Xu Shengqun's Plans (Please Keep Reading!!!)

Xu Yuan was troubled.

He truly could not settle on a name for his Soul Spirit.

Fortunately, the Five Elements Spear Spirit had yet to develop true Wisdom, so Xu Yuan was in no hurry to name him. Still, it was clearly only a matter of time.

Perhaps other Soul Masters did not place such importance on a Soul Spirit's name, but Xu Yuan was different.

This Five Elements Spear Spirit was destined to reach the pinnacle alongside him, to grow and evolve together with his Martial Soul, and ultimately become a Divine Artifact—or even a Super Divine Artifact.

This was Xu Yuan's goal, or rather, his ambition.

Setting aside the matter of naming it for now, Xu Yuan issued an order to his Soul Spirit.

The advantage of a Soul Spirit lay in its very existence. It was an extension of a Soul Master's senses, and powerful Soul Spirits could even think independently, fully capable of unleashing Soul Skills on their own without requiring the Soul Master's control.

Of course, the Soul Power consumed when a Soul Spirit used a Soul Skill still came from the Soul Master.

However, with a Soul Spirit's cooperation, a Soul Master's overall strength would inevitably undergo a qualitative leap.

Xu Yuan's Five Elements Spear Spirit possessed considerable spirituality and the instincts of a spear. Though it could not independently join battle like a Soul Spirit with Wisdom, it could still follow Xu Yuan's commands.

Xu Yuan held the Heaven Origin Spear in his hand as the Spear Spirit merged into it. Even circulating Soul Power became easier, especially when mobilizing and wielding the Five Elements within the Heaven Origin Spear; everything became smoother and more natural.

He switched forms, and the Spear Spirit merged into the Heaven Origin Brush.

After fusing with the Soul Spirit, the bristles on Xu Yuan's Heaven Origin Brush changed. They were no longer soft, hair-like strands, but gleamed with a metallic luster and became far tougher.

When the Spear Spirit merged into the Heaven Origin Brush, its bristles transformed into the Pen Spear form, just as they had when Xu Yuan changed forms in the past.

At first glance, it seemed to have no particular use.

In reality, its effects were enormous. It directly unified the two forms of Xu Yuan's Martial Soul, allowing him to use spear techniques while in the Heaven Origin Brush form without needing to switch forms.

Moreover, the Heaven Origin Spear's First Soul Skill was ultimately a spear technique. In the Heaven Origin Brush form, he could mobilize the Five Elements. As long as Xu Yuan mastered the Five Elements Spear Tactic, he would be able to use it even when the Heaven Origin Brush fused with the Spear Spirit and transformed into a Pen Spear.

He possessed the abilities of both a warrior and a mage!

Of course, to bring such abilities to their fullest potential and develop combat techniques best suited to these conditions would require considerable effort as well.

Xu Yuan already had many tasks to complete, and now another had been added. His cultivation life would only become more demanding in the future.

But Xu Yuan did not regret it.

Though his daily cultivation tasks were already arduous, he had always enjoyed every moment of them.

For someone who had lived for over twenty years and could only satisfy his chuunibyou soul through descriptions in fantasy novels, entering a true fantasy world and personally experiencing cultivation was addictive.

Xu Yuan was exactly like that.

Not to mention having envied it for twenty years in his previous life—even a child born in this world might become addicted to cultivation.

After absorbing the Soul Spirit, Xu Yuan added the cultivation of his Soul Skills to his daily training.

The reason he could make time for it was because Zhen Hua had streamlined Xu Yuan's forging tasks. Zhen Hua was not an unreasonable man. Knowing that Xu Yuan could not abandon the path of a Soul Master, he no longer required Xu Yuan to forge in large quantities every day. He only needed to forge once a week, while at other times he merely had to review and analyze things in theory.

Time passed amid fulfilling cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Xu Yuan awakened his Martial Soul.

When he awakened it, he had only possessed seventh-level Innate Soul Power. A month later, he fused with his first Soul Spirit and advanced to become a Soul Master, directly reaching thirteenth-level Soul Power.

Over the following eleven months, Xu Yuan's Soul Power continued to rise rapidly at a pace of one level every two months. He had now reached level eighteen.

"Xiao Yuan." Xu Shengqun found Xu Yuan, interrupting him just as he was preparing to train his Soul Skills.

"Uncle, what is it?"

Only a year had passed, yet Xu Yuan's body had developed rapidly.

After Martial Soul awakening, Soul Masters on Douluo Continent changed not only through their bodies' natural growth, but also with the evolution of their Martial Souls and the rise of their Soul Power.

Soul Power driving physical development was the most common occurrence. More rarely, a breakthrough in Soul Power could restore vitality to one's body.

Xu Yuan's development had naturally not been too exaggerated. If he could only have been called a child a year ago, he was now already a youth. Because he practiced spear techniques every day, a sharp aura filled the space between his brows.

"Xiao Yuan, do you remember the path Uncle planned out for you?"

Xu Shengqun looked at his nephew with great emotion, while pride surged in his heart.

Xu Yuan was his nephew, and he had personally nurtured him. As for Mu Ye, had it not been Xu Shengqun who contacted him and arranged for Xu Yuan to become his disciple? Zhen Hua's guidance in forging had also ultimately been inseparable from Mu Ye's influence. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with saying that Xu Yuan had been raised by him.

Establishing the direction of one's plans was also a form of nurturing, and an essential one at that.

For that reason, Xu Shengqun had great confidence in his own ability to plan.

"Shrek?" After thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan understood what his uncle was referring to.

He quickly frowned.

"Uncle, is Shrek recruiting students this year? You want me to take the entrance exam now?"

Xu Shengqun smiled and shook his head.

"Of course not. Although you would have a chance of passing Shrek's entrance exam with your current abilities, it still wouldn't be safe enough."

Xu Shengqun had some understanding of Shrek's admission tests.

Shrek used roughly the same methods for recruitment every year. Over time, the upper ranks of all major factions had come to understand the general process. However, to ensure the effectiveness of these assessments, Shrek had made agreements with the major factions forbidding them from revealing such information to the younger generation.

Shrek's recruitment placed certain demands on willpower and temperament. What Xu Shengqun worried about was naturally not Xu Yuan's willpower, but the test of temperament.

It was not that Xu Yuan's temperament was poor, but that it was too good.

Xu Yuan, who seemed almost born with innate knowledge, had an exceptionally clear mind. Yet because of that, he lacked the mentality of a youth. He considered matters thoroughly, but he might also be too realistic in his thinking and be eliminated as a result.

Of course, such a possibility was actually very low.

But once he was eliminated in that stage, he would not have another chance to return three years later.

Therefore, Xu Shengqun was not in a hurry to make Xu Yuan participate in Shrek's recruitment this year.

Given Xu Yuan's current talent, as long as he passed the examination, he would practically be guaranteed a place as an Inner Courtyard Disciple.

"Entering Shrek to study too early would not be good for you either."

The assessments themselves were secondary. The key was that Xu Shengqun did not want Xu Yuan to enter Shrek too early. Shrek was powerful, but it also possessed an excessively terrifying ability to brainwash people.