With Electrolux giving his firm assurance, Kong Mingan finally set aside his lingering hesitation. He took a slow, steady step toward the front of the Beast Sealing Platform. His gaze remained remarkably calm as he looked at his elder, showing a level of focus that was unusual for someone his age.
Kong Deming noticed the look of determination in his grandson's eyes and decided not to say anything more. He knew that at this stage, words were no longer necessary. With a sudden surge of spirit power from his palm, he struck the surface of the Beast Sealing Platform. The impact caused several of the complex core Seals to undo themselves rapidly.
The laboratory was filled with a low, vibrating sound. The silver-white pillar split open down the middle, revealing the true form of the Spirit Beast trapped inside. It was bound tightly by countless chains made of pure light and appeared to be in a state of deep, forced slumber.
The creature was a Dragon-type Spirit Beast. It was about three meters long, and its body was covered in dark, sharp spikes and dark-silver scales shaped like diamonds. Its form was lithe and elegant, but its tail looked dangerous, ending in bony segments that resembled thorny barbs.
This particular Spirit Beast had just recently crossed the threshold to become a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast before it was captured. Because it had not yet fully adapted to its new level of power, subtle spatial ripples were still emanating from its scales, causing the air around it to shimmer.
Kong Mingan reached into his storage tool, and a cold-gleaming spirit tool dagger appeared in his hand. With a quick, precise flick of his wrist, he sent the dagger flying. It transformed into a streak of light and pierced the Thorny Dragon right in its vital point.
There was no struggle and no roar. The Thorny Dragon was completely Sealed, making it like a lamb brought to the slaughter. It had no way to resist or fight back against its fate. The beast only gave a violent twitch as a final instinct before its life force rapidly faded away.
After a short pause of only a second or two, a deep, black-haloed spirit ring began to rise slowly from the corpse. This was a genuine ten-thousand-year spirit ring, a sight that would make most Spirit Masters tremble with excitement or fear.
Kong Mingan did not waste any time. He immediately sat down cross-legged on the floor. Strands of his own spirit power emerged from his body to begin the process of Binding. He carefully enveloped the black spirit ring, which was filled with immense energy and the angry remnants of a Soul. Slowly, he began to pull the ring toward himself.
As soon as the spirit ring touched him and entered his body, a vast amount of energy surged into Kong Mingan. It felt like a flood breaking through a dam. His tempered Meridians and physical body rumbled under the pressure. His blood began to circulate on its own like boiling lava, strengthening his muscles and bones to resist the impact of the raw energy.
He began to circulate his own spirit power, using absolute control to guide the violent energy into his Dantian. He worked systematically to transform and absorb the power, making sure it did not damage his internal organs.
At the same time, the Eye of Life on Kong Mingan's forehead opened quietly. A gray phantom that only he could see emerged from the eye and looked toward the spirit ring. This was happening on an intangible Soul level that no one else could perceive.
Inside the spirit ring, the Soul of the Thorny Dragon had finally realized it was dead. Its silver pupils were filled with pure ferocity and venomous hatred. The anger it felt was irreconcilable. It stared at Kong Mingan, accumulating all of its remaining power to unleash a potent Soul shock that could shatter a normal person's mind.
However, before the beast could strike, a pure and vast gray light rose up. This light was filled with a sense of divine purification. Electrolux had finally made his move to protect his student.
The Thorny Dragon's Soul felt a powerful threat and tried to defend itself. But in the next moment, a hand made of gray light reached out and seized the dragon. Without even a whimper, the Thorny Dragon was pulled out of the spirit ring by Electrolux.
Since this was the Soul of a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, Electrolux did not want to waste it. He believed in the principle of keeping useful materials, so he collected the Soul to use for something later. Once the Soul was gone, he used his power to cleanse the spirit ring of any remaining fragments before returning to the Eye of Life.
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye. Among those standing in the room, only Kong Deming noticed that something strange had happened. His cultivation had reached level ninety-eight, so his senses were incredibly sharp. Even though he didn't know exactly what the gray light was, he chose to trust his grandson and did not interfere.
