Yu Xiaogang had named his greatest obstacle: Rank 30. Once the problem was clear, the rest became a matter of method. He combed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's archives and found a pattern: the rare cases of low‑talent cultivators who overturned fate all shared one thing — a Heaven‑Defying opportunity. Those opportunities fell into two tangible types: Spirit Bone and Heaven‑and‑Earth Treasure. Both were legendary, both were scarce, and both altered the spirit itself.
He read the records closely. One child with only Level‑1 Innate had found a ten‑thousand‑year spirit bone in the Star Dou Great Forest; after absorbing it, the child's spirit changed and the shackles on talent broke. Another noble consumed a Genius plant bought at auction and watched his spirit evolve. The mechanism was the same in both stories: the spirit changed, and talent followed.
Yu Xiaogang treated the tales as data rather than miracles. Spirit Bones were almost non‑existent even among the Upper Three Sects; Heaven‑and‑Earth Treasures were rarer still. Yet the conclusion was simple and actionable: if you can evolve a spirit, you can change destiny.
Attribute Stacking
He compiled every recorded case of spirit evolution into neat tables. Patterns emerged quickly. The most common and useful category was evolution after absorbing specific spirit rings. From those cases he distilled a rule: attribute stacking. When a spirit's early rings concentrated a single elemental or bloodline attribute, a later ring often triggered a qualitative leap.
Examples lined up like evidence. Poison rings led to the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor; repeated fire rings produced Infernape; ice rings culminated in Ice Bird; plant rings transformed Spiky Grass into Spiny Leaf Vine; dragon‑type rings birthed the Crimson Dragon. The pattern was consistent: coherent, repeated input reshaped the spirit's essence.
Yu Xiaogang summarized the insight plainly: elemental and bloodline attributes change the spirit's nature; basic attributes like strength or speed only change numbers. A spirit that breathes cold air can become an ice spirit; a snake can become a dragon. But stacking strength merely raises damage values — it does not alter what the spirit is. Evolution requires a qualitative shift, not a quantitative one.
Continentwide Shock
The clarity of his tables made the idea accessible to everyone. Farmers could grasp the logic; sect masters could see strategy. At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Ning Fengzhi stared at the data and felt the future tilt. With Yu Xiaogang's method and their archives, what secrets might they unlock? Orders went out immediately: halt Awakening ceremonies for children, gather child‑safe medicinal herbs, acquire meditation methods, and begin systematic early cultivation.
Not everyone welcomed the revelation. The four single‑attribute clans bristled. Their entire tradition rested on stacking physical attributes — strength, defense, speed — and their spirits had not evolved. The heavenly curtain's conclusion felt like a denial of their core. Bai He of the Speed Clan slammed a cup to the floor in disbelief. Yang Wudi of the Breaking Clan, after a moment of stunned silence, realized a path forward: if bloodline or elemental stacking triggers evolution, then hybridizing their spirits with elemental rings might be the answer.
Across the continent, factions split between excitement and resistance. Some saw a roadmap to produce more full Innate geniuses; others dismissed a child's statistics as insufficient to overturn centuries of practice. The debate itself proved the point: destiny had become a problem to be studied.
A Practical Plan
Yu Xiaogang focused on what he could control. He discarded unpredictable categories — bloodline awakenings, rank‑triggered leaps, and inexplicable events — and concentrated on ring‑driven evolution. He subdivided cases by spirit type (Beast vs. Tool), ring attributes, ring ages, and sequence patterns. From this, a practical strategy emerged:
Identify the spirit's core and the attribute axis most likely to trigger evolution. Pursue coherent ring sequences — same elemental or bloodline family — through targeted hunts, trades, or sect resources. Prepare the body to absorb older rings: strengthen physique, use medicinal support, and pace absorption to avoid fatal backlash. Accept risk where necessary; evolution is not safe, but neither is remaining a lifelong stain.
He also realized a limiting factor: Innate Rank 1 still constrained how far his spirit could go. Even with perfect attribute stacking, his body might not tolerate the age or number of rings needed. That led him to a hard conclusion: if he could not wait for natural maturation, he would have to accelerate it — by medicinal means.
Decision and Departure
Yu Xiaogang left the sect to pursue that path. He would not gamble on miracles like Spirit Bones or Heaven‑and‑Earth Treasures. He would build a plan from records, statistics, and relentless effort: strengthen his body, stack attributes in his spirit rings, and push his spirit past the threshold that had trapped so many before him.
It was a dangerous road. He knew the stories of those who had been harmed or killed by over‑absorption. He also remembered the mocking glances at his Awakening. That memory hardened his resolve. If changing fate required risk, then risk would be his instrument. If evolution demanded sacrifice, he would pay it.
He had one more thought before he stepped into Blue Lightning City's crowded streets: if destiny could be studied, then destiny could be challenged.