Chapter 13: Soul Skills
Three hours later.
Shi Yi could clearly sense the disappearance of the external energy infusion, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, sensing Shi Yi's movements, curiously approached. Shi Yi slowly stood up. Having absorbed the soul ring, he felt as if he had been reborn. He had grown taller, and the world seemed clearer to him. Perhaps this was the feeling of genius?
A surge of vitality, a surge of inner strength, clear hearing and vision, a full and powerful spirit.
"How does it feel?" Yu Xiaogang's voice echoed in Shi Yi's ears.
Shi Yi looked at his hands with some disbelief. "It feels good, incredibly good. It's like my body has undergone unprecedented changes. The whole world feels different."
Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and said, "Xiaoyi, congratulations! You've succeeded."
Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang in confusion, while Shi Yi smiled and nodded. Indeed, he had succeeded. He had broken the shackles that limited a soul master to his innate soul power.
How could Yu Xiaogang not understand Shi Yi's feelings? Shi Yi was different from Tang San. For the gifted Tang San, absorbing spirit rings merely meant acquiring some special attributes for his martial spirit, a spirit skill, and an infusion of spirit power.
For Shi Yi, it was a completely different concept. A spirit master with low innate spirit power was limited by his natural talent. Each spirit ring held immense significance. The transformation a spirit ring could bring to a spirit master was immense. For a gifted spirit master, this might be a minor improvement, but for Shi Yi, with only level one innate spirit power, it was a transformation.
The twelve meridians merely served to streamline the meridians, but spirit rings provided a comprehensive improvement.
Yu Xiaogang had personally experienced this feeling.
"What spirit skill did you acquire?" Yu Xiaogang asked with a smile.
Shi Yi showed a helpless look on his face and said, "What other soul skills can the Qianjun Ant give? It can increase strength by 150%. "
Hearing Shi Yi's words, Tang San couldn't help but be shocked. His strength increased by more than double in an instant. His first soul skill was just to let his martial soul be attached with a strong sharp aura. He secretly said in his heart, "Why doesn't senior brother look very happy?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded and said, "Yes, although the status skills are not too good for living martial souls, at least the Qianjun Ant is compatible enough with your martial soul and the value given is high enough."
Tang San said to Yu Xiaogang, "Teacher, isn't this skill powerful?"
Yu Xiaogang also saw Tang San's doubts and explained, "If Xiao Yi's martial soul is a normal beast martial soul, it has the state of possession. This skill is undoubtedly a powerful one. While its stats are high, it consumes little spirit power for a low-level spirit skill. However, for a living, mutated spirit, its effectiveness is rather average.
For example, if Xiao Yi were to battle a normal beast spirit master possessed by a beast spirit, even if Xiao Yi's strength doubled due to his spirit's amplification, he would still be no match for the beast spirit master. If the opponent also possessed a similar amplified state skill, the situation would be even more challenging.
Tang San's face dawned with realization. If Shi Yi possessed the same martial arts, the effect of 150% of his strength would be self-evident. But his senior brother was only a normal child, and indeed, it wasn't as practical as a normal offensive spirit skill.
"However, Xiao Yi also has his own explosive growth period. If Xiao Yi can cultivate to the Soul Saint stage, as his spirit continues to grow, he will be able to unleash immense power. Xiao San, do you know the principles of the spirit master world regarding hunting spirit beasts?" Yu Xiaogang said to Tang San.
Tang San shook his head. Yu Xiaogang pointed at the dean beside him and said, "I asked the dean to hunt a hundred-year-old soul beast for you. The hundred-year-old soul beast corresponds to the level of Soul Master and Great Soul Master. If you want to take down a hundred-year-old soul beast without fail, you must at least cross one level. If Xiao Yi can cultivate to the level of Soul Saint, with the characteristics of cooperating with living martial spirits, it will be difficult to defeat your senior brother at the same level."
Tang San nodded slightly, and said secretly in his heart, "Indeed, it is difficult for humans to defeat soul beasts of the same level in terms of external conditions such as size and strength. Even the dean's martial spirit configuration is not the best spirit ring combination. Senior brother's martial spirit advantage will be extremely prominent at a high level, because a high level means higher intelligence, larger size, stronger strength and speed."
