Dormitory and Library, the First Attempt Fails

Xiang Huo brought Xiang Yang to the academic affairs office. "Hmm, let me see... all right, I'll take you to the dormitory." After checking the Spirit Hall certificate and collecting a fee of one Gold Soul Coin, the academy teacher took them to the dormitory.

"Here we are. This is the dormitory for first-year students. Nobody's here yet, so you can pick any bed you like." After giving them a few more instructions, the teacher left.

How should he put it? By the standards of his previous life, he could hardly keep a straight face. All he could say was that he was glad he wasn't a work-study student. Just thinking of a dormitory housing more than forty people at once, then looking at the dozen or so beds in the room before him...

Xiang Yang was glad he had enrolled early. He hurriedly chose the bed closest to the door, and Xiang Huo helped him lay out the new bedding they had brought. Seeing the paper and pens he pulled from his bag, Xiang Huo was puzzled. "Son, what did you bring those for? This isn't a private school."

As far as he knew, they were only needed for learning to write as a child or keeping accounts for a business. Did Soul Masters have to write to cultivate too?

Xiang Yang was taken aback. He really hadn't expected his father to ask such a question. "I use them to record things. These might not even be enough. I've already asked Mom to buy some and keep them at home. I'll come get them if I run out." As he spoke, he found places to put his things.

"Oh, oh. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, forget it. With that memory of yours, you can't even remember what you ate yesterday." Xiang Yang had seen this coming.

"How could that be? Yesterday I had... um." He was obviously a little embarrassed. "Drinking leads to trouble, drinking leads to trouble. Let's not talk about it." Father and son hadn't seen each other for over half a year, and they had drunk until midnight yesterday.

Once everything was put away, Xiang Huo accompanied him on a tour of the academy. Xiang Yang got a general sense of the layout. Overall, it was only a little larger than an elementary school in his previous life. Beyond that, there was a patch of wild grass and a small grove on the hill behind it.

Along the way, they passed scattered students and teachers who lived at the academy, both men and women. They were a little surprised to see the two of them together, but nobody said anything.

After seeing Xiang Huo out of the academy, Xiang Yang headed for the book room beside the academy's teaching building, whose location he had made a point of remembering. The door was open, and a girl was on duty inside, with a book on the table in front of her.

Hearing footsteps, she quickly looked up. She was a little surprised that a young child had come here alone. "Little one, what kind of book are you looking for?" Since he had made it here, he must have Soul Power. She only needed to do her job.

"Hello, big sister. I'd like to look at books about Soul Power cultivation first," Xiang Yang said to her.

Soul Power cultivation methods were what he most wanted to learn about right now. They concerned an idea that had lingered in his mind these past few days. If he could make it work, then his so-called level-one Innate Soul Power would be nothing to worry about.

"Huh? Teachers usually teach meditation and cultivation directly in class. Are you a new student this year?" The girl was a little puzzled. This was basic knowledge about Martial Souls, and meditation was the first thing every Soul Master learned. Surely only someone who had missed class or a newcomer would think of learning it from a book.

"Yes, I'm a new student. I came early. Can you tell me where the books are?" Mm, I can't wait any longer.

"There aren't many books on that subject. I'll take you there." Perhaps he wanted to learn about it before classes started. Surely he didn't think he could learn meditation just by reading a book, haha. "Here we are. They're over here. There's one thing you should remember: it's best to read them here. If you take them out, you need to pay me a fee, and you can't take them outside the academy."

"Mm, okay. Thank you, big sister." Xiang Yang thanked her for her help. There were no signs to guide him here, and if he had really had to find the place himself, it probably would have taken quite a while.

The girl turned and returned to her desk, while Xiang Yang began looking for books. What stood before him was less a bookcase than a desk, though. It had only two rows, with about a dozen books and more than half the space empty.

He picked up the first book on the left, titled "An Introduction to Martial Soul," and flipped through it. It was divided into three main parts. The first recorded some common Martial Souls and their classifications. Martial Souls were divided by quality into Trash Martial Souls, Common Martial Souls, intermediate, advanced, and Top-tier Martial Souls. It also listed the inherited Martial Souls of quite a few Soul Master clans and sects.

Next came Innate Soul Power. The higher one's Soul Power at awakening, the faster one's cultivation speed, and the stronger one's Martial Soul, the higher one's Innate Soul Power. But the book merely listed some records, with no further details. He didn't know whether there were none or whether they simply weren't in this book. Xiang Yang did have some ideas about the source of Innate Soul Power, but now wasn't the time.

