A Few Days Later

Five minutes later, Yue Guan walked to the center of the Martial Arts Arena.

"The core of soul skill training is one word: control."

Yue Guan raised his right hand, and a golden petal condensed at his fingertips. The petal was only the size of a fingernail, with golden light swirling within it.

"The power of a soul skill is directly proportional to your Soul Power Level; that cannot be changed. However, the precision of a soul skill can be improved through training."

Yue Guan flicked his finger, and the petal flew out, curving through the air to precisely sever a withered branch atop the stone railing. The branch snapped in the middle, the cross-section smooth and level.

"The first training exercise. Each of you will release your most basic soul skill and strike the targets on that wall. I want to see your precision."

On the east wall of the arena hung five wooden targets, spaced about three meters apart.

"Begin!"

Yan went first. He unleashed his first soul skill, Hell Magma Rush. A torrent of scorching magma roared toward the target, not only incinerating it but also scorching a large patch of the stone wall beside it.

Yue Guan's face darkened.

"Yan, I told you to hit the target, not demolish the wall. Pull it back a bit."

Yan scratched his head and let out a sheepish laugh.

Xie Yue went next. His Moon Blade traced a silver arc, flying through the air to strike the dead center of the target with precision. Clean and efficient.

Yue Guan nodded in satisfaction.

Hu Liena went next. She released her soul skill, and a pink mist drifted toward the target. However, Charm is a mental-type skill and had no effect on a wooden target. The mist dissipated as soon as it reached the target.

"Never mind, Hu Liena. Your soul skill is unique; I will arrange separate training for you later."

It was Qin Chuan's turn.

Qin Chuan raised his right hand, and the Zhu Xian Sword appeared in his palm. His black soul ring flickered once.

He did not use a soul skill; he simply thrust the Zhu Xian Sword forward. A sword aura flew out silently, piercing the dead center of the target with precision. A hole the size of a fist appeared in the target's backing board, the edges neat and tidy, without a single splinter.

Yue Guan stared at the hole for several seconds. "That strike—you didn't use a soul skill?"

"I did not."

A martial soul without any soul skill attached, relying purely on its own sharpness, could achieve such an effect. Just how high was the quality of this Zhu Xian Sword?

"Good." Yue Guan suppressed his shock and continued the training.

The morning training lasted for four hours. Sparring, soul skill precision, reaction speed tests—Yue Guan went through them one by one, very meticulously.

Among the four, Xie Yue's overall performance was the most stable.

His combat techniques were solid, his soul skill control was precise, and he had rich combat experience. Yan had the most explosive attack power, but precision and control were his weaknesses. Hu Liena had the weakest close-quarters ability, but her mental perception surpassed everyone else present.

Qin Chuan's performance surprised Yue Guan.

He did not activate his Samsara Eye, and he deliberately controlled the output of the Zhu Xian Sword. Yet, even so, his advantages in speed and anticipation remained obvious. In all the reaction speed tests Yue Guan arranged, Qin Chuan achieved the best results.

What concerned Yue Guan even more was Qin Chuan's learning ability.

Yue Guan had only demonstrated the force-generating technique of a fist style once that morning, yet Qin Chuan was able to replicate it in the afternoon. It wasn't just mimicking; he truly understood the principles of force generation and re-interpreted them in his own way.

This kid is an uncut jade, Yue Guan thought to himself. No, he is no longer an uncut jade. He is a gemstone that has already begun to take shape; he only needs his edges polished.

Days passed in the blink of an eye.

After settling into Spirit Hall, Qin Chuan quickly adapted to the rhythm of life there.

He woke up at six every morning to train with Yue Guan at the Martial Arts Arena.

In the morning, they practiced physical techniques and soul skills, and Yue Guan taught in great detail. He broke down everything: the force-generating paths of fist styles, the compression ratio of soul power when releasing skills, and positioning and footwork during combat.

In the afternoon, he meditated. Qin Chuan would find a quiet place to sit and cultivate using Heavenly Dao Power. His efficiency far exceeded the other three, but he deliberately controlled the leakage of his soul power so that no one would notice how absurd his cultivation speed was.

At night, Qin Chuan would return to the study in the Flying Cloud Pavilion to browse the classics and notes on the bookshelves.

The theoretical system of Spirit Hall was quite different from that of Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy's theory focused on practical combat coordination and individual combat power assessment; Yu Xiaogang's approach emphasized data and patterns.

Spirit Hall's theory focused more on the extreme development of soul power application. How to squeeze the maximum power out of a soul skill at the same soul power level. How to utilize the inherent characteristics of a martial soul to develop unique combat techniques.

Both systems had their strengths. Qin Chuan compared the two, verifying one against the other, and gained a great deal.

The relationship between the four was also slowly changing.

Yan was the simplest of the four. He was straightforward and didn't have many hidden agendas. Two days ago, he still held some wariness toward Qin Chuan, but by the third day, after sparring a few times, he began calling Qin Chuan "brother."

The reason was simple: Qin Chuan had beaten him three times during sparring, and he was convinced.

Xie Yue hadn't changed much; he remained a man of few words with cold eyes and decisive actions. However, his attitude toward Qin Chuan shifted from initial vigilance to quiet acceptance. This was manifested in the fact that during training, he began to take the initiative to pair up with Qin Chuan for team coordination drills.

Hu Liena's change was the most obvious.

For the past few days, every time training ended, Hu Liena would linger in the Martial Arts Arena, waiting for Qin Chuan to finish packing up so they could walk back together. The path from the arena to the Flying Cloud Pavilion was not long, taking about seven or eight minutes.

During those seven or eight minutes, Hu Liena would ask all sorts of questions.

"Qin Chuan, what about that 'Memory Kill' of yours? Can you flip through other people's memories?"

"I cannot."

"Really?"

"Do you think I get a treat for lying to you?"

"Hehe, that's true."

Similar conversations happened every day. Hu Liena spoke a lot, while Qin Chuan spoke very little, but as they chatted back and forth, the distance between them closed without either of them noticing.

On the evening of the fifth day, Qin Chuan was reading in the study.

A classic on the bookshelf titled Introduction to Psychic Spirits caught his attention. After flipping through a few pages, he discovered a chapter dedicated to the restraining relationships between psychic control-type spirit skills.

"The penetration rate of active psychic interference against passive psychic defense is positively correlated with the caster's total mental power and the quality of the spirit skill, and has little to do with the age of the spirit ring."

This sentence made Qin Chuan pause.

His Illusion Bell possessed only white spirit rings, their age pitifully low. According to standard theory, his psychic control ability should be at the bottom tier. Yet in reality, Memory Kill could force Tang Hao to stop, and Flowers Falling in a Dream could plunge anyone into sorrow.

The key lay in the quality of the spirit skill itself, not the age of the spirit ring.

This differed from the theories Yu Xiaogang taught at Shrek Academy. In Yu Xiaogang's theoretical system, spirit ring age was the core indicator determining spirit skill strength. However, this classic from Spirit Hall proposed a different perspective: for psychic-type spirit skills, spirit ring age was merely one influencing factor, while the "quality" of the spirit skill was the deciding one.

Qin Chuan read this passage over several times, committing it to memory.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Someone was at the door.

Qin Chuan put down the book and walked to the first floor. He opened the door to find Hu Liena standing on the threshold.