The First "Flash of Inspiration"

Any soul skill, even a self-created soul skill, could basically train one's control over Soul Power, so long as it involved techniques for using Soul Power.

Logically speaking, there was no need to specifically mention this trait.

But the Aura Concealment Art was different.

It was not merely because skills that concealed one's aura inherently demanded a high degree of Soul Power control.

It was more like it taught you, step by step, a more scientific and superior method of controlling Soul Power.

If Titled Douluo were able to wield Soul Power as easily as their own limbs purely because of long years of experience—

Put politely, everyone had their own unique understanding of Soul Power control. Put bluntly, everyone was self-taught.

Then the Aura Concealment Art was formally trained.

No wonder the system put it in the Newbie Gift Pack.

You Chen silently speculated.

As long as he continuously circulated the Aura Concealment Art and gradually ingrained it into instinct, his Soul Power control would steadily climb as well.

If Soul Power control were graded like cultivation techniques and martial skills—uninitiated, beginner, minor accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and perfection—

Then the corresponding cultivation realms of the Aura Concealment Art would match them.

Once the Aura Concealment Art reached minor accomplishment, his Soul Power control would gradually improve to minor accomplishment while he circulated it.

Once it reached Great Accomplishment, his Soul Power control would reach Great Accomplishment faster as well.

And according to You Chen's calculations, Great Accomplishment-level Soul Power control was basically something only a Titled Douluo could achieve.

You Chen had cultivated for twenty-nine years and had never skipped his daily Soul Power training. Yet even now, his Soul Power control was only at the minor accomplishment level.

Naturally, cultivating the Aura Concealment Art now did not benefit him as greatly as it would have when he was six, when his Soul Power control had been at the "uninitiated" level and his use of Soul Power had been at its most rudimentary.

Still, merely updating his methods according to the more scientific Soul Power control techniques within the Aura Concealment Art made him feel his Soul Power control improving.

Soul Power control and the cultivation realm of the Aura Concealment Art should have a mutually reinforcing relationship.

In that flash of inspiration, You Chen immediately had an idea of where to use the "Flash of Inspiration" task reward.

To seize that fleeting inspiration, he used the "special item" without hesitation.

In an instant, countless insights regarding the Aura Concealment Art flooded his mind.

It was as though he had undergone months, even years, of secluded cultivation, yet it also seemed as though it had happened in the span of a single thought.

Before his thoughts could even turn, his Soul Power had already begun circulating naturally.

The barrier to minor accomplishment was broken through almost in the blink of an eye. As the Aura Concealment Art circulated, You Chen's aura completely faded into nothingness.

For one brief instant, the Aura Concealment Art even touched the realm of Great Accomplishment, standing there for a moment before swiftly falling back down.

With the aid of Flash of Inspiration, You Chen's mind was clearer than ever. He instantly realized that this was because his accumulation was still insufficient.

Under normal circumstances, he would either need another year or two of cultivation to build up enough foundation for a breakthrough, or he would have to forcibly stack up resources through methods like Flash of Inspiration. Otherwise, even if he stepped onto that level, it would be nothing more than an illusion.

He quickly made his choice.

Or rather, "inspiration" guided him toward the optimal choice at that moment.

Making use of the remaining duration of Flash of Inspiration, he began unleashing his first, second, and third soul skills in his training room without relying on soul rings...

Drawing upon the accumulated foundation brought by century- and millennium-level soul skills, he finally touched a higher level.

A phantom completely identical to himself materialized.

Then, both of them opened their mouths at the same time.

Streams of light faster than the speed of sound shot forth, colliding violently in midair.

Boom!

Though most of the energy cancelled each other out, even the residual shockwave blew the roof off with a bang.

As the energy fluctuations subsided, clarity returned to You Chen's eyes.

Yet his expression still carried a trace of dazed disbelief.

You Chen raised a hand and looked at his palm. A dragon-shaped form condensed from Soul Power danced above it.

