Possession

Shi Yi returned to the academy with Tang San and saw a group of students heading toward the academy's Back Mountain.

"Senior Disciple Brother, should we go take a look? Something might have happened," Tang San asked Shi Yi tentatively.

Shi Yi shook his head. "Go on, Xiao San. With your strength, no one your age in the academy can beat you now. I have some things to do. If you run into any problems with cultivation, you can come find Teacher or me. And if you want to forge, remember to bring your senior disciple brother along."

Tang San nodded, a trace of urgency flashing through his eyes. He had vaguely heard some older students mention Work-Study Students earlier.

He then jogged toward the Back Mountain.

Shi Yi shook his head as he watched Tang San leave. He had no interest in childish scuffles. He would rather spend that time playing with Little Ant and developing its intelligence.

In a secluded corner of Nuoding Academy, Shi Yi summoned Little Ant. Little Ant had grown larger now, and an ant of that size could easily be mistaken for a Soul Beast. After absorbing the Thousand Jun Ant's Soul Ring, it looked almost identical to an ordinary Thousand Jun Ant. Helplessly, Shi Yi had no choice but to reduce the time Little Ant spent outside playing.

After appearing, Little Ant rubbed against Shi Yi's foot. Shi Yi could not help but smile. "You learned that quickly."

Shi Yi let Little Ant explore the area while he found a large tree and slowly sat beneath its shade. He began considering whether Little Ant possessed the ability to undergo Beast Soul Possession. With that thought, he took out a small notebook from his Soul Tool and began writing and sketching.

"For ordinary Beast Soul Masters, Beast Soul Possession is an instinctive ability. Assuming Little Ant can undergo Beast Soul Possession too, what is stopping it from doing so?"

"The greatest difference between Little Ant and ordinary Beast Souls is intelligence. Ordinary Beast Souls cannot be summoned as physical entities. Even with a Martial Soul Avatar, what they summon is merely a body condensed from energy."

"Beast Soul, Beast Soul... Could the issue lie in Little Ant's intelligence? Ordinary Beast Souls, devoid of intelligence, can only passively accept a Soul Master's control and display their strength through possession. If I try controlling Little Ant, can I achieve the effect of possession?"

"Little Ant, come here," Shi Yi called softly.

Sensing Shi Yi's call, Little Ant immediately crawled toward him. When it reached Shi Yi, a humanlike look of confusion appeared on its face.

"Little Ant, don't resist," Shi Yi said softly.

Though it did not understand what Shi Yi meant, their blood-linked connection allowed Little Ant to sense his reassurance. It gradually relaxed. Over the past two years, it had come to understand that Shi Yi would never hurt it.

In the world of Martial Souls, it had no concept of what a Martial Soul was. It only knew that Shi Yi was the only one who could summon it into the outside world.

No matter what kind of Martial Soul it was, the foundation of using any ability lay in Soul Power.

Shi Yi circulated his Soul Power and placed a hand on Little Ant's body. The bright yellow Soul Ring appeared around him, spinning as its power flowed into Little Ant.

A strange sensation welled up within him. Their blood-linked connection became especially vivid under the circulation of Soul Power.

The next instant, Little Ant vanished from beneath Shi Yi's palm. Surprise appeared on Shi Yi's face. He had not given Little Ant the command to return to his body. Just as he was startled, a force seemed to surge from the depths of his body.

The next second, a black phantom as tall as a person appeared behind Shi Yi. If anyone else had seen it, they would have recognized it as an enlarged Little Ant.

Feeling the powerful strength bursting from within him and seeing the hazy black glow around him, Shi Yi understood that he had succeeded. He had entered the state of Beast Soul Possession.

Suddenly, a childish cry of surprise sounded in Shi Yi's mind.

"...? Why... can't... move!"

Shi Yi's heart jolted, and his eyes trembled. He muttered, "Is that... Little Ant?"

"You... are? Why... know... my name?"

Hearing Little Ant's garbled, childlike words, Shi Yi was even more shaken. Clearly, as a Martial Soul with intelligence, Little Ant could hear him.

Shi Yi tried silently reciting in his mind, Who am I? I'm your father!

"Father? What... is... father?" the childish voice rang out in Shi Yi's mind.

Shi Yi said nothing. It seemed Little Ant could sense whatever he silently said in his heart.

"You... are human?" Little Ant seemed to think for a moment before asking from within him.

