"That's all for the theory. Let's get started."
Qian Xunji had the two of them begin their meditation training.
"Xiao Ban, although your Soul Power is already at level ten, research by the Spirit Hall has shown that you can still absorb Soul Power and store it in your body."
He watched Ban Shu's condition as he guided him from the side, striving for perfection.
Bibi Dong had already learned the basics, so a quick review was all it took for her to understand everything.
Qian Xunji clearly knew that, too. So this time, his main goal was to help Ban Shu, the newbie, officially begin his cultivation.
Following Qian Xunji's instructions, Ban Shu sat cross-legged, calmed his mind, and began to carefully sense the Soul Power in the air.
After an unknown amount of time, thanks to his efforts, he finally "saw" the faintly flickering Soul Power around him.
"So this is the so-called Soul Power?"
Ban Shu kept his eyes closed. As he sensed it, the Soul Power looked like tiny purple bolts of lightning.
"How strange. Soul Power actually looks like this."
Ban Shu felt a little confused. Why was it different from what his teacher had told him?
Still, he followed the instructions in the meditation method and tried to draw in and absorb the strange Soul Power around him.
The lightning entered his body, and Ban Shu felt a wave of blissful comfort. Was this what it felt like for Soul Power to enter the body? It felt wonderful.
His whole body felt tingly and numb, more comfortable than a massage.
Outside, Qian Xunji saw that Ban Shu had begun gathering Soul Power and nodded in satisfaction.
Bibi Dong, standing nearby, also looked surprised. Her younger brother had managed to gather Soul Power for the first time in just over forty minutes.
Even she, a genius with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, had needed a whole hour to succeed.
"Just how talented is this kid?"
Bibi Dong watched Ban Shu, whose whole body was glowing purple, with a hint of envy.
But envy was one thing. After all these years together, the two of them had long since become each other's closest companions. Bibi Dong was genuinely happy for him.
Unlike Bibi Dong, Qian Xunji frowned slightly as he watched Ban Shu's purple glow. There seemed to be something strange about Ban Shu's condition, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Normally, no one glowed while gathering Soul Power. So what was going on with him?
Still, since Ban Shu showed no sign of pain, Qian Xunji assumed it was just something peculiar to his Martial Soul.
Just then, Ban Shu suddenly changed. The purple light enveloping him turned red.
The two of them tensed up. Qian Xunji stood ready to act at any moment and rescue Ban Shu.
After a while, the red glow on Ban Shu was suddenly covered by purple light again. Then the red glow came back.
Just like that, Ban Shu's body began flashing like a string of LED lights, turning red one moment and purple the next.
"What on earth is going on?"
Even Qian Xunji was completely baffled. In all his decades of life, he had never seen anything like this.
Meanwhile, Ban Shu had fallen into a strange state.
He had been enjoying the tingling, numb sensation of the Soul Power massaging him when some of it suddenly turned into flames and surged into his body.
Ban Shu was startled, but then he realized that this Soul Power was no different. It had simply gone from tingling and numb to warm.
Since nothing seemed wrong, he calmed down. But before long, the purple Soul Power came surging back.
Just like that, the two kinds of Soul Power seemed to have minds of their own and began pushing against each other.
In the end, Ban Shu couldn't take it anymore, so he shouted in his mind,
"Could you two please stop fighting inside someone else's body?!"
As soon as the words left him, the two kinds of Soul Power seemed to understand. After a brief lull, they gradually faded away and then settled into a stable state.
Ban Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief and slowly opened his eyes.
When Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong saw him wake up, they hurried over to check whether he had been hurt.
"Teacher, Sister Dong'er, what happened to me?"
Ban Shu clearly had no idea what was going on outside. He didn't even know that he had just turned into an LED light.
After hearing them describe what had happened, Ban Shu looked completely dumbfounded. Even he didn't know what was going on. The Douluo Continent books hadn't mentioned anything like this.
"Ahem."
Qian Xunji cleared his throat. "Xiao Ban, that's enough meditation for today. Come with me."
"Oh."
Qian Xunji led them to a library and stopped. "Your task from now on is to memorize all the books I give you."
"Of course, you're also free to browse the other books. There are no restrictions."
With that, Qian Xunji clapped his hands, and a woman who looked to be in her thirties came over.
"If you have any questions, ask her. She's a renowned scholar of the Spirit Hall and one of the pupils of a theoretical master there. You can call her Teacher Fang."
Teacher Fang adjusted her glasses and gave them a slight nod. "Hello."
"Teacher Fang, I'll leave them in your hands."
Qian Xunji gave Teacher Fang a few instructions, then left.
"Then let's get started."
Teacher Fang set the books she had prepared on the table. "Listen carefully."
Faced with Teacher Fang's generous instruction, Ban Shu was exceptionally attentive. He not only committed all kinds of knowledge to memory but also took notes from time to time to help him remember.
As for Bibi Dong, the lesson had barely started before she began nodding off, looking half-asleep.
"Sister Dong'er, wake up. Don't sleep."
Ban Shu still tried to wake Bibi Dong, but after several failed attempts, he gave up.
After all, you could never wake someone who was pretending to sleep. Ban Shu knew that Bibi Dong simply didn't want to study theory.
The rest of the afternoon became a one-on-one lesson between Ban Shu and Teacher Fang.
Teacher Fang was very pleased with Ban Shu's performance that afternoon. He picked up ordinary concepts as soon as she taught them.
Whenever Ban Shu didn't understand something, he asked questions right away, never dragging his feet. He was the perfect student.
As for Bibi Dong...
Teacher Fang glanced at her, still dozing, and decisively ignored her.
This child was a lost cause when it came to theoretical knowledge. Even if she forced herself to teach her, the lessons would go in one ear and out the other. There was no point wasting time.
"All right, that's enough for today. Xiao Ban, make sure you review what I taught you."
Teacher Fang gathered up her lesson notes and smiled warmly at Ban Shu. "It's getting late. Go have dinner, and don't go hungry."
"Dinner? Where's dinner?"
As though she had heard a magic word, Bibi Dong immediately lifted her head from her sleep and looked all around.
"..."
Ban Shu and Teacher Fang both patted their foreheads and let out a deep sigh.
This girl really was a lost cause.
Before you continue