Unaware that Qian Xunji had already set his sights on him, Yu Xiaogang was currently wandering through the public library of Spirit City, searching for useful information.
When he first arrived, he was filled with anticipation.
Spirit City was the headquarters of Spirit Hall, the sacred land of Spirit Masters across the Douluo Continent. In Yu Xiaogang's mind, such a place should naturally contain countless rare books, advanced theories, and precious records unavailable anywhere else.
He had expected a treasure trove of knowledge.
Reality, however, disappointed him.
After browsing for some time, Yu Xiaogang gradually discovered that the books in the public library were mostly basic materials—introductory texts, common records, and ordinary references suitable for average Spirit Masters.
The level of detail was nowhere near what he had seen in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Some topics were even explained less thoroughly than the private notes stored in his own family library.
This made Yu Xiaogang deeply dissatisfied.
"The grand Spirit City… the Holy Land of Spirit Masters…"
"And its public library is inferior to my sect's collection?"
He found it difficult to accept.
No matter how he looked at it, Spirit Hall controlled the greatest power on the continent. Their knowledge should be unmatched. There was no reason for them to display such mediocre resources.
Unless…
They were hiding the truly valuable information elsewhere.
Once that thought appeared, Yu Xiaogang immediately began asking around in secret.
He spent the next several days gathering rumors, making inquiries, and carefully piecing together information.
Eventually, he learned the truth.
Spirit Hall did indeed possess a far greater collection of materials.
However, those books were not available to outsiders.
They were stored in a private archive reserved exclusively for internal personnel.
Furthermore, the more valuable the information, the higher one's status had to be in order to access it.
After learning this, Yu Xiaogang nearly laughed aloud.
"I knew it!"
"How could Spirit Hall's true collection be so small?"
His disappointment instantly vanished and was replaced by excitement.
Now that he knew the real treasure existed, only one question remained.
How was he supposed to get inside?
Joining Spirit Hall was out of the question.
Yu Xiaogang rejected the idea immediately.
Not only was he unwilling to serve Spirit Hall, but even if he offered, who would believe him?
He was the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's Sect Master.
One of the upper three sects.
Someone with that background suddenly joining Spirit Hall as an ordinary member would only invite suspicion.
They would never trust him with important knowledge.
So the obvious route was blocked.
For a time, Yu Xiaogang was at a loss.
Then, as if by coincidence, he overheard another piece of information.
Access to Spirit Hall's internal archive could be exchanged through contribution.
A person did not necessarily need to become a member.
If someone offered something of sufficient value—such as a Spirit Bone, rare research findings, or important discoveries related to martial souls—Spirit Hall would grant corresponding reading privileges.
The more valuable the contribution, the more access one received.
The moment Yu Xiaogang heard this, his eyes lit up.
He nearly rushed over on the spot to demand entry.
Fortunately, he restrained himself.
Though arrogant, he was not completely foolish.
If the rumor were false, he would only embarrass himself.
So he spent several more days observing quietly and investigating the matter from different angles.
After confirming that the policy was real, Yu Xiaogang hurried back to his residence.
Then he began writing.
He took knowledge he had seen within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect—records, theories, family research, and various inherited materials—and copied them down into a neat document.
The next morning, he carried the papers with him and visited the official in charge of archive exchanges.
The man skimmed through the contents.
After a moment, he nodded indifferently.
"It has some value."
"It can be exchanged for limited access to Level One materials."
Yu Xiaogang's heart leaped with joy.
Though the access was only low-level, it was enough.
At last, he entered Spirit Hall's true library.
The Hidden Library
The moment he stepped inside, Yu Xiaogang felt as though he had entered another world.
Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched before him.
Ancient manuscripts.
Research journals.
Case studies.
Recorded observations.
Lineages, mutations, spirit phenomena, cultivation theories—knowledge filled every corner.
Yu Xiaogang's breathing quickened.
This was what he had been searching for.
He immediately began looking through every section related to martial souls.
What he found stunned him.
One of the first materials that caught his attention was research on the inheritance of martial soul bloodlines.
The document analyzed how a child's martial soul related to the martial souls of their parents.
It recorded patterns, probabilities, special cases, dominant traits, recessive inheritance, and many real examples collected over decades.
At the end of the document, the author had even summarized conclusions drawn from hundreds of cases.
Yu Xiaogang was fascinated.
Then he found another text discussing the relationship between innate spirit power and martial soul quality.
According to the records, the stronger a person's innate spirit power, the higher the likelihood that their martial soul possessed superior potential.
For members of large clans, if they successfully awakened the family's ancestral martial soul, their innate spirit power was rarely low.