Shi Yi was speechless at that question. If he was not human, was he a ghost?

"Family...?"

Shi Yi froze slightly. Memories gradually surfaced of the day he first awakened his Martial Soul. "Little Ant, from now on, we're family."

Shi Yi sighed. "That's right. We're family."

"Family... why... can't... move!"

"Can't move? What about this?" Shi Yi thought as he took several steps.

"Moving... Everything... moving..."

Hearing Little Ant's words, Shi Yi smiled faintly. It seemed he still had much to teach Little Ant.

"Little Ant, it looks like you'll need a lot more practice before we can communicate smoothly," Shi Yi silently said with a smile.

"Time... little!"

Shi Yi nodded. Indeed, Little Ant spent far less time outside than when he had first enrolled. "Fine. At worst, I just won't leave home before we leave Nuoding City."

With that thought, Shi Yi quickly dispersed his Soul Power and left the state of Beast Soul Possession. With a thought, Little Ant appeared before him again.

"How was it? That felt pretty good, didn't it?" Shi Yi asked Little Ant.

Little Ant shook its head in a humanlike manner. Seeing that, Shi Yi understood why. A complicated expression appeared on his young face. Little Ant had gained human intelligence, and naturally, like a human, it desired freedom.

Ordinary Beast Soul Masters could use Beast Soul Possession without concern because their Martial Souls lacked powerful intelligence and evolved physical bodies. But Shi Yi clearly could not, because Little Ant was already a Martial Soul with thoughts of its own.

Shi Yi smiled at Little Ant. "Then we'll only enter that state again when we're in danger."

Little Ant nodded in a humanlike manner.

Shi Yi teased Little Ant with a finger. "Go play."

He then continued writing in his notebook.

"No wonder Teacher was unable to successfully undergo Martial Soul Possession. Never mind whether he ever tried it—if he did, it was probably right after awakening his Martial Soul. But as Teacher's experiences accumulated, he must have greatly reduced the amount of time San Pao spent outside. He only began trying to teach San Pao to read after I appeared, let alone having San Pao cooperate with possession," Shi Yi thought to himself.

With that in mind, Shi Yi summarized the crucial requirements for a Living Beast Martial Soul to undergo possession.

"First, you must be able to communicate with the Living Martial Soul, so it understands what you want and can cooperate better. Second, you must make sure your Martial Soul is willing to cooperate. Clearly, possession can only succeed when the Martial Soul does not resist."

"Should I tell Teacher about this?" Shi Yi hesitated.

Then he remembered Luo Sanpao's two abilities. Shi Yi shook his head. What had Yu Xiaogang been thinking? What decent person chose farts as an attack method? If he underwent possession...

Shi Yi could not help but shudder at the image in his mind.

"I'd better not tell Teacher. Why possess anything? He's weak anyway. Wouldn't he still be weak after possession? If Teacher starts using that attack method himself, I'll have to leave the sect. I'll tell him when he figures it out himself. He should understand my good intentions," Shi Yi thought.

After thinking it over, Shi Yi decided Yu Xiaogang should just obediently use Martial Soul Fusion Skills with Flender and Liu Erlong. With Yu Xiaogang's talent, there was no chance of him carrying alone. There were only two ways to change his talent: either a powerful expert helped clear his meridians, perhaps even opening the Chong Meridian, or he obtained an Immortal Herb.

Sitting beneath the tree and watching Little Ant play outside, Shi Yi enjoyed this brief peace.

The dusky light filtered through the canopy and fell across Shi Yi's face. Seeing that it was about time to eat, Shi Yi recalled Little Ant into his body and headed toward the Cafeteria.

As soon as he reached Nuoding Academy's Cafeteria, he saw Xiao Wu and Tang San leading the Work-Study Students inside as well.

Tang San greeted Shi Yi when he saw him. "Senior Disciple Brother."

Shi Yi smiled and nodded. He glanced at Xiao Wu, then turned his teasing gaze toward Tang San.

"Junior Disciple Brother, no wonder you were in such a hurry," Shi Yi said with a light laugh.

Tang San's face reddened, and he hurriedly introduced her. "Senior Disciple Brother, her name is Xiao Wu. Like me, she has Innate Full Soul Power."

As he spoke the latter half, Tang San could not help lowering his voice.

"Sister Xiao Wu, he's the Work-Study Student who never returned to the dormitory," Wang Sheng quietly introduced Shi Yi to Xiao Wu.

