Soul Power

After dinner, as a child of only nine, Fourth Brother Jiemeng did not have much to move. With several older brothers and sisters staying behind to help, the room was quickly tidied up. Everything that needed clearing out was cleared out and packed away.

After the others left, Lin Manshan was the only one remaining in the room.

Sitting cross-legged at the head of the bed, Lin Manshan took out the small booklet Su Yuntao had given him and began reading.

Since it was a common Meditation Method, he finished it very quickly.

"Spirit Hall treats Commoners fairly well. They distribute teaching materials to educate children, awaken Martial Souls for free at age six, provide free Meditation Methods for cultivation, and hand out Soul Master Subsidies for free in the early stages." As a Commoner, these were undoubtedly what Lin Manshan needed most at this stage. Though the cultivation Meditation Method in his hands was clearly beginner-level, its purpose was likely to win over seedlings with even a little potential for cultivation.

But a gift was still a gift, and the necessary deeds had been done, regardless of the motive behind them.

The Empire was actually capable of doing these things as well. The problem was that it had not.

"In a feudal society like this, the gulf between classes cannot be crossed. It is far too difficult for Commoners to awaken Martial Souls with Soul Power. Villages like Sacred Soul Village might only see one every few years, let alone someone with good talent. Perhaps it was precisely because of those low odds that the Empire, and those nobles perched high above, gave up on spending manpower and resources on the early cultivation of Commoner Soul Masters."

"After all, in this world where strength ruled above all else, Commoners without strength were no different from cattle, horses, or slaves in their eyes. And even if Spirit Hall helped Commoners awaken their Martial Souls, they still lived within the Empire's territory. Couldn't the Empire just poach them for free? For impoverished Commoners, few could resist the temptations of power, beauty, and wealth. That was human nature," Lin Manshan thought to himself.

In any case, after living in this world for so long, he had never heard of a single peasant uprising in the history of Douluo Continent. The existence of Spirit Masters made Ordinary Commoners unable to even entertain thoughts of resistance. Even if there were signs of one, it would be discovered quickly and ruthlessly suppressed.

What a world that devoured people.

"So, what I need to do now is work hard to improve my strength. Without strength, I can't even protect myself. I'll try cultivating Soul Power first."

Lin Manshan set the booklet aside, closed his eyes, and began meditating according to its instructions.

However, less than thirty seconds into his meditation—

"Hiss!" A buzz sounded in his ears, and a swelling pain in his skull made him suck in a cold breath.

"Damn it, it seems that unless I solve this headache first, I can't cultivate Soul Power at all." Lin Manshan grimaced. It took quite a while before the swelling pain finally subsided. "According to what Ni Tian Er Xing said, my headache is caused by the strength of my own soul, combined with that fragment of his consciousness containing memories, and the fact that I recovered my memories too early, exceeding what this body can bear."

"I can only cultivate Soul Power first and solve this headache problem." Steadying himself once more, Lin Manshan began sorting through the memories in his mind. "Soul Power is a cultivation method unique to the Nether Race. Certain humans with special talents can also comprehend it, but due to racial differences, it is much more difficult for them to cultivate. That is why Bai Cai, the one proper human cultivator in the animation, was still a complete weakling by the end."

"As for Wu Geng and the Great Swordsman, they directly inherited a general's Soul Power for free. On top of that, they had already been very strong before inheriting it. So the moment they obtained Soul Power, even before comprehending the mysteries of Soul Burning and Destiny Artifact Infusion, their strength skyrocketed thanks to the basic enhancement granted by Soul Power."

"The reason for such a disparity ultimately lies in the unique nature of Soul Power."

"The essence of the soul is life. Combined with flesh, blood, bones, and roots, it grants vitality to the body, allowing living beings to think independently and survive within heaven and earth. The wonders of Soul Power obtained through Soul Burning are likewise connected to life. Its greatest function is to merge with life, granting it greater vitality and thereby enhancing the body's basic abilities across the board."

"Therefore, the stronger the body, the more Soul Power it can bear, and the fiercer one's strength will become. If the body itself is weak and no powerful expert freely gives you a massive amount of Soul Power, then you can only cultivate step by step, starting as a weakling. Soul Power keeps vitality active; when applied to the body, it continuously stimulates and strengthens Physical Strength. A stronger body contains more vigorous life force, which in turn nourishes the soul. With the two complementing each other, strength can rise step by step. It is a process of constant accumulation. Its advantage is that as long as you do not court death, it can grant a very long lifespan and has a high upper limit. Its disadvantage is that the weaker your physical foundation is in the early stages, the more pathetic your strength will be."

"Once the soul is infused into a weapon to complete the first stage of Destiny Artifact Infusion, the weapon becomes a bound Life Weapon. It can then grow like a living being by feeding on Soul Power, and its might can be further unleashed. Moreover, as one's mastery of Soul Power improves, the greater the combat strength a Life Weapon can display and the more transformations it can produce. For example, turning a Wolf Tooth Club into an extended whip, making it coil around people like a snake, or enlarging it dozens of meters to smash people—those are all possible."

"Come to think of it, Soul Power is somewhat like an enhancer in a game. The stronger one's own strength is, the fiercer the enhanced combat power becomes. And Soul Power..." As if he had thought of something, Lin Manshan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"It's like an enhancement stone."

