Dragon, the Sign of an Emperor

Chu He looked at Flender, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he tried his utmost to absorb those words and make sense of them.

The first Spirit Ring... was very important!

After picking out the key words, Chu He arrived at that conclusion.

"Though you may not understand much yet, I'll explain a piece of common knowledge, and you'll understand."

"Chu He, answer me. If parents possess different Martial Souls, which one will their child inherit?"

"Based on the quality of the Martial Souls, the higher-quality one is more likely to be inherited. Of course, there is also a small chance of mutation."

Chu He's Jade Martial Soul had come from a mutation.

"That's right. Since you can understand that, you can understand the importance of the first Spirit Ring."

"Spirit Rings can promote the evolution of a Martial Soul. In other words, they select the superior. A Spirit Ring from a high-quality Soul Beast can absolutely transform a person."

For example, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm Flender had discovered not long ago. That fellow truly had the qualifications to claim he had raised a god.

Without the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's million-year Spirit Ring, there would have been no beginning for the one known as Huo Gua.

"Of course, high-quality Soul Beasts are rare. Even if you find one, a small fish cannot swallow a big fish. So what you need to choose are Spirit Rings suitable for yourselves.

A master once said that plant-type Martial Souls were not limited to absorbing Spirit Rings from plant Soul Beasts; they could also absorb Spirit Rings from animal Soul Beasts. The same applied to animal Martial Souls. Though that statement was somewhat redundant, since any tool Martial Soul could absorb Spirit Rings from both animal and plant Soul Beasts.

But it also represented one thing: the types of Soul Beasts your Martial Souls can absorb are far beyond what you imagine."

Flender paused, giving the children time to understand.

"So, think carefully. What kind of Soul Beast would be suitable for your first Spirit Ring?"

"You don't need to name one. Just give a general idea: what kind of animal or plant, whether it is strong or fast, and what special abilities it has. That will do."

"I'll give you one minute to think."

The three little radishes froze, desperately squeezing their not-so-well-stocked brains and thinking frantically.

Meanwhile, Chu He also closed his eyes. As his father had said, even he had no idea what kind of Soul Beast his Jade Martial Soul should hunt.

But as the headmaster had said, he could absorb many different kinds of Soul Beasts. Could that change the nature of his jade? For example, could it make the jade harder?

The minute quickly passed. The three little radishes scratched their heads and lowered them guiltily, unwilling to look at Franky. They had failed to come up with anything.

Flender had expected this. He looked at Chu He, who seemed confident, and asked, "Little He, what Soul Beast do you think would suit you?"

"Headmaster." Chu He spoke after some consideration. "I think my Jade Martial Soul's weakness is that it isn't sturdy enough. If I can increase its hardness, it will gain some offensive power. Then it won't be a useless Martial Soul anymore!"

After saying that, Chu He looked eagerly at Flender, hoping for approval.

The three little radishes also stared at Chu He in shock. Was this what children from the city were like?

"Little He, it's very good that you thought of making up for your weakness. That deserves encouragement." Flender nodded, and a smile appeared on Chu He's face.

"But I must also say that this is a very wrong idea."

Chu He's smile gradually froze.

"Making fragile jade hard enough to even possess offensive power sounds like a good idea, but don't forget that while you are improving, so are others."

"When Soul Power is equal, the quality of the Martial Soul determines strength. So if everyone adds hardness—if your Jade Martial Soul and other Martial Souls that already possess some defensive qualities both increase their defense—what will happen?"

"Your improvement will never compare to theirs."

"Perhaps at the beginning, you can rely on the strength of your Spirit Ring to gain an advantage over some people. But in the future, jade, which is naturally not very hard, will have less defense than true defensive Martial Souls and less attack power than assault-type Martial Souls. It will fall short in every way.

"At that point, you will not stand out. You will become the weakest among Spirit Masters of the same level, able only to use Soul Power to suppress the weak."

"Select the superior. I just spoke of those words. Don't forget them."

Flender spoke earnestly. It was like the protagonist Tang San in the later stages.

At first, Blue Silver Entanglement was still quite useful, but later on, it was practically useless. It could be said that it was an early-game skill that did not hold up in the late game.

But look at his peers. Dai Mubai's White Tiger Barrier alone, a self-enhancement skill, could still be the first thing he activated even as a Title Douluo.

The Star Dou Imperial Family had spent centuries studying the matching of Martial Souls and Spirit Rings. That had to count for something.

Chu He imagined what Flender had said. The thought of his Martial Soul being inferior in every way later on and truly becoming a useless Martial Soul made his face turn pale.

"Headmaster, I... I know I was wrong."

"This is a normal discussion. There is no right or wrong, so there is no need to apologize."

Flender comforted him. If they already knew everything, there would be no need to seek him out as their teacher.

"What about you?"

Looking at the three little radishes, all three shook their heads furiously. Even the child from the city had been wrong, so how could they possibly know?

Flender was not annoyed. He merely continued looking at Chu He. Today, he would use him as an example.

"Let's return to your Martial Soul itself. Jade—what do you think is jade's greatest characteristic?"

"Jade's characteristic?" Chu He hesitated.

"Being beautiful?"

"Go on."

"Um... expensive?"

"Go on."

"Luxurious?"

"Go on."

"A treasure, proof of status?"

"Not bad. Those are jade's characteristics. It is something beautiful. People instinctively see jade as a symbol representing wealth and status."

"So, Little He, your Jade Martial Soul should develop in that direction as well."

"Huh?" Chu He was stunned. How was he supposed to take that path?

"Some concepts would only half make sense to you even if I explained them now, so I'll put it simply."

"Little He, I know of a clock Martial Soul called the Time-Passing Clock. It can affect time. Isn't the connection between a clock and time very close?"

All man-made tools and even food had basically emerged step by step alongside the development of human civilization, yet Martial Souls could awaken accordingly.

Without a doubt, the existence of Martial Souls was inseparable from civilization—or rather, from humanity's understanding of things.

"Jade can symbolize wealth, but it can also symbolize authority. So what Soul Beasts would suit this Martial Soul?

"Gold, silver, jewels, kings, leaders, clan chiefs, even... dragons!"

Dragons were the sign of an emperor. In Flender's understanding, there was a piece of jade connected to supreme imperial authority—He Shi Bi.

Chu He's body jolted. He looked at Flender in horror, but even more than that, he was filled with admiration.

He had never imagined that someone would say his Jade Martial Soul could absorb a dragon Soul Beast.

Flender nodded. His inherited memories contained many examples like this.

"Of course, with your current condition, you may not be able to endure it if you directly absorb a dragon Martial Soul. So the best approach is to first absorb a draconic Soul Beast with some dragon blood as a transition. Ideally, it should be one directly related to dragons and gemstones like jade."

Chu He could only nod blankly. The headmaster truly lived up to his title.

"But this is ultimately your decision. As your teacher, I can only offer guidance. There is still some time before you gain your first Spirit Ring, so there is no rush."

"Tell me once you have thought it through."