Chapter 152: Yu Xiaogang Questions His Entire Life
Sun Zhongjing first gave an example that everyone knew Ye Cheng, the Lord of White Cloud City. Then, he continued, "Your martial spirit… I see great potential in it! Originally, if you had followed your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's tradition and attached dragon type spirit rings to each of your spirit rings, then through the baptism of dragon bloodline energy, your Luo San Pao would have gradually shed its pig like form and evolved!"
"As its master, your own talent would have also improved alongside it! You would never have been trapped at Rank 29, unable to break through!"
"If you had simply followed the correct path absorbing pureblood dragon type spirit rings at every stage then by the time you reached the Spirit Saint level, your martial spirit might have already evolved into the Golden Holy Dragon form from your fusion technique… That should have been the true appearance of your martial spirit! It only took the form of a pig due to your flawed natural talent."
"But lack of innate talent can be compensated for through proper development! Unfortunately, you gave up on it entirely."
Sun Zhongjing examined Yu Xiaogang's devastated expression, shook his head, and said, "You thought you were being smart. You deliberately chose pig type spirit beasts for your spirit rings, preventing Luo San Pao's dragon bloodline from being refined. Instead, it became polluted. The result? A martial spirit that once had infinite potential has now truly become nothing but a pig. Without external help, you can barely even reveal its true form."
"I recall your so called 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Spirits.' One of your theories states that Tool Spirits can absorb Beast Spirit Rings and vice versa. In the right conditions, the two can supposedly be interchangeable."
Sun Zhongjing paused, looking at Yu Xiaogang. "I won't even bother pointing out how basic and obvious that mistake is. But tell me if your theory were correct, why has it never been widely practiced? If your idea were truly revolutionary, wouldn't someone far more intelligent than you have discovered it before?"
"Why is it," he continued, "that for thousands of years, spirit masters have stuck to the convention that Plant Spirits cannot absorb Beast Spirit Rings? Do you really think you are the only smart person in the world?"
"Why?!"
Yu Xiaogang's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot. He stared at Sun Zhongjing as if desperately craving an answer, yet also as if he were on the verge of collapse.
"This relates to the fundamental nature of spirit cultivation."
Sun Zhongjing's words struck like a thunderclap.
Instantly, every spirit master in the crowd perked up.
A peak expert was revealing secrets about martial spirits how could they not listen?
Sun Zhongjing stroked his long beard and continued, "After years of research, I have concluded that martial spirit cultivation is fundamentally a process of accumulation, where quantity transforms into quality. The key to martial spirit evolution lies in this principle."
Many in the audience nodded, eager to hear more.
"Your martial spirit may look like a pig, but at its core, it carries a trace of extremely pure dragon blood. That means immense potential! Your low innate spirit power does not mean you were destined to fail it simply meant your starting point was behind others."
"But if you had consistently absorbed dragon type spirit rings, refining and enhancing that tiny trace of dragon blood, it would have gradually grown stronger and stronger! Your martial spirit would have evolved, and your talent would have improved alongside it. The moment that accumulated energy reached a critical point… Luo San Pao would have transformed into a true dragon!"
Sun Zhongjing paused, scanning the dazed faces in the crowd. Some looked enlightened, while others still seemed lost. Deciding to make things clearer, he continued,
"For a spirit master, the key to this accumulation is spirit rings. The more closely aligned a spirit ring is to your martial spirit's essence, the greater the benefits."
"For example, take Plant Spirits. Of course, a Plant Spirit can absorb a Beast Spirit Ring, but doing so provides far less benefit than a Plant Spirit Ring would."
"This is because Plant Spirits and Beast Spirits are fundamentally different. Their very essence is incompatible. When a Plant Spirit absorbs a Beast Spirit Ring, the energy pollutes its core instead of enhancing it."
"The result? Spirit techniques gained from Beast Rings will always be weaker than those gained from Plant Rings. And worse, with each Beast Ring absorbed, the Plant Spirit strays further from its natural evolution."
"If a Plant Spirit Master follows this path, no matter how talented they originally were, they will never surpass Spirit Emperor. Reaching Spirit Saint would be impossible. By then, their martial spirit's essence would be too polluted to evolve any further."
The crowd fell silent.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
Many had known these traditions but never understood why they existed. Now, hearing it explained so clearly, it was as if a fog had lifted from their minds.
This was true wisdom.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang stood frozen in shock.
"I was wrong… I was wrong about everything…"
His mind raced, flashing back to his childhood.
When he had finally reached Rank 10 after six grueling years, his father had intended to hunt a pureblood dragon spirit beast for him.
But he had refused.
He had insisted on absorbing a pig type spirit beast, believing his own theories over the wisdom of generations.
His father, thinking Yu Xiaogang's martial spirit was beyond saving, reluctantly agreed.
That decision sealed his fate.
Had he followed the correct path absorbing dragon spirit rings, refining his bloodline he might have long since evolved beyond his limitations.
Instead… he had crippled himself.
And worse…
He had dragged Tang San down with him.
If his Plant Spirit absorbing Beast Spirit Rings theory had ruined Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, then Tang San's future was doomed.
His dream of making Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer into a full Nine Ring, all 100,000 year spirit beast weapon was impossible now.
The damage was already done.
Yu Xiaogang's hands trembled.
His breath grew shallow.
He had spent his whole life trying to prove himself.
To show the world that he was not a failure.
But in the end…
His own arrogance had made him the biggest fool of all.
Like a walking corpse, he stumbled off the stage, ignoring the ridicule from those around him.
His entire worldview had collapsed.
And so, the public debate between the so called 'Grandmaster' and the Medicine King began spreading like wildfire throughout the spirit master world.
That day…
Yu Xiaogang became infamous.
(End of Chapter)
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