This won't do. I must find a way to let everyone know my theories.
I absolutely cannot let others surpass me.
Otherwise, those two geniuses won't acknowledge me anymore.
At this moment, although Yu Xiaogang felt as if he were being directly targeted by Xiao Yan's theory—leaving him filled with shame and rage—he still possessed a shred of rationality.
He had waited bitterly for so many years and finally encountered two geniuses; one of them was even the third Twin Martial Souls possessor in recorded history.
He wouldn't give up now.
Quickly, Yu Xiaogang sat at his desk and pulled out a notebook.
Inside were records of what he deemed the "best" soul rings for Xiao Lin and Tang San to absorb. For instance, the soul ring he envisioned for Xiao Lin was a Silver Wolf of about 400 years. This was one of the strongest carnivorous soul beasts in the Hunting Soul Forest.
The Silver Wolf's silver fur was indestructible, and its speed was incredibly fast, making it perfectly suited for Xiao Lin. As for Tang San, his soul ring would come from a snake-type soul beast possessing both poison and toughness attributes.
As long as these two geniuses followed his arrangements, they would surely awaken powerful soul skills. For Xiao Lin, it would be a formidable attack skill, while for Tang San, it would be a powerful control skill.
Even now, Yu Xiaogang was still thinking of having Tang San absorb a snake-type soul beast's soul ring, wanting to obtain "Blue Silver Binding."
Quickly, Yu Xiaogang flipped past this heavy page.
He was afraid that if he stared at it too long, he would forget to write his thesis. After all, the first soul skills he had planned for the two geniuses were simply too perfect. Flipping to a new page, Yu Xiaogang held his pen for a long time, yet he couldn't bring himself to start writing.
Dammit, how should I write this thesis?
Yu Xiaogang had spent over a decade living in a muddle, and he had long since forgotten the rhythm of academic writing. Moreover, his previous papers were all plagiarized—no, "referenced"—from Spirit Hall's secret archives.
He picked up the Spirit Journal he had previously crumpled into a ball and thrown in the trash. Flattening it out, he looked for something to copy.
A shock?
Using such methods to grab attention right from the start. Hmph.
The corners of Yu Xiaogang's mouth curled into a sneer of disdain.
He was a Grandmaster; using such tactics would be beneath him. He didn't need such gimmicks. After deep contemplation for a long while, Yu Xiaogang finally settled on a subject and wrote down his title:
"On the Soul Rings Potentially Absorbed by Plant System Soul Masters."
Yu Xiaogang was brimming with confidence.
He believed that once his thesis was released, it would surely become a massive hit.
Ordinary people had no idea that Plant System Martial Souls could absorb animal-type soul beasts; as long as the compatibility issue was resolved, the effect wouldn't be any worse than absorbing a plant-type soul beast.
Laughable.
Some people had even criticized him, saying that Tool Martial Souls could already absorb animal-type soul beasts.
Dammit, back then I clearly meant Plant System Soul Masters, okay?
He had simply forgotten to correct the wording at the time.
With his subject decided, Yu Xiaogang's pen moved as if guided by a god. In less than half an hour, he had already finished more than half of it. It was roughly 400 words. Looking at the neat, orderly thesis in his hands, Yu Xiaogang was filled with pride.
Only that useless Xiao Yan needed to go looking for examples. If it were him, a single thought would result in an explosion of content. Yu Xiaogang even smugly changed one of the examples to a Soul Master with Blue Silver Grass.
He did this specifically to gain the recognition of the boy named Tang San.
A Soul Master from a backwater place like Holy Spirit Village would surely have limited horizons.
Tang San, surrender to my wisdom!
Hahahaha! Yu Xiaogang rejoiced in his heart.
Meanwhile, within Holy Spirit Village.
On a small path leading back from Nuoding City, Xiao Lin had already purchased today's Spirit Journal from a passing merchant.
Holy Spirit Village was near Nuoding City, and although Nuoding City was on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, it saw significant foot traffic. Merchants traveling between the two great empires were not few in number, and Spirit Hall's territory also sat between them.
Xiao Lin looked at the Spirit Journal in his hand and immediately revealed a satisfied smile.
There it is!
I'm rich!
Xiao Lin looked at the number at the very bottom of the Spirit Journal: 6379.
This meant Spirit Hall had sold at least 6,379 copies of the Spirit Journal.
This was just in Nuoding City, which was relatively close to Spirit Hall. If it were the furthest northern reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire or the southernmost parts of the Star Luo Empire, Xiao Lin couldn't even imagine how terrifying the sales numbers would be.
What should I buy after the thesis becomes a bestseller?
Xiao Lin began to fantasize.
First, he had to have a storage soul tool.
Also, Whale Glue with its amazing effects was a must-buy.
What next?
Uh... that seems to be it.
Xiao Lin was suddenly speechless at himself.
His desires were surprisingly low.
Whatever. Xiao Lin quickly stopped dwelling on it. As for the money from the sold thesis, he could only collect it the next time he went to Nuoding City with Tang San. It would probably be when school started at the earliest.
In any case, a small place like Holy Spirit Village didn't have rare items like Whale Glue or storage soul tools anyway; even with money, he couldn't buy them here.
Right, I have to go show this off to Little San.
Xiao Lin broke into a jog, heading toward the blacksmith shop where Tang San frequently forged. Xiao Lin wasn't showing off just for the sake of it; he wanted Tang San and the others to know how correct his theories were. Only by following his theories could Tang San grow perfectly.
That way, Xiao Lin's own benefits would continue to increase.
However, what had annoyed Xiao Lin these past few days was that Tang San kept finding excuses to avoid him. It was either forging, or practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill; regardless, he wouldn't spar with Xiao Lin anymore.
Actually, Tang San couldn't be blamed.
It was mainly because Xiao Lin's combat strength had already surpassed Tang San's imagination.
Tang San considered himself a martial arts genius, yet even when using all the methods from his past life, he simply couldn't break Xiao Lin's defense. Xiao Lin didn't even need to use the Eight Trigrams Staff technique; a simple, ordinary "auto-attack" was enough to beat him in seconds.
Currently, Tang San was forging with all his might, hoping to create Silent Sleeve Darts to turn the tables.
As for whether Silent Sleeve Darts would pose a life-threatening danger to Xiao Lin, even Tang San didn't believe it. Tang San had already accepted that he couldn't even dent Xiao Lin with the Clear Sky Hammer—how could he think Silent Sleeve Darts would be lethal?
He simply wanted to use the unpredictable nature of the Silent Sleeve Darts to catch Xiao Lin off guard. As long as Xiao Lin didn't see the Silent Sleeve Darts, his dispersed "Vajra Imperishable" soul power could still be bypassed to cause damage.
The Clear Sky Hammer was simply too large, and Tang San's swinging speed was relatively slow. Once Xiao Lin reacted and concentrated his "Vajra Imperishable" soul power, Tang San couldn't deal any damage.
In truth, with Tang San avoiding their sparring sessions, Xiao Lin felt quite lost. Without a suitable opponent, Xiao Lin felt like his Eight Trigrams Staff technique was just a flowery show, a fake style that was too formulaic.
Furthermore, if Xiao Lin didn't have anyone to spar with, he spent much of his day researching Martial Souls. He had already finished all the books borrowed from Spirit Hall, and the Martial Souls in the village were few and far between.
Essentially, the only Martial Souls he could study were his own and Tang San's.
Right, there's also Grandpa Old Jack's Radish Martial Soul.
As a Food System Martial Soul of Holy Spirit Village, Xiao Lin felt it was worth researching. Perhaps in the future, he could make Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul have effects similar to a Food System Martial Soul.