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**
Ling Xiao shook his head; he couldn't fathom how one was supposed to break through the bottleneck after Rank 95.
Mu Chen spoke: "For a Soul Master, Rank 95 and above is a completely different realm compared to everything before it. Before Rank 95, within the same realm, the difference in level generally only brings a gap in Soul Power."
"But after Rank 95, every single rank is worlds apart. It isn't just a gap in Soul Power; it is a gap in the very level of existence. If we say that before Rank 95, even a nine-ring Titled Douluo is still within the realm of mortals."
"Then after Rank 95, they gradually break away from the mortal level and develop toward the level of a God. Peerless powerhouses at Rank 98 or even Rank 99 can be called demigods."
Ling Xiao's breathing grew rapid.
He was thrilled by what he heard; he never expected such a transformation to occur after Rank 95. Seeing Ling Xiao's excited expression, Mu Chen smiled and added a reality check.
"However, regarding that last part, even this old man only knows the 'what' and not the 'why.' As for why such powerhouses can be called demigods, I don't know either."
"But what is certain is that the gap after Rank 95 is immense. To break through the bottleneck after Rank 95, one must have a deeper understanding and application of their own Martial Soul."
"A deeper understanding and application of one's own Martial Soul..."
Ling Xiao couldn't help but recall what Mu Chen had just said about the most important thing for a powerhouse, as well as the words once spoken by Chen Xin.
"Then, what counts as having a 'deeper understanding' of one's own Martial Soul?" Ling Xiao asked curiously, while simultaneously complaining in his heart: Why do you all have to be so vague? Can't you just explain it clearly?
"To put it simply, it can manifest as Self-Created Soul Skills, but it isn't limited to just that," Mu Chen said.
Seeing the look of surprise on Ling Xiao's face, he chuckled.
"What, do you think creating a Soul Skill is too simple?"
Ling Xiao nodded slowly, feeling puzzled.
While creating a Soul Skill was difficult, it wasn't as if no one had ever done it.
Could it really be that important?
From what he knew, the 'Stormwind Demon Wolf's Thirty Six Successive Slashes' created by Feng Xiaotian didn't seem particularly strong; it still lost to Tang San's 'Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique.'
Mu Chen shook his head and laughed.
"The Self-Created Soul Skills I'm talking about are Self-Created Soul Skills in the truest sense. They involve the utilization and comprehension of the Martial Soul Origin, rather than just the basic application of Soul Power and the Martial Soul. Do you understand?"
Self-Created Soul Skills involving the Martial Soul Origin... Ling Xiao felt like he understood a little better.
Things like the Demon Wolf Slashes or the Splitting Wind Hammer, which only involved Soul Power and the basic physical form of the Martial Soul, probably didn't count as true Self-Created Soul Skills.
After all, those were more like combat methods. Although the 'Disorderly Splitting Wind' defeated the 'Thirty-Six Slashes,' it was actually less practical than the latter in a real fight; it was better suited for blacksmithing.
Following that logic, Xie Yue's 'Full Moon,' or Tang San's 'Mysterious Jade Hand,' 'Crane Controlling Capturing Dragon,' and 'Disorder Splitting Wind Dance'—all that miscellaneous stuff—didn't belong to the category of true Self-Created Soul Skills either.
"True Self-Created Soul Skills have extremely high requirements. They involve advanced utilization of the Martial Soul Origin and are by no means easy to create or learn."
"There is one major difference between a Self-Created Soul Skill and a Soul Ring Skill: a Self-Created skill requires the Soul Master to rely entirely on themselves to channel the Martial Soul Origin."
"In contrast, when a Soul Ring Skill is unleashed, the Soul Ring generates a guiding force that helps the Soul Master complete the skill."
"Therefore, if a Rank 95 Titled Douluo can create a true Soul Skill on their own and fully unleash the power of their own Martial Soul, then their realm must be far superior to others of the same rank."
"They will naturally have a deeper understanding of their Martial Soul. Relying on this, they can break through the bottleneck to Rank 96. At that point, with both their realm and cultivation breaking through together."
"They are naturally far beyond what a Rank 95 Titled Douluo can compare to. This is why every rank after 95 is so vastly different."
"So that's the difference between Soul Ring Skills and Self-Created Soul Skills." Ling Xiao had never thought of it from this perspective before.
Wait... suddenly, Ling Xiao thought of something. He connected all these dots, and though it wasn't perfectly clear yet, it left him feeling shaken.
