His description, calm and cruel, reduced a seemingly profound theory to its most essential nature—an experimental process built upon countless lives.
Bibi Dong's face instantly turned deathly pale.
She understood better than anyone the dreadful price Spirit Hall had once paid to research the limits of spirit rings.
That experimental data was obtained by Spirit Hall at the cost of countless irredeemable death row prisoners and enemy Spirit Masters captured during Soul-hunting operations.
It was one of Spirit Hall's most closely guarded secrets!
How could he, Yu Xiaogang, have possibly obtained it?
Li Yifei's voice, as if able to pierce through her very heart, continued to echo within the Chat Group.
[Li Yifei: Speak.]
[Li Yifei: Why are you silent again?]
[Li Yifei: I'm asking the two of you?]
His urging lashed at the Souls of Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong like a whip.
Their silence, at this moment, was tantamount to admission.
In her office at Blue Tyrant Academy, Liu Erlong felt icy cold all over. Hugging her arms, she could feel no warmth whatsoever.
She felt as if the idol she had worshipped for decades was being smashed to pieces, hammer blow by hammer blow, and she lacked even the strength to reach out and stop it.
Li Yifei seemed to have lost his patience.
[Li Yifei: Fine. Since you won't speak, I'll continue.]
His tone was as if discussing a trivial matter.
[Li Yifei: That so-called theory of spirit ring age limits has existed for a long time, hasn't it?]
[Li Yifei: Bibi Dong, search your own conscience.]
[Li Yifei: Before your 'Grandmaster' published his theory, how many members of Spirit Hall's most elite Angel Legion did *not* have the optimal spirit ring configuration of Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple?]
This question, like a bolt of black lightning, tore open the curtain of Bibi Dong's memory.
The Angel Legion.
That was Spirit Hall's core armed force, the glory inherited from the Angel God.
Every single member was meticulously selected from among the continent's Geniuses.
Their spirit ring configurations had followed an extremely rigorous standard long before Yu Xiaogang was even born.
Although that standard wasn't precise down to the single digit, its core principle was identical to Yu Xiaogang's theory.
To pursue the highest possible spirit ring age limit that the body could withstand.
[Li Yifei: And what about the three great sects with their long Legacies, the direct descendants of those great Families? Which of them didn't follow similar principles when obtaining their spirit rings?]
[Li Yifei: In fact, many Families specializing in a single Spirit have long known, through generations of trial and error, what kind of Spirit Beast to hunt at what stage to obtain what kind of Soul skill.]
[Li Yifei: Their first, second, and third Soul skills are almost fixed.]
[Li Yifei: Did they also learn this by reading your 'Grandmaster's' theory?]
Every word from Li Yifei unveiled a truth concealed by a halo of glory.
Yu Xiaogang was no pioneer.
He was more like... an information compiler.
A... plagiarist, feeding on the scraps of others.
This thought made Bibi Dong shudder violently. An unprecedented wave of nausea surged from the pit of her stomach.
She stared at the concluding remarks Li Yifei had sent in the Chat Group, feeling her entire world turn to ashes.
[Li Yifei: So, Yu Xiaogang's 'Ten Core Competitiveness of Spirits' is actually quite simple.]
[Li Yifei: The theory is plagiarized.]
[Li Yifei: The data belongs to others.]
[Li Yifei: The testing was never done.]
Three sentences. Three blades.
Each blade drew blood. Each blade was fatal.
They nailed that 'Grandmaster', whom countless people—including herself—had placed upon a pedestal, firmly to the pillar of shame.
[Li Yifei: What kind of Grandmaster is he?]
[Li Yifei: A Master of Plagiarism?]
This light, almost casual rhetorical question, uttered with a tone of pure curiosity, was more wounding than any malicious curse.
It utterly destroyed the last shred of fantasy in the hearts of Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong.
Master of Plagiarism.
These four words, like a searing brand, were deeply imprinted upon their Souls.
They turned all their past worship, love, and defense of that man into an absurd joke.
Had they fallen in love with, had they defended, a fraud who stole the achievements of others and packaged them as his own wisdom?
This realization made Bibi Dong feel suffocated.
She remembered how, back then, she had secretly copied Spirit Hall's confidential research data and, overjoyed, handed it to that man.
She had thought she was supporting the career of the man she loved.
She had thought she was helping him complete his great theory.
Now, looking back, what was she?
A mole who leaked secrets?
An accomplice aiding a tyrant?
A fool... blinded by love?
A black tide of shame, fury, and regret instantly overwhelmed her reason.
"Pfft—"
Bibi Dong violently spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the magnificent papal robes before her.
Her face was as pale as paper. Those phoenix eyes that once looked down upon the world were now filled with emptiness and confusion.
She was not wounded by Li Yifei's power.
She was... utterly devastated by her own past foolishness.
Blue Tyrant Academy.
With a *thud*, Liu Erlong slid from her chair and collapsed onto the cold floor.
She did not vomit blood, but the look in her eyes was quieter than death.
She remembered every little detail of her time with him.
He was always frowning, telling her he was pondering great questions concerning the future of the Spirit Master world.
He was always holding ancient texts, telling her he was seeking inspiration from the wisdom of predecessors.
She had once been deeply enamored by his 'focus' and 'erudition'.
Looking back now, was that so-called pondering actually about how to repackage others' theories?
Was that so-called seeking inspiration actually... searching for targets to plagiarize?
She dared not think further.
With every passing second of thought, her understanding of that past relationship crumbled more completely.
Li Yifei seemed indifferent to the devastating blow his words had dealt to the two women.
His mind continued to operate with cool logic.
[Li Yifei: Of course, it's not that I can't understand him.]
This sudden 'understanding' made all the girls lurking in the Chat Group pause in surprise.
Even Dugu Yan felt confused.
Was Yi Fei-gege... going to speak up for that trash?
[Li Yifei: After all, without this theory he plagiarized, what does he have left?]
[Li Yifei: Nothing at all.]
These two sentences instantly transformed the group's rising confusion into an even deeper chill.