Half

After submitting his application and receiving approval from the academy, Bai Cai dragged his suitcase out of Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy and headed straight for the commercial district of Farnos City.

He bought pastries from the bakery, a short sword from the blacksmith, and insect repellent and snake repellent from the general store. He headed to the market to buy some cheap dry rations, then hired a carriage driver to transport himself and his goods out of Farnos City and back to Cainong Village.

The farmland of Cainong Village stretched out in a continuous expanse, with farmers coming and going at their work. The carriage stopped at the entrance of the village; Bai Cai paid the fare, and the driver departed.

As the silhouette of the carriage gradually vanished at the end of the road, Bai Cai summoned Ralts. The little creature with blue hair used its telekinesis to lift the suitcase and the various parcels of different sizes.

The village was quiet and peaceful, with wisps of cooking smoke rising into the air. Bai Cai stood still for a long time before turning to leave, with Ralts following closely behind.

In the forest outside the village, the surroundings were deep, quiet, and the air was fresh. Following the traces of the past, Bai Cai found the wooden hut he and his childhood friends had built together.

The hut had been vacant for a long time and was covered in dust. Ralts used its telekinesis with precise control to wipe away the grime and gather the dust into a pile.

As a level 10 Soul Master, Ralts's telekinetic strength was inferior to offensive soul skills. However, when it came to delicate and complex operations, telekinesis was undoubtedly the uncrowned king.

High-level Soul Masters like Soul Emperors or Soul Saints would find it difficult to use soul power to clear away dust so effortlessly, unless their mental power was extremely strong or they had mastered the technique of fusing mental power with soul power.

At the Soul Master stage, most soul masters released their soul skills without any technique at all.

Changing the form of a soul skill or adjusting the output of soul power was something learned at least by the Soul Elder stage.

Excluding the elites of Shrek, battles between low-level soul masters were basically like chickens pecking at each other. They released long-range soul skills, and whether they hit or not was entirely up to luck—comparable to turn-based combat.

At the Soul Grand Master stage, some gifted soul masters learned to maneuver and predict the landing points of soul skills.

At the Soul Elder stage, genius soul masters began to grasp the techniques of changing soul skill forms and adjusting soul power output.

Self-Created Soul Skills?

Among the elites of Shrek's inner courtyard, only a very small number were capable of creating their own soul skills.

"Are you ready?" Bai Cai practiced his meditation technique to restore his soul power.

"Ralts!" Ralts nodded and began to attempt to guide an unknown power.

The telekinesis took on a faint pink hue, drawing in mental energy and soul power, gradually brightening until it condensed into a pink circular halo.

The prototype of a life-bound soul ring!

At this very moment, Ralts's mental energy and soul power were being consumed heavily; it was swaying, and the pink ring formed by telekinesis was trembling slightly.

"Ralts, you've done very well." Bai Cai reached out to touch the pink ring, taking over the release of soul power from Ralts. "Rest well now; leave the rest to me."

Bai Cai and Ralts shared the same origin of soul power. With the extra soul power quickly replenishing the supply, Ralts focused on maintaining the telekinesis, continuously guiding the unknown power to condense the life-bound soul ring.

Day and night cycled, light and shadow alternated.

Bai Cai and Ralts took turns releasing soul power, and the pink ring gradually grew.

At night, Ralts practiced its meditation technique to restore its mental energy and soul power while distracted by maintaining the telekinesis. During the day, Bai Cai practiced his meditation technique to restore his soul power.

From pale pink to pink, the color of the life-bound soul ring gradually deepened.

"Ralts." Ralts paused the release of soul power, merely controlling the telekinesis to maintain the existence of the life-bound soul ring.

The energy intensity of the life-bound soul ring had already reached the limit of what Ralts could control; continuing to output soul power might lead to danger.

"Start absorbing the soul ring!" Bai Cai practiced his meditation technique, adjusting his mental state to return to his peak.

The process of absorbing a soul ring was very simple; the textbooks of Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy summarized it in two sentences.

Use soul power to pull the soul ring, and use meditation to absorb the soul ring.

Normal pulling of the soul ring, normal meditation... but what about the soul ring energy?

Bai Cai took a deep breath. Could it be that the pink ring he and Ralts had condensed wasn't a life-bound soul ring at all?

No, that wasn't right; the theory was correct, and there were no loopholes in the execution.

First, under normal circumstances, the soul ring a soul master absorbs must be produced by a soul beast they killed with their own hands.

Second, the Blue Silver King did not directly help Tang San condense a life-bound soul ring; it only triggered the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline and provided the energy to condense the ring. Therefore, the bloodline power of the Blue Silver Emperor dominated the condensation of the life-bound soul ring.

For both normal soul rings and life-bound soul rings, the killer and the leader are the ones who absorb them.

Between himself and Ralts, who was the leader?

It wasn't just him, and it wasn't just Ralts—it was both of them together. They had to pull, meditate, and absorb the life-bound soul ring simultaneously!

"Ralts, let's pull the life-bound soul ring together and absorb it through meditation." After adjusting his state with his meditation technique, Bai Cai comforted it, "We will succeed."

"Ralts." Ralts nodded, cooperating with Bai Cai to absorb the life-bound soul ring.

Releasing their soul power together to pull the pink life-bound soul ring, Bai Cai and Ralts synchronized their meditation. The pink ring suddenly contracted, forming a pink halo similar to a bracelet.

The pink halo settled around Ralts, resembling an angel's halo.

Ralts slowly dissipated. A rich, endless, and gentle soul power, like the tides of the ocean, quietly dissolved the bottleneck of level 10 soul power.

Level 11 Soul Master, achieved!

Exiting deep meditation, Bai Cai couldn't suppress his excitement and summoned Ralts.

A faint pink light gradually condensed, taking on the form of Ralts.

The limbs of the Ralts appeared slightly more slender, as if it had grown taller and become more human-like.

Examples of a Martial Soul's appearance changing after absorbing a Spirit Ring were not uncommon; Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had undergone subtle changes after absorbing the Spirit Rings of the Datura Snake, Ghost Vine, Man Faced Demon Spider, and Crypt Demon Spider.

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

"Ral," the Ralts lifted its skirt with exceptional ladylike grace to offer a bow.

"What is your innate Spirit Skill?" Bai Cai asked. "Is it one of Gardevoir's abilities, or a unique Spirit Skill of the Douluo Continent?"

"Ral, ral." The Ralts pondered for a moment before describing them: "Ral, ral!"

There were four Spirit Skills in total. The effect of the first Spirit Skill: to seal a Spirit Skill already used by the selected target.

The effect of the second Spirit Skill: to temporarily swap the Martial Soul characteristics of the selected target.

The effect of the third Spirit Skill: to consume all Spirit Power to heal the selected target.

The effect of the fourth Spirit Skill: Future Sight, which distorts time to attack the future state of the selected target.

"Imprison, Skill Swap, Healing Wish, and Future Sight—four Spirit Skills?" Bai Cai's breath hitched. "Whoo-hoo, we're taking off!"

"Even though it's not a Twin Martial Souls," unable to suppress his excitement, Bai Cai hugged the Ralts, "you are simply amazing, Ralts!"

"Ral, ral." The Ralts gently pushed Bai Cai away. There was only one Spirit Skill that could be used normally...

"Ral, ral." The Ralts looked very embarrassed. "Ral."

Skill Swap and Future Sight required extremely high amounts of Spirit Power. Healing Wish required the consumption of all current Spirit Power.

"For Healing Wish, can you heal half instead?"

Seeming to have suffered a heavy blow, Bai Cai hugged the Ralts. "Heal half, and keep the other half."