Splitting Consciousness

Star Luo Empire, Frostwind Junior Soul Master Academy.

Lu Lin slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he did, a dull ache throbbed through his head. He felt dizzy and deeply uncomfortable.

Lu Lin knew it was because he was too weak and still couldn't adapt to the state of his consciousness leaving his body.

He circulated his Soul Power to recover a little, then brought up the Virtual Panel and fell into thought.

His experience at the Body Sect was a long story, but in reality, only a little over an hour had passed.

Only a fool would have refused Si Yuan Ye's request to take him as a disciple.

After the apprenticeship ceremony, Si Yuan Ye had explained some basic cultivation knowledge to Lu Lin.

But it seemed something had come up. After teaching Lu Lin the Body Sect's Core Cultivation Technique, he hurriedly left the sect and disappeared.

For now, Mo Yin was taking him around and handling trivial matters like arranging his lodgings.

Only then had Lu Lin withdrawn his consciousness and returned to his body.

At present, Ji Ming was being managed by the panel.

Junior Soul Master Academies were similar to the elementary schools from Lu Lin's previous life.

The academy's teachers included not only Soul Masters but also ordinary people, who taught students general knowledge, history, Soul Power cultivation, and other subjects.

There were no strict graduation requirements.

Usually, as long as students reached Soul Power Level 10 and obtained a Soul Ring before turning twelve, they could graduate.

But for most Soul Masters, this was the true dividing line in their careers.

There was no other reason: Shrek Academy.

As far as Lu Lin knew, during the Absolute Tang Dynasty era, Shrek Academy's admission standards might have been the lowest in the Douluo Series.

Any child under twelve with a Soul Power Level above 15 could apply.

Of course, applying was one thing. Getting accepted was another.

Since his aptitude was average, Lu Lin hadn't looked into Shrek Academy's admissions rules in this era. Still, he assumed they were much the same.

Originally, Lu Lin hadn't dared hope he could attend Shrek Academy.

But now, his thinking had changed a little.

Although his avatar's Soul Power couldn't be shared with his body, they had the same consciousness.

That meant Lu Lin's real body could also cultivate the Body Sect's technique.

Huo Gua had started with an Innate Soul Power of just 1. Despite such poor talent, he had managed to reach Soul Power Level 10 in five years.

With the Body Sect's technique, there was no reason Lu Lin couldn't reach Level 15 before turning twelve.

Besides, Lu Lin's Martial Soul wasn't low quality.

Pure Fire Green Lotus: a fire-attribute Plant System Martial Soul that also contained a hint of life attribute.

Innate Soul Power had little to do with the quality of one's Martial Soul.

Having a top-tier Martial Soul like Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon or Clear Sky Hammer didn't guarantee high Innate Soul Power.

Take Huo Yuhao, for example. He had a top-tier mental-attribute Body Martial Soul. Even if his poor nutrition had left him physically weak and affected his talent, there was no way that alone explained his Innate Soul Power being only Level 1.

So, aptitude really did come down to luck.

But the problem now was that whenever he logged in as his avatar, Ji Ming, his real body fell asleep.

That would inevitably hinder his body's cultivation. Although the Avatar Panel could manage Ji Ming, it still wasn't a long-term solution.

Lu Lin looked at a line of text in the corner of the panel, his eyes glinting.

Ji Ming certainly had good talent, but until he completed the Main Quest, Lu Lin couldn't inherit his avatar's attributes. And if Ji Ming died now, he couldn't be revived. Lu Lin couldn't create a new avatar, either.

Even with the Body Sect protecting Ji Ming, there was still a risk he might die young.

A dead genius was no genius at all.

In Lu Lin's view, the only way was to split his consciousness and control his real body and avatar at the same time, allowing his real body more time to cultivate and reach Level 30 sooner so he could create a second avatar.

Ji Ming might even complete the Main Quest sooner.

"Split consciousness."

Lu Lin touched that option on the panel. It was the only action he could take right now.

[Host, please note: Your current level is too low. Splitting your consciousness now will cause irreversible damage to your mental state. Multiple perspectives existing simultaneously may cause your real body's mind to lose control, or even lead to a split personality.]

