This time, Xia Yan was in no hurry:
"I lived in a remote place in the west. My family were hunters. Once, when my father went hunting in the mountains, he found a book in a cave and brought it home to see if he could sell it for money. Later, it was simply left there. Those theories, as well as the soul beasts I mentioned earlier, were recorded in that book."
He really was from the west of Fasnu Province, really from a remote little village, and his family really were hunters. All that information could be found on Spirit Hall's certificate and verified as true.
But there had never been any book.
He had made it up.
Only words that were half true and half false were the most believable.
"Bring it out, quickly!"
Yu Xiaogang immediately moved closer and reached out for it.
Xia Yan shook his head, his face full of regret.
"Half a year ago, there was a fire at my home. That book, along with the entire house, was all burned down..."
It was gone?
Yu Xiaogang had not expected this outcome. He thought Xia Yan was deceiving him, but someone so young could not possibly have fabricated such correct theories.
He had immersed himself in theoretical research for forty years. One look told him that this theory was right. It could not have been made up.
"..."
"It's really gone?"
Yu Xiaogang asked unwillingly.
Xia Yan nodded regretfully, his expression utterly sincere. "Mm-hmm."
Believe me, it was really gone. Truly.
"Tsk..."
Yu Xiaogang sighed in regret. How wonderful it would have been if the book were still there. If he could continue researching based on the original work, he could develop new theories.
Still, what Xia Yan had said today alone was enough for him to write a new theory.
At that thought,
his excitement swept away his regret.
Then Yu Xiaogang suddenly thought of something. "Did that book contain any other records?"
Xia Yan did not answer. He merely looked quietly at the book in Yu Xiaogang's hand.
Seeing that,
Yu Xiaogang directly stuffed Detailed Explanation of Rare Soul Beasts into Xia Yan's hands.
"Speak, quickly!"
Xia Yan took it and casually flipped through it. As expected, it was all records of rare soul beasts.
Satisfied, he accepted it. "Yes."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. "What were they?"
Xia Yan pondered for a moment, as though thinking.
"That book mainly studied martial soul mutations. It stated that martial soul mutations could be actively controlled through the selection of acquired Soul Rings."
"The weaker a martial soul was, the weaker its origin and the easier it was to control and mutate. So theoretically, the poorer a martial soul's foundation, the greater its malleability."
For example, if an ordinary sickle martial soul absorbed a hundred thousand year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Soul Ring, it would certainly mutate into another form and break through its limits. But if it were originally a top-tier martial soul, it would probably undergo a change rather than a mutation.
"However, it also recorded that weak martial souls could not possibly have much potential for development. Even with every resource poured into them, it would be impossible to cultivate a soul master with Innate Soul Power of rank one to rank forty..."
Yu Xiaogang had been thinking seriously, but those words stirred up his unbearable past. His breath caught in his chest, unable to rise or fall, and fury welled up in his heart.
Back then, he had consumed countless family resources, yet had been unable to break through rank twenty-nine for his entire lifetime, suffering mockery from countless people.
He glanced at Xia Yan.
If Xia Yan had not come from a poor mountain village, he would have suspected that Xia Yan had said those words deliberately.
As though he had not noticed anything unusual, Xia Yan continued.
"So, weak martial souls cannot take the conventional path. They can only use poison—and it must be Deadly Poison."
"Deadly Poison?"
Yu Xiaogang's gaze sharpened. This coincided exactly with his own views. He had also believed that poison attributes were the best choice for weak martial souls.
Xia Yan said:
"Tool martial souls are better than beast martial souls, and plant martial souls are better than other tool martial souls. Plant martial souls possess life, yet will not cause toxins to backlash against the soul master."
"Furthermore, only mixed Deadly Poison can bring out the greatest power. There must be both plant toxins and animal toxins, preferably in different parts with different effects. For instance, for a grass martial soul, its leaves could be poisonous, its pollen poisonous, and its scent poisonous. Mix corrosive toxins, hallucinogenic toxins, and other poisons together. Once spread throughout a battle, Deadly Poison will fill the sky and cover the ground, leaving enemies nowhere to flee."
Yu Xiaogang slammed his fist down. "Exactly right!"
A kindred spirit!
He had researched this before and also believed poison was the most suitable choice for weak martial souls. He had merely thought poison could at most serve as support, but now it seemed that mixed Deadly Poison could completely become the primary method of attack!
The person who wrote that book had researched more deeply than he had. There had to be more reason for using mixed Deadly Poison!
"What other theories are there? Tell me quickly!"
He hurriedly urged Xia Yan, wanting to know the remaining theories.
Xia Yan spread his hands. "That's all. There's nothing else."
His goal had already been achieved. There was no need to continue.
Nine parts of his words were true and one part false. Yu Xiaogang had already intended to use poison; Xia Yan had merely followed his train of thought, but taken it to a more extreme direction.
There was no fear that Yu Xiaogang would not believe him.
"That's all?"
Yu Xiaogang frowned and examined Xia Yan suspiciously.
His curiosity had just been completely stirred up, and now it was over? Was that true?
Could Xia Yan be hiding something else?
But he could not say it openly, so he could only nod. "I see..."
"But this theory is nothing unusual. I have researched martial soul mutations for forty years and have gained some understanding. Given time, I could have researched it myself..."
Xia Yan thought, Sure. Whether you could truly research it or not, you've been like this for so long. If you still hadn't studied martial soul mutations, then you'd be far too carefree.
The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
After adjusting his emotions, Yu Xiaogang turned the topic back to Xia Yan.
"However, this can only explain why the mutation happened. It cannot answer whether your mutation is truly a beneficial one. Over the past thirty years, I have studied one hundred and thirteen soul masters with mutated martial souls. Among them, the lowest Innate Soul Power was rank one, and the highest was rank seven. Only thirty-eight had detrimental mutations; all the rest had beneficial mutations."
"However, among the remaining seventy-five, five found that their Soul Power could no longer advance or improve by even the slightest amount long before reaching the cultivation level their Innate Soul Power should have allowed."
As he spoke,
he shook his head regretfully and sighed, as though he truly found it a pity.
But Xia Yan had already achieved his goal. He did not wish to linger any longer, nor did he want to listen to Yu Xiaogang make things up.
"Teacher, I know you mean well, but judging from your expression just now, you may not actually know more than I do when it comes to theories of martial soul mutation. I'd better study it myself..."
After saying that,
he turned and left, not giving Yu Xiaogang time to speak.
What?!
I know less than you?
Yu Xiaogang's brows immediately twisted into a tight knot as he drew in a sharp breath.
"Stop right there!"
"A mere Work-Study Student dares question me?!"
But Xia Yan ignored him completely and descended the stairs in the blink of an eye.
"Come back!"
"Come back!!"
His furious voice echoed through the corridor and the academic affairs office. Teachers even poked their heads out from their offices.
What had happened to make this usually gloomy and withdrawn man lose control and roar in rage?
Walking beneath the sunlight,
Xia Yan left the academic affairs office. On the way back to the small courtyard, he considered how to get to the Soul Hunting Forest.
The Demon Suppressing Pagoda did not need to absorb Soul Rings. It only needed to draw soul beasts into the pagoda to form contracts with them, but no matter what, he still needed a soul master to accompany him...
Perhaps the dean could?
Before you continue