Is Everyone Innately at Full Soul Power?!

Feng Qingyang's gaze sharpened, and he was suddenly puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

Xue Mingqing's lips curled. He leaned against the side of the tub. Though his breathing was still weak, his eyes gleamed with the slyness no youth could quite hide.

"Just now, while tempering my body, I noticed that every bit of impurity expelled from my body made my Soul Power improve a little."

"And impurities aren't something you're born with. They come from encountering the world and eating all kinds of food. They enter your body and build up little by little."

"If that's the case, then suppose someone grew up in luxury, with very few impurities in his body—or even none at all. Wouldn't he have Innate Full Soul Power?"

After listening, Feng Qingyang raised an eyebrow. Folding his arms, he replied calmly,

"That's an interesting theory. But what of it?"

Not hearing the shock and astonishment he'd expected, Xue Mingqing froze and turned to look at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be amazed? This is a way to create Innate Full Soul Power on a large scale!"

Feng Qingyang picked at his ear and looked down at Xue Mingqing with utter disdain.

"Come on. I'm nothing but a soul now. What good would knowing that do me?"

After a moment of silence, Xue Mingqing looked at Feng Qingyang, who was nothing but a soul, and his mouth twitched.

Right. No matter how brilliant and useful the theory was, what did it matter to a soul?

It was no use to him.

The thought of how he'd confidently laid out his theory, hoping to impress Feng Qingyang, only for the latter to remain unmoved and leave him looking like a clown, made Xue Mingqing's expression darken.

Seeing Xue Mingqing's face turn black as the bottom of a pot, Feng Qingyang's lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

Xue Mingqing's theory was astonishing—so much so that it could well be the greatest theory on the continent.

But how could Feng Qingyang, an old hand who'd seen it all, fail to see through Xue Mingqing's little ploy?

Trying to show off in front of him?

Not a chance!

Feng Qingyang deliberately kept up his indifferent air. Watching Xue Mingqing's face darken put him in a fine mood.

rubbed his face, Xue Mingqing composed himself, he looked at Feng Qingyang, opened his mouth, just about to say something, after seeing Feng Qingyang's current condition clearly, his pupils shrank.

Rubbing his face, Xue Mingqing composed himself and looked at Feng Qingyang. He opened his mouth to say something, but the moment he saw Feng Qingyang's current state, his pupils shrank.

A semi-transparent, almost illusory soul!

How could he stay seated after seeing that?

He immediately stood up from the tub, not bothering to get dressed. Naked, he grabbed Feng Qingyang's illusory hand with both of his own.

"Elder Feng, your body...?"

Suddenly grabbed by Xue Mingqing, Feng Qingyang shuddered all over.

He hated nothing more than people showing their true feelings. He thought it was unbearably sappy.

And yet his body's instinctive reaction told him that Xue Mingqing's concern for him was utterly genuine.

Feng Qingyang's mouth twitched.

Suppressing the urge to slap Xue Mingqing's hand away, Feng Qingyang took a deep breath and tried to keep his tone even.

"Let go first..."

"Ah, right..."

Xue Mingqing let go with an awkward cough and stepped back half a pace, but the concern in his eyes for Feng Qingyang didn't lessen in the slightest.

After all, Feng Qingyang had been asleep within his soul ever since he'd crossed over.

In a sense, Feng Qingyang was proof that Xue Mingqing really had crossed over, and that everything from his previous life in China hadn't just been a dream.

And when the Evil Soul Master had nearly killed him, it was Feng Qingyang's awakening that saved him.

That was a life-saving debt.

Now, Feng Qingyang had even spent a great deal of Soul Power to temper his body.

That was the gift of a second life.

How could Xue Mingqing not worry about Feng Qingyang's condition? How could he not care?

Xue Mingqing gazed intently at Feng Qingyang, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as if he were back in his previous life, waiting for his college entrance exam results and dreading bad news.

Feng Qingyang gave Xue Mingqing a long look, then closed his eyes for a moment.

He did his best to make his voice gentle.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Our souls are linked. Even if my soul dies, I can rely on your mental strength to slowly come back to life."

