Chapter 53: The Grandmaster's Fraud
The third floor of the Spirit Hall library was a place of oppressive silence.
Unlike the lower floors, open to promising disciples, this level was where the organization's true secrets were kept. The air was dry and smelled of ancient, brittle paper and old wood. Sunlight struggled to pierce the thick, stained-glass windows, leaving the aisles between the towering, dark-wood shelves in perpetual shadow.
This floor was accessible only to the Supreme Pontiff and the active members of the Elder Palace.
Even Bibi Dong, in her time, was only specially permitted to enter with the Supreme Pontiff's direct authorization.
Previously, Qin Xuan didn't have this qualification. But ever since he had been forced to become the so-called 'Second Majesty' under Qian Daoliu's instruction, and with the High Priest's subsequent approval, this restriction had been lifted for him. He was, for all intents and purposes, a future member of the Elder Palace.
He had come here after his tense "negotiation" with Qian Xunji, seeking both knowledge and a place to calm his still-thrumming killing intent from the City of Slaughter.
"I haven't even started reading yet, and my murderous aura has already calmed down a lot," Qin Xuan mused, a cold smile touching his lips. He ran a hand along the spine of a heavy, leather-bound tome. "Could it be that bullying Yu Xiaogang is more effective than reading?"
The surge of emotional value he'd farmed from the man's envy and hatred had certainly been therapeutic.
Qin Xuan found a quiet, hidden corner, sinking into a high-backed chair that was obscured from the main walkway by a row of shelves. He stretched, enjoying the silence, and then sat down, seemingly flipping through a book.
In reality, his consciousness was focused inward. He was checking the system's store.
Thanks to the successive, massive contributions of the big sucker, Qian Xunji, and the more recent, smaller contributions of Yu Xiaogang—who was currently in the "small sucker" stage—Qin Xuan's emotional value had broken through a million for the first time. It had reached nearly 1.3 million.
His gaze swept across the store's interface, which was far more extensive now that he had more currency.
[100-year Spirit Ring (Maximum age increase 999 years)]: Value 10,000 emotional value.
[1,000-year Spirit Ring (Maximum age increase 9,999 years)]: Value 20,000 emotional value.
[10,000-year Spirit Ring (Maximum age increase 99,999 years)]: Value 100,000 emotional value.
[100,000-year Spirit Ring (Fixed age)]: Value 200,000 emotional value.
[100,000-year Spirit Ring (Adaptive, max age 999,999 years)]: Value 2,000,000 emotional value.
[1,000,000-year Spirit Ring (Fixed age)]: Value 3,000,000 emotional value.
[1,000,000-year Spirit Ring (Adaptive, max age 9,999,999 years)]: Value 5,000,000 emotional value.
[Third-Grade God Position]: Value 5,000,000 emotional value.
Qin Xuan sighed softly in his heart.
So expensive.
He noted with grim amusement that the most expensive non-fixed, million-year spirit ring cost the same as a Third-Grade God Position. The system was not playing around.
Qin Xuan browsed the store again carefully. Like the big roulette, except for some fixed items, the store only refreshed once every two years.
He found that it was still the same old stuff, with no other substantial items that could directly improve his cultivation and strength. Most of it was mundane, like the Durex he had drawn before.
He quickly lost interest and turned his attention to a single, unique item he had been eyeing: the [Godly Revival Coin].
[Godly Revival Coin: The host will be fully revived 10 minutes after death. At the same time, it can revive a target who died within one month, with 100% loyalty to the host. Value: 1,000,000 emotional value.]
Qin Xuan hesitated for a moment. One million points. It was a massive chunk of his savings, almost everything he had.
But it was a second life. It was a safety net.
He thought of Jingni, of his unborn children, A Yan and the others. He thought of the dangers ahead—of Qian Xunji's schemes, of Tang San's plot armor, of the Gods themselves.
He gritted his teeth and finally chose to purchase it.
After all, it was a life. You couldn't lose out or be cheated by buying it.
[Emotional Value: 300,000]
He then closed the system, his mind settling. He calmed his thoughts and truly immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge around him.
He picked up the first book on the shelf, a thick, heavy volume bound in dark leather with a simple, silver-stamped title.
Just by opening the first page, Qin Xuan almost broke down with a chuckle.
"Spirit Ring Absorption Limit Summary."
This book was none other than Spirit Hall's official, secret record of the highest known spirit ring absorption age limits throughout the organization's entire history. Whenever someone in Spirit Hall broke a record, a dedicated person would update it in real-time.
Recording data had long been a tradition since the establishment of the library. Even within Spirit Hall, this specific volume was little known, kept only on this forbidden floor.
Qin Xuan began to read.
"The absorption of spirit rings has its limits. Exceeding this limit will result in the Spirit Master's body exploding from the excess energy."
"So far, the highest recorded absorption age for the first spirit ring is 423 years. The record holder is XXX. Other Spirit Masters who absorbed Spirit Beasts exceeding this age limit exploded and died."
"The highest recorded absorption age for the second spirit ring is 764 years."
"The third ring is 1,760 years."
"The fourth ring is 5,120 years. Record holder: Qin Xuan."
Qin Xuan paused, his finger resting on his own name. He couldn't help the small, proud smile that crossed his face. "Heh, my name is actually here."