If fighting against twin martial spirits is like the opponent having two extremely powerful weapons, then a situation like Shi Yi is more like fighting against two opponents.
Yu Xiaogang pondered, watching Shi Yi's eyes flicker with anticipation. After years of studying his own spirit, he saw its true power for the first time in Shi Yi. He wondered if Shi Yi could harness his wisdom and knowledge to strengthen himself while simultaneously transforming Xiaoyi's spirit into a truly capable one.
Shi Yi was lost in thought. The example Yu Xiaogang had just given him offered some insight. Since normal beast spirits could possess, could living spirits acquire this skill or ability through other means?
"What's wrong? What are you thinking?" Yu Xiaogang's voice echoed in Shi Yi's ear, bringing him back to reality.
"I'm thinking, since normal beast spirits can possess, it stands to reason that living beast spirits with higher intelligence wouldn't be able to do so. If that's truly impossible, could we achieve this through other means or methods? Perhaps through learning, spirit ring skills, spirit bone skills..." Shi Yi slowly offered his thoughts.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up at this. This was indeed a promising research direction.
"Alright, let's go back. You can study this problem thoroughly," Yu Xiaogang said to Shi Yi.
Tang San saw a glint in Shi Yi's eyes and thought to himself, "Senior Brother's ideas are always so unexpected, yet they seem feasible. Senior Brother truly possesses a keen eye for theoretical research that ordinary people can't match."
Shi Yi nodded slightly.
They cleaned up their surroundings and headed out of the forest. Soon, they arrived at the bustling market, rented a carriage, and headed towards Notting City.
The next morning, they returned to Notting City.
"Xiao Yi, Xiao San, you can go to Notting City now and undergo the Spirit Master Appraisal. This will test your spirit power and officially register you with the Spirit Hall. This will allow you to receive a monthly stipend, giving you a source of income and eliminating the need for part-time work," Yu Xiaogang said to Shi Yi and Tang San.
Tang San nodded slightly, while Shi Yi jokingly said, "Teacher, I'm not going to bankrupt you, am I? Is it proper for a disciple of a great master like you to claim the Spirit Master subsidy?"
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. "It's up to you whether you go or not. One Gold Soul Coin a month. Great Spirit Masters get ten, and Spirit Masters get a hundred."
Tang San's eyes lit up at this; he was short on cash for crafting hidden weapons. Shi Yi smiled, "Go, just kidding. It's a waste if you don't take it. Suddenly, I feel like staying at the Spirit Master level wouldn't be so bad. One hundred Gold Soul Coins a month."
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened even further at this. He suddenly felt he shouldn't have told Shi Yi about the Spirit Master subsidy.
"You're familiar with Notting City, too. Take Xiao San with you," Yu Xiaogang said unhappily to Shi Yi.
After saying this, Tang San followed Shi Yi down from the carriage.
Shi Yi didn't take Tang San directly to the Spirit Hall, but instead wandered around the city. Tang San, realizing this, couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"Brother, let's hurry to the Spirit Hall," Tang San said to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi smiled faintly, clasping his arm around Tang San's shoulders and jokingly saying, "What? Are you missing your girlfriend?"
Tang San was slightly startled, his mind flashing back to the image of Xiao Wu making their bed. His eyes subconsciously averted, and he said, "...What girlfriend?"
Tang San stuttered slightly as he asked, his voice trembling slightly, a blush creeping onto his childish face.
Seeing Tang San like this, Shi Yi couldn't help but burst into laughter, but said nothing more.
After a brief stroll through Notting City, Shi Yi felt bored. Compared to modern society, this world was still far behind in terms of civilization.
So, Shi Yi took Tang San directly to the Spirit Hall's branch in Notting City.
On the Douluo Continent, whether in the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire, the Spirit Hall in any city was a landmark.
As someone with a modern education, Shi Yi naturally understood the purpose of these Spirit Halls. The most direct use was to exploit local resources through their vast power.
In fact, the Spirit Hall's development to this point has, in a sense, unified the continent. A Spirit Hall presence exists in nearly every city, and conflicts between the two empires are mediated by the Spirit Hall. Their ability to freely interfere in the internal affairs of both empires demonstrates their immense power.
