"Something was off about... the coward's brother?"
Dai Mubai suddenly wondered whether his brain and mouth had failed to coordinate when he spoke earlier, making him reveal so much about his brother. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you said that brother put all kinds of pressure on the coward and even tried every possible way to kill him, right?"
Le Bai tried to analyze it from another angle. "But Boss Dai, would you deliberately step on an ant just because you were worried it might happen to crawl past your feet and bite you?"
"???"
Dai Mubai had no idea what Le Bai was getting at. "Well, I've never paid attention to whether ants were crawling past my feet, but probably not."
"That's the point."
Le Bai spoke very seriously. "According to what Boss Dai said, the coward simply didn't have enough time to grow strong enough to surpass his brother, so he should have posed no threat to him at all. Then instead of suppressing the coward and making him desperately grow stronger because his life was threatened, wouldn't it have been better to treat him well and spoil him rotten, leaving him with no pressure, no interest in cultivation, and nothing but playing around? Wouldn't that have been more beneficial for that brother's chances of becoming the clan head?"
"That... does seem... right..."
Dai Mubai had never considered such a possibility, but Le Bai's reminder made him realize something. "You mean... the coward I mentioned was treated that way because his brother believed the coward could threaten him?"
"Who knows? I was just speaking offhand."
Le Bai's serious expression suddenly collapsed. "Maybe that coward's brother never thought of spoiling him rotten, or maybe the coward's family forbade that sort of thing. I'm not them, so I don't understand what they were thinking. I was only expressing my own opinion. As for whether the coward's actions that Boss Dai wanted to know about were right or wrong, that's not for me to decide. Only the coward himself can decide that."
"You're right. Only his own thoughts can count."
Dai Mubai seemed to have figured something out. "Thank you, Le Bai. Talking with you for a while made me sort out some things."
"No, no, what are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything!"
Le Bai waved his hands repeatedly. "And if you really want me to say it, running away may be shameful, but it works. At the very least, the coward who ran away gained time and space to grow in peace. If things went even more smoothly, his brother might relax because he could no longer see the coward, and his progress might slow as well. As long as the coward worked hard enough from then on, it wouldn't be impossible for him to surpass his brother."
If Le Bai's earlier words had merely made Dai Mubai try looking at things from another perspective, then what he said now affirmed the matter that had always troubled Dai Mubai and even inspired the direction of his future efforts.
Many great people could achieve something as long as they found the right direction. Dai Mubai happened to be one of those people.
After being fed a mouthful of irresponsible, go-with-the-flow motivational nonsense by Le Bai, Dai Mubai's fighting spirit soared to unprecedented heights. "Hahaha! You're absolutely right! Running away may be shameful, but it works! No time to waste, Le Bai. Let's start cultivating too!"
"That's fine, but are you really okay, Boss Dai?"
Le Bai looked somewhat concerned. "I've felt like your mental state has been a little abnormal since earlier."
"Hahahaha! Of course it should be abnormal!"
Dai Mubai laughed heartily. "I'm a Monster of Shrek Academy!"
"You really said something incredibly questionable with such a cheerful expression and tone!"
Le Bai felt some unpleasant memory stirring in his heart. "Enough talking. Let's cultivate. Once we start cultivating, I'm sure you won't keep thinking about all this random nonsense, Boss Dai."
Dai Mubai said, "Oh! Let's go!"
Le Bai brought Dai Mubai, whose mental state was somewhat off in his opinion, to the stream where he, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun usually cultivated their Soul Power—the only stream within Shrek Academy's grounds.
"We're still young, so if we trained our bodies all day long, we'd have a hard time keeping it up."
Le Bai briefly explained the daily cultivation routine he, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun followed. "So for now, I divide each day's training into three parts. In the morning, we do some simple exercise to warm up and wake ourselves up, then practice Soul Power Control. In the afternoon, we undergo high-intensity physical training. At night, we cultivate Soul Power instead of sleeping."
"Th-that intense...?"
Dai Mubai was somewhat startled.
He had always believed his cultivation intensity was already considered diligent among people his age. But after comparing it with the training routines of Le Bai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai instantly felt that his past training had barely been more demanding than resting.
