Lin Yang and Yu Xiaogang basically had nothing to do with each other.
In the four months since he'd enrolled in the academy, he had only seen Yu Xiaogang a handful of times, and they had never exchanged a single word.
Calling them strangers wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Yet right now, this so-called "Grandmaster" was staring straight at him. The usually lazy look in his eyes had sharpened, as if he were dissecting something.
"Greetings, Grandmaster." Lin Yang gave a slight bow.
He was inwardly puzzled by Yu Xiaogang's sudden appearance, but still maintained the bare minimum of courtesy on the surface.
"Mm."
The sound was more like a grunt from his nose. Yu Xiaogang's expression didn't change, but that counted as a greeting.
"Grandmaster, did you need something from me?"
Lin Yang didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
He definitely didn't believe Yu Xiaogang had come to make small talk, and it was even less likely he was here to take him in as a disciple…
Yu Xiaogang was silent for a few seconds before he spoke.
"You broke through level ten?"
This wasn't really a secret, and Lin Yang had never planned to hide it. He nodded directly.
"I remember your innate soul power was level five, and your Spirit is a blade." Yu Xiaogang's gaze turned strange, filled with probing curiosity. "By rights, level-five innate soul power shouldn't allow you to cultivate this fast."
Lin Yang's brows twitched almost imperceptibly, but his face remained calm.
From enrollment until now, everything about his cultivation had clear traces to follow. Even if someone investigated, they wouldn't be able to find any issues.
"Grandmaster," Lin Yang said evenly,
"I don't really understand what you mean. I've just been cultivating normally."
"As for cultivating fast… unless Grandmaster's innate soul power is also level five? To me, this pace feels pretty normal."
At those words, Yu Xiaogang's body clearly stiffened, and his expression turned a little unnatural.
His innate soul power hadn't even reached level one. His cultivation speed was slower than a crawling turtle. Naturally, he had no real sense of how quickly someone with level-five innate soul power should be able to cultivate.
He had only estimated, based on various data he'd collected over the years, that Lin Yang's cultivation speed looked off.
He'd wanted to probe a little—only to end up shooting himself in the foot.
"Ahem…"
Yu Xiaogang lightly coughed, forcing a kind expression onto his face.
"Student Lin, don't misunderstand. I bear you no ill will."
"I've researched Spirits for decades. No one understands their potential and possible flaws better than I do."
As he spoke, his face seemed to take on a faint sheen—one of absolute confidence.
"Among the 1,350 blade-type Spirits I've studied, 827 possessed soul power. Of those, nearly 80% had innate soul power below level three."
"Among the remaining 165, 113 had level-four innate soul power, 37 had level-five, 10 had level-six, and five had level-seven or higher. But…"
His tone shifted, and the burning intent in his gaze made Lin Yang's scalp tingle.
"Your innate soul power is only level five, yet your cultivation speed isn't inferior to someone with level-seven innate soul power. According to the ten core competitive attributes of Spirits I've established, your Spirit is definitely a mutated one."
When Yu Xiaogang said this, his voice carried an air of unquestionable certainty and confidence, as if he had already laid bare the greatest secret of Lin Yang's Spirit.
Lin Yang raised an eyebrow, his expression still calm.
A man knows his own affairs best.
He had long suspected that his innate soul power wasn't truly only level five; most likely, a large portion of it had been used to suppress the Demon Blood Spirit, resulting in that apparent deficit.
But to jump straight from this to calling his Spirit a "mutated Spirit" was far too arbitrary.
He didn't refute him outright, though. Instead, he followed along.
"So, Grandmaster, you're saying my Spirit is a benign mutation?"
To his surprise, Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "No. It's a malignant mutation."
Lin Yang's eyes went round with disbelief: "?"
Do you even hear yourself?
Seeing the shock in Lin Yang's eyes, a hint of smugness flashed in Yu Xiaogang's.
"In the ten core competitive attributes of Spirits that I published, one of them states: the degree of innate soul power is directly proportional to the quality of a Spirit."
"Your cultivation speed is very fast. That means you have excellent cultivation aptitude—at least, your spiritual power is stronger than your peers'."
"But your innate soul power level shows that your Spirit's quality is nothing special—at the very least, it doesn't match your cultivation aptitude."
"So I can be completely certain that your blade-type Spirit has undergone a certain degree of malignant mutation in aspects like hardness, toughness, and even sharpness, resulting in your Spirit being weakened…"
Watching Yu Xiaogang talk on and on, Lin Yang simply didn't know what to say.
