Six-year-old Bai Cai was in a foul mood. He absentmindedly rose onto his tiptoes, lifted the hefty meditation manual, and slid it back onto the library's antique wooden shelves.
The meditation method offered publicly by Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy was crude and terribly ineffective, far beyond what Bai Cai had expected.
Huo Gua had only Innate Soul Power Level 1. He became a Soul Scholar at around eleven. Assuming he had awakened his Martial Soul at six, his Soul Power had increased by nine levels over five years—roughly two levels a year.
After absorbing a Datura Snake Soul Ring, Tang San had reached Soul Power Level 13. He was nearing the Soul Elder rank at thirteen. Leaving aside the natural increase in Soul Power from absorbing a Soul Ring, Tang San had gained only sixteen levels of Soul Power over the six years he trained under Grandmaster.
The difference was only seven levels!
Even as a work-study student, Tang San had worked part-time as a blacksmith while spending his free time learning from Grandmaster. Yet his rate of Soul Power growth was downright unworthy of his Innate Full Soul Power talent.
Huo Gua was born into the White Tiger Duke Clan and had access to a high-quality meditation method. Even after switching to the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his rate of Soul Power growth had not increased significantly. Therefore, Huo Gua's cultivation speed could be considered the pinnacle for an ordinary Soul Master.
Despite having access to the White Tiger Duke Clan's inherited meditation method, Huo Gua had only Innate Soul Power Level 1 and reached Soul Power Level 10 at eleven.
Bai Cai vaguely remembered that when Tang San fought on behalf of the work-study students, his opponent's Martial Soul seemed to be a wolf. He was twelve, his Soul Power Level did not exceed his age, and he was a genius who ruled the school.
A wolf Martial Soul usually came with Innate Soul Power above Level 2. Tang San's opponent, the school's top dog at a Soul Master Academy, was bound to have decent talent; his Innate Soul Power might have reached Level 3.
And yet, this twelve-year-old school tyrant with Innate Soul Power Level 3 and a wolf Martial Soul had the same Soul Power Level as ten-year-old Huo Gua, even after excluding the Soul Power granted by Soul Rings. Huo Gua had only Innate Soul Power Level 1 and was two years younger.
A high-quality meditation method could even erase the gap in talent.
By the time Huo Gua was twelve, his Soul Power growth, including the levels gained from Soul Rings, might have put his actual Soul Power above Level 13.
With Innate Soul Power Level 1 and a high-quality meditation method, his Soul Power had grown far faster than that of ordinary Soul Masters with Innate Soul Power Level 2—and even matched that of Soul Masters with Innate Soul Power Level 3!
Of course, the higher one's Innate Soul Power, the smaller the difference a meditation method could make. Take Oscar, the food-type Soul Master with the peach blossom eyes, for example.
Oscar came from an ordinary family, so his meditation method couldn't have been very good. Though Little Demoness slacked off in her cultivation, Ning Rongrong had an exceptionally high-quality Martial Soul and Innate Soul Power Level 9, along with the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's meditation method. Even so, her Soul Power still grew more slowly than Oscar's, who had Innate Full Soul Power.
An excellent meditation method was something ordinary Soul Masters with low Innate Soul Power could only dream of. For super-geniuses with exceptionally high Innate Soul Power, it was like chicken ribs—tasteless, but too precious to throw away.
With Innate Soul Power Level 5, Bai Cai believed that if he cultivated using a high-quality meditation method, his Soul Power could grow at a rate comparable to that of geniuses with Innate Soul Power Levels 6 or 7.
Unfortunately, the meditation method at Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy was terribly ineffective. Based on Bai Cai's calculations, cultivating normally for a year would increase his Soul Power by about two and one-third levels.
Shrek Academy, the cultivation holy land for Soul Masters across the continent, had extremely strict admission requirements. Generally, applicants had to be under twelve and have Soul Power above Level 15.
If Bai Cai cultivated using the meditation method provided by Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy, then after four years, even counting the Soul Power gained from Soul Rings, he would only just reach Level 15—barely making the cutoff for Shrek Academy.
Of course, Bai Cai couldn't afford the tuition, unless Shrek Academy waived it. He might qualify for a special Tang Sect admission like Huo Gua, or become a Soul Grandmaster.
If a student became a Soul Grandmaster before turning twelve, Shrek Academy would open a special admissions program, waive tuition, and provide a few free cultivation resources, such as meals cooked with Soul Beast ingredients and access to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground.
Of course, most geniuses admitted through special programs had Innate Soul Power above Level 7. Soul Masters with Innate Soul Power Levels 5 or 6 needed a high-quality meditation method and diligent cultivation to meet Shrek's special admissions standards.
He wasn't a noble, and he couldn't be called a super-genius. Bai Cai knew that in four years, his Soul Power Level would probably be too low to qualify for Shrek's special admissions program.
Sell himself to a noble or a Soul Master sect to get a better meditation method?
The Holy Spirit Cult, super Soul Beasts, the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire, the Dou Ling Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire. If he got caught up in the brutal struggles between the great powers, he might lose his life and drag his parents and the villagers down with him.
As things stood, his only option was to fully explore the potential and special properties of his out-of-body Martial Soul.
"Ralts." He summoned his Martial Soul and asked, "Have you learned it?"
"Ralts!" Ralts nodded. "Ralts! Ralts!"
Yes, it had learned it. The meditation method was very simple. But when it circulated the method, it couldn't finely control Confusion, and both its precision and strength would decrease.
"I see..." Bai Cai hesitated. "What about Telepathy?"
Ralts's talents went beyond Confusion. Reading emotions and thoughts was also an ability it possessed innately.
He wouldn't actively use Ralts to pry into other people's minds. But Bai Cai had to admit that Ralts's Telepathy was extremely effective and important.
Telling goodwill from malice was a basic use of Telepathy; it could be considered a wide-range danger-sensing ability.
If he lost Telepathy's early warning, Ralts's special nature...
When applying to Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy, Bai Cai had only revealed that Ralts was an out-of-body Martial Soul with a support-type development path. Confusion could change its properties in countless ways, so pretending to be a support-type Soul Master was easy.
Psychic-type Martial Souls were extraordinarily rare, and out-of-body Martial Souls even rarer. The tallest tree catches the wind; showing off its talent now would likely attract organizations with ulterior motives, such as Evil Soul Masters, the Holy Spirit Cult, or the Sun Moon Empire.
"Ralts, Ralts." Ralts tugged at Bai Cai's sleeve.
Circulating the meditation method wouldn't affect Telepathy. Ralts would protect him.
Gardevoir, unofficially translated as "Psychic Queen," truly meant "guardian angel." Beautiful, loyal, and powerful, it was widely known. Just like Gardevoir, Ralts would give up its life to protect someone important to it.
"That's great!" Bai Cai exclaimed. "How fast will my Soul Power grow?"
Even if Ralts cultivated at less than half his own efficiency, it might still break through to the second ring in four years and qualify for Shrek Academy's special admissions program.
Besides, Ralts was exceptionally unusual: an out-of-body Martial Soul combined with a Psychic-type Martial Soul. If Shrek Academy still held to its principle of accepting monsters, it would surely open a special admissions program for him, waive his tuition and miscellaneous fees, and enroll him.
"Ralts." Ralts thought for a moment. "Ralts!"
By circulating the meditation method, it could raise Soul Power by one level in about four months.
"That's ridiculous." Bai Cai's smile slowly stiffened. He muttered, "A Martial Soul power-leveling service. Truly terrifying."
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