At dawn, Le Bai woke up on time as usual.
The [Biological Clock] skill he had once viciously mocked had become increasingly useful.
After a night of cultivation and recovery, the injuries to his body from fully unleashing One Blade Asura had healed by seventy or eighty percent.
Because the power systems of different worlds were different, Le Bai could not completely replicate the One Blade Asura he knew. He could only draw on the technique's underlying concept—gathering energy, then compressing the time it took to expend that energy rather than compressing the energy itself. This greatly improved the efficiency of energy use, allowing the body's capabilities to explosively surge for a short time and reach its limits, or even surpass them.
Before this, worried that it might reduce his lifespan like the original One Blade Asura, Le Bai had been extremely cautious when practicing it. He had never experienced using it at full power.
Last night had been his first time going all out.
Honestly, it had scared him.
Maintaining that full-power state for only around seven seconds had made blood seep from all over his body. It had truly shocked Le Bai. At the same time, it made him realize that his physical strength was still far from sufficient.
"I need to keep increasing the intensity of my physical training. For now, I'll work toward the goal of being able to use One Blade Asura at full power until the end without bleeding all over!"
But before starting today's training, he still needed to gather at the Playground.
They had just experienced the Great Soul Arena yesterday. Based on past experience, Flender would continue finding ways to grind down the new students' "arrogance" and "edge" today. Le Bai just did not know what method he would use.
Only four people showed up for breakfast.
The moment Oscar came in, he started wolfing down food. Between bites, he said, "Tang San has started his breakthrough. By tomorrow at the latest, we'll definitely need to prepare to head to the Star Dou Forest and hunt Soul Rings."
Then Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing arrived and said that Xiao Wu had also begun her breakthrough.
"That's great. With the two of them together, we can save ourselves one trip."
Oscar spoke while eating.
After a while, the group was nearly full, but Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun still had not arrived.
Le Bai and Oscar exchanged a glance and thought of the same possibility. "Boss Dai and Hongjun probably broke through together!"
Zhu Zhuqing rarely took the initiative to speak. "You mean Mu Bai... has become a Soul Ancestor?"
Most likely."
As the person who had helped Dai Mubai make training plans for the past three years, Le Bai knew Dai Mubai's progress very well. "Boss Dai's Soul Power was already close to the limit of level thirty-nine two weeks ago. Counting the days, it's about time for him to break through. But Ma Hongjun... that kid quietly broke through level thirty without saying a word. This should set a new Academy record, as well as a new record for Soul Elders across the continent."
"We can't be that certain, can we? The Academy record has definitely been broken, but Hongjun is twelve this year, just like Tang San and Xiao Wu. We still don't know which of the three is youngest."
Oscar questioned Le Bai's words, then clicked his tongue unhappily. "Still... damn it, they're advancing faster than me."
"Isn't it common knowledge that Battle Soul Masters improve their Soul Power faster than Support System Soul Masters?"
Ning Rongrong comforted him. "Even though you and Le Bai are Support System Soul Masters capable of fighting, when it comes to improving Soul Power, you should be the same as ordinary Support System Soul Masters."
"Actually, the true situation regarding that is open to debate."
Le Bai raised the chopsticks in his hand. "There are two fundamental reasons people have always reached that conclusion. First, the average Innate Soul Power of Support System Soul Masters is lower than that of Battle Soul Masters. Before Oscar, there was not even a record of a Support System Soul Master with full Innate Soul Power. Second, when their Innate Soul Power levels are equal, Support System Soul Masters often improve their Soul Power more slowly than Battle Soul Masters."
"Right."
Ning Rongrong looked at Le Bai. "Isn't that enough to prove it?"
"When discussing this, we first need to set aside what we think we know."
Le Bai reminded them, "In the words of a brilliant person I greatly admire, so-called common sense is merely the sum of prejudices accumulated before the age of eighteen. Wasn't the common belief that Support System Soul Masters lacked combat ability already broken by Oscar and me?"
"So-called common sense is merely the sum of prejudices accumulated before the age of eighteen..."
Ning Rongrong rolled the words around in her mouth. "That's a great line! I like it!"
"A lot of people like it. Don't interrupt!"
Le Bai casually shot back, then paused. "Where was I?"
