"Father, Elder Dugu, Uncle Lin."
A smile spread across Yu Xiaogang's face as he looked toward the three men meditating nearby.
His expression was impossible to hide.
The excitement in his eyes revealed that he had just made a remarkable discovery.
Hearing his voice, Yu Yuanzhen, Dugu Bo, and Lin Lang slowly opened their eyes and ended their cultivation.
Yu Yuanzhen immediately noticed the look on his son's face.
His heart skipped a beat.
Based on experience alone, he already knew what that expression meant.
Whenever Yu Xiaogang revealed such a look, it usually meant another groundbreaking discovery was about to shake the world.
"Finished with your research?" Yu Yuanzhen asked eagerly.
His hands rubbed together unconsciously.
The anticipation on his face was impossible to conceal.
Yu Xiaogang nodded.
"Yes."
Then he took a deep breath.
His eyes swept across the three men before he spoke in a solemn voice.
"Father, Elder Dugu, Uncle Lin..."
"From this day forward, the heavens of Douluo Continent are about to change."
The words were spoken calmly.
Yet they struck the three listeners like a thunderbolt.
The heavens of Douluo Continent were about to change?
What kind of discovery could justify such a statement?
Yu Yuanzhen's heartbeat accelerated.
His son wasn't an inexperienced child who exaggerated every little achievement.
This was someone who had seen mountains of Spirit Bones.
Someone who had repeatedly overturned the common understanding of Spirit Masters.
If even Yu Xiaogang claimed that the world was about to change, then his discovery must be extraordinary.
"Xiaogang."
Yu Yuanzhen's voice became serious.
"What exactly have you discovered?"
Beside him, Dugu Bo stared at Yu Xiaogang with equal anticipation.
Ever since their discussion regarding the Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit, he had been curious about where Yu Xiaogang's thoughts would lead.
Could the young sect master's discovery somehow solve the flaws that had plagued the Dugu Family for generations?
Under the gaze of all three men, Yu Xiaogang slowly raised his right hand.
A yellow spirit ring emerged beneath his feet.
The glowing ring floated upward and hovered in front of him.
Before explaining his discovery, Yu Xiaogang first organized his thoughts.
"Earlier, Elder Dugu and I discussed a question."
"Why does the Jade Phosphor Serpent Spirit Beast never poison itself..."
"...yet when the same power becomes a martial spirit, the spirit master suffers backlash from their own toxins?"
The three nodded.
They remembered the conversation.
"While thinking about this problem, I began comparing the differences between Spirit Beasts and Spirit Masters."
"And eventually..."
"My attention fell upon spirit rings."
The moment he mentioned spirit rings, the three men became even more focused.
Yu Xiaogang gently touched the floating ring.
"For thousands of years, every Spirit Master has viewed spirit rings as tools for obtaining Spirit Skills."
"Nothing more."
"We absorb them."
"We use them."
"And then we ignore them."
His voice slowed.
"But what if we've overlooked something important?"
The three frowned.
Yu Xiaogang continued.
"Before absorption, spirit rings contain enormous amounts of spirit power."
"Ten-thousand-year spirit rings even contain mental energy."
"When we absorb a spirit ring, we absorb that power."
"Afterward, the spirit ring remains attached to us forever."
He paused briefly before giving an analogy.
"Imagine someone gives you a box filled with pastries."
"The pastries represent the spirit power."
"The box represents the spirit ring."
"When we receive the gift, we immediately eat all the pastries."
The three nodded instinctively.
Then Yu Xiaogang smiled.
"But after eating the pastries, we simply throw the box aside."
Silence.
The three men stared at him blankly.
Yu Xiaogang pointed toward his spirit ring.
"Yet the box still exists."
"It can still be used."
At that moment, realization slowly began appearing in their eyes.
Yu Yuanzhen's breathing became heavier.
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted.
Lin Lang's mouth gradually fell open.
The answer seemed obvious.
So obvious that it was terrifying.
Before absorption, spirit rings clearly stored spirit power.
Everyone knew this.
Every Spirit Master experienced the overwhelming flood of energy during absorption.
Many nearly died while enduring it.
Yet after successfully absorbing a spirit ring, nobody had ever considered whether the ring itself retained that storage capability.
It was such a simple idea.
So simple that countless generations of Spirit Masters had overlooked it entirely.
Yu Yuanzhen swallowed hard.
His throat suddenly felt dry.
"Xiaogang..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"If you're saying this..."
A grin appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face.
"I've already verified it."
The words landed like a bolt of lightning.
The atmosphere froze.
Yu Xiaogang continued calmly.
"I attempted to inject my own spirit power into my spirit ring without activating any Spirit Skills."
"At first, nothing happened."
"But after repeated experiments, I discovered that the spirit ring gradually began storing my spirit power."
The three listeners stood completely still.
Their minds struggled to process the implications.
"Once the spirit power enters the spirit ring, I can close the connection at any time."
"The spirit ring then becomes a storage container."
"A reservoir."
"A warehouse."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes shone brightly.
"After filling the spirit ring, I simply restore the spirit power within my body."
"When both are full..."
"...my total spirit power doubles."
Boom!
Although there was no actual explosion, the three men felt as though thunder had exploded inside their minds.
Double.
The amount of spirit power could double.
The significance of those words was unimaginable.
Spirit power was the foundation of everything.
Without spirit power, Spirit Masters could not fight.
Without spirit power, Spirit Skills could not be activated.
Without spirit power, even the strongest martial spirit became useless.
Doubling one's reserves was equivalent to doubling endurance in battle.
Yu Yuanzhen stared blankly at his son.
His mind had gone completely blank.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang wasn't finished.
"More importantly..."
"When activating a Spirit Skill, the spirit ring consumes its own stored spirit power first."
"The spirit power within my body remains untouched."
The shock on the three men's faces intensified.
Yu Xiaogang continued explaining.
"When the spirit power in my body is depleted, I can simply reopen the connection."
"The spirit power stored within the ring immediately flows back into my body."
"It's like carrying several backup reservoirs wherever I go."
His smile widened.
"In practical terms, every Spirit Master can carry multiple extra supplies of spirit power at all times."
The implications were terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
For ordinary Spirit Masters, this meant vastly extended combat endurance.
For high-level Spirit Masters, it was even more significant.
Take a Titled Douluo, for example.
The difference between Rank 95 and Rank 96 often came down to only a small increase in spirit power, physical strength, and spiritual force.
Yet even a twenty-percent increase could create a tremendous gap in combat ability.
What about a one-hundred-percent increase?
What about doubling it?
A Rank 91 Titled Douluo with twice the spirit power reserves could potentially challenge opponents far above their level.
Spirit Skills that previously required careful conservation could now be unleashed freely.
Ultimate techniques could be used repeatedly.
There would be no need to hold back.
No need to carefully calculate consumption.
No need to save energy for emergencies.
Why conserve strength when you possessed twice as much as everyone else?
At that moment, Yu Yuanzhen finally understood.
His son hadn't exaggerated.
The heavens of Douluo Continent truly were about to change.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)