"When Spirit Masters absorb Soul Rings, they can not only increase their cultivation but also strengthen their bodies and Martial Souls. According to the original work, Spirit Beast abilities all have certain inclinations. For example, absorbing the Soul Ring of a Power Type Spirit Beast would correspondingly increase a Spirit Master's physical strength while also enhancing the Martial Soul's basic attributes, such as toughness, hardness, elasticity, and so on."

"Every time a Spirit Master advances by a major realm, they can absorb one Soul Ring. If they break through to become a Titled Douluo, they will have nine Soul Rings, equivalent to being enhanced nine times. Moreover, both Soul Rings and Soul Bones can strengthen a Spirit Master's body."

"That really is a shortcut."

Lin Manshan rubbed his chin. "In that case, using a Martial Soul as a Life Weapon is indeed a good choice. After all, a Martial Soul is originally part of a Spirit Master's body and can grow stronger as its owner's strength rises. Absorbing Soul Rings can also directly increase the Martial Soul's strength."

The reason Ni Tian Er Xing had been able to overpower all the generals after cultivating under Eternal Night for ten years was not merely because his skills had become exquisite through experience, nor simply because Eternal Night had gifted him Soul Power. Another reason was that Eternal Night had used his own blood to strengthen Ni Tian Er Xing's Life Weapon, greatly increasing its foundational strength. A Life Weapon was an important factor in using Soul Power; the higher its quality, the greater its might.

Man-made Weapons were limited by their materials, and their strength was limited.

"And with my current abilities, I can't find good materials to forge a good blade."

Tang Hao had once said that ordinary iron could be used to forge a Divine Artifact. To Lin Manshan, that was complete bullshit. They were both stones, but could glass stone clash head-on with diamond?

Of course not. Saying something like that was as idiotic as claiming an egg could smash a rock.

"Time to cultivate." No longer dwelling on it, Lin Manshan closed his eyes again. For some reason, the memories Ni Tian Er Xing had passed on to him were not viewed from a third-person perspective. They felt like his own memories, every sensation as vivid as if he had experienced it personally.

Following that familiar feeling, Lin Manshan quickly sensed his own soul and instinctively began stimulating and burning it.

"So hot!" Lin Manshan immediately felt the muscles throughout his body gradually heating up, and soon it felt as though they were on fire. "Is it because I have a human body, or because this is my first time burning my soul?"

Searching through those memories, he found no relevant record.

"Keep going." The intense burning sensation did not make Lin Manshan stop. Frowning, he gritted his teeth and endured.

Time passed bit by bit. Around half an hour later, Lin Manshan's skin had turned red all over, and he collapsed onto the bed as though completely drained.

"This body is still far too weak." He moved his arm, only to find it unbearably sore. It felt like a shut-in who had not gone outside or exercised for years suddenly getting fired up one day and training wildly at the gym for an entire day, leaving his muscles flooded with lactic acid.

"My Martial Soul only has level-three Innate Soul Power as well. It seems the road ahead will be long and arduous." Lin Manshan could not help sighing. Tang San's father was a Titled Douluo and his mother a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, so he had possessed extraordinary talent from birth. As for Lin Manshan, his ancestors for eighteen generations had all been Ordinary Commoners without Soul Power. Whether in Martial Soul talent or bloodline talent, the gap between them was enormous.

"Tang San..." Lin Manshan murmured, suddenly falling silent. "The Mysterious Heaven Skill and other Cultivation Techniques recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, along with Mechanical Hidden Weapons and secret techniques like the Clear Sky Sect's Chaotic Cape Style, could all be of great help and serve as valuable references for me."

Soul Power was a force originating from living beings themselves. It merged with flesh, blood, bones, and roots, allowing it to control the body and carry out the functions of life. For this very reason, Soul Power was stored within the flesh, blood, bones, and roots, running through the Internal Organs. Soul Power, on the other hand, was external energy absorbed by Spirit Masters from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and transformed through their Martial Souls. It flowed through the meridians, entered the Lower Dantian, and gathered in the sea of qi.

The two were entirely different cultivation systems. Generally speaking, Soul Power focused on body refinement, while Soul Power focused on qi cultivation.

Therefore, cultivating both at the same time was entirely feasible.

"And cultivating Soul Power can strengthen my body, which means I can absorb Soul Rings beyond my level." Lin Manshan pondered inwardly. "The Mysterious Heaven Skill can improve my Soul Power cultivation speed, while Mechanical Hidden Weapons will be of great help when I Hunt Spirit Beasts in the early stages."

"With level-three Innate Soul Power, it remains to be seen whether I will even be valued at Nuoding Academy. The Mentors are not particularly strong either. It would be difficult enough to get someone to help me obtain a Soul Ring of the optimal age, let alone absorb one beyond my level. I'm afraid I'll have to find a way myself."

"And once I learn Mechanical Hidden Weapons, I will have the ability to ambush and kill low-age Spirit Beasts from a distance."

"I'm not worried about escape methods. After all, I have the Netherworld Technique, Void Evasion Technique. Once cultivated to a profound level, it is like Teleportation. In terms of Degree of Exquisiteness, it is completely superior to Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track." The memories he had inherited from Ni Tian Er Xing contained many complete Netherworld Techniques that Ni Tian Er Xing had learned. Besides the Void Evasion Technique, there were also the Spirit Communication Technique, Reincarnation Technique, Alchemy Technique, Beast Taming Technique, Soul Crossing Technique, Soul Binding Technique, and Soul Refining Technique.