Soul Slave

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Soul Slave (魂奴)
Species/Race	Purified soul of a slain red-named individual
Affiliation	Zhao An; bound within his Soul Pool
Occupation/Role	Supernatural servant; cultivates techniques, provides Karma Fruits, and can substitute for the master's death
Status	Active; an individual Soul Slave dissipates after its Karma Fruit is extracted 4 9
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Soul Pool established	2	Zhao An gains a Soul Pool containing Jiang Erniu and Xu San after killing red-named targets. Their selfhood is stripped during purification, turning them into Soul Slaves.
First Karma Fruit extraction	4	Jiang Erniu completes a one-year servitude period; his accumulated Black Tiger Blade Technique training is condensed into and transferred through a Karma Fruit.
Martial Brute Soul Slave acquired	4	Xu San becomes a higher-quality Soul Slave with the Martial Brute trait, granting a minor bonus to human martial-art cultivation.
Martial Master Soul Slave acquired	18	He Song becomes Zhao An's first Martial Master Soul Slave, providing a more capable cultivator for difficult techniques.
Large-scale Soul Pool expansion	20	The destruction of the Python Gang leaves Zhao An with nearly thirty unextracted soul bodies, including Martial Masters He Song and Xu Donglai.
Moon Person Soul Slaves acquired	52, 57	Zhao An obtains Moon Tribe souls, whose racial traits allow them to cultivate Moon Tribe techniques and incantations rather than human martial arts.
Moon Tribe technique successfully inherited	62, 63	Extraction from a Moon Person Soul Slave enables Zhao An to wield the Frost Wind Technique, though doing so causes mental fatigue.

Background

Soul Slaves originate from people marked with red names by Zhao An's unique perception. Zhao An understands red names to denote individuals steeped in evil; when he kills one, its soul enters his Soul Pool, is purified, stripped of selfhood, and bound as his Soul Slave 2.

The first two Soul Slaves in the pool are Jiang Erniu and Xu San. Their spectral forms drift within the Soul Pool and initially wail as though undergoing extreme torment during purification 2. Once refined, each receives a panel listing its enslavement period and traits 2 4.

A Soul Slave may be assigned a technique or body of knowledge to study. Time in the Soul Pool is accelerated: one day outside corresponds to one year of cultivation within, and a slave neither rests nor tires while pursuing its assigned task 4 5. When its term ends—or when Zhao An chooses to harvest early—the slave becomes a Karma Fruit that transfers its accumulated experience and corresponding physical development to Zhao An 4 32.

Appearance

Soul Slaves appear within the Soul Pool as human-shaped spectral bodies or glowing figures, drifting and sinking in the cluster of light within Zhao An's consciousness 2.

• Newly captured souls retain identifiable appearances, allowing Zhao An to recognize their former identities 2.
• Moon Person Soul Slaves visibly differ from human souls, with blue or white hair and a cold, ghostly bearing 62.
• A Soul Slave dissolves into ghostly light when converted into a Karma Fruit 4 9.

Traits and Mechanics

Enslavement Period

Every Soul Slave has a fixed enslavement period, measured in years within the Soul Pool.

• Jiang Erniu has a one-year term, while Xu San has five years and Li Dazhuang has seven 2 4 10.
• Longer periods provide more time for uninterrupted cultivation and deduction before extraction 9 16.
• Zhao An suspects that a slave's term is related to the amount of evil committed during life, though this remains his own conclusion 4.
• High-value Martial Master Soul Slaves can have exceptionally long terms, including Guo Fenglin's thirty years, Yang Yi's forty years, and the County Commandant's fifty years 47 50 62.

Karma Fruit Extraction

Upon the conclusion of a Soul Slave's term, Zhao An may extract its Karma Fruit.

• The slave permanently dissipates when extracted 4 9.
• The Karma Fruit transfers cultivation memories, martial insights, Internal Breath, and bodily conditioning to Zhao An 9 16.
• Zhao An can force early extraction before a term ends, sacrificing the remaining cultivation time for immediate gains 32.
• Extraction imposes severe nutritional demands; Zhao An estimates that five or six catties of Red Blood Root, supplemented by meat, can support one extraction 10.
• Earth Origin Pills substantially increase the Internal Breath gained during extraction 32.

Death Substitution

Most documented Soul Slaves possess Death Substitution, also rendered as Substitute Death.

• The trait passively allows a Soul Slave to take fatal damage in Zhao An's place 2 4.
• Zhao An relies on this ability as both a final safeguard and a concealed combat advantage 28 33.
• Two ordinary Soul Slaves are consumed through death substitution during Zhao An's battle against Guo Fenglin and Cui Ting 33.

Cultivation and Deduction

Soul Slaves can cultivate techniques fed into the Soul Pool and pass the completed results to Zhao An.

