Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 10 free chapters available, plus early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!
**
Clack! Clack!
Inside the basement, the sound of a stick tapping against a blackboard rang out.
Xiao Lin was currently holding a thin wooden stick, pointing at a small blackboard. On it, the words "Soul Power Compression and Condensation" were written in large characters.
"The Soul Core is our long-term goal for the future."
Considering that the greatest benefit of self-condensing Soul Rings was being able to choose one's own Soul Skills—while the problem remained that one would still have to find a way to supplement the ring's cultivation age—
Xiao Lin wasn't prepared to discuss self-condensing rings just yet.
After all, finding high-quality, talented Soul Beasts was much easier than solving that particular research topic. Xiao Lin knew how to prioritize.
"According to my research, there might not currently be any Titled Douluos who have condensed a Soul Core (it seemed it was never mentioned during the era of the first generation). Therefore, once we condense a Soul Core, we might possess power no less than that of a Titled Douluo."
"Now, I will explain the principle."
"Based on my careful study, the amount of soul power we Soul Masters can store is limited; we store it within our meridians. This means that as a Soul Master grows, by the time they reach around twenty years old, their meridians are basically fully formed."
"At that point, a Soul Master's innate talent for soul power is essentially set. This is likely why there's a saying on the continent that if you cannot break through to Rank 30 by age twenty, you will never achieve anything significant."
"Following this principle, once our meridians are fully formed at age twenty, if we want to continue absorbing soul power, that power must undergo its first wave of compression."
"The ability to compress soul power is the key to whether a Soul Master can continue breaking through subsequent ranks. Gaseous soul power turns into mist; misty soul power becomes liquid; and finally, it reaches the state I call the solid-state Soul Core."
As Xiao Lin spoke, he drew a curve on the blackboard, shaped like two small mountain peaks.
Above the first peak, he wrote the "Age 20" marker.
After explaining the basic situation, Xiao Lin took a sip of water from his thermos to moisten his throat. He looked toward Tang San and Xiao Wu, noticing their furrowed brows. He asked directly, "Xiao San, Xiao Wu, do either of you have any doubts?"
"Brother Lin, I have a question."
At that moment, Xiao Wu raised her right hand high and bounced up from her seat to ask.
"According to what you said, shouldn't our primary goal right now be to widen our meridians and utilize every meridian in our bodies? Why bother with a Soul Core?"
"Good question. You're right; our primary goal right now isn't compression yet."
Xiao Lin praised Xiao Wu.
This rogue rabbit actually had a moment of enlightenment—all thanks to his "Brainstorming Mini-Classroom."
"However, regarding widening meridians, we have a specialist: Xiao San. He can use soul power to help us clear certain meridians. As for the smallest, most minute meridians, we'll have to rely on ourselves."
Xiao Lin's point was simple.
Now that the meridian issue was handed over to Xiao San, they just needed to follow the plan and fill their meridians with soul power. This would make both meditative cultivation and the sudden surges of power from absorbing Soul Rings much easier.
The project of soul power compression had also officially begun.
"Brother Lin, we have cultivation techniques to store soul power. Do we really need to spend a lot of time searching for those tiny meridians?"
Tang San also had doubts.
He could handle several major meridians, but the extremely small ones—like the tiny meridians in the fingers—were much more difficult.
Tang San, worried about wasting time, asked this because the total soul power stored in those tiny meridians combined might not even equal the amount stored in the Dantian by the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
"Considering time is the most important factor, I can only say do your best. If possible, it's best to clear all of them in your dominant hand."
Xiao Lin knew that his Vajra Imperishable soul power was difficult to compress, so he would prioritize clearing all his meridians. Mentioning meridians made Xiao Lin think of the one he had repaired with soul power.
Perhaps in the future, he could create several sets of "soul power circuits" within his body to store even more power.
"There's one more problem," Tang San said with a puzzled look.
"Regarding soul power compression—our bodies aren't fully grown yet. How do we compress it? If the meridians aren't full, the power will just leak elsewhere upon compression. Without a sealed space, how can it be done?"
As a genius in crafting hidden weapons, Tang San possessed considerable engineering talent and understood the technical difficulty involved.
"That is indeed a problem. I originally had one solution: freezing. I plan to find an Ultimate Ice attribute Soul Beast for myself in the future and try using low temperatures."
Xiao Lin had only made preliminary plans for this.
This meeting's "brainstorming" was mainly intended to see the opinion of the hundred thousand year Soul Beast, the "Rogue Rabbit" Xiao Wu.
"Ultimate Ice?"
Tang San exclaimed in shock.
He hadn't expected Xiao Lin to casually drop a term that hadn't even appeared in the Soul Master world yet.
"If it's Brother Lin, then perhaps it really is possible."
Tang San muttered to himself.
Ice was naturally solid; combined with Xiao Lin's Martial Soul being an iron staff and his theory on soul power circulation, Tang San seemed to see a glimmer of possibility.
"Besides that, I've also thought of gravity compression and vortex compression. However, I haven't solved the method for rotation yet. As for gravity, finding a Soul Beast specialized in strength and gravity won't be easy."
In front of Xiao Wu, Xiao Lin didn't directly say, "I've got my eyes on the Titan Giant Ape's Soul Ring."
Although Xiao Lin was currently confident in reaching Godhood—especially with a future Dual-God Tang San by his side—he believed that even if he absorbed the Titan Giant Ape's ring, he could eventually resurrect it.
But in front of Xiao Wu, it was better to keep quiet for now.
In reality, the characteristic of a Soul Core was to accelerate a Soul Master's recovery speed. Thinking of the endless cycle of Tang San's future Mysterious Heaven Skill, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the technique itself functioned like a Soul Core.
At this moment, the Rogue Rabbit didn't say a single word. As the most "useless" of the hundred thousand year Soul Beasts, she wasn't even very clear on what a Soul Core was; she had condensed hers in a total daze.
It looks like I should find a chance to go home and ask Da Ming and Er Ming, she thought.
Xiao Wu felt like crying over her own stupidity. She hadn't studied properly when she was a Soul Beast, and after turning into a human, she still knew nothing.
How was she supposed to get her revenge like this?
Meanwhile, Xiao Lin, who was secretly observing Xiao Wu's expression, was stunned.
What's going on? I was waiting for your hundred thousand year insight! Don't tell me a hundred thousand year Soul Beast like you doesn't have a Soul Core?
Xiao Lin was bewildered.
Surely not?
He actually had another hypothesis: whether a Soul Beast had the potential to become a hundred thousand year beast depended on whether it possessed a Soul Bone.
Whether it was a regular Soul Bone or an External Soul Bone, having one meant possessing that potential; without one, hope was slim.
But Xiao Wu, aren't you a hundred thousand year Soul Beast who also has a Soul Bone?
Xiao Wu, you've single-handedly overturned two of my hypotheses!
You're truly incredible! A total free-loader!
Xiao Lin felt like crying, but he forced a smile.
"Alright, everyone work hard on researching Soul Core cultivation. Pack your bags today; we set out for the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow to broaden our horizons."
After leaving one final "homework assignment," Xiao Lin walked out of the basement alone.
It seemed that for the cultivation of a Soul Core, he would have to look toward Dugu Bo. Dugu Bo's entire Poison Skill was concentrated in a Poison Core; given the massive destructive power released when the Core erupted, it fit the setting of a Soul Core perfectly.
**
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your support! If you enjoy my work, you can check out my Patreon—there are 10 free chapters available, plus early access and exclusive content. I update 5 advanced chapter from Monday-Saturday
www.patreon.com/c/FanficTranslator
I truly appreciate it!