Douluo Continent: I teach and nurture students at Tianshui Academy!

After a while, Gu Shenge suddenly appeared on the podium, attracting the girls' attention. He looked at the students who had all arrived, spoke gently, and began today's lesson.

"Before we begin, I have a question for you all. Can anyone answer the teacher's question about the age limit for a Soul Master to absorb the nine Soul Rings?"

Hmm? A restriction on the number of years required to absorb the nine spirit rings?

Upon hearing this question, the girls exchanged glances. The question wasn't difficult; except for Xiao Wu, they all knew a little about it.

Shui Bing'er raised her hand first, and Gu Shenge gestured for her to stand up and answer.

"Teacher, according to the 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls,' the maximum age a Soul Master can absorb with their first Soul Ring is 423 years, the second is 764 years, the third is 1760 years, the fourth is 5000 years, the fifth is 12000 years..."

The so-called "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" is a Martial Soul theory textbook compiled by Yu Xiaogang and published by the Martial Soul Hall, with the author's name being "Master".

Even when Gu Shenge was studying at Blue Tyrant Academy, he had studied the "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls". Unfortunately, the theory was of no use to him, but it was somewhat useful to ordinary Soul Masters.

After listening to Shui Bing'er's story, Gu Shenge nodded, asked her to sit down, and began his lesson.

"Hmm, Bing'er, the absorption year restrictions of the nine spirit rings you described are exactly the same as those in the textbook. It seems you have studied the theory very diligently. But theory is still just theory. Although it has some truth to it, it may not be the same when it is actually applied in practice."

To demonstrate the difference between theory and practice, nine spirit rings—two purple, six black, and one red—rose from beneath Gu Shenge's feet. The girls' gazes were all drawn to the spirit rings: the purple ones were magnificent, the black ones were profound, and the red ones were eerie.

The three-colored light converged, highlighting his perfect physique. The unparalleled, mountain-like, terrifying soul power pressure flashed by but did not have much effect on them.

"Did you see the teacher's first spirit ring?"

Gu Shenge pointed to his first spirit ring, and the students all showed surprise. It was actually a thousand-year spirit ring!

According to the textbook, one must reach the Soul Master level to obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, but their teacher obtained it when she was a Soul Master. This is too illogical!

"Teacher, why was your first spirit ring a thousand-year spirit ring?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, Ning Rongrong was the first to raise her hand and ask a question.

Shui Bing'er and Hu Liena also listened intently. They had never seen anyone obtain a thousand-year soul ring while still a Soul Master, and they had never even heard of it.

"The so-called year of soul ring absorption is actually just a vague limit. Do you know who wrote the book 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul' that you are studying?"

Upon hearing this, the girls all shook their heads. They only knew that it was someone called "Master," but they didn't know who this Master was.

Shuiyue quickly raised her hand to answer and offer her own insights.

"Teacher, 'The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul' is a work by a master. I remember there was some introduction to him in it. He is known as 'Invincible in theory.' He must be a titled Douluo powerhouse, just like you."

The theory is invincible; just hearing that gives off a very impressive feeling.

Ye Lingling and Hu Liena both nodded in agreement with Shui Yue'er's analysis.

However, Gu Shenge shook her head, looked at the group of girls below the stage who were misled by their nicknames, and began to expose the so-called master.

"Moon, let me teach you a lesson. Don't be deceived by so-called nicknames. The so-called invincible master in theory actually only has a soul power of level 29."

~

(The Demon Soul Cult isn't something I created randomly; it's all foreshadowed, and it's just that it needs to be revealed little by little. Characters from the Sun Moon Continent will also appear later, but they won't be from Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect, and these characters will be related to the Spirit Hall.)

Chapter 69: The Plagiarist - Yu Xiaogang

"The so-called 'theoretically invincible' master's actual soul power is only level 29, so don't be misled by his nickname."

Gu Shenge gestured for Shui Yue'er to sit down and revealed the true face of the so-called "master," causing an uproar among the girls in the class, who all showed expressions of disbelief.

"Teacher, you're not kidding, are you? That master is only level 29?!"

Yu Hairou was somewhat incredulous. Despite having such a powerful nickname, being theoretically invincible, and being called a master, he was only level 29, weaker than her.