Mutated martial souls, however, remained exceptions.
That led him naturally to the next section:
Research on martial soul mutation.
Yu Xiaogang was so absorbed that he nearly forgot the passage of time.
To him, these materials were treasures beyond price.
They might not directly increase cultivation.
They might not grant combat techniques.
But they offered something he valued even more.
Understanding.
To truly understand the martial soul system, one had to start from fundamentals.
Inheritance.
Variation.
Innate aptitude.
Evolution.
Structure.
Only by mastering those principles could one grasp the greater truth behind Spirit Masters.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes shone brighter and brighter as he read.
Then, while standing among those shelves, a thought suddenly emerged in his mind.
I should also publish a great theoretical work.
The idea struck him like lightning.
A comprehensive book.
A grand theory.
A work that explained martial souls to the world.
A masterpiece that would immortalize his name.
But as soon as the thought arose, he remembered Spirit Hall's rules.
Knowledge was restricted.
Only insiders or contributors could access it.
Immediately, disdain filled his heart.
"What narrow-minded thinking."
He frowned deeply.
"So much knowledge, hidden away behind doors."
"Only a select few may read it?"
"In that case, how can wisdom spread?"
"How can the continent progress?"
He began convincing himself more and more.
The people who researched these theories had surely endured countless hardships.
Shouldn't their work be known to everyone?
Shouldn't all Spirit Masters benefit?
Shouldn't knowledge belong to the continent, not to one organization?
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang felt a powerful sense of righteousness.
He looked around the library with almost mournful eyes.
"Spirit Hall possesses all this knowledge…"
"Yet hoards it like treasure."
"They refuse to share even a fraction with the people."
"If it were me…"
He straightened slowly.
"I would never keep my theories locked away."
"I would release them to the entire Douluo Continent."
A gleam flashed through his eyes.
Yes.
That was the path.
If he compiled these truths, organized them, and spread them publicly…
Then even if his cultivation never improved, he would become something greater.
A scholar.
A pioneer.
A legendary thinker.
The most famous theorist on the continent.
The more Yu Xiaogang thought about it, the more certain he became.
His breathing steadied.
His expression grew solemn.
He already saw his future glory.
Black World — Shrek Academy
Inside Shrek Academy, the heavenly screen displayed everything clearly.
After watching Yu Xiaogang exchange sect knowledge for library access, many students wore strange expressions.
Ning Rongrong clicked her tongue repeatedly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Grandmaster, I truly didn't expect this from you."
She crossed her arms and looked amazed.
"Just to read Spirit Hall's books, you sold out your own sect's information without hesitation."
Her tone was half mocking, half incredulous.
"Even I would need to ask my father first before making any decision involving sect interests."
"If I dared do something like that…"
She shivered dramatically.
"My father would break both my legs."
"Even Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone wouldn't be able to save me."
Nearby, several students silently nodded.
That was indeed believable.
Xiao Wu's Observation
On the other side, Xiao Wu quietly tugged at Tang San's sleeve.
"Third Brother…"
She lowered her voice.
"Don't those theories on the heavenly screen sound strangely similar to the Grandmaster's theories?"
Tang San, who had been staring blankly, slowly came back to his senses.
"I noticed."
His tone was calm, but his eyes were thoughtful.
The heavenly screen had shown Spirit Hall's research on bloodline inheritance.
It had shown their studies on innate spirit power and martial soul quality.
And several famous principles from his teacher's so-called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls seemed… remarkably similar.
No.
More than similar.
Some parts were nearly identical.
Tang San had indeed felt shocked at first.
But after a moment of thought, his expression relaxed.
So what if his teacher had borrowed from Spirit Hall?
Without Yu Xiaogang, those theories would have remained buried forever inside Spirit Hall's private archives.
No one outside would ever know them.
Viewed that way, his teacher had actually done something beneficial.
Tang San's thoughts drifted to his previous life.
The Tang Sect had tightly guarded its secret techniques.
Their hidden weapons.
Their inner cultivation methods.
Their craftsmanship.
All sealed away for internal disciples only.
Yet Tang San had mastered them.
And then carried them beyond the sect.
That was his own ability.
Wasn't this the same principle?
If knowledge remained hidden forever, what value did it have?
Therefore, instead of disliking Yu Xiaogang after seeing the truth, Tang San respected him even more.
"As expected of my teacher…"
He thought inwardly.
"He sees things the same way I do."
Birds of a Feather
Fortunately for Tang San, no one around him knew what he was thinking.
If they had, they would likely have been speechless.
Then they would sigh and say only one thing:
Teacher and disciple truly were alike.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)