Tang San didn't dare make a move against Nangong Lingyun, not even utter a single curse word.
After realizing that no one was paying attention to his yelling, he could only shut his mouth and sit down quietly.
But the storm on his face never settled, and his heart churned with raging waves.
A moment of heavy silence passed.
Dai Mubai finally asked with a bit of doubt:
"But among all the soul masters I've seen, aside from you and Xiao Wu, everyone else's soul ring years seem to match those theoretical numbers, right?
That includes my parents, the Emperor and Empress of the Star Luo Empire. Those secret theories—surely even they wouldn't be clueless about them?"
Bing Qing Yujie's eyes lit up instantly.
Right! Maybe it's just these two who are the exception.
In that case, the teacher's theory still stands, and she didn't get screwed over by following it.
Nangong Lingyun chuckled faintly, not taking it seriously.
"Tang San, do you still remember how Yu Xiaogang's theory describes soul ring limits?"
"Of course I remember. The limit for the first soul ring is 423 years, the second 764 years, the third 1,760 years.
From the fourth ring onward, the limits are 5,000 years, 12,000 years, 20,000 years, 50,000 years, 80,000 years, and over 100,000 years.
My first two rings were chosen and hunted with the teacher's help. Not only were they of high quality, but their years were also near the theoretical limits."
"So precise, down to the individual year."
"Well, of course! Otherwise, why would he be called the master of martial soul theory in the soul master world?"
Seeing Tang San proudly lift his chin, looking all smug,
Nangong Lingyun couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
Since he refuses to cry until he sees the coffin, let's make sure he smashes headfirst into the wall today.
"A very simple question.
If the Blue Silver Grass martial soul absorbs a soul ring from another Blue Silver Grass with identical traits,
and then absorbs a soul ring from a poison-type beast like a Mandrake Snake—
can those two soul rings possibly have the same maximum limit?"
"What about a low-grade martial soul paired with a high-bloodline beast, versus a high-grade martial soul absorbing a low-tier beast?"
"Same soul ring year,
but for a battle-type soul master with a naturally strong body versus a six-year-old support-type soul master with weak innate development—
would the difficulty be the same?"
"Obviously not the same."
Nangong Lingyun stopped walking and stared at Tang San, whose face had gone ghost-white and was trembling like a leaf.
He coldly and mercilessly added:
"Physical fitness, soul strength, past development of the martial soul, the quality gap between the martial soul and the ring, attribute compatibility…
Even things like special beast abilities, unique martial soul traits, whether soul bones are present, secret techniques learned…
All these hugely impact the actual soul ring limit.
A universal, accurate limit that applies to everyone simply doesn't exist—cannot exist.
Not even among all soul masters. Even for the same person, soul ring limits vary with different beasts.
If such universal numbers were real, why would it take millions of years of soul master history before someone came up with these theories?
You think the soul masters of the past just relied on luck and fate to determine whether their soul rings succeeded or not?"
With every sentence Nangong Lingyun spoke, Tang San's heart sank deeper and deeper,
like he was sinking to the ocean floor—until he couldn't even breathe.
In his mind, only one phrase echoed:
"Was the teacher… a fraud?"
He desperately wanted to find some perfect excuse to shut down that hateful argument,
but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a single self-convincing explanation.
So he stubbornly said:
"Then why do most people's soul ring years still match the teacher's theory?"
**"Well, that's where we have to give Yu Xiaogang some credit for being crafty. Otherwise, how could he have fooled so many people?
His data isn't entirely made up, but neither is it precise.
He took the highest values from completed soul ring attachments.
For example, for the first ring:
Soul Master A had a 100-year ring, Soul Master B had a 200-year one, Soul Master C had a 300-year ring.
Ignoring body constitution, martial soul quality, attribute match, etc.—he simply picked the highest value.
Of course the final conclusion looks like it fits everyone."**
Nangong Lingyun was more than happy to break this all down for Tang San,
Not just because it drove a wedge between Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, but because there were nice rewards for sabotaging both of them.
And by shaping himself as a true martial soul theory master, it would be much easier to keep conning them later on.
This kid, tricked by Yu Xiaogang? Well, now it's his turn.
But after hearing all that—
Tang San didn't collapse further like before. Instead, he lit up like a blind man discovering color.
He suddenly exclaimed in joy:
"So you're saying, the teacher's theoretical numbers are actually too high?
But my martial soul is the well-known trash Blue Silver Grass!
My first ring was a 390-year Sawtooth Viper, and the second was a 600+ year Black-headed Yellow-tail Wasp—both top-tier bloodlines!
By your logic, a low-tier martial soul plus a top-grade beast with differing attributes should've significantly reduced the ring limit, right?"
"Unfortunately, that's not true.
Yu Xiaogang's data isn't overly optimistic—on the contrary, it's too low.
Especially for high-quality martial souls. How else would you sabotage civilian geniuses?"
Nangong Lingyun smiled and shook his head.
**"This leads us into another concept—
The higher the bloodline of the soul ring relative to the martial soul's quality, the more it promotes development and evolution.
The weaker it is, the less helpful.
Simple example: How is a caterpillar going to improve a True Dragon martial soul?
That's why disciples of big sects and clans always prioritize high-strength soul rings.
In fact, they often have the power to absorb a 1,000-year low-tier ring,
but will deliberately choose a 100-year soul beast with an elite bloodline for long-term martial soul growth.
So in terms of years, they're not reaching the actual upper limit.
As for civilian soul masters, even the geniuses—
When they see those high-powered soul masters with resources only choosing 400-year rings,
and get misled by books like Ten Core Competitions of Martial Souls,
they assume they themselves couldn't even handle 400 years,
and settle for something lower.
That's how all those 'accurate' numbers came to be.
Also, your martial soul is not low-grade, and certainly not trash.
I don't know the specifics—you'll need to ask your parents. They probably know what's going on."**
The windmill was always ready to spin—
It just needed the right gust.
As Nangong Lingyun finished, Tang San's face once again went pale. He was trembling so badly he couldn't walk straight.
He had already suspected something was wrong with his soul rings and abilities.
Blue Silver Thrust and Blue Silver Flying Leaves were nearly useless in actual combat—he had to rely entirely on Tang Sect techniques.
Now that the truth was laid bare, his entire mindset crumbled instantly.
(End of Chapter)