Shui Bing'er and the others were also greatly surprised. A theoretical textbook written by a level 29 Great Soul Master was circulating in many Soul Master academies across the continent. What kind of dark secret was hidden in this?

Seeing their surprised expressions, Gu Shenge smiled. Speaking of which, he and Yu Xiaogang had a rather complicated history, not because of Bibi Dong, but because of Liu Erlong.

Ning Rongrong raised her hand again and stood up to ask:

"Teacher, since that master only has level 29 soul power, why did his 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul' pass the Spirit Hall's review and circulate in the soul master academies on the continent? Could it be that his identity is extraordinary?"

She was quite curious about the master's identity. She had heard of him when she was in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and her father had praised him highly.

The girls all turned to look at Gu Shenge, eager to hear about the master's background.

As a teacher, he would naturally satisfy his students' curiosity.

"This master's real name is Yu Xiaogang. He is the second son of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan's sect leader. Unfortunately, like begets like, and despite being born into the world's number one beast spirit family, his innate spirit power is only half a level. Moreover, his spirit is not the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus, but a kind of detached spirit that resembles a pig or a dog. It is regarded as a disgrace to the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan, and many people in the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan even doubt that Yu Xiaogang is not the sect leader's son."

Gu Shenge spoke slowly, and the girls listened quietly. Compared to dry and boring theoretical knowledge, they preferred to hear gossip.

"Teacher, is Yu Xiaogang really not the biological son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's sect leader?"

Ning Rongrong, not one to shy away from stirring things up, raised her hand and asked with great interest whether Yu Xiaogang was indeed Yu Yuanzhen's child.

She hated those guys from the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family. When she visited them with her father, those guys always looked down on everyone, so arrogant, acting like they were the boss.

If Yu Xiaogang isn't Yu Yuanzhen's son, that would be really exciting. Let's see how the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will ever hold their heads high in front of outsiders again.

If it were anyone else, they would be afraid of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and wouldn't dare to speak out even if they knew, but Ning Rongrong believed that Gu Shenge wouldn't.

However, he shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure whether Yu Xiaogang is Yu Yuanzhen's son; you'd have to ask Yu Yuanzhen's wife about that."

Hearing that even the teacher didn't know, Ning Rongrong was immediately disappointed. As for Yu Yuanzhen's wife, she had been dead for twenty or thirty years. How could she ask?

"Teacher, what happened to Yu Xiaogang after that?"

Xuewu raised her hand to ask a question; she was curious about how Yu Xiaogang became a master.

"Later, Yu Xiaogang suffered contempt and humiliation from his peers and elders in the clan because of his low martial soul aptitude and the fact that he did not awaken the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul. In order to solve his martial soul problem, he began to search for various martial soul theories. Unfortunately, he could not solve his problem by relying on theories alone. Now Yu Xiaogang is almost fifty years old and his cultivation level is still only level twenty-nine."

As soon as Gu Shenge finished speaking, Shui Yue'er eagerly raised her hand to share her understanding.

"I understand, teacher. What you're trying to tell us is that we shouldn't just believe the theories in books; personal practice is the most important thing."

Several girls nodded in agreement with Shuiyue'er, as they also thought so.

Seeing the dolphin girl eagerly raising her hand to speak, Gu Shenge smiled slightly and asked her to sit down.

"What Yue'er said is just one point. Whether it's theory or practice, we must grasp both. Theory comes from the practice of our predecessors, and our practice is the theory that we should learn from. However, I don't want you to learn wrong theories, nor should you rely too much on the theories of your predecessors. You should practice more on your own, understand?"

"Understood." ×

When they learned that the author of "The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" was only a level 29 Great Soul Master, they all looked down on this theory.

In this world where strength reigns supreme, the stronger a person is, the more reasonable and truthful their words are, and vice versa.

"The 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls' that you have learned was not actually compiled by Yu Xiaogang. He was just a transporter, simply integrating the various theories he learned from the Spirit Hall. Otherwise, how do you think a level 29 Great Soul Master would know about the absorption year restrictions of the nine Great Soul Rings?"

It wasn't that Gu Shenge was deliberately trying to smear Yu Xiaogang; what he said was all true. During the half-month he spent at the Spirit Hall, besides being affectionate with Bibi Dong, he spent most of his time in the library absorbing all sorts of theoretical knowledge so that he wouldn't go blank in class and be unable to say anything.

