Chapter 147: The Honeymoon Phase Ends, and a Crisis of Trust Appears
Lin Qingmo looked at Yu Xiaogang's utterly lost expression, and the last trace of warmth in his eyes faded away.
He knew.
For someone like Yu Xiaogang, the collapse of faith was far more painful than death itself.
But this road was one Yu Xiaogang had chosen himself.
"Yu Xiaogang."
Lin Qingmo spoke.
His voice carried a clear, cold indifference.
This was no longer a debate; it was simply a statement.
"Empty talk on paper. A frog at the bottom of a well."
"Real theory has never been dogma summarized from piles of old books."
"It should come from the real land beneath one's feet, from the countless living beings one sees with their own eyes and touches with their own hands."
"Borrowed theories alone do not make a true grandmaster."
After saying that, he no longer looked at the figure, who seemed to have aged decades in an instant.
Instead, he turned his gaze aside.
Xiao Wu had been standing there quietly the entire time, her pink eyes reflecting his figure.
Lin Qingmo's expression instantly softened, and his tone became relaxed and natural.
"Xiao Wu, let's go. We'll continue today's training."
"Mhm!"
Xiao Wu nodded immediately. Without hesitation, she quickly stepped forward and tightly hooked her arm around his, leaning part of her weight against him in a gesture of complete reliance and companionship.
Before leaving, she turned her head toward Yu Xiaogang, wrinkled her nose, and gave a small huff, clearly expressing her attitude.
The two turned and walked away.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance and followed behind them.
Flender watched the scene unfold and let out a long sigh.
That sigh carried far too many emotions.
Helplessness toward his old friend's stubbornness.
A faint worry about the academy's future.
And exhaustion toward Lin Qingmo, this powerful and unpredictable variable.
He rubbed his aching temples and waved his hand, his voice unusually heavy.
"Everyone disperse."
"What happened today… ends here."
The last sentence was already stern.
Oscar, Dai Mubai, and the others felt a chill in their hearts and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
No one said anything further. One after another, they turned and left, each carrying their own thoughts.
The open ground that had just witnessed an intense debate quickly fell silent, leaving only two people behind.
Yu Xiaogang still stood frozen in place, like a weathered stone statue.
And—
Tang San, who had already fully awakened, was leaning against a tree trunk and slowly sitting upright.
Tang San's face remained pale. His lips were cracked, and there were still blackened burn marks at the corner of his mouth left by lightning.
But his eyes churned with intense emotional turmoil.
He had actually been awake for quite some time.
Or rather, by the time Yu Xiaogang and Lin Qingmo's argument reached its most crucial moment, he had already fully regained consciousness.
Everything said afterward about duplicate soul skills and the Thunder Hell Prison Vine had entered his ears and been carved into his heart without missing a single word.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on Yu Xiaogang's desolate back.
His throat tightened slightly. After swallowing, he finally managed to speak.
"Teacher…"
His voice was low and hoarse, as if he had not spoken for a long time, carrying a faint tremble he himself had not noticed.
"Teacher."
He called again.
Yu Xiaogang's whole body jolted violently, as if he had suddenly been awakened, and he turned around abruptly.
When he saw Tang San's awakened and complicated gaze, panic and urgency flashed across his face.
"Xiao San! How are you?!"
He rushed several steps to Tang San's side.
"Listen to me. What Lin Qingmo said just now was confusing the concepts!
Squatting down, he spoke rapidly, his tone full of explanation.
"My theory is not wrong. It's just that the soul beast he mentioned is far too special. It's an extremely rare exception and cannot represent the general rule!
"Your development path is still correct. It's still the most suitable for you."
"…"
Tang San listened quietly.
His face showed almost no expression.
Only when Yu Xiaogang finally stopped speaking, breathing slightly heavily from urgency, and looked at him with hopeful yet anxious eyes—
did Tang San softly interrupted.
"Teacher."
Still those two words.
But the tone had already changed.
"Lin Qingmo…"
Tang San stared at him intently.
"Was everything he said true?"
He did not ask about theories.
He did not ask about his cultivation path.
He asked only this one simplest, most concrete fact.
"..."
The urgency on Yu Xiaogang's face instantly froze.
His mouth hung slightly open as he looked at Tang San's overly calm eyes.
The confusion and probing within them pierced his heart like a thin needle.
All the long speeches he had prepared about the correctness of his theories and the distinction between special cases and universal laws were suddenly stuck in his throat.
It was only a simple question of right or wrong.
Yet he realized he could not give a straightforward "yes" or "no."
Because… he did not know.
He, the theoretical grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, truly did not know whether Lin Qingmo's theory was correct.
Seeing the panic and evasion flashing in his teacher's eyes, along with that sense of authority that was being forced up yet was already riddled with holes.
Tang San suddenly felt a little tired.
Not physical exhaustion.
But the hollow feeling that came from something he had always relied on quietly loosened within his heart.
He did not press further.
He simply clenched his fists and looked deeply at Yu Xiaogang.
Within that gaze were traces of lingering admiration, deep confusion, and shaken faith after being struck by reality—
and a faint, quietly emerging sense of distance even he himself did not fully understand.
Then he supported himself on the ground with his hand, gritted his teeth, and stood up with some difficulty.
His body, still numbed by the lightning, made him stagger slightly when he rose.
But he steadied himself and did not take the hand Yu Xiaogang subconsciously reached out to help him.
"Teacher."
Tang San averted his gaze and looked toward the dormitories, his voice calm.
"I'm a little tired. I want to go back and rest."
After saying that, he did not stay any longer.
Turning around, he limped slowly toward the dormitory.
His steps were not fast, even somewhat unsteady.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the empty ground, making it appear especially heavy.
Something within that back seemed to be slowly changing.
"Xiao San,"
Yu Xiaogang's outstretched hand froze midair.
He stared blankly as Tang San walked farther and farther away.
That back, which had once been full of trust and reliance toward him, did not even turn around once now.
The evening wind blew past, flipping open the dust-covered theory manual lying on the ground, its pages rustling noisily.
Yu Xiaogang stood there motionless.
The last trace of color drained from his face.
Shame burned his cheeks like fire. Anger churned in his chest with nowhere to vent.
And deeper than both was the boundless confusion and emptiness left behind after the theoretical world he had built upon a sand dune collapsed.
He did not know what to do next.
He did not know how to face Tang San.
Even less did he know what face he should use to continue living the life of a "theoretical grandmaster."
...
"Ah Qing, what's going on with Tang San and that Yu Xiaogang?"
In the distance, Xiao Wu tilted her head as she asked while training began again.
Lin Qingmo looked over from afar and grinned.
"Probably their master-disciple honeymoon just ended."
He clicked his tongue.
It seemed Tang San had really believed his words.
Others did not know, but Lin Qingmo himself was very clear that his theories were built upon a series of great opportunities.
For example, the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, Whale Rubber, and Immortal Herbs.
Without these, his so-called theories would be worthless.
But no one else knew he had used these things.
They only knew that his Blue Silver Grass martial soul was stronger than Tang San's.
And that single fact would create an invisible rift between Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
This was called a crisis of trust.
And this was exactly what Lin Qingmo wanted to see.
End of Chapter