"By the grading system I came up with, does this mean... my Soul Power control has reached Great Accomplishment?"

But after the brief shock, You Chen shook his head again.

He came to an understanding. It was not that Flash of Inspiration had such an outrageous effect that it could elevate his Soul Power control to the level of a Titled Douluo in one go.

This was the result of his years of accumulation, combined with the Aura Concealment Art, which was more sophisticated in terms of Soul Power control, all brought together in a state of Inspiration Burst.

Even if he were given ten more Flash of Inspirations, without the day-after-day accumulation of the past, he could never have gained such results.

Overall, the Aura Concealment Art was to Soul Power manipulation techniques what soul ring soul skills were to self-created soul skills. The difficulty of cultivating it to perfection was lower than the difficulty of raising Soul Power control to the perfection level.

Though You Chen's Soul Power control had reached the Great Accomplishment level first, he estimated that only after the Aura Concealment Art reached perfection would his Soul Power control be able to catch up completely through this hidden effect.

"Next are the soul skills."

With a thought from You Chen, a transparent phantom sprang from his body and condensed into form.

However, before it could take on a distinct shape, it dissipated and shattered.

"Hmph!"

Seeing this, what seemed like black flames flickered in You Chen's eyes as he directly activated the Distraction Control Soul Refining Art.

This time, the condensed phantom instantly solidified. It looked exactly like You Chen, so much so that one could not distinguish real from fake at a glance.

If the Distraction Control Soul Refining Art merely allowed Divided-Mind Multitasking, then with the pride hidden deep in You Chen's bones, he would not have looked down on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control and dismissed it as trash.

Since one could divide the mind for multiple uses, why could one not unite multiple minds as one?

It was precisely this idea that led You Chen to create, in addition to "Divided-Mind Multitasking," the ability called "Many Minds as One," which entered a state of super-focus beyond 100%.

This also represented the two directions in which the Distraction Control Soul Refining Art could be cultivated and improved.

One was to control more parallel consciousnesses and gradually have them perform tasks with one hundred percent precision.

The other did not focus on quantity, but on raising the concentration of the parallel consciousnesses one could perfectly control, breaking beyond one hundred percent focus and bringing every parallel consciousness closer to a state of absolute concentration.

However, regardless of which path one cultivated, it would allow the practitioner to enter a focused state more quickly without becoming distracted.

The two paths were merely cultivation schools. Specific realms were still assessed by the "Hearts Realm."

You Chen was currently in the Four Hearts Realm. When controlling four minds at once, their average precision was only ninety percent of his normal state.

But if he concentrated all four minds into one and entered a super-focused state, he could achieve two hundred percent focus.

He could accomplish many things that were impossible under normal circumstances.

Not only would his Soul Power control improve, but his insight into the fundamental power of his martial soul would rise as well.

With the two combined, You Chen could already preliminarily use a simplified version of his fourth soul skill without relying on a soul ring.

As for his fifth soul skill...

With the modifications to his martial soul's mouth, it was actually even easier.

And the benefits of being able to use Starlight Avatar without relying on a soul ring far surpassed those of his other soul skills...

In a sense, it could already be considered another soul skill.

After giving it some thought, You Chen named this type of soul skill to distinguish it—Self-Transformed Soul Skill. It referred to a soul ring soul skill that had been completely made one's own and could be used like a self-created soul skill.

You Chen stared at his clone. Under the gaze of his eyes, which were noticeably brighter in the super-focused state, its body gradually shrank.

Soon, under You Chen's constant adjustments, it became Little You Chen.

Pop—

The clone suddenly exploded.

"Ugh..."

You Chen let out a low groan and rubbed his forehead.

Even with the boost of super-focus, his proficiency was still far too lacking. The burden was somewhat too great for him at present.

Yet even as the headache throbbed unbearably, the corner of You Chen's lips curled into an amused smile.

"With this ability, there are more convenient ways to play now."

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