Soul Power Level Ten

Meditating and cultivating in the library was an extravagantly wasteful use of time. The library also contained an immense wealth of knowledge about Martial Souls and soul beasts—that was the truly priceless treasure.

After Ji Wuming learned the basic Meditation Method, he closed the book and immediately returned it to its place before selecting other books. While searching, nine large characters on the first bookshelf in the first row caught his eye.

"Six Core Competitiveness of Martial Soul."

Ji Wuming picked up the thick book, familiar yet utterly unfamiliar to him. The name marked on its cover was not Yu Xiaogang's, but someone else's, and the introduction on the first page listed the author's background and affiliation with Spirit Hall.

This book was one of the basic textbooks Spirit Hall provided to major soul master academies. As for whether they paid any so-called copyright fees, Ji Wuming had no idea.

Ji Wuming was very interested in it, and the table of contents laid out the six core theories in detail.

"Innate Soul Power and Martial Soul quality are directly proportional; the origins of Martial Souls; Martial Soul mutations; soul master development paths and Martial Soul classifications; the acquisition and absorption of Soul Rings; Martial Soul fusion."

Only after reading it did Ji Wuming realize just how revolting Yu Xiaogang's plagiarism was. He had once earned Bibi Dong's favor and had even become her former boyfriend, gaining access to much of Spirit Hall's core knowledge.

Yet Yu Xiaogang, hailed as a theoretical Grandmaster, had merely built his Ten Core Competitiveness on the shoulders of those before him, only to later claim that he had proposed it himself. That sort of character was truly shameless.

As for his most famous Martial Soul Mimicry Theory—that Beast Martial Souls could also absorb plant-attribute Soul Rings—it was simply absurd.

In Ji Wuming's view, the Mimicry Theory was only suitable for some low-quality Martial Souls. For top-tier Beast Martial Souls like the Evil Eye White Tiger and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, animal-type Soul Rings were still the best fit.

Yet he had included such an overly one-sided Mimicry Theory among the Ten Core Competitiveness. Wasn't that outright misleading the younger generation?

The prerequisite for Twin Martial Souls was that the parents' Martial Soul qualities were either extremely close or vastly different. But if the parents' Martial Soul qualities differed enormously, could someone with Twin Martial Souls truly possess Innate Soul Power?

The Clear Sky Hammer was a top-tier Tool Martial Soul. How could the Blue Silver Grass in that little bastard's hands have been an ordinary stalk of Blue Silver Grass? And Yu Xiaogang had even guided it toward poison attributes. Yu Xiaogang was simply a teacher with neither knowledge, ability, nor morals.

However, none of that was important to Ji Wuming. The contents recorded in this book were still excellent, giving him a much more concrete direction for acquiring Soul Rings.

Not long after, Ji Wuming closed the book again and found an extremely basic manual on spear techniques.

"The spear evolved from the lance, and spear techniques are equally applicable to long spears!"

After checking out the book, Ji Wuming returned to his dormitory and began gradually practicing the basic arts of the spear and lance.

Time passed quickly. Two and a half years later—

In Dormitory 301 one morning, as the final thread of Soul Power condensed, Ji Wuming opened his eyes in delight and stretched his body.

"After a full two and a half years, I've finally broken through to the level-ten Soul Power bottleneck."

He owed such rapid cultivation progress to a special mutation produced by the Rusty Spear Martial Soul a year earlier. Because he had continuously tempered his Martial Soul with his own blood, it had acquired a special devouring ability.

This devouring ability was no different from that of an evil soul master. It could devour the blood of all living creatures and convert it into his own Soul Power. Though the conversion efficiency was not particularly strong, overall, it made his cultivation speed comparable to that of a soul master with level-five Innate Soul Power.

At the same time, over the past two and a half years, Ji Wuming attended classes in the mornings and practiced basic spear techniques and meditated to cultivate Soul Power in the afternoons. During holidays and other free time, he further refined the Rusty Spear. On top of that, he had to hunt animals and secretly devour their blood essence.

Fortunately, within the academy, he had always presented himself as someone diligently cultivating. That was why no one noticed anything strange about his Soul Power growing too quickly.

Ji Wuming did not find this devouring ability objectionable. His Martial Soul quality had been low to begin with. Without later development, he would at most reach the strength of a Soul Ancestor in this lifetime. Since he had unexpectedly gained such an excellent devouring ability, how could he not use it?

"Martial Souls are not inherently evil. What matters is the person who uses them!"

A trace of determination appeared in Ji Wuming's eyes. Obtaining his first Soul Ring was the best way to verify the results of his theories in practice, and it was also an important step in his Martial Soul's first evolutionary leap.

According to the Martial Soul theories he had reached through study and deep consideration, attaching Soul Rings from different soul beasts to a Martial Soul could bring varying degrees of beneficial mutation. Since Soul Rings were also an important step for soul masters to break through their limits, could they also prevent the Rusty Spear Martial Soul from elastically deforming and reverting to its original broken-spear state?

If so, it would mean he would no longer need to maintain his Martial Soul Detached State in the future.

After getting dressed, Ji Wuming carried the Rusty Spear to Director Lu's office. When he pushed open the door, Director Lu, who had been writing something, looked up at him with great pleasure.

"Little Ji, what brings you here?"

During the past two and a half years, Director Lu had paid close attention to Ji Wuming's life at the academy. Though he could not be said to know everything about him, he knew far more than ordinary teachers did.

Take the Rusty Spear Martial Soul on Ji Wuming's back, for instance. It had changed almost every two or three months. Now, the Red Mist around the Rusty Spear had deepened considerably. It could be said that his Martial Soul could no longer be called a Rusty Spear; it should instead be a higher-quality Blood Spear Martial Soul.

As for why the Martial Soul had become like this, Director Lu had been extremely shocked when he first heard Ji Wuming's explanation. To think that he could forge a Martial Soul into this state using blacksmithing methods—his ability to think unconventionally and put those ideas into action was truly bold, an unprecedented feat in the history of the continent.

More importantly, no matter the time or place, the Blood Spear Martial Soul was almost inseparable from him, and he had never retracted it into his body. This method of cultivation was simply unlike anything an ordinary person would do.

"Director, I've reached the level-ten Soul Power cultivation bottleneck. I came this time to obtain a Soul Ring." Ji Wuming touched his nose and spoke somewhat nervously.

After all, Director Lu was a peak level-thirty-nine Soul Elder, and his Martial Soul was the Sea Viper. In some small and medium-sized cities, he could have become a city lord or a guest elder of a city lord's manor.

He also had another identity: Ji Wuming's dean of studies and the homeroom teacher in charge of their Class One. He was extremely strict with others. Before him, Ji Wuming was merely a little child who had yet to grow up. How could he not be nervous?

"Level ten already? Very good. But have you decided what Soul Ring you want?"

Director Lu nodded in approval. He was not overly surprised by Ji Wuming's Soul Power cultivation speed. If a soul master who dared to experiment and cultivated diligently could not raise his Soul Power by seven levels in two years, that would be truly strange.

"I want a hundred-year Sea Viper soul beast, preferably one that's extremely bloodthirsty," Ji Wuming said firmly.