100%. The Soul Power progress bar filled up, and Le Bai's Soul Power broke through to level ten.
Zhao Wuji, standing guard nearby, raised an eyebrow. "Oh ho! He really broke through!"
But Le Bai's breakthrough did not end there.
Less than a second after his breakthrough, the Soul Power progress bar on the Panel emptied, immediately replaced by an entirely new [Soul Ring Condensation] progress bar.
The new progress bar filled in just three seconds before disappearing.
Le Bai himself did not see what happened during those three seconds, but Zhao Wuji, who had remained beside him and watched his condition the entire time, witnessed the whole process:
"Hmm? Why hasn't the breakthrough ended?"
"Eh, this is... a Soul, Soul Ring??"
"How can he condense a Soul Ring on his own? And the quality of this Soul Ring...???"
Fifteen minutes later.
Zhao Wuji brought Le Bai to the Dean's Office and reported everything that had happened to Le Bai to Flender.
After listening to Zhao Wuji, Flender's expression did not change much. He merely nodded to show that he understood, then said to Le Bai, "Le Bai, release your Soul Ring and let me see it."
Pretending to be confused despite knowing his own condition perfectly well, Le Bai walked forward in low spirits. "Yes, Dean."
A loaf of bread appeared in Le Bai's hand, followed by a Soul Ring—an incomparably pure white Soul Ring, without even the faintest trace of pale yellow mixed in!
No matter how one looked at it, it was an utterly ordinary, trash Decade Soul Ring.
"It really is a Soul Ring, and a very standard Decade Soul Ring."
Flender adjusted his glasses. "But for a human Soul Master to condense a Soul Ring on his own... that truly is unheard of. Do you feel anything yourself?"
Le Bai gathered his thoughts and ran through the lie he had just made up in his mind, making sure there were no obvious logical flaws before speaking. "Nothing particularly special. I cultivated as usual, my Soul Power broke through to level ten, and when I exited my cultivation state, I found that the Soul Ring had already appeared."
Zhao Wuji promptly confirmed it. "That's right. I was guarding him the whole time. After this kid's Soul Power broke through to level ten, the Soul Ring appeared in just three breaths. It didn't feel like it had condensed at all. It was more like the Soul Ring had been there from the start."
"The Soul Ring had been there from the start..."
Flender fell into thought.
Zhao Wuji and Le Bai also silently watched Flender without making a sound to disturb him.
After a long while, Flender raised his head and asked Le Bai, "What is the effect of your First Soul Ring?"
Le Bai said, "Accelerated Recovery Small Bread. After eating the bread, it increases Soul Power activity for one shichen."
Neither Flender nor Zhao Wuji understood. "Soul Power's... activity?"
"I don't really understand it either."
Le Bai indicated that he was not entirely sure himself. "The specific effect seems to change according to the actual situation."
Flender asked, "Can you explain in more detail?"
Le Bai nodded and continued, "If Soul Power has not fully recovered, then increased Soul Power activity speeds up Soul Power recovery. If Soul Power has fully recovered, then increased Soul Power activity improves cultivation efficiency. Specifically, it improves Soul Power recovery by 10%, with an additional 1% for every level my Soul Power rises. But its effect on cultivation efficiency is only one-tenth of that."
"Very good!"
After hearing Le Bai out, Flender said in an encouraging and highly affirmative tone, "Putting aside its age, judging solely by its effect, your First Soul Ring is extremely suitable for you—and extremely powerful!"
Zhao Wuji, however, held a different opinion. "But it is still only a Decade Soul Ring. Its potential is limited."
"Potential?"
This time, Le Bai genuinely did not understand. He asked, "Teacher Zhao, Soul Rings have something like potential?"
"We haven't covered this in class yet, so I'll explain it to you now."