Eight of the contents of Yu Xiaogang's "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" can be found in the library, but they are scattered and it would take some time and effort to organize them.

It's also worth mentioning that Yu Xiaogang's theory is from twenty years ago, while the theories in libraries today have been updated at least five generations ago.

However, the major Soul Master factions and the Spirit Hall have blocked most of the theoretical knowledge. Unless it is a Soul Master academy supported by a major force, the theoretical knowledge in other Soul Master academies is several versions behind.

Shui Bing'er and Zhu Zhuqing thought about it carefully and realized that what the teacher said made sense.

Yu Xiaogang was only a level 29 Great Soul Master, and he himself only had two rings. How could he know the upper limit of the absorption years for the next seven rings? They couldn't think of any other way besides transporting them.

As for those theories about mutated martial souls and the compatibility of martial souls with spirit rings, they felt that they must have been copied from other books and combined together to form the so-called "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls".

Thinking about all this, the girls felt indignant. Ye Lingling raised her hand and said somewhat angrily.

"Teacher, if that's the case, then aren't so-called masters just plagiarists who take the theories developed by their predecessors and shamelessly publish them as their own in order to gain fame and embellish themselves?"

"Yeah, that's shameless! It's clearly the hard work of our predecessors, but they're claiming it as their own. It's disgusting!"

"That's right, shameless!"

Looking at the girls below the stage who showed their disdain for Yu Xiaogang, Gu Shenge told them not to get excited and to calm down. He was also quite displeased with Yu Xiaogang's behavior, after all, the theories he learned from the Spirit Hall ended up being destroyed by his disciple in the original story.

This is a classic case of someone who's full and then turns the tables.

~

(Yu Xiaogang: What are you saying! What kind of talk is that! I was just borrowing from others! Just borrowing from others!!)

Chapters 70 and 70: Qian Daoliu's apprehension, the Sun and Moon Emperor Clan.

Seeing the indignant girls denouncing Yu Xiaogang as shameless, Gu Shenge told them to quiet down and not get agitated.

"Remember, just take these 'masters' and 'experts' as a joke; don't take them seriously."

"Let me tell you another joke about a master. He once said something to encourage himself: 'There are no useless martial spirits, only useless soul masters.' This sounds somewhat true, but upon closer examination, it is actually completely wrong."

When Shui Bing'er and the others heard this joke, they all started to think about it. At first glance, it did make some sense, but upon closer inspection, it became very illogical, and they couldn't figure out exactly why it was illogical.

"There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters? Is he talking about himself?"

Shuiyue asked a question out of curiosity, and Gu Shenge nodded.

"Yu Xiaogang wanted to use this sentence to prove that he was not a good-for-nothing, but he overlooked a very important point, which is innate soul power."

When the topic of innate soul power came up, the girls finally understood what was amiss.

Yu Xiaogang only mentioned martial spirit, not innate soul power.

Seeing the girls' expressions of sudden realization, Gu Shenge knew they had all figured it out.

"It seems you've all guessed it. That's right, innate soul power determines the ultimate growth point of a soul master. Even if a soul master possesses a top-tier martial soul, if their innate soul power is extremely low, or even nonexistent, unless they encounter a tremendous opportunity, they won't go far on the path of a soul master."

"On the contrary, if one possesses innate full soul power, even a pig could potentially become a Title Douluo."

"But unfortunately, Yu Xiaogang's martial soul is neither pig nor dog, and his innate soul power is only half a level, which means he is destined not to become a powerful soul master."

"So the statement that there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters is true, but not entirely true. To sum it up in one sentence, it depends on the person."

"This statement works for someone with full innate soul power but a pig spirit. However, it doesn't work for someone whose spirit is a pig and whose innate soul power is extremely low or even nonexistent."

After saying so much in one go, Gu Shenge felt a little thirsty. She picked up a cup from the podium, removed the lid, and took a sip.

Ok?

He paused slightly, looking at the teacup with some confusion. He didn't seem to remember bringing a teacup. Who prepared this? The taste was quite good, sweet with a slight bitterness, and quite soothing to the throat.