Yu Xiaogang: I Want to Research Self-Condensed Soul Rings

After listening to Tang San's story, Yu Xiaogang's expression turned somewhat strange.

He had not expected Tang San to understand romance at such a young age—to already know what it meant to like a girl.

As someone who had been through it himself, how could he fail to see that Tang San liked the little girl named Xiao Wu?

What he had not expected even more was that Tang San would have to go through what he had gone through at such a young age: heartbreak.

In that regard, master and disciple were rather alike.

"Little San."

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Xiaogang finally spoke.

"Your teacher... will tell you a story."

Tang San froze slightly, then promptly sat up straight.

"When I was young, I once liked a girl as well."

Yu Xiaogang's gaze remained fixed on the wall, but his focus had long since scattered. It was as though, in that instant, time had reversed and he had returned to an afternoon decades ago.

"She was the Saintess of Spirit Hall, blessed with extraordinary talent and peerless beauty. At the time, I was merely an insignificant researcher at Spirit Hall, weak in strength, with a Martial Soul everyone regarded as worthless. By all rights, there should have been no intersection between us."

Tang San's heart suddenly skipped a beat. The Saintess of Spirit Hall? Then wouldn't that be...

"But she did not despise me." Yu Xiaogang's lips twisted into a bitter curve, and the smile looked worse than crying. "She said she admired my knowledge and my persistence. We discussed Martial Soul theory together, studied Soul Beast traits together, and pored over ancient texts in Spirit Hall's library until late at night."

His voice gradually softened, as though he had briefly been enveloped by the warm light of memory.

"Those were the happiest days of my life. I even foolishly believed that as long as two people truly loved each other, differences in status and the quality of one's Martial Soul did not matter."

Yu Xiaogang paused, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Later... her teacher found out."

His voice suddenly turned cold, as though someone had yanked him from a warm memory and back into cruel reality.

"That person told me I was not worthy of her. My Martial Soul was worthless, and I would never break through three Soul Rings in my life. As for her, she was destined to become the Pope of Spirit Hall. If I insisted on being with her, I would only ruin her."

Tang San unconsciously clenched his fists.

"I did not believe it. I went to find her. I wanted to take her away." Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes. "But she told me... she said, Xiao Gang, you're a good person. Then she turned and left. Only at that moment did I understand that from beginning to end, I was the only one who had been indulging in wishful thinking."

As the final word fell, the room sank into silence once more.

Tang San opened his mouth, yet he could not say a single word. He suddenly understood why his teacher had told him this story.

Wasn't Xiao Wu's earlier sentence—"Stop flattering yourself"—exactly the same as what that Saintess had said back then?

"Little San."

"I spent an entire half of my life desperately researching Soul Beasts and Martial Soul theory because I wanted to prove it to her, to prove it to everyone: I, Yu Xiaogang, am not worthless."

Tang San's heart trembled, and he blurted out, "Teacher, you were never worthless! Your research..."

"Yes." Yu Xiaogang interrupted him, his voice suddenly rising slightly as a glimmer of light flashed through his eyes. "My research, my theories. They were built from the blood and sweat of most of my life. Everyone mocked me, saying that a worthless man who could not even break through three Soul Rings dared call himself Grandmaster. But I did not give up. Because those theories were the only things I had that could prove my worth."

His gaze shifted to the scattered Soul Beast illustrations and research manuscripts on the table. His eyes were incomparably complicated, holding pride, bitterness, and an even deeper confusion.

"But now, the Soul Beasts are extinct. The foundation supporting all my theories has collapsed. I suddenly realized that without Soul Beasts, everything I spent my life researching has become nothing but waste paper."

Tang San's heart was fiercely wrenched.

But before Tang San could comfort him, Yu Xiaogang spoke again.

"The Soul Beasts are extinct, and my theories have indeed become waste paper." Yu Xiaogang stared intensely at Tang San. "But so what? If I could spend half my life building those theories, could I not spend another half building new ones?"

"No one understands the theoretical knowledge behind Martial Souls better than I do. Since the Soul Beasts are gone and Soul Rings can no longer be obtained from them, why can't I rely on my research into Martial Souls to develop something that can replace Soul Rings?"

Yu Xiaogang did not know why, but Tang San's experience had instead invigorated him.

Perhaps he had seen his former self in Tang San!

If he could stand back up once, why could he not stand back up again?

At that moment, Yu Xiaogang's face once more blossomed with that confident composure, as though he held every truth in his grasp.

Tang San stared blankly at his teacher, feeling something inside him being violently shaken.

Develop something that could replace Soul Rings?

"Teacher, can you really develop something that can replace Soul Rings?"

Tang San became excited as well.

He had previously been worrying about the problem of his future cultivation. If Yu Xiaogang could solve the issue of Soul Rings, that would be wonderful.

"Little San, tell your teacher: what is the essence of a Soul Ring?"

Tang San froze slightly and answered instinctively, "A Soul Ring is a body of energy formed from Soul Power and Soul Beast traits after a Soul Beast dies. It attaches itself to a Soul Master's Martial Soul and grants the Soul Master a Soul Skill..."

"Wrong." Yu Xiaogang interrupted him.

Tang San was stunned.

"That is only the surface." Yu Xiaogang picked up a pen from the table and rapidly began writing and drawing on the back of a sheet of scrap paper. "The essence of a Soul Ring is the union of energy and rules. When a Soul Beast dies, its energy and the rule-based abilities it has mastered condense in a particular manner, forming a stable energy structure that a Soul Master can absorb. We call this structure a Soul Ring."

The faster he spoke, the brighter the light in his eyes became.

"Then here is the question: since a Soul Ring is a union of energy and rules, does that not mean that as long as we can find an alternative source of energy and simulate that rule structure..."

His pen traced a string of messy yet clearly organized ideas across the paper:

"First, the energy source: the concentration of Soul Power in heaven and earth has now surged dramatically, which means Soul Power itself is abundant. Those Soul Rings returned to heaven and earth after dissipating in the past, which shows that the energy foundation required for Soul Rings is, in essence, Soul Power."

"Second, the rule structure: the mechanism by which Soul Rings grant Soul Skills lies in the compatibility between the rule-based abilities mastered by Soul Beasts and a Soul Master's Martial Soul. We can begin by researching known Soul Skills."

"Third, the method of condensation: if the first two points hold true, then in theory, Soul Masters can completely stop relying on Soul Beasts and instead use themselves to condense Soul Power into Soul Rings according to specific rules!"

"I call this research direction Self-Condensed Soul Rings!"

Tang San stared at Yu Xiaogang in shock. Every word his teacher spoke was like thunder exploding within his mind.