"Mystic Ancestor, the state of Unity of Heaven and Man practiced by the Body Sect and Reign Over the World are both techniques that fuse spiritual power with Soul Power, but they're very different..." Bei Bei asked Mu En about something that puzzled him.
"The Body Sect's cultivation focuses on the self. They believe that the self is everything, and that the human body is like a small world. Their cultivation consists of constantly unearthing the potential within the body," Mu En explained in detail.
"They fuse their spiritual power with their Soul Power and communicate with the world, seeking harmony with things of the same kind and resonance between similar forces. When things flow smoothly, it brings benefit; when they run counter to each other, it brings harm."
"It's said that the Body Sect has an innate secret art. Once mastered, it allows the body to become divine. The body can resist any negative status effect, remain pristine and untouched by dust, and withstand every poison. It can absorb any energy in the world to replenish itself. The body and the world become one, and its power is inexhaustible."
After hearing this, Bei Bei couldn't help clicking his tongue. "That's incredible. Has anyone in the Body Sect mastered it?"
"I'm not sure, but probably not." Mu En shook his head slightly. At present, Du Busi was the only person in the Body Sect whose Martial Soul was a Body Martial Soul. If he could master the art, he would probably have already broken through to level ninety-nine.
Bei Bei silently committed this to memory. He was also quite interested in the Body Sect's approach to cultivation. Perhaps it might help him someday.
Bei Bei stopped disturbing Mu En, got up, and returned to his dormitory.
Xu Sanshi was in class at the moment, so the dormitory was empty. Bei Bei sat cross-legged on his bed and began meditating.
After an unknown amount of time, the dormitory door opened.
Xu Sanshi walked in and spotted Bei Bei. Somewhat excited, he said, "Our busy man finally came back. Two months have flown by. What have you been up to?"
"Some family business." Bei Bei smiled. "Has anything major happened at the academy lately?"
"Nothing major. Just the Freshman Assessment in a month," Xu Sanshi said casually.
Bei Bei nodded. The Freshman Assessment was meant to select talented students and grant them the status of Outer Court Core Disciples, laying the foundation for their advancement to the Inner Court in the future.
It was also used to sort the freshmen into classes and teams, assigning Power Attack System, Defense System, and Support System students to different classes so they could be taught according to their strengths.
After a brief discussion, the two began meditating.
Bei Bei quieted his mind and sensed the power within him.
He had two Martial Souls within his body: the Radiant Dragon King and the Dark Sacred Dragon.
At that moment, the Radiant Dragon King Martial Soul shone brilliantly, like a blazing sun.
The Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, meanwhile, seemed malnourished, squeezed into a corner.
When his Martial Souls had awakened, their powers had been balanced. Even after he began focusing on his First Martial Soul, the two forces had never been so uneven.
The connection between the two Martial Souls, which had once been like a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, had also grown extremely faint.
It was clear that after his First Martial Soul evolved into the Radiant Dragon King, the compatibility between the two had steadily declined.
There was nothing Bei Bei could do about it. He currently had no way to make the Dark Sacred Dragon evolve again.
Unwilling to lose the ability to fuse his own Martial Souls, Bei Bei quietly pondered what he could do.
The next morning.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi entered the classroom, immediately causing quite a stir.
After all, the students had never seen anyone take two months off right after enrolling without being expelled.
Many students began whispering about Bei Bei's return.
Bei Bei didn't care in the slightest. He found a seat by the window at the back of the classroom and sat down.
Soon, the bell rang and the teacher came in. After glancing around, he noticed Bei Bei.
He said nothing about it. Someone had already given him a heads-up.
He simply had Bei Bei introduce himself so his classmates could get to know him, then began the lesson.
The material was all very basic. Bei Bei had taught himself all of it as a child.
He divided his attention and quietly meditated on his own.
When class ended, Bei Bei went to the Soul Tool Department to study the crafting of Soul Tools with Teacher Fan Yu.
He was researching a new subject: Humanoid Soul Tools.
The most perfect creations combining Soul Masters and Soul Tools were undoubtedly Battle Armor!
And Humanoid Soul Tools were the prototype of Battle Armor.
That was the direction Bei Bei had chosen to pursue.
Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye. The Freshman Assessment was about to begin.
The teachers began assigning teammates to the students.
Xu Sanshi's teammates were both Two-Ring Soul Masters: one Power Attack System Soul Master and one Agility Attack System Soul Master.
Bei Bei was also assigned two students. Both were around the first ring in strength, one a control-type and the other a support-type, and neither was especially strong.
Bei Bei didn't pay much attention to this. With his strength, even fighting three opponents at once would be no problem.
This year's freshmen didn't have many particularly outstanding students. Xu Sanshi was the only one to break through level thirty and become a Soul Elder; most of the others were only in the teens or around level twenty.
After class, Xu Sanshi left with a grin. "Heh heh, both of my teammates are great. My goal for this assessment is first place!"
"Set your sights on second place instead. With me around, first place is definitely mine," Bei Bei said with a faint smile.
"This isn't a one-on-one fight. Having good teammates matters a lot."
Xu Sanshi was confident in himself. He didn't talk to Bei Bei for long before taking his two teammates off to get some practice together.
At that moment, Bei Bei's two teammates arrived as well, hoping to prepare for the Freshman Assessment the next day.
"You don't need to worry about the assessment. With me here, you can stay back and watch in peace. I'll lead you to the championship with ease!" Bei Bei instructed them.
But Bei Bei's words didn't carry much weight without anything to back them up. What's more, he hadn't shown much strength in class, so it was only natural that they found it hard to believe him.
Seeing this, Bei Bei suggested they spar first so they could get to know one another.
Fighting both of them at once, Bei Bei didn't even use his Martial Soul. With nothing but his physical strength, he toyed with them as if they were in the palm of his hand.
After witnessing Bei Bei's strength, the two completely changed their attitude toward him and obeyed his every word.
The next morning.
The Freshman Assessment officially began.
There was only one round of matches on the first day. Bei Bei went alone, moving with incredible speed. One punch apiece was all it took to defeat all three opponents, almost in the blink of an eye.
Bei Bei's flashy style of fighting naturally attracted a lot of attention.
On the second day, there were two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon, for a total of four.
Bei Bei kept winning in the same way, while his two teammates barely had to lift a finger.
On the third day, they had to fight five rounds. Bei Bei's team continued to sweep aside their opponents and won every match.
When the assessment ended, Bei Bei's name spread widely among the freshmen. After all, he never used his Martial Soul in any of his matches, yet he defeated his opponents with ease using nothing but physical strength. Even Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters couldn't withstand a single blow from him.