Chapter 24: Good Partner.
Shi Yi, after running a few laps, was sweating slightly. He stopped by the river to fetch some water and took a quick shower.
Returning to his dorm, Shi Yi cooked some porridge and began to think about ways to tap into his body's strength.
He had seen three different approaches so far, categorizing them into three. The first was the limit-breaking type, which constantly challenged the body's limits, empowering it with extraordinary abilities.
This was an extremely simple and accessible method, but it also had significant drawbacks. Pushing the limits generally caused some damage to the body, requiring Shi Yi to find various ways to replenish it, such as medicinal baths.
The second type, like Tang San, involved creating his own body-related spirit skills. In the process of constantly refining and enhancing the power of his own spirit skills, he utilized meridians and acupoints, using specific energy paths to help tap into his body's potential.
During their years together, Shi Yi had carefully compared his and Tang San's physical indicators. Even when Tang San wasn't using his Qi, Shi Yi was superior to him in every aspect except strength. While not significant, the difference was real. Even when Tang San wasn't using his Purple Demon Pupil, his vision was better than Shi Yi's.
As for hearing, it was even better, a crucial metric when using a large number of hidden weapons. Given that their spirit rings were of similar age, this was quite interesting. Clearly, the spirit power exerted upon those ultimate skills had a subtle influence on Tang San's body.
Of course, Shi Yi believed this was merely supplementary, as the differences in indicators weren't actually that great. Regarding vision and hearing, where the biggest differences were, Shi Yi believed they were the result of years of practicing hidden weapons.
This method had obvious drawbacks. Shi Yi lacked Tang San's complete inheritance, requiring him to build upon his own foundation. When Tang San wasn't practicing, his performance was only slightly better than his own. Of course, when employing these techniques, his physical performance would significantly improve.
Shi Yi believed this wasn't simply about tapping into the body's strength, but rather finding the optimal balance between body and soul power.
Using soul power to power skills enhances physical performance, while simultaneously nourishing various parts of the body with soul power.
The third method was the simplest: soul bones, soul rings, or immortal items. Absorbing any of these could significantly improve physical performance, particularly the body's ability to withstand soul power.
"It seems I'm suited to the first and third methods," Shi Yi said softly.
Just like playing a game, time is limited. Focusing on developing skills is better spent honing one's basic attributes than developing them. This is why Tang San significantly reduced his use of his ultimate skills in the later stages. Clearly, when everyone is a Titled Douluo, the key to widening the gap is the number of spirit rings, the age of the spirit rings, and the number and age of the spirit bones, not the number of skills.
Moreover, comparing skills with someone like Tang San, who possesses dual spirits and the Tang Sect's Haotian heritage, is like asking an old man to hang himself.
At this point, the Tang Sect's ultimate skills are less effective than a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone or a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring. A hundred-thousand-year spirit ring not only provides a large amount of spirit power but also greatly enhances physical performance. Most importantly, it comes with two incredible skills.
"If I can't surpass Tang San in quantity, then I can only surpass him in quality," Shi Yi thought to himself.
With this in mind, Shi Yi peeled an egg, sipped his river porridge, and gave it no further thought.
After eating, the bell rang for class, and Shi Yi leisurely made his way to the playground. Everyone had already arrived, except Oscar.
"Good morning, everyone," Shi Yi said to the group.
"Good morning, Senior Brother," Tang San replied, and Xiao Wu hummed a soft hum in response.
Dai Mubai remained silent, seemingly oblivious to what had happened. Shi Yi paid no mind, and Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly.
Ma Hongjun, looking refreshed, said a "Good morning." It was clear that the gold soul coins he had won from last night's bet had been making him comfortable. Even Flanders wouldn't be able to find a suitable ice-attributed spirit master anytime soon, and with Ma Hongjun's flames, he couldn't be too weak.
Ning Rongrong's fair, pretty face looked haggard, and she seemed deeply depressed.
Shi Yi smiled; the setbacks she had encountered with the others last night had clearly weighed heavily on Ning Rongrong.
Soon, Flanders appeared before the group.
Seeing Oscar still hadn't arrived, Flanders frowned slightly and said calmly, "Today is the second class. Where's Oscar? He slept in again?"
