Chapter 60: The Enraged Yu Xiaogang
A few days later, the largest bookstore in Spirit City welcomed a special guest.
Qian Renxue was clad in an elegant, moon-white gown, her face veiled by a sheer gauze that revealed only a pair of cool, violet eyes. She approached the counter and placed a thick manuscript upon the table.
"I wish to have this article published."
The bookstore owner—a slightly stout, middle-aged man wearing a monocle—looked up at the young girl standing before him.
He then cast a cursory glance at the manuscript’s cover, which bore the title: A Refutation and Correction of Certain Issues Regarding the Theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls.
"My dear girl..." The owner adjusted his monocle, his tone betraying a distinct air of perfunctoriness.
"We are a legitimate academic bookstore; we publish only authoritative works in the field of Martial Soul theory research. As for your article... the title is certainly ambitious, but the content itself..."
His unspoken implication was all too obvious: what of any real value could a mere young girl possibly write?
Qian Renxue offered no verbal response; instead, she calmly withdrew a token from her sleeve and gently placed it beside the manuscript.
It was a token cast from pure gold. Its face was engraved with the image of a six-winged angel, encircled by a complex array of intricate patterns and motifs.
A Worship Elder’s Token.
The look of perfunctoriness on the bookstore owner’s face instantly froze, replaced by an expression of utter horror. He shot to his feet—nearly dislodging his monocle in the process—his hands trembling uncontrollably.
"Th-this... this is..." His voice quavered as his gaze remained locked on the token, as if he were staring at something utterly inconceivable.
"Can it be done?" Qian Renxue’s voice remained calm, yet it carried an indisputable air of authority.
"Yes! It can be done! It absolutely can be done!" The owner nodded frantically, beads of fine sweat breaking out across his forehead.
"I—this humble one—shall immediately assign our finest printers and use only the finest paper! Seven days... no! Within five days, copies will be distributed to every major bookstore across the entire continent!"
Qian Renxue gave a brief nod, retrieved her Worship Elder’s Token, and turned to leave.
The bookstore owner watched her retreating figure until she had completely vanished around the street corner; only then did he collapse back into his chair, gasping for breath.
With trembling hands, he picked up the stack of manuscripts and turned to the first page. His gaze swept over the elegant yet forceful handwriting, and the more he read, the wider his eyes grew.
...
Nuoding City—Yu Xiaogang’s Residence.
It was a humble room; his previous quarters had become uninhabitable, and he had only recently moved into this new one.
Yu Xiaogang sat at his desk, his expression so dark and gloomy it seemed as if it could drip with malice.
Thanks to Tang San’s medicinal treatments, his burns had largely healed.
At this moment, he held in his hands a small booklet he had just purchased from a bookstore.
On its cover was a title that made his teeth grind with rage: A Refutation and Correction of Certain Issues Regarding the Theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls.
"Hmph! I’d like to see just who has the audacity to make such brazen claims!" he sneered as he flipped open the pages.
The first page contained the preface—a mere few lines of text.
"In recent years, a so-called Theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls has circulated throughout the Soul Master world. It is rife with fallacies and has caused widespread misinformation. To set the record straight, this treatise has been penned to offer a point-by-point refutation and to illuminate the truth."
Yu Xiaogang’s expression grew even uglier.
He continued to read on.
The article did not begin with a direct critique; instead, it first provided a systematic overview of the historical trajectory of Martial Soul theory, enumerating the major contributions made by various theoretical scholars over the past century.
This section was remarkably detailed and rigorous; indeed, it cited source materials that even Yu Xiaogang himself had not fully mastered.
But then, the tone of the writing shifted abruptly.
"However, of late, a certain individual—who styles himself a ’Grandmaster’—has merely repackaged the achievements of his predecessors, cobbled them together into this so-called Ten Core Competencies, and audaciously claimed them as his own original work. Such conduct is, in truth, a disgrace to the academic world."
Yu Xiaogang’s hands gave a violent start.
