"As for how they evolved and mutated, I won't go into detail. But think carefully about what I'm about to say. You should be able to figure out the reason behind the evolution."
The three nodded thoughtfully and spoke in unison.
"Okay."
Seeing this, Su Ming turned to Ma Hongjun and began explaining why his Martial Soul had mutated.
"First, your Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Your parents' Martial Souls should both have been ordinary Grass Chickens, and somewhere in your ancestry, there should have been a legacy of awakening a Fire Attribute Martial Soul."
"Or perhaps they had Grass Chicken Martial Souls but awakened Innate Soul Power, then cultivated to level 10 and absorbed a Fire Attribute Soul Ring."
"In short, someone in your ancestry must have had a Fire Attribute, whether it came from their Martial Soul or their Soul Ring. That laid the groundwork for your mutation."
Ma Hongjun nodded thoughtfully.
"You mean mutations have a direction, too? Just like me: my parents both had poultry-type Martial Souls, so mine mutated into this Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul."
"Exactly. Take the Martial Soul mutation in Dai Mubai's family. It couldn't have changed from a tiger into a dragon."
"Your Martial Soul's mutation is incomplete. For now, the side effect only makes you irritable. But chickens are pure Yang creatures, so I can imagine what the side effects will be like later."
"I won't explain the side effects in detail. But think about it yourselves: if he can't control himself, and the flames from his Martial Soul Mutation keep supplying him with energy, what do you think he'll be like in the future?"
The three pondered this, and Dai Mubai was the first to catch on.
"Then won't he turn into a Demon of Lust?"
At the words "Demon of Lust," Ma Hongjun's little face instantly went deathly pale. He hurriedly turned to Su Ming for help.
"Brother Ming, help me! I don't want to become a Demon of Lust!"
Seeing Ma Hongjun's chubby little face turn pale, Su Ming quickly explained.
"Even without my help, if you can hold out on your own, you'll definitely be fine until level 30. After that, the Dean certainly won't let you suffer until you're at death's door. Around level 60 or 70, your Martial Soul will completely run wild if there's no way to purify or suppress it."
"But don't worry for now. I'll help you. When we hunt Soul Beasts next, just follow my advice, and I guarantee your Martial Soul can fully evolve into a complete Phoenix."
"You're level 16 now. With your Innate Soul Power of level 9, you should have no problem reaching Soul Grandmaster in the next year, as long as you cultivate hard."
"By the way, your mutated Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul is incomplete. Before you obtained a Soul Ring, could you fly? I don't think you could."
Ma Hongjun replied, "That's right. I couldn't fly back then, and I couldn't control the flames inside me, either. It was the Dean who took me to hunt a Flame Sparrow that was over 300 years old. Only after absorbing that Yellow Soul Ring could I fly and control flames."
Hearing the answer he wanted, Su Ming nodded and said:
"Your First Soul Ring is just an ordinary Fire Attribute bird Soul Ring, so it didn't do much to improve your Martial Soul Origin."
"If I'd come earlier and met you sooner, I definitely would've advised you to hunt a Soul Beast with Phoenix blood for your First Soul Ring. Also, until your Martial Soul fully evolves, all your Soul Rings from now on should have Phoenix Attributes."
"That's all the advice I have for your Martial Soul. If you really can't suppress your Evil Fire, go work out to burn off your strength and Soul Power, and keep cultivating hard."
"As for Oscar's Sausage Martial Soul, I don't know much about it." Su Ming looked at Oscar as he spoke.
"Now that I've talked about you all, let me introduce myself."
"My name is Su Ming. My Martial Soul is Cloud, my Innate Soul Power is level 6, I'm eight years old, and I'm currently a level 14 Soul Master."
Hearing Su Ming introduce himself as having Innate Soul Power of level 6, the other three exclaimed in unison:
"Innate Soul Power of level 6? Impossible!"
Oscar looked puzzled.
"You have Innate Soul Power of level 6, and at eight years old, you're level 14. You've advanced eight levels in two years. After subtracting the Soul Power you gained when absorbing your Soul Ring, you actually advanced six levels. How is that possible?"
"What's impossible about it? I ate a Heavenly Treasure that purged the impurities from my body, naturally increasing my cultivation speed."
"I gained two levels from eating the Heavenly Treasure, and I also have a method for accelerating Soul Power cultivation. Is there still anything strange about advancing three levels in two years?"
"Besides, I can teach you this method for accelerating Soul Power cultivation."
Ma Hongjun cried out excitedly:
"Really?"
"Really. But this method for accelerating Soul Power cultivation probably won't work once you reach Soul Emperor."
"Once you reach Soul Emperor? Damn, do you even know how the Soul Master world works? Some people never reach Soul Emperor in their entire lives. Hurry up and tell us the method."
"Okay."
"The method is simple: when you cultivate as usual, try to use up all your Soul Power. Then keep your whole body empty of Soul Power for half an hour before continuing to cultivate. That'll speed things up."
"All right, I've told you the method. I haven't even explained what my Martial Soul can do yet."
"My Cloud Martial Soul's First Soul Skill can summon a cloud for each of you to stand on and fly. It can also boost your entire body by 10%. Oh, and you can control the cloud freely."
"The Soul Power used to control the cloud comes from the person riding it. In theory, if a Titled Douluo stood on my cloud, they could use their own Soul Power to fly at full speed. They'd go incredibly fast."
Su Ming looked at their disbelieving faces.
"Fine, you don't believe me, do you? Come on, let's go outside and try it. I'll introduce you to the teachers while we're at it."
With that, the four of them left the dormitory, and Su Ming used his First Soul Skill on Dai Mubai and the other two.
The three stared at the clouds before them, but none dared step forward. Seeing this, Su Ming knew what they were worried about: they didn't quite believe him.
Su Ming said nothing. He simply summoned a cloud for himself, stepped onto it, and performed a few difficult maneuvers.
Turning to the three, who were gaping in astonishment, he said:
"Go ahead and try it. It's fine. We can go find one of the teachers and have me introduce you."
Dai Mubai said awkwardly:
"Su Ming, it's not that we don't believe you. It's just that your Soul Skill is too outrageous."
"It can fly and provide a boost. It can boost you or someone else; it can let you fly or carry someone else, and it can even affect several people at once. I believe you now. I apologize."
As he spoke, Dai Mubai leaped onto the cloud before him.
The moment his feet touched the cloud, Dai Mubai felt a connection form between himself and it. At the same time, he sensed that his whole body had received a 10% boost.
Going by instinct, Dai Mubai controlled the cloud beneath his feet. It slowly rose until it was three meters above the ground.
He tested whether he could truly control it freely. Even if he fell from three meters up, he wouldn't be hurt.
Then Dai Mubai's thoughts stirred, and the cloud beneath his feet rose with him. He tried a few difficult maneuvers and, once he was sure it worked, called to the other two.
"Fatty, Little Ao, hurry up and give it a try."
Oscar and Ma Hongjun followed Dai Mubai's lead and tried it, too. Sure enough, it was just as Su Ming had said.
After playing around for a while, the four of them went to find a teacher.
The first one they went to was the Immovable Bright King, Zhao Wuji—Teacher Zhao.
With Dai Mubai and Oscar introducing them, Su Ming got to know the teachers one by one as well.
Before you continue