Discussion on Condensing the Soul Core

Yun Jingheng sat inside a machine, watching the eight Sea God Pavilion leaders pacing around outside, still cursing and swearing.

"His Divine Power is still a little short of the Spirit Abyss Realm, but his physical strength already far surpasses that of Soul Saint. This doesn't make sense, does it?!"

"You've already God Trial and you're still asking if it's reasonable? Did your brain get crushed by Titan Giant Ape, you idiot!"

"His Soul Power is only level 65, and it's all gaseous Soul Power in his body. It'll be difficult for him to succeed, won't it? Jing Heng is only 13 years old, and his 14th birthday is still about two months away."

"Xiao Lan, Jing Heng's Soul Power has already begun to transform into Divine Power; it has long since transcended the realm of qi, liquid, and solid Soul Power! Did you waste all your time studying?!"

"Elder Long! You never taught me any of this back then!"

"Why don't you go and find it yourself?"

"Elder Long, now is not the time to talk about these things. If you ask me, to be on the safe side, shouldn't we let Jing Heng cultivate to level 70 first?"

"Unlikely," Yun Jingheng, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up. "The Third Trial has a one-year time limit, and the Third Trial will have already started when the Second Trial ends."

"What--?!" ×8

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" ×8

"The moment the Second Trial ended, the God Trial Mark in my mind was automatically reorganized. The pre-test task for the Third Trial appeared, along with a line of small print: 'Time limit: one year, starting from the end of the Second Trial.'"

"... In other words, you've already wasted half a day." Zhuo Shi's voice Youyou out from behind the crowd.

"Yes. So while I was sitting inside just now, each of those eight people who were arguing happily outside wasted about half an incense stick's worth of time."

The Council Hall fell silent for a moment.

Then a new round of arguments erupted, at least three times more intense than before.

"Half a day! Do you know what it means to take away half a day from the one-year time limit of the God Trial? One forty-eighth of it!"

"Elder Cai," Lan Muzi said, rubbing her temples, her voice tinged with barely perceptible weariness, "please calm down. The calculation of one forty-eighth is incorrect; half a day is equivalent to a year—"

"I know exactly how much half a day is in a year! I'm just giving you an example!!"

"Even when you're giving an example, make sure you get the numbers right before you type them in."

"Little Blue, are you really going to pick a fight with me today?"

"I dare not."

"You said you wouldn't dare, but every word you said just now was 'I dare'."

"Stop, stop, stop... Isn't all this noise just a waste of time?" Yun Ming hurriedly spoke up to stop them.

"What are your thoughts?" Long Yeyue's cane paused on the ground.

Yun Ming raised his eyes, his gaze sliding across Long Yeyue's face in turn over Feng Wuyu, Cai Yue'er, Zhuo Shi, Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng, Ya Li, finally landing on his own son.

"Let's all eight of us work together to give him a Soul Core!"

The Council Hall fell silent.

This time, the quiet lasted longer than ever before.

The breathing sound of the living Golden Tree was exceptionally clear in the hall, so clear that Yun Jingheng could hear his own heartbeat thumping three times behind his ribs.

Then Feng Wuyu said, "Are you crazy?"

Cai Yue'er frowned at Yun Ming: "Brother Ming, it's not unprecedented for eight people to work together to infuse Soul Core, but you know the price of that."

"The person being injected has to withstand the simultaneous impact of eight different types of Soul Power in their meridians, even if we control it to the most subtle degree—he's only thirteen now."

"I know."

"You know that you still--"

"The Divine Power within him is from the same source," Yun Ming said.

Everyone was taken aback.

"Jing Heng's Soul Power is transforming into Divine Power, and you all know the source of this transformation: the Yue Shen. It can be said that this Godhood was practically tailor-made for Jing Heng."

He paused, then said, word by word, "What we're going to do isn't to force a core out using the eight strands of Soul Power, but to use the Soul Power of the eight of us to 'pave the way' within his body, allowing the Yue Shen's Divine Power to grow the Soul Core along this path on its own."

"You mean... we're not injecting Soul Core into his body, we're providing him with 'soil' so that his Divine Power can 'sprout' on its own?" Tang Yinmeng's eyes lit up.

Yun Ming nodded slightly.

Long Yeyue tapped her cane on the ground halfway, then stopped.

The old lady squinted and pondered for a few moments, then slowly said, "This idea... is theoretically feasible."

"Yun Ming, you possess half a Godhood; your understanding of Divine Power surpasses that of all of us."

"As long as you control the 'initiation' step well, the other seven people are only responsible for providing stable and gentle Soul Power support, and will not directly intervene in the core condensation process--"

"Whose Soul Core if it's condensed?" Feng Wuyu interjected.

"It's his own."

Ya Li continued, her tone resolute, "Soul Core formed from Divine Power power is like a seed sprouting on its own, with roots growing in Jing Heng's own dantian. The people outside are just watering it."

Lan Muzi pondered for a moment, "What about the risks?"

Yun Ming said, "There's only one risk. If my attraction goes astray during the 'germination' process, the Yue Shen's Divine Power might mistake Jing Heng's dantian for an 'outer realm' and directly repel it. You can imagine the consequences."

Nobody wants to.

But everyone knows what the consequences will be.

"So I need to confirm one thing."

Yun Ming turned to look at Yun Jingheng, "Do you believe me or not?"

Yun Jingheng jumped down from the edge of the instrument; his legs were still a little weak, but he stood up straight.

"What? You wouldn't harm your son, would you? If something happens to me, do you think my mom would tear you apart?"

Yun Ming: "..."

Yun Ming's jawline tightened slightly, then he turned his head to look at the other seven people outside the window. "Then it's settled."

"Tonight at midnight, at the Sea God Lake Heart Pavilion, when the Moonlight is at its peak and the Yue Shen's authority is strongest, Jing Heng's divine Divine Power resonates most strongly with the Moonlight, making it the best window for 'sprouting'."

Before that--

Yun Ming's gaze fell on Yun Jingheng.

"--You, go read a book."

Yun Jingheng: "... Huh?!"

"The seventh book from the left on the third row of bookshelves on the east side of the second floor of the Sea God Pavilion is <Introduction to Soul Core Formation>. Finish reading it before this evening, have dinner, take a medicinal bath, and then go to the Lake Pavilion at midnight."

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth as if to say something, but Ya Li silenced him with a look.

"... OK."

Yun Jingheng stood in front of the third row of bookshelves on the east side of the second floor of the Sea God Pavilion, his fingertips tracing the gold lettering on the spines of the books.

The "Introduction to Soul Core Formation" was thinner than he had imagined.

But he understood as soon as he turned the first page—this book wasn't written for thirteen-year-olds.

The opening skips the basic theory of the gaseous, liquid, and solid states of Soul Power, starting with "the essence of the Soul Core is the singularity compression of Soul Power by Divine Power power". The third chapter begins to explain how a nine-ring Titled Douluo uses the Soul Core to achieve a qualitative leap when condensing his ninth Soul Ring.

Yun Jingheng read two pages, closed the book, took a deep breath, and then reopened it, slowly beginning to read.