The last part concerned what kind of Soul Beast one should choose when adding a Soul Ring to a Martial Soul. For example, the book stated that a fire-attribute Martial Soul must never be given the Soul Ring of a water-attribute Soul Beast.

Many years ago, quite a few people who considered themselves different from the rest believed they could gain special, powerful skills that way. But most exploded and died from the clash of Soul Power while absorbing the Soul Ring. Those lucky enough to survive were all crippled, and even the one who suffered the least severe consequences was unable to cultivate for the rest of his life. So a Soul Ring had to be chosen to suit the Martial Soul.

Mm, not bad. Most of it is fairly basic common knowledge, though, and it isn't comprehensive. It doesn't even mention things like the age of Soul Rings.

As he put it down, he saw "Published by the Heaven Dou Empire" printed below. No author's name? That makes sense. Apart from "official" organizations like the two empires and Spirit Hall, few people would do this sort of thing, especially those "powerhouses" who devote all their time to cultivation.

The second book was "Basic Meditation: 108 Questions." This one looked like it had something to offer.

Question one: What is meditation?

Answer: Meditation is a method by which Soul Masters sense and guide their own Soul Power. The Soul Power produced during Martial Soul Awakening is like a newborn infant: weak, scattered, and uncontrolled. Meditation involves sensing its existence, then making it obey.

Specifically, meditation has three steps.

Step one: calm the mind...

Question three: What should I do if my mind wanders during meditation and I cannot concentrate?

Answer: This is common among beginners, so there is no need for anxiety. Choose something as an "anchor," such as a candle flame or the sound of dripping water, and bind your thoughts to it. In time, your mind will naturally settle.

This... He turned the page.

Question six: Why can some people accomplish in one day of meditation what takes me three?

Answer: Aptitudes differ. For those with high Innate Soul Power, primal Qi naturally gathers faster. Diligence acquired later can make up for shortcomings, but the upper limit is determined by one's Martial Soul and cannot be forced.

He flipped ahead again.

Question thirteen: Is it normal to feel a warm current surging toward my limbs during meditation?

Answer: This is a sign of Soul Power moving through the body and is normal. But if the current becomes unbearably hot and painful, you must stop immediately, or you risk damage to your meridians.

Half an hour later, Xiang Yang returned the book to its place, his brow tightly furrowed. This book was a little more useful than the first, but that was all. If everything here was of this quality, things weren't looking good.

He no longer went through the books one by one in order, choosing instead by title. "Hmm, 'Essentials of Basic Soul Power Circulation.' You're the one."

The book was extremely thin, fewer than forty pages. It had actually been compiled as an introductory text by the head of Nuoding Academy at the time, over a hundred years ago. According to the book, that head had ultimately cultivated to the Soul King stage, at a level above fifty.

This person had spent almost all of his later years at the academy and had deep feelings for it. So he had written this book especially for future students of the academy, combining his own insights with some basic theories.

Its contents were extremely basic but solid. It mainly explained how beginners should sense their Martial Souls and the Soul Power in their bodies, how to guide its flow, how to draw in and refine external energy, and so on.

Xiang Yang finished it before long. This was what he needed. Although some parts still weren't detailed enough, it would do. He returned the book to its place, said goodbye to the young lady on duty, and went back to the dormitory. Summoning his Martial Soul, he began meditating and sensing according to the method in the book. One minute... five minutes...

After about ten minutes, his mind finally calmed down, and Xiang Yang clearly felt a "stream of water" slowly moving through his body. Although it didn't seem to have a fixed location, it spent the most time around his chest overall. He didn't know why.

Then Xiang Yang moved on to the next stage, absorbing the primal Qi of heaven and earth through his Martial Soul and merging the refined energy with his original Soul Power. Although he was unfamiliar with it because it was his first time, the whole process took nearly two hours.

Xiang Yang opened his eyes and loosened his stiff, numb limbs, his mood a little heavy. Though the result was within his expectations, the fact that he had barely felt any increase in his total Soul Power just now showed him once again how poor the cultivation aptitude of someone with level-one Innate Soul Power was.

Moreover, Soul Masters couldn't remain in a state of cultivation all the time. Cultivating Soul Power consumed mental and physical strength, both of which needed sleep and food to recover.

This was especially true at the beginning. The book warned that beginners must not cultivate for more than four hours a day. Beyond that time, not only would the results of continued cultivation plummet, but maintaining it for a long period would very likely harm their foundation. Poor physical health would also damage the mind, requiring a great deal of time to recuperate.

