"An External Spirit Bone?!"
Tang San froze for a moment, clearly confused.
Yu Xiaogang had never taught him much about Spirit Bones, let alone External Spirit Bones.
So Yu Xiaogang began to explain.
"Spirit Bones are extremely rare and precious treasures—coveted by every Spirit Master."
"Unlike Spirit Rings, which form from every Spirit Beast upon death, Spirit Bones do not appear as consistently."
Once he had finished the general explanation about Spirit Bones, Yu Xiaogang moved on to External Spirit Bones.
"In short, External Spirit Bones are Spirit Bones that do not belong to the six primary positions."
"What makes them most valuable is their ability to evolve along with the Spirit Master's cultivation!"
"I truly didn't expect you to be so fortunate, Little San—to have acquired such an incredible treasure!"
Yu Xiaogang sighed emotionally.
But then his expression turned serious.
"However, External Spirit Bones are so rare and valuable that even a Titled Douluo would be tempted by them."
"You must never, ever tell anyone about this. Understood?"
"Yes, Teacher! I understand!"
Tang San nodded earnestly, excitement and joy flooding his heart.
Meanwhile, hidden in the trees nearby, Ye Yu had been quietly following Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
Upon hearing their conversation, he almost burst into laughter.
As expected, Yu Xiaogang was clueless!
He didn't even know the basic rule that only 100,000-year Spirit Beasts have a guaranteed chance of dropping the exact missing Spirit Bone piece a Spirit Master lacks.
Any Spirit Beast below that level?
They only occasionally drop Spirit Bones—and even then, only ones that align with the beast's traits.
For example, Ye Yu had obtained the External Spirit Bone: Heart of the Undying Laurel from the Undying Laurel Tree, and External Spirit Bone: Demon Willow Fluff from the Demon Willow.
And in the original story, Tang San gained the External Spirit Bone: Eight Spider Lances from the Man-Faced Demon Spider!
Yet Yu Xiaogang didn't seem remotely surprised that a Man-Faced Demon Spider had supposedly dropped an External Spirit Bone that attached itself to Tang San's meridians.
Maybe he thought, "Well, spiders spin silk, so having thread-like tendrils must be normal."
And so, with his teacher confirming that what was latched onto his outer meridians was a rare and powerful treasure, Tang San felt completely at ease.
He eagerly began developing ways to make use of this "External Spirit Bone: Meridians."
For instance: cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill in both sets of meridians at once to speed up his training…
Or using the dual meridian systems to simultaneously cast the same martial technique, thereby enhancing its effect and power.
That night, while Tang San sat cross-legged in the dormitory, experimenting with how to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill through his dual meridians—
Ye Yu was seated in the treetop outside, meditating quietly.
Through his External Spirit Bone: Demon Willow Fluff (Core Body), Ye Yu could sense the flow of spirit power in Tang San's newly grafted meridian system.
Before long, Ye Yu had fully memorized the third stage circulation path of the Mysterious Heaven Skill running through Tang San's body.
—
The next morning.
Tang San woke up early and climbed to the rooftop of the dormitory, basking in the morning sunlight as he cultivated his Purple Demon Eye technique.
He wanted to attempt cultivating it through both meridian systems at the same time, hoping it would double his training speed and help him break through more quickly.
Through the Demon Willow Fluff still embedded in Tang San, Ye Yu followed along effortlessly—
And just like that, he mastered the Purple Demon Eye.
Having previously consumed the Immortal Herb: Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Ye Yu's spiritual power and ocular perception had been significantly enhanced.
His eyes had been fundamentally transformed—he was now a prodigy in visual techniques.
As he cultivated Purple Demon Eye, the improvements were immediately evident.
His innate visual abilities—like Eagle Eye and Insight—were significantly boosted!
With that, Ye Yu had now acquired both the third stage of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Purple Demon Eye through the Demon Willow Fluff connection.
—
That morning, classes at Shrek Academy began.
With Yu Xiaogang now officially part of the staff, every instructor was present on the training field.
Flender proudly introduced the faculty to the students—and formally presented the newly arrived "Grandmaster" Yu Xiaogang.
"Starting today, your training will be fully supervised by the Grandmaster. The Academy will give him full support, and you must all follow his instructions."
"Some of his training methods may seem strange or difficult to understand."
"But remember—this is the man who discovered the 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls' and the theory on 'Spirit Ring Absorption Limits.'"
"He is revered as the most brilliant Martial Soul theorist of this generation!"
"His training might not make sense to you, but you must obey."
"If you think he's wrong—it's only because you fail to comprehend his vast wisdom!"
With hands clasped behind his back, Flender spoke with immense pride, practically raising Yu Xiaogang to divine status.
In short—
"Everything Yu Xiaogang says is correct. If you don't get it, that's your fault, not his."
Off to the side, Ye Yu could only twitch the corners of his mouth in disbelief.
He had to admit—Yu Xiaogang, for all his self-importance, arrogance, and moral grandstanding, had one true skill:
Conning people.
He wasn't smart, had no real accomplishments, and only knew how to parrot theory.
But somehow…
He'd managed to make the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall fall for him to the point of betraying her own sect.
Even his own cousin refused to marry anyone for twenty years just waiting for him!
Despite being utterly useless, he had convinced others he was a misunderstood genius—just by pouting and playing the victim.
It was ridiculous. But also impressive.
—
After Flender finished his speech, Yu Xiaogang stepped forward, hands behind his back, and announced with confidence:
"From now on, I will oversee your training."
"To me, you seven students form a complete unit. I'll create a unified training program tailored just for you."
He then proceeded to number the students based on their age.
"Today, you'll rest. Training begins tomorrow!"
—
The next day.
Training officially began.
After breakfast, everyone gathered at the gates of Shrek Academy.
There, they saw seven bamboo baskets lined up neatly.
Each basket was filled with a different number of stones and labeled from 1 to 7.
Yu Xiaogang stood under the shade of a tree, looking as lofty as ever.
"Is everyone here?"
"Good. Then grab your designated basket and run between the Academy and Suotuo City."
"Ten round trips."
"That's your first day of training."
"WHAT?!"
Ning Rongrong was stunned—completely unable to process what she had just heard.
"You mean this 'specialized training' of yours is just making us run back and forth between here and Suotuo City with these heavy baskets?!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin