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*****
The technique for self-condensing spirit rings could, at most, resolve a spirit master's worries about the future.
Even if soul beasts went extinct, spirit masters would not be prevented from advancing to the next rank just because there were no soul beasts left to hunt.
However, the requirements of this self-condensing spirit ring technique were far too high for ordinary spirit masters. It was a true filter for a spirit master's natural talent.
If a spirit master with an already weak martial soul still had to rely on excavating their own potential to obtain a spirit ring, just how weak would that spirit master end up being?
Su Wen saw through Lin Dong's thoughts and smiled faintly.
"A truly powerful spirit master might become strong if they only rely on the advantages brought by their martial soul to grow, but they won't be truly powerful," Su Wen said, his words beginning to sound deep and profound.
He was speaking in somewhat ambiguous terms.
However, the meaning behind his words was actually quite easy to comprehend.
"True cultivation should be achieved step-by-step through one's own efforts; that is the most solid foundation. The spirit master system has actually given spirit masters far too many advantages."
Su Wen thought for a moment, then explained some of the other cultivation systems he knew about to Lin Dong.
"Whether it is the condensation of battle qi or the cultivation of battle skills, practitioners must understand and spend time comprehending them on their own. Spirit masters, on the other hand, only need to cultivate soul power. They don't even have to practice spirit skills; they just hunt soul beasts to obtain spirit rings and automatically gain spirit skills. Such benefits have caused the development of the spirit master world to fall into a state of stagnation."
Su Wen shook his head, wearing an expression of deep disappointment.
"I feel that if there were no soul beasts left on the Douluo Continent, the development of the spirit master world would actually accelerate, and the diversification of the spirit master cultivation system would happen much faster."
Lin Dong fell silent. He didn't know whether he should refute this, nor did he know how to refute it.
"There is another plane where martial arts are pursued to the absolute limit, and the cultivation of martial arts depends entirely on the practitioner's own comprehension," Su Wen said.
Then, he provided another example that would be easier for Lin Dong to understand.
"In fact, we have examples right here on our Douluo Continent, such as the soul beast system. Soul beasts do not have spirit rings; many of their skills rely solely on bloodline instinct to activate. However, while the bloodline provides the foundation, sometimes soul beasts of the same species possess different skills. This is because some soul beasts possess excellent natural talent and develop corresponding soul skills during their own cultivation."
There were some loopholes in this explanation, but Su Wen only used it to make Lin Dong understand that the cultivation path for spirit masters was simply too easy and too smooth.
"But when spirit masters practice self-created spirit skills, even if they have the complete cultivation method for it, it might still require a massive amount of energy. If it truly relies solely on the spirit master developing it themselves..."
Su Wen interrupted Lin Dong and asked in response, "Do you really think it's that difficult?"
Lin Dong froze.
He reflected on his own process of developing his martial soul.
"Is it really that difficult to practice?"
Su Wen continued to question him.
"I should have left quite a few cultivation methods for self-created spirit skills within the academic community. Although they are mostly minor techniques, they can all be considered self-created spirit skills. The number of spirit masters who have learned them shouldn't be small, right?"
Spirit masters who needed to diversify their arsenals would look for self-created spirit skills that suited them within the academic community. Cultivating them was not actually that difficult.
"It's just that the existence of knowledge barriers has drastically increased the difficulty of practicing self-created spirit skills."
There weren't many self-created spirit skills on the continent to begin with, and each was kept strictly secret. This resulted in spirit masters being completely unable to find self-created spirit skills that suited them. Without even a suitable skill, they had no motivation to practice. Even if they obtained a cultivation method completely without reservations, what could they possibly gain from it?
Furthermore, even if they found a suitable self-created spirit skill, they wouldn't be able to learn it without the insights and experience of practicing it being passed down to them.
What they lacked was simply foundational knowledge.
The popularization of the meridian theory had already lowered the threshold for spirit masters on the Douluo Continent to practice self-created spirit skills by at least a whole tier.
As for the self-created spirit skills created by true spirit masters in the past, those were even more absurd. They were basically just combining and unleashing their existing spirit skills through horizontal or vertical development. Although they could record the soul power circulation techniques involved to teach others, the source of their development was undoubtedly still the utilization of spirit ring skills.
This was precisely because the meridian theory had not been popularized.
Otherwise, if they knew the meridian theory and possessed some understanding of basic meridian knowledge, self-created spirit skills would not be confined to already existing spirit skills.
Moreover, they wouldn't be entirely based on existing spirit skills either. Instead, it would be possible to dismantle parts of an existing spirit skill, borrowing only a portion of its effects rather than completely copying the entire spirit skill.
Lin Dong reflected on this and discovered that practicing self-created spirit skills really didn't seem that difficult.
"But what about the quality of the martial soul..."
Su Wen looked at Lin Dong.
"The quality of a martial soul still depends on the person. Although a self-condenese spirit ring does not borrow external power to complete the transformation of the martial soul at the moment of condensation, one can still improve the quality of the spirit ring by refining and perfecting the spirit skill condensed within it. This, in turn, enhances the martial soul."
To put it bluntly, when one condensed a spirit ring by themselves, the origin of the spirit ring was the origin of the martial soul. Improving the spirit ring was equivalent to improving the martial soul.
Lin Dong was completely rendered speechless.
He knew that Su Wen's technique had absolutely no loopholes.
It was just that if this technique were truly popularized, the cultivation culture of the spirit master world would completely change.
"There's no need to be so pessimistic. As I said just now, if you are condensing spirit rings on your own, I only recommend condensing a natal spirit ring for the seventh spirit ring. For the other spirit rings, it's still better to learn from other soul beasts and absorb more external spirit skills." Su Wen stepped forward and patted Lin Dong on the shoulder.
Lin Dong was dazed.
"But if that's the case, soul beasts will still go extinct sooner or later."
Su Wen laughed.
"Who told you that I only developed one technique for self-condensing spirit rings this time?"
Hmm?
Lin Dong looked at Su Wen.
What did he mean?
There were other techniques related to spirit ring condensation?
"During my secluded cultivation outside this time, I comprehended quite a lot. You don't need to worry about the matter of the soul beasts."
Su Wen gestured to Lin Dong, signaling that he only needed to cultivate properly in the future. Once he truly became a Titled Douluo and possessed peak strength, he could then worry about the conflict of interest between the human spirit master world and the soul beasts.
Dismissing Lin Dong and the others, Su Wen looked up at the sky.
"This world has to change eventually."
Before I came, the Douluo Continent was rigid and stagnant. If I came and left, and the Douluo Continent is still that same miserable sight, then didn't I f***ing come here for nothing?!
The Great Star Dou Forest.
Nearly half of the spirit masters from the Spirit Hall were currently stationed on the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest, constantly on guard against a sudden assault from the soul beasts.
Rumor had it that Great Beasts had appeared on the soul beast side. Among these Great Beasts was the ruler of the soul beast race; even if they were mindless Great Beasts, they could still issue commands.
The higher-ups of the Spirit Hall had revealed to the lower-ranked spirit masters that many historical gaps in the spirit master world's past were caused by the soul beasts launching what were known as Beast Tides.
In the past, the spirit master world could not withstand the impact of the Beast Tides, leading to severed history and broken inheritances.
But the current spirit master world would not let that happen again!