The book also recorded some cautionary examples. Some people of poor aptitude had pinned their hopes on spending vast amounts of time cultivating. It had been quite effective at first, but their bodies were damaged, forcing them to spend a great deal of time recuperating. In the end, they had fared worse than other Soul Masters who cultivated normally.

Some had even disregarded their physical condition and continued forcing themselves to cultivate, only to end up with their Martial Souls collapsing and all their cultivation dissipating.

These were all bloody examples. Diligence could not make up for a lack of talent here, so he had to think of another way.

With that thought, Xiang Yang sat down again. Now that he had some experience, he took only two minutes to reenter a meditative state. But this time, instead of drawing in primal Qi from outside, he tried to take the sunlight energy stored in his Martial Soul into his body.

"Slowly now. So warm. Keep going, keep going. Wait! So hot, it's burning." Xiang Yang was so frightened that he hurriedly stopped. He opened his eyes sharply and found his clothes soaked with sweat.

He took off his clothes and hurriedly drank several large mouthfuls of water. Only when his temperature had dropped and his breathing had gradually steadied did he begin to review what had happened.

Less than half an hour seemed to have passed just now. He hadn't even begun refining that energy; he had only just started taking it into his body.

Where did I go wrong? That book only covered the basics, after all, and his situation didn't match it completely. But that's not right either. At worst, my execution was unpracticed. It definitely wasn't wrong. Why did such a dangerous situation occur?

Think. I need to think this through. What exactly was wrong? The energy source? No, there's no fundamental difference between external primal Qi and the sunlight energy in my Martial Soul. To me, they're both just unrefined energy.

Oh, right! Compared with before, the energy has a different attribute!

Although the primal Qi of heaven and earth had a vast mixture of attributes and had to be refined slowly before it could be used, that was precisely why it was more balanced, so there was no rejection of the energy itself. Sunlight energy, by comparison, should count as very pure. Its quality was too high, so his body couldn't adapt to it.

Yes, that must be it. But if he couldn't use this energy, wouldn't he be stuck cultivating normally? According to the book, with a Soul Power aptitude of innate level one, he could only advance a little over one level per year at most. If he slacked off, he might not reach level ten even by the age of twelve. At the same age, geniuses were already striving for level thirty.

That was why those with poor aptitude had to seize every minute and second, reach level ten within six years, and use the academy's strength to obtain their first Soul Ring. Otherwise, not only would they be unable to graduate normally, but once they left the academy, they would have to spend their own money hiring people to hunt Soul Beasts. If anything went wrong, they could easily lose both their lives and their money.

No, I have to try again! The more Xiang Yang thought about it, the less he could accept it. How could he be so careless with a second life?

He meditated again. Because his thoughts were rather jumbled, it took him five minutes to enter the state this time.

"Less this time, bit by bit. I have to go slowly." Xiang Yang tried to control the tiniest wisp of sunlight energy he could separate, but his body still gradually grew hot. "Almost there, almost there, just a little more. Damn it, hold on! As long as it reaches that place..." Half an hour later, Xiang Yang was nearly at his limit. Heat constantly rose from his body, and his skin was bright red.

Just as the situation reached a critical point,

"Tap, tap..."

A figure descended the stairs from the floor above with steady steps. As soon as he reached the bottom, he saw steam billowing from the window of the first room. He was a little puzzled. What was going on? "This... boiling water?" That couldn't be right. To get drinking water, one only needed to go to the designated place, and there was a dedicated bathhouse for bathing.

Could someone be doing something dangerous? He thought about it. He was, after all, a teacher on the academy's rolls, so he ought to do something when he came across trouble.

He hurried to the window. "Hey, student in there, what are you do—?!" Before he could finish, he saw the source of the steam: a red-skinned child sitting cross-legged on the floor, his body swaying. Wait! What child has red skin? He's in danger!

He hurriedly opened the door and tentatively touched the child's skin. "Hiss! So hot." What's going on? It looks like he's cultivating, but how did this happen? Surely he hasn't suffered Qi deviation? That shouldn't be possible at his level, should it?

Unable to worry about that now, he sent his own Soul Power directly into the child's body. This is...? What astonishing fire-attribute energy. Though there wasn't much of it, its purity was considerably greater than even the Soul Grandmaster-level Soul Power in his own body. So that's it. He had a general idea of what had happened. The child had probably wanted to refine this energy into Soul Power, but his body couldn't withstand it.