He heard Mu Chen continue: "The greatest significance of the Soul Ring I mentioned earlier—'learning'—refers to using the skills granted by the rings to learn how to utilize and understand your own Martial Soul Origin."
"When a Soul Master becomes a Titled Douluo and has all nine rings prepared, they can use them as a reference to create their own true Soul Skills or 'Ultimate Arts,' truly carving out a path of their own."
"The most important meaning of a Self-Created Soul Skill isn't for fighting or as a means of offense and defense; it is for the exploration and verification of one's own path."
At this point, he gave a mocking smile.
"It's just that the vast majority of Soul Masters are obsessed with the age and power of Soul Rings. They pay no attention to the understanding of their own Martial Soul. They've put the cart before the horse."
Ling Xiao stared blankly at the old man before him, his heart filled with shock.
Since coming to this Douluo Continent, he had marveled at a world far more complex and exciting than the original story; he had been shocked by the birth of the 'Fusion Stream' and the 'Sword Sect,' and amazed by the vastness of the Dragon Clan.
But never had he felt like this.
According to his previous thoughts, although this continent was strange, the profession of Soul Master wasn't all that great.
An individual's achievements were completely restricted by their Martial Soul; such a bloodline-supremacy world was too stifling. Later, he learned about the 'Extreme Stream' and 'Fusion Stream'—
Knowing that even if a Martial Soul was weak and ordinary, as long as the Innate Soul Power was high enough and there was proper nurturing, a weak soul could still be cultivated into a top-tier one.
That had given him quite a bit of comfort.
However, he still had grievances with the Soul Master profession. In his eyes, even if Soul Masters could somewhat escape the influence of soul quality, the class was still too monotonous—like a video game.
The existence of Soul Rings honestly dragged down the "Soul Master" profession. In the novels he read in his past life, cultivators could practice various techniques and learn all sorts of martial arts, whereas Soul Masters were shackled by their rings.
But now, he truly understood the system of the Soul Master profession.
It turned out that Soul Rings were not a restriction, but an advantage—an advantage over other fantasy worlds. While the profession suffered from the flaw of having high requirements for Martial Soul aptitude, it also possessed a unique strength.
That strength was that this profession was easier in the beginning and harder later compared to other cultivation systems. Before Rank 95, it seemed completely related to aptitude; if your talent was sufficient, there were no bottlenecks.
High-level comprehension and understanding were only required after Rank 95.
The Soul Rings, quite literally, gave Soul Masters a reference. Soul Masters didn't have to wander like other cultivators looking for martial techniques to practice from scratch.
They only needed to absorb a Soul Ring to obtain a skill that could unleash the power of their Martial Soul. They could release it from the very start, using it to learn how to control their soul.
Furthermore, Soul Rings could strengthen the Martial Soul itself. It could be said that Soul Rings, the growth of the Martial Soul Origin, and the cultivation after the ninth ring are all closely linked in a complete system.
Of course, in this system, the Martial Soul was undoubtedly the core.
The importance of the Soul Ring was also built upon the foundation of the Martial Soul as the core. In his past life, viewing things through Tang San's perspective, he thought he had some understanding of the Douluo Continent.
Only now did he suddenly realize something: Tang San, under the tutelage of Yu Xiaogang, never seemed to focus on his own Martial Soul during his cultivation. The thing Yu Xiaogang taught Tang San most was knowledge about Soul Beasts.
In the early stages, his nurturing of Tang San mostly manifested as: I suggest you choose this Soul Beast for your Soul Ring.
Setting aside how "trap-like" Yu Xiaogang's direction for the Blue Silver Grass was, strictly from the aspect of cultivation, Tang San's growth was almost entirely centered around Soul Rings.
He didn't pay any attention to mastering his Martial Soul.
From his fourth Ten Thousand Year ring to the various One Hundred Thousand Year rings later on, it was clear that Tang San—influenced by Yu Xiaogang—was just like everyone else, obsessively pursuing ring age.
He didn't value his own Martial Soul and had almost zero personal comprehension of it. All he had were the skills brought by his rings and bones, and the skills granted by the God Trials.
Focusing only on the age of the Soul Rings while neglecting the cultivation of the Martial Soul was indeed putting the cart before the horse.
Soul Rings are very important, but if one pursues ring age so much that they ignore the importance of the Martial Soul, they have wandered onto a stray path.
The Martial Soul is the true core of a Soul Master's cultivation.
**
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Thanks for reading!
I have 60 advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday