"Impossible! A thousand-year first ring can never exist. What Dong'er meant must have been her first Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

Yu Xiaogang felt that his Ten Core Competencies theory had been insulted. Forgetting his heartache over Bibi Dong, he immediately began to rationalize.

"Indeed. Only those who have absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring understand the vast difference between a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

Absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as one's first ring is an impossible feat."

Tang San spoke up as well. Possessing Twin Martial Souls and practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he had still struggled immensely when absorbing a four-hundred-year Spirit Ring.

Even pushing himself to the absolute limit, he could have handled five or six hundred years at most.

A thousand-years? No one in this world could achieve that.

No one refuted him, as two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red was publicly acknowledged across the entire continent as the optimal Spirit Ring configuration.

Within the Sky Screen, Qian Xunji had no idea he was being broadcast live.

He continued his interrogation of Bibi Dong.

"Bibi Dong, let me ask you again. Who am I?"

Bibi Dong froze for a moment before replying, "Teacher, you are the greatest Expert under the heavens. You made a breakthrough to Titled Douluo at nineteen, achieved Level 99 Peerless Douluo at thirty, and are the peerless pioneer through all eternity.

You are the Pope of the Spirit Hall, the greatest Expert in the world today."

"Hahahaha! Good, very good."

Qian Xunji laughed again, turned around, and asked once more, "Then, who are you?"

"I am the Saintess of Spirit Hall, and Teacher's sole Direct Disciple."

Bibi Dong's voice was faint, entirely devoid of confidence.

"And who is Yu Xiaogang?"

"He... he is the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Sect Master, and the wisest person under the heavens."

Bibi Dong prostrated on the ground, not daring to lift her head.

"Just a piece of trash! Plagiarizing theories from our Spirit Hall's Library Pavilion, reorganizing them, and tacking on a few impractical conjectures—and that counts as wisdom?

How dare a frog in a well speak of the vastness of the heavens?

How dare an ephemeron, born at dawn only to die at dusk, presume to speak of the cycle of the seasons?

Bibi Dong, you are as stupid as a pig!"

Qian Xunji was furious. He had invested an immense amount of care and effort into nurturing this disciple.

"No, Teacher.

Xiaogang is truly outstanding! Poor Talent is not his fault.

Yet he never lost heart, nor did he abandon himself to despair. He possesses breathtaking wisdom, and the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls he authored is utterly brilliant.

He once said that there are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters.

You cannot look down on him just because of his Innate rank-half Soul Power."

"'There are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters'?

Insulting himself twice in a single sentence—he truly is a piece of work!"

"No, Teacher, you simply do not understand him.

I love him. He is not what you make him out to be."

How could Bibi Dong listen? She was already blinded by the love in her heart.

However, beneath the Sky Screen, someone took those words to heart.

Ning Rongrong's bright eyes flickered as she fell into deep thought.

Dai Mubai was also lost in thought. Grandmaster... seemed rather fraudulent.

They had all been awestruck by Tang San's achievements, which gave them rose-tinted glasses when looking at Grandmaster.

Now, however, they suddenly woke up.

Was what Grandmaster displayed truly that profound?

Ma Hongjun and Oscar might not have grasped it, but coming from extraordinary backgrounds, Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong knew for certain that their own clans possessed similar knowledge.

Why did it seem so unfathomable when it came out of Grandmaster's mouth?

Subconsciously, they looked toward Grandmaster, only to see him ashen-faced and at a complete loss, wanting to explain but tongue-tied.

He was panicking. His Ten Core Competencies theory actually contained such a glaring flaw.

Insulting himself? And for more than twenty years?

"Oh? Grandmaster, your Ten Core Competencies theory seems a bit bogus."

Ning Rongrong wore her long-lost witch-like smile. Once the filter shattered, everything fell apart under scrutiny.

Their physical enhancement over the past two years had been helpful, but hardly miraculous.

Besides, what kind of profound cultivation method was running around carrying rocks?

They were at an age of rapid growth; wouldn't their physical constitution have improved naturally over time anyway?

"Ning Rongrong, what nonsense are you spouting? How could this Grandmaster's Ten Core Competencies theory possibly be flawed?

That is the culmination of decades of my painstaking, solitary research!"

Yu Xiaogang tried to argue back, but could not produce a solid explanation for that self-insulting statement.

Right then, Tang San spoke up, as loyal as a faithful dog. Wearing a look of profound insight, he appeared as though he had seen right through to Grandmaster's deeper meaning.