"So I can't die."

Only then did Xue Mingqing let out a deep breath of relief.

Hearing that Feng Qingyang would be fine made him happier than receiving a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

That was all he needed. That was enough.

And Feng Qingyang?

Watching Xue Mingqing return sincerity for sincerity, he couldn't help the few more twitches at the corner of his mouth.

All Feng Qingyang had ever known in his life was betrayal and suffering. He had never believed in sincerity or bonds.

And yet—

The heartfelt sincerity Xue Mingqing conveyed left him no choice but to admit that true sincerity existed.

Closing his eyes, he forced down the nausea prickling his skin, then raised a hand.

"Enough, enough... Since you're so sincere, I'll grant you another opportunity."

As he spoke, Feng Qingyang's soul grew even more translucent. A fragment of his soul peeled away from his body.

Before Xue Mingqing could react, the fragment shot into his body, leaving a mysterious rune on his back.

Feeling the mysterious rune appear,

Xue Mingqing instinctively furrowed his brow.

He couldn't sense what the soul fragment did. He couldn't feel anything at all, as if it were completely useless.

He looked up, instinctively wanting to ask Feng Qingyang what it was.

But Feng Qingyang's soul was gradually fading, vanishing on the wind!

At the sight, Xue Mingqing's pupils contracted.

He instinctively reached out, wanting to grab Feng Qingyang's soul.

But the instant he reached out,

A tired voice sounded in his mind.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not dead... I'm just tired and going to sleep..."

"..."

That night, in Xue Mingqing's courtyard.

After cleaning up the mess left by his body tempering, Xue Mingqing changed into his usual plain blue robe.

Alone, he sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, resting his chin in his hand as he thought.

He let the cold wind of the Extreme North and the soft, delicate snow drift down onto his shoulders.

He raised one hand, and a flash of snowlight appeared in his palm.

His Martial Soul, a Snowflake, materialized with it.

However, as he looked at the Martial Soul in his hand, Xue Mingqing raised an eyebrow.

Because—

His Martial Soul was no longer a simple Snowflake. It was snow-white throughout, with an eight-pointed snowflake at its center.

Around it swirled a ring of green wind that refused to disperse.

It had unmistakably taken on a hint of the wind's sharpness and might!

Xue Mingqing studied the completely transformed Martial Soul, his gaze darkening.

"Now... I should call this Martial Soul Snow Wind, right?"

He had asked Feng Qingyang about the change to his Martial Soul.

According to Feng Qingyang, tempering his body with a Hurricane really had left behind a trace of its origin within him.

It was weak.

It absolutely wasn't enough to form Twin Martial Souls.

But—

If it intertwined and merged with his original Martial Soul,

It could still let the Martial Soul evolve a little, giving the original Martial Soul an additional wind attribute.

That was why Xue Mingqing's Martial Soul had evolved into Snow Wind.

Looking at the Snow Wind in his hand, Xue Mingqing focused his mind.

With the impetus of his level-ten Soul Power, Snow Wind transformed with ease in his hand.

A Snow Sword, a Snow Bow, a Snow Spear, even a Snow Shield.

One close-combat weapon after another shifted freely in Xue Mingqing's hand, their forms changing without pause.

They changed even faster than before, when his Martial Soul had been nothing but a Snowflake.

For Xue Mingqing, that was a good thing.

But—

It wasn't what he was focused on right now.

After all, Snow Transforms Into All Things, his Self-Created Soul Skill, was useful.

But it had one major flaw: changing his Martial Soul's form consumed a great deal of Soul Power. Each transformation cost a fixed 25% of his Soul Power.

But now?

Watching Snow Wind shift back and forth in his hand, Xue Mingqing barely felt his Soul Power drain. It was practically negligible.

The corners of his mouth curled slightly.

Looks like all that pain wasn't for nothing...

With a soft chuckle, Xue Mingqing stood up with his hands behind his back and turned toward his room.

He was going to begin his nightly cultivation.

Tomorrow, he still had to go find a Soul Ring...