Hypothesis Regarding the Slow Advancement of Support System Soul Masters

Early in the morning, Le Bai woke up right on time, as he always did.

The biological clock skill, which Le Bai had once complained about incessantly, had become increasingly useful.

After a night of cultivation and recovery, the physical damage caused by going all-out with One Blade Asura had healed by seventy to eighty percent.

Because the power systems of different worlds varied, Le Bai could not simply copy the One Blade Asura he knew; he could only use its underlying principles as a reference—condensing energy and then compressing the time it took to consume that energy, rather than the energy itself. This significantly increased the efficiency of his energy usage, allowing his physical capabilities to erupt in a short burst and reach, or even exceed, his limits.

Prior to this, fearing that it might reduce his lifespan like the original version of One Blade Asura, Le Bai had been extremely cautious when practicing it and had never gone all-out before.

Last night was the first time he had truly given it his all.

Honestly, he had been scared.

Maintaining that peak state for only about seven seconds had caused him to bleed from every pore, which truly shocked Le Bai. At the same time, it made him realize that his physical strength was still far from sufficient.

"It is necessary to continue increasing the intensity of my physical training. For now, I will strive toward the goal of being able to use One Blade Asura at full power until the very end without bleeding all over!"

However, before starting today's training, he still needed to gather at the playground.

Having experienced the Great Soul Arena just yesterday, based on his experience, Flender would continue to find ways to wear down the "arrogance" and "sharpness" of the new students, though he didn't know what method would be used.

When it was time for breakfast, only four people showed up.

As soon as Oscar walked in, he started devouring food, saying between bites: "Tang San has started his breakthrough. At the latest, by tomorrow, we will definitely have to prepare to go to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring."

Then Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing arrived, mentioning that Xiao Wu had also begun her breakthrough.

"Well, that's convenient. With both of them doing it together, we can save a trip."

Oscar said while eating.

After a while, as the few of them were nearly full, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun still hadn't arrived.

Le Bai and Oscar exchanged a glance, both thinking of the same possibility: "Boss Dai and Hongjun must have broken through together!"

Zhu Zhuqing asked proactively, which was rare: "Are you saying that Mubai... has become a Soul Ancestor?"

"Eighty percent likely."

As the person who had been helping Dai Mubai design his training plans for the past three years, Le Bai was very familiar with his progress: "Boss Dai's soul power reached the limit of level thirty-nine nearly two weeks ago. Calculating the time, it is indeed time for a breakthrough. As for that kid Ma Hongjun, to think he broke through to level thirty silently—this really sets a new record for the Academy, as well as the record for all Soul Elders on the continent."

"Can we be so sure? The Academy's record is indeed broken, but that kid Hongjun is twelve years old this year, just like Tang San and Xiao Wu. It's hard to say which of the three is younger."

Oscar expressed doubt about Le Bai's words, then clicked his tongue in annoyance: "But, tsk, he's still faster than me."

"Isn't it common knowledge that the soul power growth rate of a Battle Soul Master is faster than that of a Support System Soul Master?"

Ning Rongrong comforted him: "Although you and Le Bai are both Support System Soul Masters capable of fighting, in terms of soul power growth, you should be the same as ordinary Support System Soul Masters."

"Actually, regarding this point, the actual situation is open to debate."

Le Bai raised the chopsticks in his hand: "The reason people have always reached that conclusion has two fundamental causes. One is that the average Innate Soul Power level of Support System Soul Masters is lower than that of Battle Soul Masters; before Oscar, there wasn't even a record of a Support System Soul Master with full Innate Soul Power. The other is that when the Innate Soul Power level is the same, the soul power growth rate of Support System Soul Masters is often slower than that of Battle Soul Masters."

"Right."

Ning Rongrong looked at Le Bai: "Doesn't that prove the point?"

"When discussing this, we need to set aside our past perceptions first."

Le Bai reminded her: "To quote a clever person I admire, so-called common sense is merely the sum total of prejudices accumulated before the age of eighteen. Hasn't the common sense that Support System Soul Masters have no combat ability already been shattered by me and Oscar?"

"So-called common sense is merely the sum total of prejudices accumulated before the age of eighteen..."

Ning Rongrong repeated the sentence to herself: "That's good! I like it!"

"Many people like it, don't interrupt!"

Le Bai replied casually, then paused: "Where was I?"

