The atmosphere in Nuoding Academy had shifted. The "Fallen" label had failed to stick, but the tension between Chen Fan and the Grandmaster's faction reached a boiling point. Grandmaster, obsessed with his "Ten Core Spirit Competencies," couldn't handle the fact that his theories had failed to categorize Chen Fan's evolution.
One afternoon, in the central courtyard where students gathered to hear Grandmaster's weekly lecture, Chen Fan didn't just sit in the back. He stood up.
The Public Deconstruction
Grandmaster was mid-sentence, explaining his famous theory: "There are no waste spirits, only waste spirit masters."
"That's a beautiful sentiment, Grandmaster," Chen Fan's voice cut through the air, amplified by the spectral resonance of his soul. "But it's a lie. A man with Blue Silver Grass and no spirit power will always be a farmer, no matter his effort. You use a half-truth to hide the fact that your 'Ten Core Competencies' are nothing more than a collection of common knowledge stolen from the Spirit Hall archives."
The courtyard went silent. Tang San stood up, his eyes flashing. "Chen Fan, watch your tongue. Grandmaster has dedicated his life to research!"
"Research? Or plagiarism?" Chen Fan stepped forward, his violet-gold pupils locked on the trembling Grandmaster.
Exposing the "Ten Competencies"
Chen Fan began to list the flaws with the precision of someone who had read the "original source" (the future novels):
The Ring Limit Myth: "You claim the limit for a first ring is 423 years. But that's based on average human constitution. You ignore Body Spirits and high-tier mutations like mine, which can bypass those limits entirely."
The Mimicry Theory: "You say spirits of different types can't share attributes. Yet, the Spirit Hall's 'Record of Ancient Beasts' clearly states that Elemental and Spirit types overlap 30% of the time. You just renamed their findings."
The 'Waste' Fallacy: "You call Blue Silver Grass a waste spirit to make Tang San's success look like your miracle. But you knew from the start he had Innate Full Spirit Power. A 'waste' soul cannot have full power. You aren't a teacher; you're a gambler who bet on a genius and claimed the credit."
The Unresolvable Conflict
Grandmaster's face turned a sickly shade of grey. His life's work—the only thing that gave him status despite his low rank—was being stripped naked in front of his students.
"You... you know nothing!" Grandmaster stammered, his voice cracking. "These theories are the result of decades of data!"
"Data you read in the Spirit Hall's private library before you were kicked out," Chen Fan countered.
Tang San couldn't take it anymore. To him, Grandmaster was a father figure. He summoned his Blue Silver Grass, but as the vines snaked toward Chen Fan, something strange happened. The Blue Silver Seed in Chen Fan's palm pulsed with a predatory rhythm.
The vines didn't attack. They bowed. They wilted as if in the presence of their true king.
"He is a fraud, Tang San," Chen Fan said, walking past the stunned boy. "And you are being raised as a tool to prove his theories right. If you want to protect him, you'll have to kill me. Because from now on, I will tear down every lie this 'Grandmaster' has built."
The conflict was now blood-deep. Tang San realized that as long as Chen Fan lived, his teacher's reputation would be in ashes. The "Gentleman's Duel" was over. This was now a war of survival.