"Point One: Yu Xiaogang claims that innate soul power level and Martial Soul strength are directly proportional—simply put, the higher one’s innate soul power, the greater the potential of their Martial Soul. However, the reality is that innate soul power determines the ceiling for cultivation, while the quality of the Martial Soul determines the ceiling for combat power. Furthermore, it is entirely possible for someone who awakens a high-grade Martial Soul to possess a relatively low level of innate soul power..."
"Point Two: There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters—leaving others aside for a moment, Yu Xiaogang himself serves as the prime example. His level has remained stuck at 29 for decades; so, the question remains: is it Yu Xiaogang himself who is useless, or is his Martial Soul—Luo Sanpao—the useless one? This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone manage to insult themselves twice in a single sentence. The magnitude of one’s innate soul power already determines the absolute limit of one’s cultivation potential..."
"Point Three: The ’Martial Soul Mimicry’ theory. Simply put, it posits that plant-type Martial Souls can absorb spirit rings derived from animal-type spirits. But if you are a plant-type Soul Master, why would you choose to absorb an animal-type spirit ring? Is there any data whatsoever to support the claim that absorbing animal-type rings results in greater power? If not, then why bother doing so? Moreover, theoretically speaking, plant-type Martial Souls are merely a subcategory of Tool-type Martial Souls; if even the Clear Sky Hammer—a Tool-type—can absorb animal-type spirit rings, why shouldn’t plant-types be able to do the same?"
"Furthermore, for many of us commoner Soul Masters, there is very little room for choice when absorbing spirit rings—we simply absorb whatever we can absorb. Therefore, this is hardly some earth-shattering, groundbreaking discovery..."
"Point Four..."
"All of the aforementioned theories were written by Yu Xiaogang through the plagiarism of materials from the Spirit Hall. While the source material itself is fundamentally sound, he failed to present its contents in their entirety; instead, he felt the need to modify them!"
"Precisely because of this, his theories are riddled with loopholes and are utterly devoid of practical value. Given that he himself has failed to even break through to Level 30, how could he possibly conduct the necessary experiments to empirically verify the accuracy of these theories?"
"Consequently, theoretical concepts that ought to be considered common knowledge among Soul Masters have been twisted beyond all recognition by this so-called ’Grandmaster’—it is nothing short of leading students astray..."
Each point of criticism was accompanied by detailed data, specific case studies, and rigorous logical deductions, presented with impeccable clarity and irrefutable argumentation.
Yu Xiaogang’s complexion shifted from gloomy to ashen, and then from ashen to a ghastly pale.
The hand clutching his book began to tremble uncontrollably, and his breathing grew increasingly rapid and labored. "Preposterous... simply preposterous!"
He finally could no longer contain his rage and roared aloud, slamming the book violently onto the table.
"How dare she claim that this Master’s theories are mere copies—plagiarism? What do you know?! I’d like to see just who you are!"
With trembling hands, he flipped to the final page, searching for the author’s name.
"Jiang Xue’er?" Yu Xiaogang froze.
He had never heard this name before. He was familiar with most of the prominent, named theoretical scholars within the Soul Master world, yet this "Jiang Xue’er"... he hadn’t even heard a whisper of her existence!
"A nameless nobody dares to criticize this Master? Do you understand Martial Souls? Do you understand theoretical research?" He shook with fury, his finger nearly piercing through the page.
"How dare you accuse this Master of plagiarizing data from the Spirit Hall? What do you know?! When scholars borrow from one another—well, can that really be called theft?!"
His voice grew steadily louder until, by the end, he was practically screaming.
"Argh! That damned, insolent brat!" Yu Xiaogang snatched up the book; exerting all his strength, he tore the volume in half, the pages fluttering down to the floor like snowflakes.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he panted heavily like an ox, his chest heaving violently as if he were on the verge of suffocation.
It took quite a while before he managed to compose himself. Gazing down at the torn, crumpled scraps of paper scattered across the floor, a malevolent glint flashed within his eyes.