Just as Nangong Lingyun turned around, Xiao Wu giggled sneakily and crept up behind him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Then, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and used the momentum to swiftly climb up, locking her legs around his waist—clinging to his back like an octopus.
Clearly, she intended to hitch a ride.
Seeing the rabbit's familiar move and blissful expression, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes dimmed for a moment for some inexplicable reason.
But she didn't hesitate at all and immediately followed closely beside them.
Having lived together these past two nights, she had learned quite a bit from Xiao Wu—like the real power behind Kaiyuan Academy.
Combined with Dai Mubai's disappointing behavior, she no longer had any attachment to Shrek.
Behind them, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the other two hesitated for a moment but still silently followed.
If this diet really did affect cultivation speed, they would definitely confront Flender about it.
For soul masters, especially young, gifted ones, nothing was more important than increasing soul power.
As they walked on, Tang San casually asked,
"Brother Yun, how come I've never seen your and Xiao Wu's martial soul fusion skill before?"
Last night, he had tossed and turned restlessly, unable to sleep. Even his cultivation of the Xuan Tian Technique had faltered—a rare occurrence.
It felt as if something vital and precious had been lost. An unbearable emptiness gnawed at his heart.
Ever since arriving in the Douluo Continent, he had considered himself a top-tier genius—born with full innate soul power and twin martial souls, armed with Tang Sect techniques and hidden weapons, and tutored by the leading theorist of the soul master world.
And yet, this was only the fourth time he had experienced such torment.
The first two were when, flush with confidence after obtaining his first and second soul rings, he tried challenging Nangong Lingyun—only to get utterly wiped out by the infamous Mom's Entangle move.
The third time was watching his dream girl bounce joyfully into the mansion of some rich second-gen heir.
That heartbreak nearly burst his chest.
Nangong Lingyun smiled faintly.
"Oh, because I've never met anyone worth using my trump card against."
Tang San immediately fell silent.
He had never once beaten Xiao Wu in a duel.
As for everyone else—students and even teachers at Notting Academy—none of them could even beat him.
At that moment, Dai Mubai seized the chance to ask,
"Bro—Brother Yun, what's up with your ten-thousand-year soul rings? Isn't the limit for a fourth soul ring five thousand years?"
By age, he was five or six years older than Nangong Lingyun.
Normally, he wouldn't call someone younger "Brother," but that punch from Xiao Wu two nights ago had left a lasting trauma in his heart.
After a brief internal struggle, he decided to play it safe.
After all, in the soul master world, strength determines status. If someone's powerful, a little respect never hurts.
As soon as he spoke, everyone nearby, including Zhu Zhuqing, subtly perked up their ears.
This mysterious "sibling" pair, Nangong Lingyun and Xiao Wu, gave off such an aura of enigma that even the tiniest clues could shake people's minds.
Much of what they'd casually revealed so far already flew in the face of logic and common sense.
A Soul Sect beating the crap out of a Soul Saint? If someone had told him that before, he'd have scoffed—no trash-tier novel would dare write such nonsense.
But reality often out-fantasies fantasy, and it had just played out clearly before their eyes the day before.
Nangong Lingyun turned back with a stunned look.
"You're talking about that data from Yu Xiaogang's 'Top Ten Core Martial Soul Theories', right?
You mean to tell me a dignified third prince of the Star Luo Empire doesn't even know about this kind of inside story?"
"What inside story?"
"That so-called soul ring limit theory in Yu Xiaogang's writings was fabricated by the Spirit Hall and the Three Upper Sects together.
They deliberately spread false information in order to sabotage and eliminate any genius civilian soul masters who might threaten their hegemonic rule.
There's not an ounce of truth in it."
"What?!"
No sooner had Nangong Lingyun finished speaking than a chorus of shocked gasps erupted around him.
Tang San's voice was the loudest, his emotions the most intense.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, though equally stunned, suddenly fell silent.
They hadn't known this exact detail, but had heard rumors of similar shady tactics.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar looked completely panicked.
One was a Phoenix with innate level-nine soul power. The other, a supreme sausage-maker born with full innate soul power. Both were civilian-born soul master prodigies.
"You're lying! The Top Ten Core Theories are the life's work of my teacher! He spent decades painstakingly developing those doctrines—how could it be a scam?!
Besides, the Three Upper Sects and the Spirit Hall are elite, prestigious factions. How could they stoop to such despicable acts?!"
Tang San shouted furiously.
Whether Yu Xiaogang was a liar didn't even matter that much to him—it was the fact that he himself had chosen his soul rings based on those theories.
Nangong Lingyun remained utterly composed, even sneering a bit at the corners of his mouth.
**"Think whatever you want.
Back then, their way of handling promising civilian talents was simple: eliminate them before they could rise.
Every major faction had black ops teams specifically for this purpose.
Haven't you ever noticed?
Aside from the Spirit Hall, the Three Upper Sects, and the Two Great Empires, there's only one wild Title Douluo—Dugu Bo.
Even Bi Lin Douluo only survived because his martial soul was too unique and he had the foresight to play it smart.
Though he ranks near the bottom among Title Douluo,
his mastery over poison is so profound that he could instantly wipe out every soul master under rank 90 from those big powers.
The moment he achieved Title Douluo, he poisoned an entire major city, wiping everyone out.
He demonstrated his terrifying, indiscriminate AoE destruction potential against low-tier soul masters.
After forcing the Three Upper Sects and the Spirit Hall to tread carefully,
he immediately defected to the Heaven Dou Empire for protection—thus becoming the only fish to slip through the net.
It's only in the last few decades that the Spirit Hall suffered a major loss during the failed expedition to Sea God Island,
wiping out their elite Angel Legion.
And the leader of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen, vanished while entangled in a scandal involving soul beasts and an assassination attempt on the Spirit Hall Pope.
Both sides have been licking their wounds ever since—that's when the so-called 'Top Ten Core Theories' came into being."**
Nangong Lingyun's tone was calm, as though he were stating the most obvious facts in the world.
But Ma Hongjun and Oscar instantly broke into cold sweats, their hairs standing on end.
Like children suddenly exposed to the darkest truths of the world, their entire worldview collapsed.
Tang San was on the verge of a breakdown.
"No… No! That's not true! You're lying!
My teacher is known as the soul master world's greatest theory master—how could he be such a scoundrel?!
What proof do you even have to say that about him?!"
But no matter how much he screamed,
Nangong Lingyun stayed eerily calm. He didn't respond or even glance back. Just silently walked forward.
And the more silent he was, the less Tang San could bear it.
The lack of any rebuttal only made the fear in his heart explode further.
(End of Chapter)