He immediately remembered: "Right, I was saying that people believe the cultivation speed of Support System Soul Masters is slower than that of Battle Soul Masters, which is mainly based on summarized experience—what we call common sense. However, after several years of observation and research, combined with the actual situation of Oscar and myself, I have discovered that our soul power growth rate is, strictly speaking, no slower than that of Boss Dai or Ma Hongjun."

Ning Rongrong became increasingly excited: "Could it be that you have discovered the reason why the cultivation speed of Support System Soul Masters is slower?!"

"I wouldn't call it a discovery yet."

Le Bai was still eating breakfast in the gaps of his speech: "It is just a reasonable conjecture based on the situation of Oscar and myself, leading to a possible hypothesis."

"That's still better than nothing!"

Ning Rongrong was somewhat impatient: "Tell me quickly!"

Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, she was also looking at Le Bai with a look of anticipation.

"You've even thought about these things?"

Oscar asked Le Bai in surprise: "Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"

"It's just a conjecture without any evidence, so how could I go around talking about it? Besides, if I were wrong and it hindered someone, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility."

Le Bai emphasized: "You all should also take note that what I am about to say is a hypothesis and conjecture that has not been verified in detail. Even if you think it makes sense, do not go verifying it casually. If you want to try it no matter what, you must go find your elders, like the Dean or Teacher Zhao, and discuss it with them."

Oscar said nonchalantly: "It's simpler for me to just come to you directly."

Ning Rongrong also indicated: "Got it, I'll just go find my father when the time comes!"

"As long as you know."

Le Bai nodded and began to explain: "I believe that if a Support System Soul Master and a Battle Soul Master have the same Innate Soul Power, use the same cultivation methods, have similar physical fitness, and spend the same amount of time cultivating, their soul power growth rates should be identical."

"However, in reality, it is also a fact that the Soul Power Cultivation speed of Support System Soul Masters is generally not as fast as that of Battle Soul Masters."

"Excluding the extra Soul Power gained when absorbing a Soul Ring, when a typical Soul Master relies on cultivation to increase their Soul Power, the factors affecting the efficiency of that increase are nothing more than four: constitution, Innate Soul Power, cultivation method, and physical fitness."

"In terms of constitution, both Battle Soul Masters and Support System Soul Masters are Soul Masters, and their bodies are those of ordinary humans, so the impact 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 regardless of whether a Martial Soul has attack power or not, the quality of the Martial Soul will not increase or decrease because of it. Therefore, the level of Innate Soul Power has nothing to do with the type of Martial Soul itself."

"As for cultivation methods, this is the easiest to distinguish; for most Soul Masters, the speed of cultivation mainly depends on this. As long as the cultivation method is the same, there will certainly be no obvious difference in the speed of Soul Power improvement. It is impossible to say they are exactly the same, after all, everyone's mastery of a cultivation method differs."

"Finally, there is physical fitness. Powerful Soul Power requires an equally powerful physique to withstand it. Although exercising the body will not accelerate the speed of Soul Power improvement, it can prevent a decline in that speed caused by insufficient physical fitness. Without special training, if a Battle Soul Master does not use Martial Soul Possession, their physical fitness is generally no different from that of a Support System Soul Master. For those like Oscar and me who have undergone high-intensity training, our physical fitness can even surpass that of some Battle Soul Masters."

"Knowing this, and combining it with the actual situation of Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters in reality, it is not difficult to see that compared to Battle Soul Masters, most Support System Soul Masters are first and foremost very negligent in terms of physical training."

"Many, one could even say the majority, of Support System Soul Masters believe that as long as they hide behind Battle Soul Masters, it is enough, and they will not take the initiative to engage in physical training at all. This leads to Support System Soul Masters generally lagging behind Battle Soul Masters in terms of physical fitness."

"Moreover, in terms of cultivation methods, there is also a clear difference between Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters, which is combat. Aside from the meditation cultivation method that all Soul Masters use, actual combat is also one of the important cultivation methods for Soul Masters."

"However, the effects of combat cultivation are not immediately apparent. In battle, Soul Masters will subconsciously increase the circulation speed of the Soul Power within their bodies, and the collisions between them are also conducive to the further integration and improvement of the body and Soul Power. These are all very subtle changes."

"But it is these trivial details that, after years or even decades of accumulation, eventually turn into a huge gap between Support System Soul Masters and Battle Soul Masters."

"That is what I think."

Thanks to General Little Bear for the tip.