Cultivating a Martial Soul Was Like Assembling Model Parts Without Reading the Instructions?

At the mention of Martial Souls and Soul Rings, Zhou Qing grew excited.

Tang San felt somewhat helpless.

Neither of them had awakened their Martial Souls yet!

But!

For Tang San, knowing these things in advance was not a bad thing. It could even help him set out on the right path.

"Alright, alright, it's time to head back."

Tang San cut Zhou Qing off, stopping his excitement.

But Zhou Qing still rattled on. "I have an idea. Soul Masters can cultivate by making Soul Power circulate through their bodies. Enhancing speed and strength might also count as Soul Skills, except their power is too weak, so they aren't considered Soul Skills. When Soul Beasts use their abilities, could it be because they have a Soul Power circulation circuit unique to their species within their bodies?"

"And the reason Soul Rings contain Soul Beast abilities is because they are inscribed with the Soul Power circulation circuits that Soul Beasts used to release their abilities while alive?"

"After a Soul Master obtains a Soul Ring and gains control of a Soul Skill, is it because the Martial Soul connects the human body's own Soul Power circulation route with the Soul Beast's Soul Power circulation route within the Soul Ring?"

"Martial Souls really are incredible!"

Tang San, who had been listening carefully, was utterly dumbfounded.

He had never expected Zhou Qing to infer so much from the shattering of a single Soul Ring.

On careful consideration, the various cultivation methods in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record centered on the Mysterious Heaven Skill, linking together the Meridians and acupoints throughout the body. Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and the rest each had their own Internal Energy circulation routes, yet all of them connected to the Mysterious Heaven Skill without the slightest sense of incongruity.

Compared to the Soul Power circulation route a Soul Master gained by sensing their Martial Soul through meditation and the abilities gained after obtaining Soul Rings, the principles were entirely the same!

The only difference was—

The connection between the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the four abilities—Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—did not require a Martial Soul to serve as a link. The five were one whole.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill could raise his cultivation. Likewise, the power of those four abilities could continuously grow stronger along with his cultivation.

Yet the abilities Soul Rings granted Soul Masters did not seem to grow stronger as the Soul Master's level increased. At most, a Soul Master with greater cultivation could output more Soul Power when using a Soul Skill, increasing the number of times a single Soul Skill could be used and its duration.

One relied on the quantity of Soul Power to prevail.

The other could continuously improve the efficiency of the abilities.

Tang San was certain:

His own advantage was greater!

If Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track were treated as Soul Skills, then they were four abilities that could continuously become stronger as his cultivation improved!

Purple Demon Eye in particular could coordinate with the Mysterious Heaven Skill while also being cultivated independently. It was an unmatched method for improving eyesight and Spiritual Power.

"I suddenly have another idea!"

Zhou Qing continued without pause. "If, after absorbing a Soul Ring and gaining control of a Soul Skill, a Soul Master could bypass the Martial Soul as the connecting hub and directly use their own Soul Power circulation route to connect with the Soul Skill circuit within the Soul Ring, could the Soul Skill truly become part of their own cultivation? Then Soul Ring Soul Skills could continuously become stronger as their cultivation increased, right?"

Tang San opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Could such a thing really be possible?

When he questioned himself inwardly, he arrived at an answer: it was possible!

After all, that was exactly the relationship between his Mysterious Heaven Skill and those four abilities. In theory, so long as they found the method, Soul Masters could also make the abilities of Soul Beasts truly become their own abilities, no longer needing Martial Souls and Soul Rings as intermediaries.

Zhou Qing was truly remarkable!

Tang San sighed sincerely in his heart.

At least!

None of the books Zhou Qing's family had asked someone to buy contained descriptions like this. And judging by the Spirit Hall Elementary Meditation Technique, Tang San did not believe the great sects and powerful clans of this world had reached this level of understanding either.

Even if they had, it definitely would not be as flawless as the relationship between his Mysterious Heaven Skill and the other four abilities.

"Ah! I really want to awaken my Martial Soul sooner! Then I can go to Nuoding City and buy more books!" Zhou Qing lamented, equally helpless about the current conditions in Holy Soul Village and on Douluo Continent.

Take Holy Soul Village as an example. Whether villagers went to Falling Star City to sell grain or sold it in Nuoding City, they generally did not bring children with them.

Why?

Zhou Qing's parents were a bloody example from the past four years. They had "offended a Soul Master" and lost their lives.

But the grain still had to be sold.

Thus, villagers who went to sell grain would leave their children behind. If there was truly no one at home, they would entrust them to Old Jack or another close acquaintance.

At the very least, if something happened to them, their children could survive...

By the time Tang San returned to the blacksmith shop, it was already close to dusk.

The moment he entered, Tang San heard Tang Hao's snoring. Used to it by now, he began making a fire and cooking.

Once the meal was ready, Tang Hao emerged from the room reeking of sour stench right on time. Without using chopsticks, he dumped the entire plate of pickled vegetables into his bowl, then gulped the porridge straight down into his stomach.

Tang San: "..."

However, Tang San was not hungry either. He had eaten the Great White Carp earlier and still did not feel hungry, so drinking only porridge was passable enough.

When Tang Hao got up to return to his room and continue sleeping, Tang San suddenly called out to him.

"Dad."

"What is it?" Tang Hao impatiently lifted the curtain. "I already told you, don't ask me what my Martial Soul is. In two years, after your Martial Soul awakens, you'll know what yours is."

"No, I just wanted to ask if I could have this piece of iron?" Tang San rose, walked to the bellows, and picked up an iron plate.

Zhou Qing wanted to use a medicine mixed from Blue Silver Grass and fish scales to lure over a Spirit Rhyme Turtle and knock it unconscious...

Tang San did not think that idea was very reliable.

A Spirit Rhyme Turtle was, after all, a Soul Beast. It was larger than the two children combined, and they could not recklessly climb over that fallen tree to place bait on the other side. So Tang San planned to use the materials already available to make some useful Hidden Weapons first.

"You want to forge?"

Disdain flashed in Tang Hao's eyes. "With your height, you can't even lift a forging hammer!"

But before lowering the curtain, Tang Hao still said, "Just don't break the forge. Otherwise, you won't be eating from now on."

"Thank you, Dad."

Tang San was grateful, but only Tang Hao's snores came from inside the room.

"ε=(ο｀*))) Sigh!"

With a sigh, Tang San put down the iron plate and began clearing the bowls and chopsticks...

"There are also Soul Power circulation routes inside Soul Rings..."

After returning home, Zhou Qing went straight to the second floor and began recording the phenomenon he had witnessed today: a Soul Ring naturally shattering and dissipating in the air. Then he made further deductions.

"The Heavenly Cycle circulation circuit of Soul Power that human Soul Masters form by sensing their Martial Souls through meditation, along with the Soul Power circulation circuit inscribed within a Soul Ring, are combined with the help of the Martial Soul...

"Based on the information currently known, Soul Masters who possess Martial Souls and can cultivate can be crudely compared to the various buildable toy models from my previous life. There is a general framework, but what they ultimately become can depend on the individual's ideas, resulting in all sorts of strange forms—like assembling them without reading the instructions.

"As for those forces that have already formed clans and sects, they have most likely spent hundreds or thousands of years experimenting and have summarized toy models with designs that are close to finished blueprints..."

PS: (The no-instructions model-building series—as shown in the picture, it may look cooler, but its stability is rather poor and the parts wear out quickly. If you buy a model, this is not recommended.)