Many say Bibi Dong's unification of the continent is a good thing, but Shi Yi has a different view. Whether it's a good thing depends on Bibi Dong's purpose.
Spirit masters are essentially a group of people with extraordinary powers who don't engage in production. If the continent is a cake, the Spirit Hall is the one who takes the biggest piece and doesn't work.
In Shi Yi's view, spirit masters are busy cultivating, and no one talks about developing productivity. How could the Spirit Hall's limited territory possibly support the subsidies provided to spirit masters?
If Bibi Dong's goal is to unify the continent and rationally utilize the spirit masters' power to develop productivity, then unification is a good thing. On the other hand, if she's simply seeking to monopolize the profits, then it's not a significant improvement, and war will only lead to more deaths.
Shi Yi believed that the Spirit Hall's current dividend-sharing model on the mainland was already quite successful. They didn't need to govern the country or develop the local areas; they simply sat back and collected money and recruited people. If it weren't for the sake of advancing society, Shi Yi believed that, simply from the perspective of power development, if the current model continued, the Spirit Hall would still be the most powerful force ten thousand years from now.
With this in mind, Shi Yi glanced at Tang San. Of course, the only variable was his own junior apprentice. Even if Bibi Dong didn't harbor ambitions to unify the continent, Tang San would likely choose to destroy the Spirit Hall if he gained power. After all, the conflict between Tang San and the Spirit Hall was inherently irreconcilable, and thus, there was no right or wrong.
"I don't know which side I'll ultimately be on," Shi
Yi thought to himself. He had pondered this question long before, but he understood that his influence was insignificant, and he couldn't influence anyone. Wasn't his arrival at Yu Xiaogang and Tang San's side also a matter of fate? He came here because he knew the benefits this place offered. It was all predetermined by fate.
As for what fate held in store for him, he had no idea. Even if he knew Tang San's upbringing and everything about him, he couldn't predict his future choices.
"Stop, two children. This is the Spirit Hall. You can't trespass." Shi Yi and Tang San were stopped by the guards at the entrance upon arriving.
The Spirit Hall in Notting City is a massive domed structure. The front alone is over a hundred meters wide and twenty meters high, spanning three floors. The building is brown, and the Spirit Hall emblem on the main entrance depicts only a long sword.
"Uncle, hello. He and I are both students at the Notting Spirit Master Academy. The teacher sent me here to have our spirit levels assessed," Shi Yi said, gesturing to his school uniform.
Seeing the Notting Academy logo on Shi Yi and Tang San's uniforms, the guard who had spoken earlier nodded and said, "I see. Then you can go in. Go to the first-floor reception hall and find Master Mashunuo. He'll help you."
"Thank you," Shi Yi agreed, leading Tang San slowly into the Spirit Hall.
The Spirit Hall wasn't crowded, and Shi Yi, after asking, quickly led Tang San to the Master Mashunuo the guard had mentioned.
After exchanging pleasantries, the two began their spirit power tests.
The results were quickly revealed: Tang San had level 3 spirit power, while Shi Yi only had level 12.
Seeing their young age, Mashunuo naturally offered an offer. Shi Yi and Tang San declined the offer as students of the Notting City Junior Spirit Master Academy, collected their allowances, and left. After leaving, Shi Yi and Tang San headed straight back to the academy. Just as they were about to reach the academy, Tang San suddenly stopped.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...
Not far away, a tall, somewhat crude building with a hammer symbol emanated from within, a rhythmic hammering sound. This was a blacksmith's shop.
A blacksmith's shop reminded Tang San of his father's words. Tang Hao had once told him to find work in a blacksmith's shop to supplement his living expenses.
"What's up, Little San? Do you want to be a blacksmith?" Shi Yi chuckled.
Tang San nodded slightly and said, "Blacksmithing is a craft I learned from my father, and I don't want to give it up."
Shi Yi nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I'm quite interested as well."
Tang San, surprised, said, "Isn't theoretical research your favorite thing, Senior Brother?"
Shi Yi patted Tang San's shoulder and said, "Junior Brother, everything in this world has its own value, and blacksmithing is no exception. Senior Brother would like you to teach me how to forge iron."
Shi Yi smiled and headed towards Notting Academy. Seeing this, Tang San trotted after him.
(End of Chapter)