Inside a restaurant in Spirit City, the Shrek Devils had not yet dispersed.
Today's victory over Star Luo Royal Academy was undoubtedly a cause for celebration for them. Especially after Tang San blocked the Hell White Tiger head-on, the somewhat gloomy atmosphere caused by the continuous defeats was swept away. Ma Hongjun and Oscar had already drunk quite a bit, and even Dai Mubai's face had lost some of its usual gloom.
Tang San sat in the crowd, listening to the laughter of those around him, a faint smile on his face. The Clear Sky Hammer had demonstrated combat capabilities far exceeding those of the Blue Silver Grass in its first real use in a competition. This victory at least proved that adding Soul Ring to his Second Martial Soul in advance was not entirely a mistake.
Just as Ma Hongjun picked up his wine glass, shouting that he must drink to his heart's content tonight, Tang San's hand holding the glass suddenly paused.
A sudden, inexplicable emptiness welled up from the bottom of his heart, as if something that had always existed in his life had suddenly lost its connection. That feeling only lasted for a very short time, so short that Tang San couldn't even be sure if he was imagining things.
He subconsciously looked up at the window.
The Spirit City was brightly lit, and huge light screens hanging on both sides of the street could be seen in the distance. The excitement after the competition continued until late at night. There was nothing unusual, and nothing that could attract his attention.
"What are you thinking about, Little San?"
Dai Mubai noticed his action, put his wine glass on the table, and said with a smile, "You're the biggest hero today, everyone's been waiting for you."
Tang San withdrew his gaze, the inexplicable sense of loss quickly fading away. He thought for a moment, assuming it was just fatigue from the continuous matches, and didn't dwell on it any longer, picking up his wine glass again to rejoin the conversation.
Not far underground, a heavy alloy door slowly closed.
This place was originally an underground facility used by the Spirit Hall to imprison high-level Soul Master. Now, after being renovated by the Interastral Peace Corporation, it is completely unrecognizable as the old prison. The walls and floor are covered with silver-white metal, and a large number of instruments that have never appeared in the Douluo Continent are arranged around the central platform, with a light blue light screen constantly reorganizing complex data.
Tang Hao lay in the center of the platform.
His injuries had been treated; the wound piercing his chest had been sealed with special medical equipment, and his broken bones had been basically stabilized. The real problem was the damage caused by the continuous Ring Detonation. His meridians, internal organs, and Soul Power circulation were all in an extremely fragile state. If it weren't for the fact that Titled Douluo's body was strong enough, an ordinary Soul Master would not have survived until now.
Several researchers from Interastral Peace Corporation surrounded the platform, constantly adjusting the instrument parameters. Several beams of light swept across Tang Hao's body, recording his Soul Power fluctuations, Martial Soul structure, and the special energy remaining in his body layer by layer.
Lin Yuan stood outside the observation area, with Qian Daoliu beside him. Aventurine Jin leaned against a metal table, his fingertips still toying with that familiar golden chip.
None of the three disturbed the ongoing testing.
Just as the last set of data was completed, the automatic door on the side of the experimental area suddenly opened, and a voice came from inside.
"Gambler, the results are in."
Aventurine paused for a moment, holding his chips, before looking up.
A tall man emerged from behind the door, dressed in highly distinctive clothing, the most striking feature being the plaster head covering his entire head. This object completely obscured his head, creating a bizarre contrast with the sophisticated and advanced equipment in the underground research area.
Qian Daoliu glanced at him, a hint of doubt clearly appearing in his eyes, then lowered his voice and asked Lin Yuan, "Who is this?"
Lin Yuan remained silent for half a second, seemingly considering how to introduce the person in front of him, and finally chose the simplest way.
"Professor Veritas Dr. Ratio, a scholar of the Genius Society, has profound research in many fields." He paused here, his gaze sweeping over the highly recognizable plaster head, "And is also a... doctor."
The plaster head slowly turned around.
Dr. Ratio glanced at Lin Yuan through his mask, his tone flat. "That's right, Doctor. At least when it comes to treating ignorance, I've never stopped practicing medicine."
Aventurine chuckled softly, clearly used to this way of speaking. He didn't waste time on their forms of address and looked directly at the central platform. "Tell me the results. I brought people back alive, not so you could judge the educational level of this world."
Dr. Ratio ignored his teasing and swiped his hand across the light screen in front of him. Tang Hao's physical data quickly disappeared, replaced by nine completely different energy diagrams.
The first eight groups have already shown extensive breakage, but their original stable ring structure can still be seen.
"What you call Soul Ring are more interesting than the initial information provided to the company," Dr. Ratio, pointing to one of the diagrams. "This man deliberately destroyed all nine of his Soul Ring during the battle, releasing the energy stored within them in a short period. Logically, an external energy structure that has been completely destroyed, even if not entirely gone, should at least leave behind disordered remnants."
