hidden paths of soul power within Spirit Masters' bodies.

This first path will grant Spirit Masters at least a 5% increase in cultivation speed, along with enhanced physical abilities!"

Whoosh—

Just as Ma Xiunuo had expected, the crowd erupted almost instantly.

Opinions differed wildly, with praise and criticism alike.

"Does Spirit Hall have nothing better to do? A Cultivation Method with only a 5% boost, and they're making such a huge fuss over it?"

"Idiot! Did you not listen to what Master Ma Xiunuo just said? Every Spirit Master in the world can use this!

And didn't you hear that last sentence? This is only the first path!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?!

Isn't it just one path? What's so impressive about that?"

The first person to respond gave him a heavy smack on the forehead.

"I call you an idiot, and you still refuse to admit it. If there's a first path, then naturally there's a second and a third. That Master Lin Feng must have already developed them.

Do you really think Spirit Hall wouldn't hold something back when it comes to something that could benefit Spirit Masters everywhere? Listen carefully, you fool!"

The man stammered for a long while before ultimately falling silent.

"Master Ma Xiunuo, who exactly is this Scholar Lin Feng? Why have we never heard of him before?"

Seeing that the crowd had quieted somewhat, Ma Xiunuo spoke again:

"Scholar Lin Feng is now one of Spirit Hall's upper ranks.

His Innate Soul Power was supposedly only rank one, yet within just a few years, he had already broken through the shackles that prevented those with rank one Innate Soul Power from advancing beyond Soul Elder.

After breaking those shackles, he gained an insight and created the 'Innate Soul Evolution Art'!"

"What?!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened in utter disbelief. His dejected body pushed through the crowd.

He arrived before Ma Xiunuo and said agitatedly:

"How is that possible? How could anyone break through the shackles of rank one Innate Soul Power?!

Rank one Innate Soul Power means a useless Martial Soul. There's simply no room for advancement!"

When Ma Xiunuo saw who it was, his gaze turned disdainful.

"Why is it impossible? There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters!"

"You... you..."

Yu Xiaogang pointed furiously at Ma Xiunuo. The other man clearly knew his identity; this was naked humiliation.

With the academy dean's connections, Yu Xiaogang had been idling away here, and the dean had even promoted his title of "Master." It was impossible for Ma Xiunuo not to know him.

"Who's this guy? He's blocking us. Get out of the way already and let Master Ma Xiunuo continue!"

"Exactly! Get lost! Where did this down-and-out Spirit Master come from? His face is filthy too. Get out!"

Amid the crowd's shoving, Yu Xiaogang was squeezed away from the front.

A few of them were especially rough, putting pressure on his ribs and feet. His entire body now ached.

Panting heavily, Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at Ma Xiunuo, not daring to miss a single word.

He kept muttering, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

Ma Xiunuo sneered and continued:

"Just as everyone has guessed, Scholar Lin Feng has already opened several subsequent paths.

Only the first path is being released this time to give people time to adjust to this new theory.

After all, it takes time for most people to accept something new.

Rest assured, Spirit Hall will release the subsequent paths at the appropriate time."

"Additionally!"

At this point, Ma Xiunuo mobilized the soul power within his body and raised his voice:

"After experiencing the benefits of this Cultivation Method, do not attempt to open new paths on your own.

You do not possess Scholar Lin Feng's unique method. Forcing the process will only endanger your lives!

Spirit Hall will bear no responsibility for anyone who acts recklessly and loses their life as a result!"

"Here is the Cultivation Method for the first path. You may take it freely.

Those who come to request it after one day must pay one copper coin.

Those who come after three days must pay one silver coin.

After seven days, one Gold Soul Coin will be required.

After that, it will no longer be provided."

After Ma Xiunuo finished speaking, he and Su Yuntao and the others stood behind the platform and began distributing booklets, no longer paying attention to the crowd's questions.

The crowd looked at one another before ultimately rushing forward to grab them.

Under Ma Xiunuo's mocking gaze, Yu Xiaogang trembled as he took a booklet.

Back in his room, he swallowed hard and opened it.

He circulated his soul power according to the path described in the Cultivation Method, his eyes losing focus.

"It's real... So this Lin Feng really did break through Soul Elder..."

Spirit Hall could not possibly joke about something like this.

"How did he do it? Was it through this path?

That's right, it must be. Then as long as I diligently cultivate this path, along with the subsequent Cultivation Methods Spirit Hall releases, I can break through Soul Elder as well!"

Just like his ten core competitive strengths, Yu Xiaogang's thinking had no logic whatsoever.

Amid extreme joy, shock, loss, and other emotions, he misunderstood something else.

This path had been created after Lin Feng broke through the shackles, not that he had first found the path and then broken the shackles.

It was a simple truth, but Yu Xiaogang did not see it that way at this moment. He had been trapped at rank 29 for too long; he wanted to seize even the slightest hope.

Yet he, who should have understood his own Martial Soul best and styled himself a Master,

had chosen to feed Luo Sanpao omnivorous foods such as white radishes that induced flatulence.

After obtaining his first soul ring, he should have realized that such a pathetic Soul Skill was not Luo Sanpao's proper development path.

A rank 29 Soul Grandmaster getting utterly beaten by a Hundred-Year Mandala Snake was probably one of a kind.

By now, Luo Sanpao's body was likely already filled with impurities accumulated after birth, with no possibility of evolving any further.

Thinking of Ma Xiunuo's disdainful gaze from earlier, Yu Xiaogang felt as though a thousand-ton boulder weighed upon his heart, leaving him suffocatingly miserable.

"Lin Feng broke through the shackles of Soul Elder. Once his theory is released, my reputation in the Spirit Master World will plummet instantly...

My theories will receive even less recognition. I need to find someone... I need someone to prove my theories."

Yu Xiaogang muttered, yet at a time like this, he never recalled the words he so often kept on his lips.

"There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters."

Then what did that make him?