Tang San quickly responded, "When I left this morning, he was still practicing. Perhaps he was in a trance and didn't wake up in time."
"Today's class can't go on without him. Tang San, go get him."
Tang San was about to return to the dormitory when he saw Oscar hurriedly running towards them. However, his face didn't show any panic at being late; instead, it was filled with excitement.
"Oscar, are you thinking of running laps again?" Dean Flanders glared at him.
Oscar quickly shook his head. "No, Dean, let me explain. I've broken through. I'm level 30."
"What?" Everyone except Shi Yi cast surprised glances at Oscar.
Shi Yi looked at Oscar thoughtfully, but after a moment's reflection, he felt it was only natural. Although both possessed full innate soul power, Oscar was, after all, a support soul master. Support soul masters had fewer tasks to perform than combat soul masters. While their training progressed more slowly than a regular combat soul master, their abundant free time made up for this shortcoming.
After everyone's congratulations, Flanders began the day's lesson.
"Today's lesson is simple. Oscar, you are the star of the show. Today's lesson requires that everyone, except Oscar, eat at least one sausage of two types crafted from Oscar's soul power."
Everyone gasped in surprise at this "bad news."
Shi Yi didn't think much of it. He simply wanted to experience what it felt like to eat food crafted by a food-type soul master. In Shi Yi's opinion, the food crafted by Oscar in his later years was truly of the highest caliber.
Amplified by his seventh soul skill, Oscar's ninth soul skill fully restored both soul power and physical strength. When Shi Yi first read about this effect in a novel, he'd exclaimed, "This is almost like a resurrection coin from another world."
Shi Yi could still consider Oscar a normal support with his first through sixth spirit skills, but things got truly outrageous with his seventh. His sausages never lost their effectiveness, and his eighth spirit skill's incredibly powerful healing power put the Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit to shame.
The Nine-Hearted Begonia spirit, passed down from generation to generation, only had one healing skill regardless of its ring. Oscar's eighth spirit skill, however, could instantly heal all injuries other than limb amputations, and it could even be carried around. His ninth spirit skill, however, could instantly restore his health and mana from low health.
Shi Yi even felt that if the Spirit Hall had killed Oscar sooner, Tang San would have died countless times.
Even as Shi Yi was internally grumbling, Xiao Wu exclaimed, "Dean, what kind of class is this?"
Soon, after Flanders's eloquent explanation, everyone succumbed to his tyranny.
Flanders stood there with a stern expression, his face implacable, telling the students before him that no one was going to get away with it.
Oscar was already laughing in his heart, his eyes clearly revealing a lewd glint.
Shi Yi didn't care at first; he also wanted to experience the food made by a food-type martial spirit, but seeing Oscar's lewd expression made Shi Yi feel a little disgusted. Especially the way Oscar looked at Ning Rongrong, Shi Yi knew without even thinking what he was fantasizing about.
"I have a big sausage."
"I have a small sausage."
Two sausages, one thick, one thin, with distinct flavors, appeared in Oscar's palms. Oscar chuckled and asked, "Who's going first?"
Shi Yi said nothing, slowly stepping forward, thinking to himself, "Let's die and be reborn! These people are so despicable. I wonder who they copied them from."
Shi Yi took the two sausages from Oscar's hand and slowly devoured them under the gaze of the crowd. As he ate, he noticed Oscar deliberately giving him a look that nearly made him sick.
The other six people, watching Shi Yi so calmly devour Oscar's sausages, felt a little filthy themselves.
When the sausages and sausages entered his mouth, Shi Yi discovered that the two food spirits released by Oscar tasted very good and were surprisingly effective. Immediately upon entering his stomach, they transformed into a wave of warmth that permeated his body, invigorating him and filling him with strength.
Oscar's large sausage carried the effect of his first spirit ring: recovery. This recovery was comprehensive, providing not only a sense of fullness, but also healing and restoring physical strength. The recovery rate was directly proportional to Oscar's spirit power.
"Isn't this a perfect partner for physical training?" Shi Yi thought to himself, his eyes brightening as he looked at Oscar.