• Jiang Erniu trains the incomplete Black Tiger Blade Technique to Great Completion and begins deriving the superior Fierce Tiger Blade Art from it 2 5.
• Xu San continues this deduction for five Soul Pool years, reconstructing the Fierce Tiger Blade Art and training its first realm to near perfection 9 10.
• Li Dazhuang continues the art for seven further years, raising it directly to the third realm 16.
• Multiple Soul Slaves can work on the same task at once to save real-world time, although their results may overlap 17.
• A Soul Slave can study military texts if Zhao An supplies it with readable content, even if that slave was illiterate in life 25.

Martial Master Soul Slaves

Martial Master Soul Slaves are markedly more effective than ordinary slaves, particularly for advanced or high-grade techniques.

• He Song is Zhao An's first Martial Master Soul Slave and is assigned the Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger 18 26.
• Xu Donglai spends twenty Soul Pool years on the same lost finger art and partially masters it, allowing Zhao An to inherit its techniques 38.
• Zhao An considers a Martial Master Soul Slave worth more than several ordinary Soul Slaves working together on difficult arts 45.
• Guo Fenglin's thirty years of cultivation produce the Bone-Piercing Finger, improved Pulse-Severing and Acupoint-Sealing Fingers, and the self-enhancing Qi-Bursting Finger 50.

Moon Person Soul Slaves

Moon Person Soul Slaves possess traits suited to Moon Tribe incantations rather than human martial arts.

• Ordinary Moon Person Soul Slaves train human martial arts extremely inefficiently; several working for more than a decade cannot match one year of a martial Soul Slave's progress 57.
• Xuan Si Du possesses the Moon Person trait, allowing Moon Tribe cultivation, and Blue-Blooded Moon Rabbit, which improves ice-incantation efficiency 57.
• Zhao An feeds captured Moon Tribe manuals to Moon Person Soul Slaves, including the Hard Skin Technique and other neglected Moon Tribe arts 61.
• Their extracted results allow Zhao An to use Moon Tribe techniques despite lacking Moon Tribe blood himself 53 63.
• Moon Tribe extraction causes fatigue and mental lethargy; Spirit Clearing Pills relieve these effects 63.

Known Soul Slaves

Soul Slave	Enslavement Period	Notable Traits / Assignment	Outcome
Jiang Erniu	1 year	Pure-Blooded Human; Death Substitution; trained Black Tiger Blade Technique 2	Extracted after one Soul Pool year; his results bring the Black Tiger Blade Technique to Great Completion 4 5
Xu San	5 years	Pure-Blooded Human; Substitute Death; Martial Brute 4	Reconstructed the Fierce Tiger Blade Art and brought its first realm near perfection before extraction 9 10
Li Dazhuang	7 years	Pure-Blooded Human; Death Substitution; Martial Brute 10	Advances the Fierce Tiger Blade Art to the third realm and greatly increases Zhao An's Internal Breath 16
Liu Gen	5 years	Studies the Golden Scale Pile Driving Technique after Zhao An supplies translated text and medical analysis 17	Fails to comprehend the art fully but identifies fragments of its underlying principles 17
He Song	Not stated	First Martial Master Soul Slave; assigned the Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger 18 26	Successfully comprehends and practices the lost finger technique 38
Xu Donglai	Not stated	Martial Master Soul Slave; assigned the Golden Scale Mountain secret art and later the Heavenly Profound finger technique 24 38	Fails to comprehend Golden Scale Mountain's art but partially masters the Heavenly Profound finger technique after twenty years 24 38
Guo Fenglin	30 years	Zhao An's strongest remaining Martial Master Soul Slave; studies finger techniques 47	Produces Bone-Piercing Finger, refined sealing fingers, and Qi-Bursting Finger 50
Yang Yi	40 years	Replaces Guo Fenglin in studying the remaining Heavenly Profound Finger forms 50	Continues cultivation of the six-form finger art 50
Xuan Si Du	9 years	Moon Person; Blue-Blooded Moon Rabbit; Substitute Death 57	Used to test Moon Tribe technique extraction 62
County Commandant	50 years	Assigned the incomplete seventh-grade Shadowless Thirty-Three Blades 62	Still researching the blade technique, with more than ten years remaining in its term 75

Limitations

• Low-grade Soul Slaves cannot unlock every Soul Pool function and may lack the aptitude to study advanced arts 2 24.
• Ordinary Soul Slaves struggle with profound techniques such as the Golden Scale Pile Driving Technique and the Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger 17 26.
• Higher-grade techniques require higher-quality slaves; ordinary souls are especially inefficient with eighth-grade arts, movement techniques, and lost techniques 45.
• Soul Slaves require complete or sufficiently explained source material to study effectively; Zhao An must provide translated text, diagrams, and related knowledge where necessary 17.
• Harvesting a slave prematurely forfeits its remaining cultivation time 32.
• Moon Tribe-derived cultivation produces mental strain in Zhao An even after successful extraction 63.