Preselected Teammate

Before Qian Bing transmigrated, he had been nothing more than a poor loser. To win the favor of pretty female classmates, he had devoted himself to the theory of showing off, eventually concluding that the highest realm of showing off was:

Before one moved, the swagger was already in place.

With sincerity, never arrogance.

Ask not why—simply strong.

The latter two were clearly beyond what his current strength allowed.

So Qian Bing could only work hard to control his tone, pace, expression, and gaze, striving to project an unfathomable air of confidence—as if without lifting a single finger, his aura of superiority could become infinitely powerful.

With a faint smile, he spoke calmly:

"You needn't be so surprised. From the moment I learned that your Spirit was the weak Blue Silver Grass, yet you possessed Innate Full Spirit Power, I was certain that you had Twin Spirits."

"Why?"

"I once looked through a great deal of information and roughly examined nearly six hundred people whose Spirits were Blue Silver Grass. Of those, only a little over ten possessed Spirit Power, a probability of less than three percent.

"Among those ten-odd people with Spirit Power, not a single one had Spirit Power exceeding level one. According to my research, the level of Innate Soul Power is directly proportional to the quality of one's Spirit. Blue Silver Grass clearly could not have given you Innate Full Spirit Power.

"So I can be certain that you have another Spirit, and it is an exceptionally powerful one."

Theoretical research? From a six-year-old child? What kind of joke was that!

Tang San could hardly believe what he had just heard. An ordinary six-year-old might not even be able to play in the mud properly—how could one possibly conduct such profound theoretical research?

Yet Qian Bing's words were highly convincing. At the very least, his judgment about Tang San had been completely accurate.

Tang San suppressed the prejudice and doubt in his heart, doing his best to remain objective as he countered, "There are exceptions to everything. Why can't I be an exception? And how could a six-year-old child like you possibly be capable of conducting such complicated research?"

Qian Bing smiled and nodded. "You said yourself that there are exceptions to everything. So why can't I be an extraordinary young genius of a theoretical scholar?

"And since your Spirit is Blue Silver Grass, you are destined not to be one of those exceptions.

"Over the past hundred years, only two Twin Spirits have appeared in the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire, but there have been nineteen people with Innate Full Spirit Power.

"I carefully studied each of their Spirits. Every one of them was powerful, and even the youngest had already reached the level of a Great Soul Master. Aside from fourteen who inherited powerful Spirits through their family bloodlines, only five were exceptions.

"They were not of noble birth, yet they still possessed Innate Full Spirit Power. Such exceptions are the result of Mutated Spirits.

"Based on my many years of research into Mutated Spirits, no Spirit can mutate in combination with Blue Silver Grass. And since your Blue Silver Grass Spirit is ordinary Blue Silver Grass, I can be completely certain that my judgment is correct."

Tang San's eyes lit up. Qian Bing had clearly piqued his curiosity, and he immediately asked, "A Mutated Spirit? What is that?"

Seeing Tang San's attitude constantly change—from initial vigilance, to skepticism, to having his curiosity stirred, and now to an obvious thirst for knowledge—Qian Bing could not help feeling rather pleased.

Xiao San, you're interested now, aren't you!

Qian Bing swiftly organized his thoughts, slowed his speech, and explained in an unhurried manner, "That starts with the question of how Spirits are inherited. The Spirit a person possesses is directly related to their parents' Spirits.

"Under normal circumstances, a child inherits the Spirit of either their father or mother. This is what is known as family-style Spirit inheritance.

"Some exceptions are what we call Mutated Spirits.

"They also originate from the parents' Spirits. But because there is a certain potential for mutation between the father's and mother's Spirits, the inheritor's Spirit undergoes a mutation and produces an entirely new Spirit.

"A Mutated Spirit can become powerful, even resulting in Innate Full Spirit Power. But the vast majority of Mutated Spirits only become weaker. A Mutated Spirit is like the product of marriage between close relatives—the chances of an idiot are high, but there is also a possibility of producing a genius far beyond ordinary people."

Tang San nodded, and his opinion of Qian Bing changed greatly. He felt that his earlier private criticisms had indeed been far too one-sided.

He silently put away the concealed weapon in his hand that he had been using to guard against Qian Bing, then voiced the final question in his heart. "Then why did you expose me?"

Qian Bing did not answer the question directly.

He raised both hands. The Spirit Ball Spirit and Spirit Illustrated Handbook Spirit appeared simultaneously, while a yellow soul ring emerged and enveloped him, floating up and down around his body.

Tang San's face filled with shock as understanding dawned on him instantly.

"You have Twin Spirits too! Why has your soul ring turned yellow?"

Qian Bing threw back his head and laughed. "Of course. It is precisely because we are alike that I paid special attention to you, though that isn't the only reason.

"You surely know that above Junior Soul Master Academy, there are intermediate and Advanced Soul Master Academies. But do you know that on our future path of study, we will all need to find close combat partners?"

"Combat partners? Why?"

Qian Bing patiently continued explaining, "After entering intermediate and Advanced Soul Master Academies, there will be many inter-academy and even continent-wide Soul Master competitions. Not only are the prize purses generous, but they also concern the futures and destinies of both the academies and their students.

"Almost every intermediate and Advanced Soul Master Academy selects several students with the greatest strength and potential, pouring vast resources into them as key training targets.

"I think your potential is quite good. You are worth the time it would take for me to help you become one of my future teammates."

Having understood Qian Bing's intentions, Tang San was momentarily stunned. It was unexpected, yet not entirely so. After thinking for a moment, he quickly made a decision.

"Captain."

Tang San raised a hand in front of Qian Bing, striking a pose as if waiting for a high-five. "I hope you'll be able to help me more with cultivating my martial soul in the future."

Qian Bing smiled in satisfaction and raised a hand to clap heavily against Tang San's.

"Don't worry. From now on, we're good teammates and brothers who share honor and disgrace. Still, you should call me Boss like Wang Sheng and the others do. We're still young, so we should keep a low profile until we're strong enough. As for anything I can help you with, I'll do everything I can—including your feelings for Xiao Wu... heh heh."

A faint, almost imperceptible blush flashed across Tang San's face, and he immediately defended himself.

"What feelings could I possibly have for Xiao Wu? Don't talk nonsense! Captain... uh, Boss, I have another question I'd like to ask you..."

Qian Bing wore an expression of knowing understanding and joked, "San'er, you're a clever one. You know how to change the subject. Heh heh. Go ahead and ask whatever you want."

"It's like this. I've continued cultivating all this time, and after every session, it feels like my Soul Power increases by just a tiny bit. But whenever I try to rise another Soul Power rank, it's as if an enormous chasm is blocking the way. No matter how hard I try, I can't cross it. So, does continuing to cultivate still have any meaning for me?"

After hearing him out, Qian Bing chuckled inwardly. This kid was truly shrewd. He wasn't asking how to advance his Soul Power at all—he was clearly only worried that the Mysterious Heaven Skill could no longer improve.

Qian Bing knew that if he was going to act, he had to see it through. Since this involved an academic matter, he needed to adopt a serious and cautious attitude. He wiped the smile from his face and looked at Tang San solemnly.

"Your question involves another area of my research. The conclusion I reached contradicts the Soul Master knowledge currently circulating publicly, so I shouldn't spread it around carelessly. But since we're brothers now, I'll share the results of my research with you."