His finger lightly tapped the screen.
All eight images are enlarged simultaneously.
"But the actual situation is quite the opposite. He still retains nine energy imprints of varying degrees of integrity within his body. The surface structure of the Soul Ring did indeed collapse during the Ring Detonation process, but the core that was truly integrated with the Martial Soul and body did not disappear. They are currently in a low-activity state and are reabsorbing free energy at an extremely slow rate."
Qian Daoliu's gaze fell on those diagrams, and he quickly understood their meaning.
Therefore, Ring Detonation the Soul Ring does not truly destroy it.
"To be precise, it's a temporary dismantling."
Dr. Ratio corrected, "You've always viewed Soul Ring as special power carriers created after Soul Beast dies and then absorbed by the Soul Master. But judging from the test results, the truly important part of Soul Ring isn't the outward appearance of the ring, nor the energy stored within it, but rather the core structure that can establish a stable connection with the Martial Soul."
Lin Yuan's eyes flickered slightly.
This result is far more important than simply studying the Ring Detonation itself.
Interastral Peace Corporation had already officially begun researching alternative Soul Ring, but the biggest difficulty was never the lack of energy. Soul Power, Soul Beast power, and even other forms of energy could be found. What was truly impossible to replicate was why Soul Ring could stably attach to Martial Soul and become part of the body's power system after Soul Master broke through a bottleneck.
Tang Hao's Ring Detonation this time was equivalent to forcibly stripping away the outer energy structure of the Soul Ring, exposing the core hidden inside.
If the pattern of this imprint formation can be analyzed, Artificial Soul Ring will not need to be copied from scratch to form a complete Soul Ring. Instead, a core that can be stably connected to the Martial Soul will be created first, and then energy and attributes that meet the needs of the Soul Master will be added to it.
At least a road has appeared.
Aventurine clearly understood the value of this investment. Watching the constantly changing data on the screen, a smile gradually spread across his face, "It seems tonight's investment is more worthwhile than expected. A Titled Douluo, plus a Soul Ring Detonation Technique, ultimately helped us dissect the internal structure of a Soul Ring. If the subsequent research can continue, the company shouldn't mind increasing the budget."
Dr. Ratio did not respond to the investment assessment of Aventurine, but instead reached out and shrunk all eight of the charts, leaving only the last one.
That was Tang Hao's ninth Soul Ring.
Compared to the previous eight Soul Ring, the energy structure in this image is significantly more complex. Numerous fine lines intertwine, and deep within the damaged Soul Ring Imprint, an extremely faint blue light point is slowly undulating.
"The one truly worth studying isn't the first eight, but this one."
Dr. Ratio's voice finally became more serious.
"Although the first eight Soul Ring differed in age and strength, their underlying structure was basically the same. The ninth one, however, was completely different. Its connection with this man's Martial Soul was much deeper, and its energy contained a large amount of special information that did not belong to him."
He paused for a moment, then magnified the blue dot of light individually.
"This is the most interesting part."
Researchers from the surrounding companies had clearly examined the area more than once; several lines of different colors simultaneously connected to the faint glow. Dr. Ratio scanned the test results and then gave his conclusion.
"We detected an independent and relatively stable life signal in his ninth Soul Ring."
For the first time, Qian Daoliu's expression changed noticeably.
Aventurine also stopped smiling.
Soul Ring originate from the death of Soul Beast; this is a common knowledge that has persisted in the Douluo Continent for countless years. When Soul Beast dies, Soul Ring appears, and after Soul Master absorbs it, the Soul Ring becomes part of their own power.
Yet, an independent life signal still exists within Soul Ring that has been absorbed for many years.
Lin Yuan wasn't too surprised.
His gaze fell on the blue light, and he quickly came up with the answer.
"It's Sacrifice."
Dr. Ratio turned to look at him.
Lin Yuan continued, "There exists an extremely special situation in this world. Soul Beast that reach the 100,000-year level can voluntarily give up their own lives, transferring their power, Soul Ring, and even Soul Bone to a designated Soul Master. Tang Hao's ninth Soul Ring was not obtained through normal hunting, but rather from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast voluntarily Sacrifice itself for him."
The experimental area fell silent.
Dr. Ratio looked again at the faint but persistent life signal, his expression unreadable beneath the plaster mask.
On the central platform, Tang Hao, who had been unconscious, suddenly twitched his finger slightly.
Those sounds were not completely blocked out.
Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Ninth Soul Ring.
Sacrifice.
A few words pierced through his still-recovering consciousness, eventually converging into the figure he could never forget.
Tang Hao's breathing suddenly became heavier.
The next moment, he slowly opened his eyes.