Because of Electrolux, the Soul shock that most Spirit Kings would be afraid of ended before it could even start. The absorption process became very smooth, and Kong Mingan's aura began to stabilize.
Kong Deming stood with his hands behind his back, his face slowly relaxing as he watched. Beside him, the Hongchen siblings also let out a sigh of relief. They stayed quiet and guarded the area, watching the black light of the spirit ring wrap around Kong Mingan.
Three hours passed slowly. This spirit ring was special, and during the absorption, the space around Kong Mingan began to distort. Sometimes, tiny black cracks would appear in the air and then vanish just as quickly.
Finally, the last trace of energy was absorbed. The deep black spirit ring subsided and vanished into his body. Kong Mingan slowly opened his eyes. Deep in his pupils, tiny silver lights flashed like stars before disappearing, making his gaze seem profound and unfathomable.
He did not look at the people around him yet. Instead, he raised his hand. A black spirit ring emerged from his palm and settled onto his wrist. He had done it. Kong Mingan had broken the ironclad rule of the Douluo World that said a first spirit ring could only be a hundred-year ring.
He looked down at the ten-thousand-year spirit ring in his hand. Its light was calm, but it felt much more powerful than a normal spirit ring. It had mysterious spatial fluctuations that made the air feel heavy. A small smile appeared on his face.
The experiment with Elder Electrolux had worked exactly as they planned. Xiao Hongchen stood nearby, staring at the black ring with burning eyes. Even though he often thought Kong Mingan was a scoundrel, he had to admit that having a ten-thousand-year first spirit ring was incredibly cool. He noticed that the ring had silver patterns that normal rings didn't have. He was already thinking of ways to make Kong Mingan teach him how to do the same thing.
Kong Deming did not step forward. He just looked at his grandson with a very proud expression.
Meng Hongchen couldn't stay quiet any longer. She was the first one to speak, her blue eyes full of curiosity. "Mingan, did you really succeed? What are your Spirit Abilities? Are they powerful space-type moves?"
She was as lively as ever, but Kong Mingan did not answer her right away. He furrowed his brows, looking a bit confused and peculiar. He stared at the ring on his wrist as if he were trying to count something complicated.
After a moment, he traced the air with his finger. Invisible spatial ripples spread out, but there was something else mixed in with the power of space. Everyone waited for him to say something. After a long silence, he finally looked up.
His tone was full of doubt as he looked at the expectant crowd. "My Spirit Abilities seem to be a bit numerous. I think I need to organize them first before I can explain them to you."
The atmosphere in the laboratory suddenly became very strange. No one knew what to say.
Xiao Hongchen clutched his head as if he were getting a headache. "Wait, what do you mean by 'a bit numerous'? It's just one spirit ring, right?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Kong Mingan replied, spreading his hands. He looked just as confused as they were. "From what I can feel right now, I probably have dozens of Spirit Abilities from this one ring."
The room fell into a dead silence. No one could believe what they were hearing.
"Dozens?" Meng Hongchen whispered, her jaw dropping. "But that is impossible. Even a Titled Douluo doesn't have that many abilities from one ring."
Kong Mingan shook his head slowly. "I know how it sounds, but the energy is divided into so many different paths. I need time to test each one. It's like the Thorny Dragon gave me its entire library of spatial skills instead of just one or two."
Kong Deming finally stepped forward, his eyes narrowing in thought. "A ten-thousand-year ring usually gives two abilities at most. If you truly have dozens, then we have discovered something that Yu Xiaogang could never have imagined in his wildest dreams. This goes against every known theory of spirit power."
Kong Mingan nodded. He felt the vast power circulating through his veins, connecting him to the space around him in a way he had never felt before. "I will need to go to the training grounds to see what these can actually do. Right now, it's just a mess of information in my head."
Xiao Hongchen finally found his voice again, though he sounded a bit jealous. "Dozens of abilities... If that's true, you're not just a Spirit Master anymore. You're a walking arsenal of spatial magic. I really need to know how you did this."
Kong Mingan just smiled and stood up, the black ring still glowing brightly on his arm. The success of this first step meant that his path to becoming a powerful Spirit Master would be unlike anyone else's in history. He looked at his grandfather and his friends, ready to start the next chapter of his journey.