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Speaking of Yu Xiaogang, the thesis caused a small ripple in the Spirit Hall after being published. It was then distributed through the Spirit Hall Newspaper and quickly spread across the continent. A few days later, the soul master community was abuzz with discussion.
Many soul masters from short-lived lineages learned for the first time that there was such a significant connection between the upper limit of soul rings and physical fitness.
Many soul masters who had spent years reaching Level 10 but were too afraid to take risks and hastily absorbed a ten-year first soul ring deeply regretted their decisions.
According to the paper, even though they were commoner soul masters, they could have easily handled a hundred-year soul ring. If they had known this earlier, they would have sold everything they owned to hire someone to hunt soul beasts.
---
Nuoding Academy
Yu Xiaogang stayed hidden away in a small city, but his ambitions were anything but small. He consistently subscribed to the Spirit Hall Newspaper to study the cutting-edge martial soul theories published by the Spirit Hall.
Today, he retrieved the newspaper from the gatekeeper, ignoring the disdainful glances from passersby. Maintaining his usual blank expression, he walked steadily back to his book-filled dormitory.
Sitting at his desk, Yu Xiaogang unfolded the newspaper under the golden sunlight streaming through the window. One bold headline immediately caught his eye:
"Shocking! The Limit of a Soul Master's First Soul Ring is WRONG!"
—By Professor Oak
Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment, then sneered, "Ridiculous, just trying to grab attention."
But a sliver of unease crept into his heart. If it were just sensationalism, the Spirit Hall wouldn't have allowed it to be printed and sold as a newspaper.
He skimmed through the article at lightning speed:
"Through observation of beast-type and weapon-type martial souls, the former significantly enhances physical strength. Most historical breakthroughs in soul ring year limits were achieved by beast-type soul masters. The difference lies solely in physical fitness, which serves as sufficient evidence."
"Renowned master Yu Xiaogang, who awakened with half-level innate spirit power, managed to absorb two hundred-year soul rings, largely due to the physical enhancement provided by the Blue Lightning Dragon Clan's medicinal baths."
"Historically speaking, the upper limit of soul ring years that soul masters can handle has been steadily increasing. This is not only because soul masters continue to produce descendants, providing better resources generation after generation, but also because the ambient energy in the world has grown stronger, enhancing the basic qualities of soul masters. The optimal soul ring configuration for soul masters will continue to evolve."
...
One piece of evidence after another was laid out, and the article even specifically mentioned a certain master, causing Yu Xiaogang's face to darken with anger as he slammed the newspaper onto the table.
"You insolent brat, how dare you trample on my reputation!"
Yu Xiaogang was furious, immediately recognizing Gu La's malicious intent. After all, he still had some fame among commoner soul masters—whether good or bad, at least people remembered him.
He crumpled the newspaper in frustration, venting his anger before calming down. Catching his breath, he smoothed out the paper again and looked at the author's name.
"Professor Oak? Who is this? Probably a pseudonym. Hmph, too cowardly to use their real name—they must be some lowly rat hiding in the shadows."
Though his words were dismissive, Yu Xiaogang felt a growing sense of panic inside.
This single article had already invalidated one of the ten core theories in his soul master doctrine and indirectly criticized several others.
Fearing that his remaining theories might be completely discredited, Yu Xiaogang resolved, "It's just a paper—I can write one too! I originally planned to find a disciple to prove my theories, but now it seems I must make my voice heard."
He gathered paper and ink, pondered briefly, and wrote the title: A Study of 647 Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters and the Development Path of Plant-Type Soul Masters.
"Hmph, I doubt anyone else would bother studying the useless Blue Silver Grass. Those so-called training methods need time to verify—who knows if what you say is true? Only research focused on specific martial soul paths can immediately impact soul masters."
Yu Xiaogang smirked smugly, his inspiration flowing like a fountain as his pen moved swiftly across the page.
"Blue Silver Grass is inherently weak. If one wants to become a battle-type soul master, the best route is to attach poison-attribute soul rings and follow a control-type path..."
"Similarly, plant-type soul masters, whose attack power is weak, can also compensate by attaching poison-attribute soul rings. Most control-type soul masters can refer to this principle..."
---
Gu La had no idea how much psychological damage his thesis had inflicted on Yu Xiaogang. A month after its release, the system finally calculated the rewards for his first paper.
[Analysis complete. Tens of thousands of people have read the Host's thesis, influencing hundreds of thousands of novice trainers. Its impact is profound. Congratulations, Host, for making your voice heard in the research community. Overall evaluation: S.]
[Rewards: +1000 points, Legendary Equipment Voucher x1, Legendary Skill Voucher x1.]
Gu La couldn't help but rub his hands together, excitement mixed with nervousness. "A thousand points—that's enough for ten draws or five Ditto exchanges. Which should I choose?"
Gu La had examined the prize pool. Now that the game had turned into a system, the pool contained practically everything. With enough luck, even Arceus could be drawn.
Of course, in reality, there was no guarantee Arceus would obey him.
So, playing it safe, he decided it would be more reliable to directly purchase items with points, even though it was more expensive overall. At least he wouldn't have to rely on luck.
As for the Ditto in the system, it was different from the official Pokémon games. It wasn't really considered a Pokémon but rather a synthesis material that could alter a Pokémon's nature and individual values.
When exchanging for Ditto, the nature and individual values were randomized, but the total individual value wouldn't fall below 90 points, ensuring a minimum standard.
Gu La activated his God-Tier Appraisal Eye and examined his martial soul in the mirror.
[Groudon: Level 13]
[Attribute: Ground]
[Rank: God-Tier]
[Individual Values: HP 18, Attack 29, Defense 15, Special Attack 20, Special Defense 16, Speed 21. Total: 119.]
[Nature: Careful (-10% Special Attack, +10% Special Defense)]
[Skills: Bulk Up, Scary Face, Dig...]
[Evaluation: One of the three Legendaries from the Hoenn region. Growing steadily will grant mastery over the power of the earth.]
Pokémon are divided into base stats and individual values, both of which influence their growth attributes.
Based on Gu La's conjecture, translating this to the Douluo Continent, martial souls could be seen as types of Pokémon. Even identical martial souls could have different talents, representing variations in their individual values.
This wasn't just about spirit power talent—it encompassed overall physical potential, including cellular activity, muscle strength and development, bone density, skin toughness, and resistance, among other aspects.
Most importantly, individual values manifested in martial souls. While Gu La couldn't change his martial soul, he could use Ditto to alter the innate talents of the soul masters under his command.
Turning them into top-tier talents among those with the same martial soul.
"With my level of talent, I only have 119 individual value points—far from the maximum of 186. At most, I'm just average. Well, average for Groudon, that is."
Gu La certainly wouldn't mind improving his own talent further. In games, the main team's individual values needed to be raised to gold tier, meaning a total of at least 150 points.
He wanted to try it in real life too.
Gu La clasped his hands together. "Jade Emperor, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Buddha Tathagata, bless me with incredible luck—one shot, straight to the soul!"
Since he didn't need points elsewhere, Gu La went all-in, spending all 1,000 points.
A dazzling light erupted before his eyes, and five Ditto with varying background colors appeared.
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