He immediately remembered. "Right, people believe that Support System Soul Masters cultivate more slowly than Battle Soul Masters mainly based on accumulated experience—what they call common sense. But after several years of observation and research, combined with Oscar's and my actual circumstances, I discovered that, strictly speaking, our Soul Power Enhancement Speed is not slower than Boss Dai's or Ma Hongjun's."
Ning Rongrong gradually became excited. "Could it be that you discovered why Support System Soul Masters cultivate more slowly?!"
"I can't call it a discovery."
Le Bai continued eating breakfast between sentences. "It's only a reasonable conjecture based on Oscar's and my situation, leading to a possible hypothesis."
"That's still better than nothing!"
Ning Rongrong could barely wait. "Hurry up and tell us!"
Although Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, she was also looking at Le Bai with an expectant expression.
"You've thought about this before?"
Oscar asked Le Bai in surprise. "Why haven't I heard you mention it?"
"It's only a conjecture. There's no evidence, so how could I go around talking about it? Besides, if I'm wrong and delay someone's progress, I'd be hard-pressed to escape blame."
Le Bai emphasized, "You should pay attention too. What I'm about to say is a hypothesis that has not undergone detailed verification—a conjecture. Even if you think it makes sense, don't casually try to verify it. If you truly want to try, make sure to discuss it with your elders first, such as the Dean or Teacher Zhao."
Oscar said carelessly, "It'd be easier for me to just come find you."
Ning Rongrong added, "Got it. When the time comes, I'll just go find my father!"
"As long as you understand."
Le Bai nodded and began, "I believe that if Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters have the same Innate Soul Power, use the same cultivation method, possess similar physical qualities, and spend the same amount of time cultivating, then their Soul Power Enhancement Speed should be the same."
"But in reality, Support System Soul Masters generally improve their Soul Power more slowly than Battle Soul Masters. That is also a fact."
"Setting aside the extra Soul Power gained when absorbing Soul Rings, there are only four factors that affect the efficiency with which ordinary Soul Masters increase their Soul Power through cultivation—constitution, Innate Soul Power, cultivation method, and physical quality."
"In terms of constitution, both Battle Soul Masters and Support System Soul Masters are Soul Masters, and their bodies are both those of ordinary humans. The effect on Soul Power cultivation efficiency should be about the same."
"The quality of a Martial Soul is related to the strength of one's Innate Soul Power, but whether or not a Martial Soul has offensive ability does not raise or lower its quality. Therefore, the level of Innate Soul Power has nothing to do with the Martial Soul's type."
"Cultivation method is the easiest factor to distinguish. For most Soul Masters, the speed of cultivation mainly depends on this. As long as the cultivation methods are the same, there should definitely be no obvious difference in their effect on Soul Power advancement. Of course, this cannot truly be identical, since everyone has a different degree of mastery over their cultivation method."
"Lastly, there is physical quality. Powerful Soul Power requires an equally powerful physique to bear it. Training the body does not accelerate the increase of Soul Power, but it can prevent Soul Power advancement from slowing due to insufficient physical quality. Without special training, a Battle Soul Master's physical quality is no different from that of a Support System Soul Master if they have not used Martial Soul Possession. For people like Oscar and me, who have undergone high-intensity training, our physical quality can even surpass that of some Battle Soul Masters."
"Once you understand this and combine it with the actual circumstances of Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters, it is not difficult to see that compared with Battle Soul Masters, most Support System Soul Masters neglect physical training far more."
"Many—one could even say most—Support System Soul Masters believe that all they need to do is hide behind Battle Soul Masters. They simply do not take the initiative to train their bodies. This causes Support System Soul Masters to generally lag behind Battle Soul Masters in physical quality."
"Furthermore, there is another obvious difference between Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters in their cultivation methods: combat. Aside from meditation cultivation, which is the same for all Soul Masters, actual combat is also one of the important cultivation methods for Soul Masters."
"But the effects of combat training cannot be seen immediately. During battle, Soul Masters unconsciously increase the circulation speed of Soul Power within their bodies, and collisions between them also help the body and Soul Power further adapt and improve. These are all extremely subtle changes."
"But after years or even decades of accumulation, these seemingly minor details ultimately become the enormous gap between Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters."
"That's what I think."
Thank you, General Little Bear, for the reward.
Before you continue