The sausage's healing properties were incredibly comprehensive, truly incredible. The biggest difference between spirit power and physical strength lies in their impact on physical performance. Without spirit power, one can still exert the strength of an adult, but without physical strength, physical performance declines rapidly, even leading to fainting.
Shi Yi looked at the Shrek group; none of them had found Oscar's actual instructions.
"Amazing," Shi Yi muttered softly.
"Amazing?" Tang San repeated, somewhat bewildered.
"Try it, it's quite effective," Shi Yi chuckled.
Perhaps out of spite, Ning Rongrong was incredibly active. She was the first to accept Oscar's sausage. Feeling its powerful effects, Ning Rongrong snorted, feeling a little unconvinced, but unable to refute.
The rest of the group hesitated briefly before also devouring Oscar's sausage.
Flanders nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Alright, now, each of you go back and prepare. Tomorrow morning, Teacher Zhao Wuji will lead you to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Oscar obtain his third spirit ring. Teacher Zhao won't intervene until you encounter a thousand-year-old spirit beast. Everything depends on you."
Shi Yi's lip curled slightly upon hearing this. He had always been curious about what would happen if Xiao Yi consumed the human-faced demon spider, which could produce external spirit bones.
He had visited the Soul Hunting Forest many times over the years and read the many books on spirit beasts in Yu Xiaogang's room, gaining a certain understanding of the patterns of spirit bone production.
Shi Yi believed that the prerequisite for any spirit beast to produce spirit bones was a strong bloodline. This also explained why stronger and older spirit beasts were more likely to produce spirit bones. The saying that extreme resentment in a spirit beast increased the probability of its producing spirit bones made sense.
Humans, in anger and despair, could unleash terrifying power, and so could spirit beasts. When they unleashed 120 or even 150 percent of their full strength, the excess power undoubtedly came from deep within their bloodlines.
This is why it's so rare for low-level soul beasts to produce soul bones. Their bloodlines aren't very powerful, and their intelligence is limited. The so-called secret soul bones are easy to explain. Kill one hundred soul beasts within half an hour and activate their spirit rings using secret techniques.
There's a one in ten chance of obtaining these soul bones. These bones are essentially the result of combining the bloodline power from the spirit rings of multiple soul beasts.
Shi Yi was eager to understand the extent of bloodline power's influence on the little ants, so he could select the right food for them.
Flanders' so-called lessons were brief. After everyone consumed Oscar's sausages, he dismissed the group, allowing them to freely choose their own cultivation methods.
Shi Yi believed this was perfectly accurate. Everyone at Shrek was a genius, and geniuses often knew what they wanted.
As Oscar tried to leave, Shi Yi stopped him.
"What's the matter, Shi Yi?" Oscar asked with some doubt.
Shi Yi smiled slightly and said, "Just call me Xiao Yi. Xiao Ao, are you interested in practicing with me?"
Oscar shook his head immediately after hearing this and said, "My practice method is different from your combat soul masters. I only need to meditate."
Oscar yawned and continued, "If there is nothing else, I would like to take a nap."
Shi Yi shook his head slightly and said, "I don't want to take you to practice with me, but I hope you can provide me with your first soul skill while I practice. You just need to produce sausages to the maximum extent, and then you can enter meditation practice, and I just need to get sausages during the practice."
Oscar was a little surprised when he heard this, and said after thinking about it, "That's fine. Meditation is meditation anyway, but how are you going to thank me?"
Shi Yi looked at Oscar seriously and said, "If the time is right, I will create a defensive soul guide for you."
"Soul guide? You can make this thing?" Oscar was a little surprised. The soul guide on him was given to him by Shao Xin, otherwise how could a child like him afford a soul guide.
"I've only done a little research, and if you need direction, I can also design a development path for your spirit." Shi Yi said to Oscar earnestly.
"Really?" Oscar asked excitedly.
"Of course." Shi Yi nodded. To have such an assistant was definitely a good thing for him.
"That's great. Xiao San told me yesterday that spirit theory is your strong point," Oscar said with a smile.
Shi Yi smiled and said politely, "You're very kind. Come along."
With that, Shi Yi led Oscar towards his room.
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(End of this chapter)