The revelation made by Yu Xiaogang on the Heavenly Curtain had shaken the entire Douluo Continent.
Whether they were powerful sects, noble families, Spirit Hall officials, or wandering Spirit Masters, everyone had been caught off guard by this astonishing discovery.
Who could have imagined that spirit rings possessed another hidden function?
The ability to store spirit power.
The implications were enormous.
If this discovery proved true, it would affect every Spirit Master on the continent.
Naturally, countless forces immediately began testing the theory for themselves.
Of course, not everyone reacted in the same way.
The major powers remained cautious.
To them, spirit rings were the foundation of a Spirit Master's cultivation. Any experiment involving them had to be approached carefully.
Many sect leaders chose to observe first and wait for further confirmation before allowing their members to proceed.
Smaller factions and independent Spirit Masters, however, lacked such concerns.
The moment they learned about the possibility, they immediately began experimenting.
After all, they had far less to lose.
Meanwhile, outside Shrek Academy in the Black World, several carriages had already been prepared.
The members of Shrek Academy were preparing to depart for Heaven Dou City.
However, before leaving, everyone had become distracted by the latest revelation from the Heavenly Curtain.
One after another, they began channeling spirit power into their spirit rings.
The results came quickly.
"It works!"
A Spirit Master suddenly shouted excitedly.
"My First Spirit Ring can really store spirit power!"
Another person's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Unbelievable."
"We've possessed spirit rings our entire lives, yet none of us ever discovered this."
A third person immediately rolled his eyes.
"With your brain?"
"You actually think you'd discover something like this?"
"Keep dreaming."
The crowd burst into laughter.
At the same time, excitement continued spreading among the group.
Many people repeatedly activated and deactivated their spirit abilities while testing the new function.
Every time a spirit skill was used, the spirit power stored inside the spirit ring was consumed first.
The practical value was obvious.
For Spirit Masters engaged in prolonged battles, this discovery was nothing short of revolutionary.
Even Flender and Zhao Wuji couldn't hide their curiosity.
Despite already being a Spirit Sage and a Spirit Emperor respectively, the two powerful experts repeatedly tested their own spirit rings like children who had discovered a new toy.
After another successful test, Zhao Wuji suddenly laughed.
"You know..."
He crossed his arms and looked up at the Heavenly Curtain.
"I think the Dragon God Douluo from that parallel world deserves the title of Grandmaster far more than someone else."
His words immediately attracted attention.
Everyone understood exactly who he was referring to.
Zhao Wuji glanced toward a distant figure.
Yu Xiaogang.
Disdain flashed across his face.
"Compared to him..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
The meaning was already obvious.
Flender, standing nearby, instinctively wanted to defend his old friend.
But when the words reached his lips, he found himself unable to speak.
Because Zhao Wuji wasn't wrong.
The facts were right in front of them.
The Dragon God Douluo from the parallel world had already produced several discoveries capable of changing the entire continent.
First came Whale Glue.
A treasure capable of increasing the age limit of spirit rings that a Spirit Master could absorb.
Then came the theory of Martial Soul Evolution.
Although the theory was still incomplete, it had already demonstrated extraordinary potential and provided Spirit Masters with a clear path for future development.
And now—
Spirit rings as spirit power storage devices.
Every single discovery possessed world-changing significance.
Any one of them would have been enough to make a person's name legendary throughout history.
Yet that version of Yu Xiaogang had discovered all of them.
Compared to him...
What had their Yu Xiaogang accomplished?
The answer was awkward.
His most famous achievement remained the so-called Ten Core Competencies of Spirit Masters.
For years, Flender had admired Yu Xiaogang's intelligence.
He genuinely believed his friend possessed wisdom beyond ordinary people.
But now, with an actual comparison available, Flender could no longer maintain the same confidence.
The gap was simply too obvious.
The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.
Of course, nobody knew what was going through Flender's mind.
At that moment, everyone was focused on someone else.
Yu Xiaogang himself.
The man stood motionless.
His eyes were bloodshot.
His breathing was heavy.
The veins on his forehead bulged visibly.
He stared at the version of himself displayed on the Heavenly Curtain.
Although the parallel-world Yu Xiaogang had undergone Martial Soul evolution and his appearance had changed somewhat, there was still no mistaking the resemblance.
That face.
That name.
That identity.
It should have been him.
Yet it wasn't.
Envy.
Jealousy.
Resentment.
Hatred.
All of those emotions churned violently within his heart.
The discovery of spirit ring storage capability should have belonged to him.
Why hadn't he discovered it first?
If he had been the one to make this revelation, everything would have changed.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would acknowledge him.
The entire continent would respect him.
Every major force would treat him as an honored guest.
He would never need to prove himself again.
His reputation alone would be enough.
Yet once again, it was the parallel-world Yu Xiaogang who stood beneath the spotlight.
Why?
What exactly made him inferior?
Why could that version continuously discover truths capable of changing the world?
Meanwhile, all he could do was compile theories based on collected information.
Why?
The question echoed endlessly inside his mind.
His fists tightened.
His nails dug into his palms.
Yet none of it eased the frustration.
If jealousy could increase cultivation, Yu Xiaogang believed he would already have become a Titled Douluo.
Unfortunately, the laws of the Douluo Continent didn't work that way.
The only thing his jealousy accomplished was making him suffer.
Above them, the Heavenly Curtain continued playing.
The story moved forward.
In the parallel world, Yu Xiaogang was explaining his discovery to Yu Yuanzhen and the others.
Under his guidance, they sat cross-legged and carefully injected spirit power into their First Spirit Rings.
Soon, all three successfully activated the storage function.
Shock appeared on their faces.
They immediately attempted to use the spirit power stored within the rings.
The result was exactly as Yu Xiaogang had predicted.
"It really works..."
Yu Yuanzhen stared at his son in disbelief.
Before this, he had already expected the discovery to be extraordinary.
After all, Yu Xiaogang had boldly claimed that the sky of the Douluo Continent was about to change.
Yet even with such expectations, he still underestimated the significance of the revelation.
Spirit rings could store spirit power.
How had nobody discovered such an obvious function?
The thought left him speechless.
Yu Xiaogang pondered for a moment before offering his explanation.
"I think the reason is simple."
"The activation requirements are too demanding."
Everyone immediately listened carefully.
"When I unlocked the function in my First Spirit Ring, I had to inject nearly thirty percent of my total spirit power."
"That was only for the First Ring."
"If I tried unlocking the higher-level rings, the requirements would probably increase dramatically."
Yu Yuanzhen frowned.
Yu Xiaogang continued calmly.
"When I only possessed a single spirit ring, even if I had emptied all my spirit power, it still might not have been enough."
"And for ordinary Spirit Masters with less spirit power than me..."
"They would likely need multiple attempts before succeeding."
The explanation instantly made sense.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)