"Then shouldn't he call me Sister Xiao Wu too?" Xiao Wu spoke loudly, seemingly unconcerned that Shi Yi might hear her, as if it were only natural.

Tang San's expression changed. He shot Wang Sheng a glare and was about to say something to Xiao Wu, but Shi Yi stopped him.

Then, under Tang San's astonished gaze, Shi Yi extended a hand to Xiao Wu. "Hello, Sister Xiao Wu."

Xiao Wu blanked for a moment before recovering and shaking his hand. "Hello, um... what was it?"

Wang Sheng promptly reminded her like a lackey, "Sister Xiao Wu, his name is Shi Yi."

"Oh... right. Hello, Shi Yi. Why didn't you come earlier?" Xiao Wu questioned Shi Yi.

"Didn't Xiao San go? I thought that with his and Sister Xiao Wu's strength, there was no need for us to get involved, so I didn't go," Shi Yi said with a light smile.

Xiao Wu nodded as if it were only natural. "That's true. With Sister Xiao Wu here, you can all relax."

"Yes," Shi Yi replied with an amused smile and a nod.

With that, Xiao Wu led the group of Work-Study Students into the Cafeteria, looking every bit like their big sister.

"Senior Disciple Brother, sorry about that. Xiao Wu is actually a pretty nice person," Tang San explained somewhat awkwardly.

Shi Yi smiled, shook his head, and patted Tang San on the shoulder. "Xiao San, there are many ways to solve a problem, and a smile can solve plenty of them. Don't worry, I won't take it to heart. Eat well. I'm going to find Teacher."

Tang San paused, then nodded slightly after coming back to himself.

When Shi Yi reached the second floor of the Cafeteria, Yu Xiaogang had already begun eating. Shi Yi did not stand on ceremony and sat across from him to eat.

Seeing Shi Yi arrive, Yu Xiaogang set down his chopsticks. "You should have gone to the Back Mountain with Xiao San. They were only children, but it still would have let you experience a Soul Master's battle. You should also start improving Little Ant's combat ability as soon as possible. An unexpected battle will not give you time to prepare."

Shi Yi shook his head slightly. He had once thought the same way as Yu Xiaogang and wanted Little Ant to begin learning how to fight. But after completing Martial Soul Possession today and hearing Little Ant's voice, he abandoned that idea. Little Ant was still a child incapable of communicating normally. Shi Yi was in no rush for it to fight.

"What combat ability can Little Ant have right now? It's not even six inches long, and it doesn't have any active skills. Having it fight would be worse than me going up myself," Shi Yi explained.

Yu Xiaogang looked at Shi Yi and slowly asked, "Then have you decided how to strengthen your own abilities?"

Shi Yi nodded slightly. "Xiao San likes forging. I plan to set aside some time every day to forge with him."

Yu Xiaogang nodded approvingly. "That will do. Now that you have absorbed a Soul Ring, your body can withstand a certain amount of training. If I'm not mistaken, you want to forge in preparation for researching Soul Tools, correct?"

"As long as you know. Don't tell anyone else. If I fail to develop anything, it'll bring shame to the sect," Shi Yi said with a laugh.

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. He always felt Shi Yi was taking a jab at him.

"You have that much confidence in Soul Tools?" Yu Xiaogang asked doubtfully.

Shi Yi nodded. "Teacher, do you know what Soul Tools represent?"

Yu Xiaogang looked at Shi Yi in confusion, waiting for his explanation.

"Tools that can be controlled with Soul Power—this alone is enough. If Soul Masters use Soul Power to drive their Martial Souls and gain unimaginable strength, then Soul Tools allow people to use Soul Power to drive objects and gain unimaginable strength. What do you think the potential of Soul Tools is comparable to?" Shi Yi asked.

Yu Xiaogang froze slightly and slowly spoke two words. "Martial Souls..."

"That's right. In my view, as long as a creator's craftsmanship is refined enough and the materials used are powerful enough, a Soul Tool may not be unable to become a Soul Master's second Martial Soul," Shi Yi said confidently.

Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly. He understood what this meant for Shi Yi. If Shi Yi could truly create such powerful Soul Tools, the combination of Shi Yi and his Martial Soul in battle would become even more terrifying.

"Since you have a plan, I won't say anything more," Yu Xiaogang said softly.

"Eat, eat. You need a full stomach to have the strength to research," Shi Yi said with a light laugh.