He was sure Grandmaster wasn't a complete fraud. From his deductions alone, it was clear the man had some real skill—but only some.
Anything that didn't fit his supposed "common sense" was simply shoved into the "mutated Spirit" category.
And those numbers he casually tossed out by the mouthful—
Even a grade-schooler knew that statistical data required accuracy and completeness, not to mention proper control of variables.
Without any of that, how could anyone be convinced?
Still, Lin Yang forced himself to listen quietly until the end.
In the end, Yu Xiaogang talked himself hoarse and had to stop to catch his breath. Lin Yang took the chance to slip away.
"Thank you for clearing my doubts, Grandmaster. I've benefited greatly. I'll come listen to your teachings another day."
With that, he turned to leave.
But Yu Xiaogang grew anxious. He quickly grabbed Lin Yang's shoulder. "Wait."
He hadn't come here just to lecture for free; his goal hadn't yet been achieved. How could he let Lin Yang walk away so easily?
"Does Grandmaster still need something from me?"
Lin Yang halted and turned slightly.
"Lin Yang, your Spirit may be a malignant mutation, but you've already proven you have enough potential."
After saying so much, Yu Xiaogang finally revealed his true purpose.
"With my guidance, I can help you compensate for the flaws caused by that mutation. Your future growth will definitely be much broader than it is now. You may even reach… Titled Douluo."
When he spoke those four words, "Titled Douluo," a flicker of ambition flashed through his eyes.
That was his life's goal—to teach a disciple who would become a Titled Douluo, to prove to those who looked down on him that Yu Xiaogang was not a waste.
His words were extremely rousing. If he'd said them to an ordinary six-year-old, the child might really have been coaxed into kneeling and calling him teacher.
But while Lin Yang's body was six years old, his mental age wasn't. He wasn't about to be fooled that easily.
More importantly, Yu Xiaogang's theories wouldn't be of much use to him.
Lin Yang's tone was very flat, without the slightest fluctuation.
"Thank you for your kindness, Grandmaster. I'm very satisfied with my current cultivation state. I haven't encountered any bottleneck, and besides…"
He paused, then continued.
"My current priority is to choose a suitable soul ring. As for theoretical research… I hope I'll have the chance to listen to your guidance in the future."
He put it very tactfully, but the core meaning was clear.
I don't mind listening to your theories—they don't cost me anything—but don't meddle in my cultivation.
Apparently, Yu Xiaogang hadn't expected a refusal. His face darkened the moment he heard this.
He wanted to turn around and leave in anger, but when he remembered that Lin Yang was currently the only one who could verify his theories, he forcibly suppressed his temper.
"Lin Yang, you're very clever—but some things must be seen with your own eyes. What you hear is unreliable."
"Don't let a few rumors make you go down the wrong path."
"Spirit mutation is full of uncertainty. If you choose the wrong first soul ring, your Spirit is very likely to mutate again in the future. By then, it'll be too late for regrets."
Lin Yang nodded perfunctorily. "Then according to Grandmaster's view, what kind of soul beast should I choose for my first soul ring?"
Yu Xiaogang replied without hesitation.
"Your Spirit's quality is not high. Whether in durability or sharpness, it's inferior to top-tier Spirits. So you need to take a bold, unorthodox path."
"For your first soul ring, you should choose a poison-type soul beast and add a poison attribute to your tool-type Spirit. That can make up for your lack of attack power and grant you a powerful soul skill at the same time."
Hearing this, Lin Yang almost choked on his own saliva.
What little goodwill he still had toward Yu Xiaogang evaporated on the spot.
His Spirit was a blade. Instead of finding a way to enhance its durability and sharpness, Yu wanted to throw that aside and graft on a poison attribute—was he taking him for a fool?
It was now obvious: Yu Xiaogang had never planned on truly guiding him. He just wanted to use Lin Yang's soul-ring hunt as a live experiment to validate his theories.
Whatever patience he had left was exhausted. A trace of impatience flashed in Lin Yang's eyes as he cupped his fists.
"Thank you for the advice, Grandmaster, but I already have a target in mind for the soul beast I want. I won't trouble you to… worry about it."
He ignored the ugly look on Yu Xiaogang's face and turned to leave.
That step was equivalent to tearing their relationship apart.
"A rotten piece of wood that can't be carved. Lin Yang… you will regret this."
Watching Lin Yang's figure grow distant, Yu Xiaogang's face was like stone as he flung his sleeves and left.