Half

After submitting his application, Bai Cai received a reply from the academy. He dragged his suitcase out of Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy and headed straight for the commercial street in Farnos City.

He bought pastries from a bakery, a short sword from a smithy, and insect repellent and snake repellent from a general store. Then he went to the market to buy some cheap provisions, hired a carriage to carry him and his goods out of Farnos City, and returned to Cainong Village.

The farmland around Cainong Village stretched in unbroken swaths, with farmers coming and going as they worked. The carriage stopped at the village entrance. Bai Cai paid the fare, and the driver rode off.

As the carriage vanished in the distance, Bai Cai summoned Ralts. The blue-haired little one controlled Confusion to lift the suitcase and packages of various sizes.

The village was peaceful and serene, with cooking smoke curling into the sky. Bai Cai stood there for a long while before turning to leave, with Ralts following close behind.

The forest outside the village was deep and quiet, the air fresh. Following the traces of the past, Bai Cai found the wooden hut he and his childhood companions from the village had built.

The hut had stood empty for a long time and was covered in dust. Ralts used Confusion with pinpoint precision, wiping away the dust and gathering it up.

At level ten, Ralts's Confusion was not as powerful as an offensive Soul Skill. But when it came to precise, complex operations, Confusion was sure to become the uncrowned king.

Even high-ranking Soul Masters, Soul Emperors and Soul Saints, could hardly clear away dust this effortlessly with Soul Power—unless their spiritual power was extraordinarily strong, or they had mastered the technique of combining spiritual power with Soul Power.

At the Soul Master stage, most Soul Masters released their Soul Skills without any finesse.

Changing the form of a Soul Skill and adjusting Soul Power output were things one learned at the very least at the Soul Elder stage.

Setting aside the elites of Shrek, battles between low-ranked Soul Masters were basically a clash of rookies. They fired long-range Soul Skills and left it entirely to luck whether they hit, making it little better than a turn-based battle.

At the Soul Grandmaster stage, some gifted Soul Masters learned how to maneuver and predict where Soul Skills would land.

At the Soul Elder stage, talented Soul Masters began to grasp how to change the form of a Soul Skill and adjust Soul Power output.

Self-Created Soul Skills?

Among the elites of Shrek Inner Court, only a tiny handful could create their own Soul Skills.

"Are you ready?" Bai Cai circulated his meditation method to recover his Soul Power.

"Ralts!" Ralts nodded and began trying to guide the unknown power.

Confusion took on a faint pink hue. Drawing on spiritual power and Soul Power, it gradually brightened and condensed into a circular pink ring.

The nascent form of a Life Soul Ring!

At that moment, Ralts had expended a great deal of spiritual power and Soul Power. Ralts swayed unsteadily, and the pink ring formed by Confusion wobbled faintly.

"Ralts has done wonderfully." Bai Cai reached out and touched the pink ring, taking over the release of Soul Power. "Get some rest. Leave the rest to me."

Bai Cai and Ralts's Soul Power came from the same source. The extra Soul Power quickly replenished Ralts, who focused on maintaining Confusion and continued guiding the unknown power to condense into a Life Soul Ring.

Day and night revolved, light and darkness traded places.

Bai Cai and Ralts took turns releasing Soul Power, and the pink ring gradually grew.

At night, Ralts circulated the meditation method to recover spiritual power and Soul Power while splitting attention to maintain Confusion. During the day, Bai Cai circulated the meditation method to recover Soul Power.

The ring's color gradually deepened, from pale pink to pink.

"Ralts." Ralts stopped releasing Soul Power and only maintained the Life Soul Ring with Confusion.

The Life Soul Ring's energy had already reached the limit of what Ralts could control. Continuing to release Soul Power might be dangerous.

"Let's start absorbing the Soul Ring!" Bai Cai circulated his meditation method, steadying his mind and restoring himself to peak condition.

The process of absorbing a Soul Ring was very simple. The textbook at Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy summed it up in two sentences.

Use Soul Power to draw in the Soul Ring, then absorb it through meditation.

Draw in the Soul Ring normally, meditate normally... So where was the Soul Ring's energy?

Bai Cai took a deep breath. Could the pink ring he and Ralts had condensed not be a Life Soul Ring at all?

No, that wasn't right. The theory was sound, and there had been no flaws in its execution.

First, under normal circumstances, the Soul Beast whose Soul Ring a Soul Master absorbed had to be one the Soul Master had personally killed.

Second, the Blue Silver King hadn't directly helped Tang San condense a Life Soul Ring. It had merely awakened the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline and provided the energy needed to condense the ring. Therefore, the Blue Silver Emperor's bloodline power had guided the condensation of the Life Soul Ring.

With an ordinary Soul Ring, the killer absorbed it; with a Life Soul Ring, the one who guided its creation absorbed it.

Between Bai Cai and Ralts, who was the one guiding its creation?

Neither Bai Cai nor Ralts alone. It was both of them. They had to draw in the Life Soul Ring, meditate, and absorb it together!

"Ralts, let's draw in the Life Soul Ring together and absorb it through meditation." Bai Cai circulated his meditation method to steady himself, then reassured Ralts, "We'll succeed."

"Ralts." Ralts nodded and joined Bai Cai in absorbing the Life Soul Ring.

They released Soul Power together and drew in the pink Life Soul Ring. Bai Cai and Ralts meditated in sync, and the pink ring suddenly contracted, becoming a rosy-pink band like a bracelet.

The rosy-pink band encircled Ralts, like a halo worn by an angel.

Ralts slowly faded away. A rich, gentle Soul Power, ceaseless and unending, like the tide of a vast sea, quietly broke through the bottleneck of level ten Soul Power.

Level eleven Soul Master. Achieved!

Bai Cai forcibly emerged from Deep Meditation, unable to contain his excitement, and summoned Ralts.

A faint pink light gradually gathered, taking the shape of Ralts.

Ralts's limbs seemed a little longer, as if Ralts had grown taller, becoming more like a human.

There were countless examples of a Martial Soul changing appearance after absorbing a Soul Ring. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had changed somewhat after absorbing the Soul Rings of the Datura Snake, Ghost Vine, Man Faced Demon Spider, and Crypt Demon Spider.

"Hello, Ralts." Bai Cai was in high spirits.

"Ralts." Ralts lifted the skirt with an especially ladylike air and curtsied.

"What Soul Skills did the Life Soul Ring give you?" Bai Cai asked. "One of Gardevoir's skills, or a Soul Skill unique to Douluo Continent?"

"Ralts, Ralts." Ralts thought for a moment, then described them. "Ralts, Ralts!"

There were four Soul Skills in all. The first sealed a selected target's already-used Soul Skill.

The second temporarily exchanged the Martial Soul trait of a selected target.

The third healed a selected target by consuming all Soul Power.

The fourth let Ralts foresee the future, distort time, and attack a selected target's future state.

"Imprison, Skill Swap, Healing Wish, Future Sight—four Soul Skills?" Bai Cai's breath caught. "Woohoo, we're taking off!"

"Even if it isn't Twin Martial Souls..." Unable to contain his excitement, Bai Cai hugged Ralts. "Ralts, you're amazing!"

"Ralts, Ralts." Ralts gently pushed Bai Cai away. Only one of the Soul Skills could be used normally...

"Ralts, Ralts." Ralts looked very embarrassed. "Ralts."

Skill Swap and Future Sight required an enormous amount of Soul Power. Healing Wish consumed all of Ralts's current Soul Power.

"Can Healing Wish heal half?"

As if he'd suffered a crushing blow, Bai Cai hugged Ralts. "Heal half and keep the other half."