[Please consider carefully.]

[Would the host like to split their consciousness now?]

[Yes]/[No]

Lu Lin calmly read the panel's friendly warning, then clicked [Yes].

Lu Lin hadn't forgotten that his one goal, from beginning to end, was revenge.

And the only way to take revenge was to become stronger.

Lu Lin knew this was the best choice he could make right now.

[Splitting host consciousness.]

As the line of text appeared on the panel, Lu Lin's face turned deathly pale.

An indescribable pain stabbed deep into his mind. It was as if an invisible blade were brutally cleaving his whole, intact mind in two.

At the same time, his vision blurred and overlapped. Countless fragmented images and sounds flooded in like a tide, then burst apart.

"Ugh..."

Lu Lin groaned. Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead as he struggled to circulate the Soul Power within him, trying to steady his mind, which teetered on the brink of collapse.

The pain seemed to last an eternity, yet also seemed to pass in an instant.

When the stabbing sensation gradually receded like a tide, an utterly strange experience came over him.

Lu Lin's consciousness had finished splitting.

He could clearly see two completely different scenes, as if two separate windows had been forced into the same brain.

His real body, Lu Lin, lay curled up on a hard bed, his face deathly pale and his breathing faint.

Meanwhile, his avatar, Ji Ming, followed behind Mo Yin, familiarizing himself with everything inside the Body Sect.

The two perspectives poured into the core of his consciousness at once. His senses tangled together wildly, bringing an uncontrollable confusion and dizziness that made it almost impossible to tell which one was "me."

Heh, looks like I won't make it to class this afternoon. I'll have to ask for leave.

The thought suddenly popped into Lu Lin's mind.

Body Sect.

"Young Ji, what's wrong?"

Mo Yin reached out to steady Lu Lin, who seemed about to faint, and frowned. He had always felt there was something odd about this kid.

On the way to the sect, the kid had fainted out of nowhere. That was one thing. But just now, he'd shown signs of losing control of his Soul Power. Yet when Mo Yin checked him with his own Soul Power, everything in the kid's body seemed normal.

And perhaps it was just his imagination, but after Si Yuan Ye left, the kid seemed to have grown stiff.

Though, to Mo Yin, Ji Ming had always been a little poker face. Even so, something about him felt off.

But that strange feeling was gone now.

Mo Yin didn't know that the signs of Soul Power loss had come from Lu Lin's real body. Naturally, the Soul Power inside Ji Ming was normal.

But the pain of splitting his consciousness was shared between them.

"I'm fine, Elder Mo."

Lu Lin's face was pale. He fought through the dizziness and pain and did his best to keep his voice steady. "It might be an effect of my Martial Souls. I'll be fine after resting for a while."

After confirming that Lu Lin's Soul Power was normal, Mo Yin let go of him. Hearing this, he nodded, still somewhat doubtful.

That was true. Both of Ji Ming's Martial Souls were top-tier. One was excessively domineering, while the other had the Death Attribute. It wouldn't be strange if some problem with them affected him.

Beyond that, Mo Yin couldn't think of another explanation.

"Very well. I've told you everything you need to know. Rest for a while. We'll wait until the sect master returns before discussing anything else."

With that, Mo Yin didn't wait for Lu Lin to answer. He raised his gourd, took a hearty swig, and strode away.

Lu Lin thanked him, then sat cross-legged on the bed and circulated his Soul Power, easing the discomfort caused by splitting his consciousness.

After some time, Lu Lin opened his eyes and saw Si Yuan Ye standing before him, watching him quietly.

"Teacher, you're back."

Lu Lin quickly got to his feet.

Si Yuan Ye nodded gently and took out a yellow object resembling fish glue. His voice was warm as he said, "Ji Ming, you've joined my sect and become my disciple. There's no need to be so reserved."

"I just went to the imperial family of the Heaven Dou Empire and brought you a welcome gift."

"This is Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber."

Lu Lin was slightly taken aback. Only then did he understand why Si Yuan Ye had left the sect in such a hurry after accepting him as his disciple. He had gone to get Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber for him.