His exploit in the Spirit Pagoda, where he had absorbed a 5,000-year-plus ring, had been witnessed and subsequently recorded, officially breaking the previous 5,000-year limit.
He continued reading.
"The fifth ring is 12,000 years."
"The sixth ring is 20,000 years."
"The seventh ring is 50,000 years."
"The eighth ring is over 50,000 years. The specific age is unknown and cannot be identified."
"The ninth ring is 100,000 years. Record holder: Gold Crocodile."
"This ninth ring record must have been set by Gold Crocodile Douluo," Qin Xuan mused, "the most senior Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall, aside from Qian Daoliu himself."
"Tsk tsk..."
He leaned back, the book resting in his lap. "Originally, I thought Yu Xiaogang's research on spirit ring ages, even if it was borrowed, was at least summarized from Spirit Hall's big database. I thought he had taken the raw data and then calculated the 'perfect' theoretical limits."
"I never expected that old fellow wouldn't even change a single word."
A sneer of disdain appeared on his face. "He probably just copied Spirit Hall's highest recorded absorption limits verbatim and passed them off as his own 'Grandmaster's Theory'."
"I just don't know if his published theory still lists the fourth ring as 5,000 years, as it was in the original novel. Or has he seen my new record and updated his stolen goods to 5,120 years? If he's still saying 5,000, then it's solid proof his 'research' is just him copying old data."
Flipping through the meticulously recorded information, Qin Xuan's lips curled slightly.
Whether reading the original novel or watching the anime in his past life, Qin Xuan had always felt that Yu Xiaogang was... overly praised.
He was, in a word, a fraud.
The so-called "Ten Core Competitiveness of Martial Souls" he came up with were not only common, observable knowledge in the advanced Spirit Master world, but many of them were also just plain wrong.
For example, his most famous, oft-quoted line: 'There are no useless Spirits, only useless Spirit Masters.'
Qin Xuan scoffed. "Doesn't this indirectly admit that he himself is useless? He's already so old, yet he's stuck at Level 29, unable to break through to Spirit Elder. By his own logic, he is the definition of a useless Spirit Master."
At most, he could only rely on the books he plagiarized from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to fool commoners like Flender, and love-struck, naive people like Liu Erlong.
And then there was his other "profound" theory: 'The level of innate spirit power is directly proportional to the strength of the Spirit. The higher the innate spirit power, the stronger the Spirit.'
"At first glance," Qin Xuan mused, "this sentence seems to have no problem. It's basic common sense."
"But he had to add a superfluous and self-important addendum: 'If it is inversely proportional, then there must be an even more powerful Spirit. This is Twin Spirits.'"
Relying on this one sentence, he got lucky. He successfully bluffed Tang San—a boy who only knew the path to death, who always adhered to the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record's general principles, and who had just embarked on the path of a Spirit Master with zero worldly knowledge.
Recalling Ning Fengzhi's line from the anime, 'He who obtains the Grandmaster, obtains the world'...
At the time, it had almost made Qin throw up his overnight meal.
According to Qin Xuan's current understanding of the continent's politics, a shrewd, fox-like man like Ning Fengzhi—one of the few true political players in the original novel—would absolutely not fail to see how much Yu Xiaogang was really worth.
Ning Fengzhi, who was unwilling to be subservient to Spirit Hall and constantly made trouble, knew exactly what he was doing.
The reason he said that, the reason he praised the "Grandmaster" to the heavens—even knowing that the Shrek Seven Devils' improvement relied on Immortal Herbs and their own monstrous talent—was simply because he valued Yu Xiaogang's identity as Tang San's teacher.
It was a political investment.
Winning over Yu Xiaogang meant indirectly winning over Tang San, who possessed Twin Spirits. It meant winning over Tang Hao, a Titled Douluo. And it meant winning over the entire, hidden Clear Sky Sect.
Thereby, he could better oppose Spirit Hall. It perfectly echoed his frequent saying, 'The Upper Three Sects are of one mind.'
"Unfortunately for him," Qin Xuan thought, "it wasn't until Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had fallen, and his clan was nearly destroyed, that he realized all of this was merely a stepping stone for Tang San to reach his own goals."
"I'm afraid that from beginning to end, only Bibi Dong—in her youthful blindness—truly took Yu Xiaogang seriously. All the other Sect forces were just watching him as a joke."
"But, this fellow is bold enough," Qin Xuan conceded, closing the book. "Originally, this knowledge was tightly controlled by the major Sect forces and Spirit Hall to better recruit geniuses and suppress commoner Spirit Masters."
"Yet, he went and published all this precious knowledge, which was considered unattainable by commoners, under his own name."
"A gentleman judges by actions, not by intentions; if judging by intentions, no one in the world is perfect."
"Regardless of whether he did it for fame or to popularize knowledge, he did, in fact, do at least one good deed for the continent's commoners."
Qin Xuan stood up, stretching as he placed the book back on the shelf.
"It's just... too foolish. And far too shameless."
"He actually published those plagiarized and summarized theories of his predecessors under his own name."
"Although he has left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan because he couldn't bear the ridicule of his clansmen, he is still, essentially, a disciple of that clan."
"Once the so-called Ten Core Competitiveness are released and the other sects realize their secrets have been exposed, under pressure from all those forces, even his father, Yu Yuanzhen, won't be able to protect him. He'll only be officially expelled from the family."
Qin Xuan shook his head. The man had sealed his own fate, all for a sliver of fame.
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