Recognition, Martial Soul Hall's Genius

Just as Lin Fan prepared to strike again, Li Xiong's voice rang out, "Stop. You forced me to use my fourth soul skill; I acknowledge your strength!"

Hearing this, Lin Fan immediately extinguished the Lightning Element magic he had been about to unleash.

Li Xiong laughed heartily, "Brother Lin Fan, I underestimated you. Once your soul power rises a few more levels, I certainly won't be your match. Please, offer me your guidance in the upcoming training sessions!"

Lin Fan smiled faintly, "Your strength is also quite impressive. If not for my unique martial soul and the massive amplification provided by my soul skills, I wouldn't have been able to hold out against you for so long."

After this exchange of pleasantries, the bond between the two deepened significantly.

On the sidelines, Qin Wei watched this with a satisfied smile; he had no desire to see his team members acting like enemies during their upcoming training.

Instructor Qin Wei stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the field as he spoke in a steady, powerful voice: "The purpose of this sparring match was for you to recognize your own strength and understand that while rank is not absolute, the gap in cultivation levels cannot be ignored."

"Li Xiong, your victory lies in your deep accumulation of soul power and the absolute advantage of the Soul Ancestor realm."

"Lin Fan, your strength lies in your heaven-defying combat talent and unique fighting methods. Both of you have commendable points and individual strengths."

He paused, looking at Lin Fan with a hint of approval: "Lin Fan, even if your soul power is lacking, you are still qualified to remain on the competition team. During future training, you may spar with your teammates to make up for your shortcomings and improve your soul power and practical combat experience as quickly as possible."

"Thank you, Instructor." Lin Fan bowed, his tone calm. There was not a trace of dejection from his defeat; instead, a fiercer fighting spirit ignited in the depths of his eyes.

"Introduce yourselves," Qin Wei said, looking toward the other students.

"Ye Qing, martial soul Green Edge Sword, level 45 assault-type battle Soul Ancestor."

A man with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, whose very posture resembled a sharp blade, spoke up.

Lin Fan nodded toward him, a faint smile on his face.

Immediately after, a muscular man with a hulking, sturdy build spoke in a loud voice: "Liu Xuan, martial soul Red Flame Tiger, level 44 assault-type battle Soul Ancestor."

As soon as he finished, a slender figure with tight, defined muscles and an aura of sharp intensity stepped forward, speaking crisply:

"Xiao Yuan, martial soul Wind Demon Blade, level 44 agility-type battle Soul Ancestor."

The next moment, a gentle female voice rang out. Behind the young girl, a pair of colorful, glowing butterfly wings fluttered slowly, scattering fine, shimmering dust around her: "Chu Tingting, martial soul Fluorescent Crystal Butterfly, level 42 support-type battle Soul Ancestor."

As she spoke, Chu Tingting waved her hand, and a sky full of pale pink fluorescent dust drifted down, landing precisely on Li Xiong, who had just finished his battle and was receiving treatment.

The moment the dust touched his wounds, they healed and scabbed over at a speed visible to the naked eye, providing immediate relief from bleeding and pain.

With the introductions complete, Lin Fan finally had a grasp of the Martial Soul Academy's competition roster.

Assault-type, agility-type, control-type, defense-type, and support-type—they were all represented!

However, two people were still missing from this team!

A captain and a vice-captain!

The two were undergoing specialized training, their soul power far exceeding the others, and had already departed for the Star Dou Forest to obtain their fifth soul rings!

One had to admit, the foundation of Martial Soul Academy was truly profound!

Including Lin Fan, a total of eleven or twelve students would represent Martial Soul Academy in this Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament.

Aside from Lin Fan and one other student with a support-type martial soul, everyone else had already reached the Soul Ancestor realm!

Under Qin Wei's arrangement, Li Xiong, Ye Qing, and the others quickly began their integration training.

Only Lin Fan and Chu Tingting remained.

Seeing this, Lin Fan spoke to Qin Wei, "Instructor Qin Wei, I need to request a leave of absence."

Qin Wei's expression darkened. Lin Fan was asking for leave on his very first day of training?

Did he think this was a place for play?

"Speak. If it isn't important, I will not approve this leave," Qin Wei said, his tone laced with irritation.

"It is like this, Instructor: my martial soul is special. I can release attacks similar to soul skills without actually using them."

As Lin Fan spoke, Star Seeds appeared in his hands; forty-nine purple-black Star Seeds drifted around his palms.

Seeing this, Qin Wei said, "During your fight just now, I noticed these little specks of starlight appearing when you released those attacks."

"But there were only seven before. Why are there forty-nine now?"

"That is exactly what I wanted to talk about," Lin Fan smiled slightly. "My martial soul came with these Star Seeds upon awakening. When I broke through to level 20, the number of Star Seeds increased to seven times the original amount—which is the forty-nine you see now."

"When I only had seven Star Seeds, the power of the skill was no weaker than a thousand-year soul skill. With the amplification of my soul rings, it was even stronger."

"If I can fully master and release a skill using all forty-nine Star Seeds, the power will be even more formidable."

"So you want to take leave to control these... Star Seeds that you haven't been able to master all these years?" Qin Wei's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Lin Fan's martial soul to be this powerful!

An innate soul skill! Although it had some limitations, they weren't significant and only required time to resolve!

Lin Fan nodded, "Yes. Currently, I can only control a dozen or so Star Seeds. If I want to master them all and increase my speed, I think it will take quite some time."

Qin Wei nodded, lost in thought, but eventually said, "How long will it take?"

"About two months," Lin Fan replied, his tone full of confidence.

"Two months..." Qin Wei murmured, then said, "Very well! But your training schedule cannot be neglected during this time."

"It would be best if you still come here every morning for intensive training to increase your practical combat experience."

"Very well." Lin Fan nodded slightly, signaling his agreement.

Practical combat experience was not something one could feel through cultivation alone; only through true battle could one grow stronger and stronger, capable of fighting evenly with spirit masters of the same rank even without relying on the support of powerful spirit power.

Chu Tingting, standing to the side, watched Lin Fan with a look of curiosity.

At this moment, her heart was filled with anticipation: two months from now, what would be the true power of the spirit skill released by Lin Fan's forty-nine Star Seeds?

After all, she had seen Lin Fan's battles. Although not as closely as Qin Wei, she could still intuitively see the power of his spirit skill after connecting seven Star Seeds!

If he didn't increase it with a spirit ring's amplification, the power should be comparable to their second spirit rings, right?

Lin Fan sensed Chu Tingting's gaze, turned his head to smile, and then departed.

Walking back to his dormitory, Lin Fan saw a slender figure standing at his door.

The owner of this figure had long, pale pink hair that fell softly, swaying gently in the breeze. Her skin was fair and delicate, her face full of youthful vitality, and her features were exquisite and soft, exuding the unique, spirited charm of a young girl.

The attire she wore was the uniform of a junior spirit master from Martial Soul Academy.

Lin Fan's expression softened, and he walked up in a relaxed manner, calling out softly, "Junior Sister."

"Senior Brother!" Bibi Dong exclaimed with a face full of joy, immediately rushing toward Lin Fan.