Zhao Wuji gave a simple explanation. "A Soul Ring's effect is not fixed. It grows stronger as a Soul Master's Soul Power grows stronger. However, that growth has a limit. For example, regardless of how high a Soul Master's Soul Power rises, the effect of a Century Soul Ring will never reach or exceed that of a Millennium Soul Ring. We usually call this the 'Soul Ring Limit.' Naturally, the older the Soul Ring, the higher its limit. This is one reason Soul Masters pursue Soul Rings of the highest possible age."
"But there are exceptions."
Flender adjusted his glasses and added, "Once, when I was traveling the continent, I heard a rumor. It was said that if a Soul Ring was bestowed by the legendary God, then regardless of its age, its effect could continue to increase along with the Soul Master's Soul Power, without any limit."
"Huh? A God-Bestowed Soul Ring?"
Zhao Wuji's bear-like eyes widened as he fired off several questions in succession. "Gods really exist? They bestow Soul Rings? And the improvement has no limit?"
"It is only something I heard!"
Flender motioned for Zhao Wuji to calm down and stop asking so many questions. "But I do know of a similar case."
Zhao Wuji asked, "Similar?"
Flender said, "Have you heard of the Martial Soul called Nine-Heart Begonia?"
Le Bai put on a bewildered expression and shook his head.
"What kind of Martial Soul is that?"
Zhao Wuji scratched his head. "It sounds like a flower."
"Nine-Heart Begonia is an extremely special and rare Martial Soul. I have never seen one in person."
Flender struck Commander Gendo's signature pose. "According to the records, there can be at most two Soul Masters with Nine-Heart Begonia in this world. Only when one of those two Soul Masters dies will another Soul Master with Nine-Heart Begonia appear."
"What a strange Martial Soul."
Zhao Wuji offered that pointless observation, then asked, "But what does that have to do with Le Bai's situation?"
Flender did not answer and instead continued, "Nine-Heart Begonia has another characteristic. No matter how many Soul Rings are attached to it, this Martial Soul possesses only one Soul Skill."
Zhao Wuji felt like he understood, yet also like he did not. "I still don't quite understand. This Nine-Heart Begonia doesn't seem to have anything to do with Le Bai's situation."
"What I mean is—"
Flender sounded slightly helpless. "There are all kinds of strange Martial Souls. Since a special Martial Soul like Nine-Heart Begonia exists, with so many restrictions and only one Soul Skill no matter how many Soul Rings it has, then a Martial Soul like Le Bai's, one that comes with its own Soul Rings, may also exist. Just because we don't know about it doesn't mean it does not exist."
Zhao Wuji finally understood. "Oh, so that's what you meant."
"Dean!"
Le Bai suddenly spoke up and asked, "Are you saying that my Martial Soul will only have one Soul Skill?"
"No, no."
Flender waved his hand. "I was just giving an example, not talking about you."
Le Bai pondered for a while. "But Dean, if my Soul Power reaches level twenty and a Soul Ring appears automatically again, and the Soul Skill's effect remains unchanged, then wouldn't that mean..."
"That is indeed possible."
Flender did not deny it. "It seems we will have to wait until your Soul Power breaks through to level twenty to figure these questions out. However, if that is really the case, your Soul Rings will likely have no limit. Then, as long as you diligently cultivate your Soul Power, one day, your Decade Soul Ring will have an even better effect than those hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings!"
"Yes! I will work hard!"
Le Bai revealed a suitably excited smile. "Then, Dean and Teacher Zhao, I'll go back and cultivate now!"
Flender smiled. "Go on!"
After Le Bai had gone far from the Office, Flender suddenly sighed. "Sigh, I have a friend who understands Martial Souls very thoroughly, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to contact him for many years. If he were here, perhaps he could figure out Le Bai's situation."
Zhao Wuji had known Flender for many years. He had heard him mention that friend who understood Martial Souls more than once or twice, and comforted him out of habit. "Maybe in a few years, he'll contact you on his own."
"Perhaps. It would be good if that happened."
Flender stood and looked into the distance through the Office window:
Are you doing well now?
Xiaogang...
Before you continue