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It's not just about lowering the threshold for people; it's actually a degradation of the skill itself, Kong Mingan concluded after thinking for a moment. He realized that being able to casually reset skills, imprint whatever abilities one wanted, and pack multiple skills into a single spirit ring sounded amazing. It seemed very similar to how orthodox Spell Cultivators operated, but in reality, this shortcut had some very big problems.
The main issue was the energy cost. The Soul Skill Modules created through imprinting put a much heavier load on a spirit ring than skills that were created naturally. In fact, an imprinted skill was about three to four times more taxing on the ring's capacity.
For example, if a spirit ring had a total capacity of 100, a Fireball skill that a person condensed themselves might only take up 10 points of that space. However, an imprinted Fireball skill would take up 30 or even 40 points.
Based on those numbers, a person who practiced self-condensation could fit ten Fireball skills into one spirit ring. Because that person built the skill themselves, they understood how it worked perfectly. This deep understanding meant they could eventually optimize the skill to make it even lighter and more efficient.
On the other hand, someone using the imprint method could only fit two or three skills into a ring before it became full. Since they just copied the skill instead of learning it, they didn't really understand the energy behind it. They were stuck with whatever they imprinted and couldn't make it better.
This reminded him of how traditional Spirit Masters used spirit rings, but it was actually even more complicated. It was like the difference between a machine that runs itself, one that needs a computer to help, and one that a person operates entirely by hand. There were also limits to what could be copied. The more advanced and complex a Spirit Ability was, the more space it took up in the ring.
Right now, Kong Mingan couldn't even imprint some of the most powerful moves, like the Empress's Palm or the Empress's Sword from the Snow Empress. These skills were so advanced that their energy load was simply too high for his current spirit rings to hold.
If he tried to imprint them, the ring would fail because it couldn't handle the pressure. This also explained why a Silver Eagle Beast couldn't copy the skills of a 100,000-year Spirit Beast. Its rings just weren't strong enough to carry that kind of power.
Spell Cultivators are people who learn to build their own paths and understand their skills deeply, while imprinting is more like a temporary comfort zone, he thought. He figured it might be too hard for most Spirit Masters to jump straight from the old system to being a full Spell Cultivator. Using imprinting as a middle step might help them eventually learn to condense skills on their own. Still, he knew that many people would probably get lazy and stay in that easy comfort zone forever.
He could see two groups forming in the future of the Spell Cultivator System. There would be the Self-Condensation faction, made of people who did the hard work to build and improve their own skills. They would be the true foundation of the system. Then there would be the Imprint faction, made of people who took the easy way out by just copying abilities. It was basically the difference between a true Archmage and a regular Mage.
As his mind raced, Kong Mingan thought of even more ways to use this. Imprinting would be incredible for an army. Imagine a whole squad of soldiers where everyone has the exact same standardized skills. They could even reset their abilities before a mission to match whatever tactics they needed. One squad could perfectly balance their roles, with some focusing on attack, some on defense, and others on healing or support. They could switch their entire setup in an instant.
This is very possible, and the technology isn't even that hard, he noted. The toughest part would be putting these skill effects into soul tools. But since he could see the energy structures clearly, he knew he could figure it out. He added the idea to his mental to-do list.
He took a look at that list, and it was getting very long. He had projects like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Energy Model, modifying spirit rings even further, trying to make multiple Soul Cores work together, and developing Tool Spirits. All these tasks were waiting for him to build the frameworks and fill in the details.
Kong Mingan let out a soft sigh because he felt like he was running out of time. None of these tasks were too hard for him to do, but they all took a lot of hours to finish. I need a way to think faster and process more information, he thought. Maybe a Spirit Master version of a computer? No, a computer wouldn't help much if I still had to do all the work myself. I need something that can think along with me and keep these projects moving. Like an artificial intelligence or a sub-brain.
He got excited about this new idea. He could probably build a sub-brain using the tiny pieces of soul that naturally fell away as his own soul grew and transformed. If he combined those pieces with a massive computing matrix to speed up his thoughts, he would have exactly what he needed. It was totally doable. Then he stopped and realized something funny.
I was trying to solve the problem of having too many tasks, so why did I just add another one to the list? he asked himself. He felt a bit troubled and helpless as his to-do list kept growing.
While Kong Mingan was busy with his lists, things were very different far away in the Extreme North Land. That place was a world of permanent ice, where freezing winds and sharp snow screamed across the sky. The whole area was just endless white snow and deep blue ice. It was silent, cold, and empty of human life. People called it a human forbidden zone for a reason.
But suddenly, a cold and noble aura filled the air. It was the Snow Empress. She floated in the sky with her long white hair flowing behind her. Her ice-blue eyes looked calm but held a terrifying power that could make anyone tremble.
Just by showing up, she made the massive blizzard in the center of the North stop instantly. The storm seemed to bow to her extreme cold. This was her true form as the ruler of the North, far different from the quiet way she acted when she was with Kong Mingan.
A loud roar echoed through the frozen land. Countless powerful Spirit Beasts felt her presence and looked up from their dens. They roared in respect and bowed their heads toward her. The Snow Empress didn't seem to care; she just stood there in the air, letting her energy spread out as if she were waiting for someone.
After a moment, she looked toward the horizon. A bright jade-green light appeared in the distance and started flying toward her at an incredible speed. The cold look in the Snow Empress's eyes softened a little, but at the same time, she felt a strange, uneasy feeling in her heart that she couldn't explain.