Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul

According to a book called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, the limit for a Soul Master's First Soul Ring was 423 years, and only a handful of geniuses could achieve that. Most ordinary Soul Masters could only manage rings of around two hundred years.

Liu Xing knew that Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul was written by Grandmaster, the teacher of the protagonist from ten thousand years ago, after consulting the Spirit Hall's collection of books from the former overlord of the continent.

He just had not expected that, after ten thousand years, the book would still remain. People still remembered Grandmaster, yet Spirit Hall, the true origin of this knowledge, had gradually been forgotten.

In Liu Xing's personal opinion, while the book made some sense, it was not much. Physical constitutions could not be generalized, and Martial Souls came in different types and grades, each providing different enhancements to the body. How could any so-called limit possibly encompass every Soul Master?

If a naturally gifted Soul Master had a body strong enough to absorb a six-hundred-year Soul Ring, but listened to the book's claim that the limit for a First Soul Ring was 423 years and, for safety's sake, chose one of just over four hundred years, then the book would be leading people astray.

Of course, while Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul was of little use to geniuses and Soul Masters raised by sects or powerful factions, it was still somewhat useful to ordinary Soul Masters. At the very least, it let commoner Soul Masters know what age of Soul Ring they could absorb safely, preventing absurdities like a one-ring Soul Master trying to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring. But ordinary Soul Masters did not have the ability to hunt thousand-year Spirit Beasts anyway. Most could only obtain ten-year Spirit Beasts, making their First Soul Rings white.

Liu Xing had found this book in the Earthly Dragon Gate's library. Nan Shui Shui had also told him that it was somewhat useful for commoners, but not particularly useful for sects with their own inheritances.

Take Nan Qiuqiu as an example. Although her Rouge Dragon Spirit was a Beast Spirit Soul, the Rouge Dragon was actually more inclined toward a mage-type Martial Soul and did not greatly enhance the body. Yet with the Earthly Dragon Gate's training from childhood, all kinds of Spirit Beast Meat, and medicinal baths, Nan Qiuqiu had been able to absorb a 450-year First Soul Ring. If not for the sake of caution, a five-hundred-year ring should have been manageable as well.

But for a commoner who had been underfed since childhood and possessed a frail body, even if they awakened a powerful Beast Spirit Soul, their First Soul Ring would at most be around two hundred years. Any higher, and failure would come easily.

Of course, Twin Martial Souls were another matter entirely.

After all, the physical quality granted by Twin Martial Souls far surpassed even top-tier Beast Spirit Souls. Even a commoner who had been underfed since childhood and was terribly frail could still absorb a First Soul Ring of around four hundred years after awakening Twin Martial Souls. If they received training from childhood and built a solid foundation, they could absorb Soul Rings of seven or eight hundred years, and their Second Soul Ring could even be a thousand-year ring.

As Nan Qiuqiu obtained her First Soul Ring, Liu Xing grew more and more eager for his and Firefly's Martial Soul Awakening. He wondered whether he and Firefly would be able to absorb Soul Rings beyond their rank.

Since absorbing Soul Rings depended on physical quality, could Firefly, with her physical condition, absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring beyond her rank?

After observing Nan Qiuqiu and comparing her with his own physical condition, Liu Xing felt that it should be possible. However, he ultimately did not know much about absorbing Soul Rings. Matters like this still needed elders to keep watch over them. Nan Shui Shui and Luan Yu had both been through it before, so they surely understood far more about absorbing Soul Rings than he could figure out on his own.

Liu Xing had mentioned this matter to Nan Shui Shui, and she had considered it seriously. In her view, absorbing the First Soul Ring should prioritize safety. Even if they were going to exceed the usual age limit, there was no need to start with a thousand-year Soul Ring. That was far too risky.

Of course, she also knew that if Liu Xing and Firefly's First Soul Rings were thousand-year rings, they would surpass ninety-nine percent of Soul Masters from the very beginning. In the future, they might very well stand at the pinnacle of the continent and become Limit Douluo whom everyone looked up to.

Nan Shui Shui was both worried and expectant. In her eyes, Firefly's physical condition was indeed exceptionally gifted. She was already so extraordinary at such a young age. In another two years, with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, ample medicinal baths, and a sufficient supply of Spirit Beast Meat, as long as the two little ones encountered no problems during Martial Soul Awakening, they might truly be able to absorb thousand-year First Soul Rings.

Thinking of this, Nan Shui Shui was tempted as well. After all, they were the Goddaughter and Godson she had taken in. The greater their achievements, the happier she would be. With the two of them looking after things in the future, she would not need to worry about the Earthly Dragon Gate or Nan Qiuqiu's future.

But all of that had to wait until after their Martial Soul Awakening. If they awakened useless Martial Souls, then everything would be over. After all, Liu Xing and Firefly's origins were a mystery, and Martial Souls were inherited through bloodlines. What if their parents were ordinary commoners?

Still, in Nan Shui Shui's view, even if the two exceptionally gifted children had commoner parents, the Martial Souls they awakened would not be all that poor.

Although awakening a Martial Soul depended entirely on luck, there were still patterns to it. Children who lived better lives, built their foundations from childhood with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and medicinal baths, and ate Spirit Beast Meat every day had a high chance of awakening greater Innate Soul Power than ordinary commoners.

For ordinary commoners to rise up, they could only rely on mutation. Only a small few could stand out, while most faded into the crowd.

Families and sects, meanwhile, could ensure that their descendants steadily awakened their own inherited Martial Souls, and their Innate Soul Power would not be low either—unless they encountered a harmful mutation, in which case they could only consider themselves unlucky.

Although Liu Xing felt that neither his nor Firefly's Martial Souls would be bad, he was still somewhat uneasy before the results came out. Of course, given their circumstances, even if they awakened a useless Martial Soul, they would still be able to grow strong.

But if they could have top-tier Martial Souls, who would want useless ones?

In the copy of Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul that Liu Xing had read, Grandmaster had written a line: "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters." It left Liu Xing at a loss for words and made him desperately want to mock it.

Others might not know, but how could Liu Xing, who had read the first part, not know what kind of person Grandmaster was? No matter how he looked at it, that sentence was talking about Grandmaster himself. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There really are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Nothing but the honest truth.

Who knew what Grandmaster had been thinking, saying something like that without using his brain? And the protagonist from the previous generation had been ridiculous too, actually getting fired up by those words.

What Liu Xing found even more unbearable was that this line had been passed down for ten thousand years and was still repeated from mouth to mouth in the current era, leaving him wanting to speak, stopping himself, then wanting to speak again.

What the hell do you mean, there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters? Did they want to be useless? They had no choice!

What left Liu Xing even more speechless was that theories from ten thousand years ago had remained popular for all that time without being updated or improved. In Liu Xing's opinion, the people of this Douluo Continent were all at least a little sick in the head.

But none of that had much to do with him. He had no intention of becoming some theory-focused Grandmaster. He was merely complaining to pass the time.