Still, there were some things Le Bai said that Dai Mubai did not quite understand. "I understand physical training and cultivating Soul Power instead of sleeping, but how do you train Soul Power Control? And what's the point of training it?"
"Hm?"
Le Bai's first reaction was to wonder why Dai Mubai would ask such a stupid question. Then, a second later, he remembered that this guy had only arrived at Shrek today, so he explained, "To me, improving Soul Power Control is second in importance only to raising my Soul Power Level. As for why, Boss Dai, what did you think of the abilities I displayed when we sparred earlier?"
"What else could I think? With only Level 13 Soul Power, you defeated me head-on without any Martial Soul enhancement at all. You practically trampled the common sense of Soul Masters beneath your feet!"
Dai Mubai still found it unbelievable when he recalled it, but he immediately realized what Le Bai meant. "Wait, could it be that your combat ability is related to Soul Power Control?"
"Be more confident, Boss Dai. Remove the 'could it be.'"
Le Bai drew a finger through the air as though erasing something. "My combat ability is directly related to Soul Power Control. Explaining the details would take a long time, so we can discuss it another day. Today, I'll give you a practical example to show the enormous importance of Soul Power Control to a Soul Master."
Dai Mubai nodded and silently waited for Le Bai to continue.
Le Bai said, "Let's use your Second Soul Skill as an example, Boss Dai. It's called White Tiger Intense Light Wave, right?"
"That's right. White Tiger Intense Light Wave is one of the results of generations of research by my family."
Dai Mubai instinctively added a few more words. "It concentrates Soul Power and unleashes it as a roaring blast. Since the White Tiger Martial Soul itself boosts roaring skills, its attack power is no less formidable than that of a thousand-year Soul Ring."
"But the blast you fired earlier was still scattered by one punch from me."
Le Bai stated the cruel fact.
Dai Mubai's spirits visibly wilted.
"But—"
Le Bai changed the subject. "If your Soul Power Control had been a little better, the result might have been different."
"You mean that if my Soul Power Control were stronger, I might be able to defeat you?"
Dai Mubai looked at Le Bai in confusion. "But why? No matter how much my control improves, my Soul Power Intensity shouldn't change."
"No. Control can affect Soul Power Intensity."
Le Bai released a small cluster of Soul Power into his palm. "Can you sense this Soul Power?"
"Of course. There isn't much of it, but the Soul Power fluctuation is very obvious."
Dai Mubai nodded, amazed by Le Bai's ability. "Your Soul Power Control really is strong. I've seen many experts at the Soul Emperor and even Soul Saint level, but none of them could maintain and control their Soul Power after releasing it from their bodies like you can."
"The difference between practicing it and not practicing it is huge."
Le Bai extended his other hand and held the cluster of released Soul Power between both palms. "Watch closely!"
He compressed the Soul Power. Under Le Bai's control, the loose cluster became a glowing Soul Power Sphere the size of a mung bean. "Did you feel the change?"
"This feeling... the Soul Power fluctuation became weaker... no! It only became less obvious, so it felt weaker. In reality, the Soul Power fluctuation became stronger!"
Dai Mubai's eyes widened as he stared at the Soul Power Sphere between Le Bai's hands. "You really can strengthen Soul Power through controlling it!"
"This is only a simple demonstration."
Le Bai dispersed the Soul Power in his hand. "The reason I could scatter your Soul Skill with one punch was the highly concentrated Soul Power gathered around my fist. To use an inappropriate analogy, my Soul Power-condensed palm was like a stone, while the Soul Skill you released was like flowing water. As long as my strength was greater than the impact the stone received, I could push the stone forward against the current."
"So that's how it was..."
Dai Mubai was somewhat disappointed. "But what does that have to do with my Second Soul Skill? Unlike your self-created Soul Skills, once a Soul Ring's skill effect is determined, it can't be changed. Even if I put in more Soul Power, it would only continue increasing the blast's attack power."
"Of course I know that a Soul Skill's effect can't be changed."
Le Bai raised both palms and gently pushed them forward, signaling Dai Mubai not to worry. "But the form of a Soul Skill and the way it is used can be changed!"
Before you continue