"Rongrong, you are mistaken.

Must a Soul Master be personally powerful to be considered great?

The 'trash' Teacher refers to are those who lack ambition and refuse to improve.

A Martial Soul may indeed limit Teacher's Soul Power, but it cannot restrict his intellect.

A frog in a well speaking of the vast heavens, an ephemeron discussing the passing of seasons—

It is precisely because of this that Teacher's vast erudition and intellect are made clear.

Seeing the whole beast from a single spot—is that not worthy of awe and respect?"

Yu Xiaogang stared at his disciple in astonishment, then broke into a broad smile.

As expected of his, Yu Xiaogang's, disciple—such a brilliant mind!

Indeed, whether a Soul Master was trash could not be judged merely by Soul Power.

Starting with an Innate rank-half Soul Power, he had managed to cultivate all the way to rank twenty-nine. Was that not formidable enough?

He possessed a Trash Martial Soul yet never gave up, even publishing the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. Was that not formidable enough?

"Precisely. It is still Xiao San who has inherited this Grandmaster's true teachings and grasped the profound essence of those words."

Grandmaster straightened his posture once more, his nose pointing toward the sky.

However, his guilty demeanor had already been caught by Ning Rongrong and the others.

His current posturing only confirmed the suspicions in their hearts.

Grandmaster was indeed a fraud.

Ning Rongrong felt her Soul Tool, brought out a handful of melon seeds, and began cracking them.

She was looking forward to seeing what the Pope would do next, and what punishment Bibi Dong would receive.

If it were merely confinement, it would be far too anticlimactic.

After all, if treasonous behavior like Bibi Dong's occurred in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, her entire family would have been dragged to the execution block.

While Shrek was focused on Grandmaster, many major factions were paying attention to Qian Xunji.

A Titled Douluo at nineteen, and a Limit Douluo at thirty?

Was this truly the previous Pope? The Pope in their timeline had never been that formidable, otherwise how could he have been grievously wounded by Tang Hao?

Even more people were fixated on the fact that the current Pope had once been so rebellious and unfilial.

Yet today, she still sat upon the Pope's throne?

Utterly preposterous.

...Sky Screen Timeline...

Qian Xunji no longer bothered to waste words. His golden eyes shone with an overbearing brilliance. "Hopelessly obstinate.

It seems your mind is made up.

Since that is the case, this seat shall grant your wish."

Qian Xunji slowly raised his hand. Resplendent golden light condensed into chains that pierced through Bibi Dong's four limbs, suspending her in midair.

"Ah!"

Bibi Dong cried out in agony. When had she ever endured such torment?

She looked toward Qian Xunji with disbelief in her eyes.

Her teacher was actually being so cruel to her?

So be it. This way, she would owe nothing more to Spirit Hall.

Their figures flew rapidly out of the Pope's Palace, arriving in the skies above Spirit City.

It was as if another sun had appeared in the sky, drawing the gaze of every Soul Master in Spirit City.

From the Elder Hall, Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo also shot into the sky, their expressions filled with shock.

Using boundless Soul Power, Qian Xunji constructed a throne in midair.

Seated upon the golden throne, his voice boomed like rolling thunder:

"Spirit Hall Saintess Bibi Dong has committed an unforgivable crime! This seat hereby conducts a public trial before all Soul Masters of the world!"

Bibi Dong's expression was complicated. There was guilt and anxiety, but even more so, delight.

"Xiaogang, here I come."

Within Spirit City, a million Soul Masters were silenced in fear, at a loss as to what could have provoked the Pope to such fury.

They were even more curious about what crime the Saintess had committed to make the Pope, who had always doted on her, hold a public trial.

The sight of the golden chains piercing her collarbones sent deep shockwaves through countless hearts.

Just how enraged was the Pope? Hadn't he always treasured the Saintess above all else?

Beneath the Sky Screen, Pope Bibi Dong felt both fortunate and regretful.

She was fortunate that in the Sky Screen, she had not been defiled, that the trajectory of history had shifted, allowing her to retain a shred of dignity.

Yet she was regretful that the Sky Screen had not shown her painful dilemma, leaving the misunderstanding between her and Xiaogang difficult to clear.

"The me of another timeline... I truly envy you.

Without your purity being ruined, you can fly side-by-side with Xiaogang, right?

Even if the world treats you with cold eyes, even if you lose your noble status as Saintess, as long as you have Xiaogang, everything is worth it."