Sitting on a Treasure Mountain Without Knowing It

These cutting words drew low snickers from the Spirit Hall disciples and passersby around them, all of whom had been listening intently.

Yu Xiaogang instantly became like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His most hated and sensitive scar had been brutally exposed in public!

His face shifted from red to purple, then from purple to green. Veins bulged on his forehead as he argued stubbornly, "Hmph! What do you know?!"

"My Martial Soul is a mutated Martial Soul, inherently deficient, and my Soul Power is difficult to improve!"

"But that does not prevent me from possessing a profound understanding of Martial Soul Theory!"

"Theory is a universal truth. How can it be limited by one's personal strength?!" His voice rose sharply, his exasperation unmistakable.

Zhao Linchuan dug at his ear as though the noise had polluted it, the mockery on his face growing even stronger. "A mutated Martial Soul?"

"Oh~~~ so that's how it is." He drawled the words out, then abruptly changed tack, like a sword leaving its sheath. "But, 'Grandmaster,' you're mistaken there."

"Martial Soul mutations may be rare, but they are not a dead end, much less an entirely unsolvable predicament."

"You, a dignified 'Martial Soul Theory Grandmaster,' cannot even solve this little 'problem' of your own, yet you dare speak of theories applicable to the whole world?"

"Isn't that the very definition of shallow learning and empty armchair theory?"

Those final eight words struck straight at the heart, like heavy hammers smashing viciously into Yu Xiaogang's chest.

Bibi Dong had been quietly watching Zhao Linchuan's "performance" from the side, a faint, inscrutable smile resting on her lips.

But when she heard the words "Martial Soul mutations are not impossible to resolve," her gaze suddenly sharpened!

The lazy, amused expression vanished in an instant, replaced by intense scrutiny and surprise.

She could not help turning toward Zhao Linchuan and blurting out, "Linchuan, are you saying Martial Soul mutations... can truly be resolved?"

This was the first time she had taken the initiative to ask about a topic related to Yu Xiaogang. Clearly, though, her interest was not in Yu Xiaogang himself, but in the information Zhao Linchuan's words had revealed.

"Of course they can." Zhao Linchuan put away his teasing manner and nodded solemnly. "Although the innate aptitude of our Martial Souls largely determines our upper limits, nothing in this world is absolute. There will always be extraordinary geniuses capable of defying fate, changing their destinies, and breaking these shackles."

He cleared his throat and swept his gaze over the crowd, which had fallen silent and was now listening closely—including Yue Guan in some hidden corner in the distance, who had even forgotten to crack his sunflower seeds. Then he slowly said, "Let me give you a ready-made example."

"For instance, the 'renowned' Second Young Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Xiaogang."

When Yu Xiaogang heard his own name brought up in such a manner, especially when he recalled that humiliating Farting Pig, his face instantly darkened as though water could drip from it.

His fist clenched tightly inside his sleeve, his Fingernails nearly digging into his flesh.

"Everyone mocks him because his Martial Soul mutated into a... well... rather inelegant Luo Sanpao upon awakening." Zhao Linchuan tactfully avoided that insulting name, though everyone understood what he meant.

"But according to precious records I found in an Ancient Ruins, what he awakened was actually an ultimate Martial Soul with terrifying potential—the Golden Sacred Dragon!"

"The Golden Sacred Dragon?!" Disbelieving cries erupted from the crowd. Even Yue Guan in the distance instinctively held his breath and leaned forward slightly.

"That's right." Zhao Linchuan's voice carried the distant air of one recounting an ancient secret. "The records stated that roughly ten thousand years ago, there was another senior like this, who awakened a similar mutated Martial Soul. Its initial form was equally weak."

"But that senior possessed an unyielding will and never gave up on himself!"

"Every day, he tempered his body by pushing it to its limits and nourished his Martial Soul with the essence of Spirit Beast flesh and blood containing dragon bloodlines."

"Moreover, when obtaining his first and second Soul Rings, he chose Soul Rings far beyond his body's limits to absorb!"

"After surviving countless brushes with death, he finally triggered the first evolution of his Martial Soul when he broke through the great threshold of rank thirty—transforming into the powerful Golden Sacred Dragon!"

His tale was so captivating that it seemed to transport everyone to that magnificent and turbulent era.

"Later, that senior went even further, ultimately evolving the Golden Sacred Dragon into the legendary Light Sacred Dragon."

"In the end, that senior shattered the void, ascended to the God Realm, and became an immortal god!"

Zhao Linchuan's tone turned deeply regretful as he shook his head and sighed. "Sigh... In the letter he left behind in those ruins, that senior wrote with great sorrow that his greatest regret was his own innate deficiency, which prevented the Golden Sacred Dragon from displaying its true form from the very beginning."

"But he was fortunate that he had not given up, and thus was finally able to see the light."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the void as he looked at Yu Xiaogang, whose expression kept changing, unable to tell whether he was shocked, angry, or doubtful, with a trace of pity.

"The senior's final prophecy in his letter was that every ten thousand years, Douluo Continent enters a golden age for becoming gods."

"If that Yu Xiaogang could comprehend the truth of his own Martial Soul, make up for his innate deficiency through supreme perseverance, and walk the thorny path that senior once traveled..."

"Then perhaps, this time, the list of those ascending to the God Realm would include his name as well."

He changed tack again, his tone filled with undisguised contempt. "Unfortunately, I heard that Yu Xiaogang possesses only a pitiful half-rank of Innate Soul Power."

"The only reason he has managed to reach his current neither-high-nor-low level is because his father forcibly 'piled' Heavenly Treasures onto him."

"Sitting on a treasure mountain without knowing it, wasting his years for nothing—it truly is... a terrible waste, both pitiful and lamentable!"

That long sigh echoed before the now-silent entrance of the Spirit Arena, brimming with sarcasm and pity.

Like a cold file, it scraped again and again over Yu Xiaogang's already bloodied self-esteem.

At those words, Yu Xiaogang's face darkened like the sky before a storm.

Golden Sacred Dragon?

Light Sacred Dragon?

Ascend to the God Realm?

These words were like heavy hammers, smashing viciously against the wall of beliefs he had long used to numb himself.

Could it be... could it really be that Father ruined me?

I could have become one of those legendary immortal gods?

No!

This person must be lying!

He must be using these vague, illusory things to toy with me!

He's lying!

Yu Xiaogang roared madly within his heart, trying to deny this earth-shattering information.

"Of course," Zhao Linchuan said, as though he had not seen Yu Xiaogang's twisted expression. His tone abruptly shifted, carrying the air of someone bestowing charity. "Yu Xiaogang is not entirely beyond saving."

A faint glimmer of light suddenly appeared amid the despair!

Yu Xiaogang abruptly raised his head, an unbelievable hope bursting from his eyes.

"Linchuan, are you saying there is another way?" Bibi Dong's intense curiosity had also been stirred. While admiring Zhao Linchuan's vast knowledge, she could not help asking further.

(The light pink Soul Ring is a 99,999-year one. Perhaps I did not explain it clearly.)