The Effects of Complete Body Tempering

"Can't tell anymore, can you?" Huo Lin leaned close to Huo Wu as she read, a sly grin spreading across his face as he whispered:

"Daughter, listen to your dad for once. Read more books from now on. Don't go around acting like an illiterate.

Your dad is, after all, the current dean of Blazing Fire Academy, the continent's foremost institution of higher learning.

If I had an illiterate daughter like you, I'd be utterly humiliated whenever I mentioned it."

"Phew! Phew! Phew!" Huo Wu panted furiously, so enraged that she was starting to feel dizzy from hyperventilating.

Realizing that she was still no match for her father, Huo Wu could only swallow her anger and wait for another chance in the future.

"I can't tell."

She set the children's book in her hands on the table, turned it around, and pushed it in front of Huo Lin.

"Sigh, that's why I keep telling you to read more..."

A wave of killing intent swept over him. Noticing the look in his daughter's eyes as she was about to explode, Huo Lin decisively chose to follow his heart for the sake of his beard.

Becoming serious, Huo Lin leaned forward and laid the book flat before Huo Wu.

"As for the failed cases recorded in the book, where people rashly attempted to absorb Soul Rings beyond their age limit, they actually share one common trait.

"If you studied a little more, you would discover that according to the records left behind by those before us, when these Soul Masters failed to absorb a Soul Ring, abnormalities often first appeared in the same areas you mentioned earlier.

"In other words, the areas that cannot be trained through running alone are basically the weak points most easily broken through by violent Soul Power."

"So as long as we train those areas that haven't been fully developed, we'll be able to absorb Soul Rings with higher age limits?" Huo Wu slapped the table and sprang to her feet.

She had no interest whatsoever in studying properly, learning cultural knowledge, and becoming a refined lady.

But if it meant improving her strength as a Soul Master and leaving everyone else far behind, she was undoubtedly very interested.

"Calm down, calm down!"

Huo Lin pressed the emotional Huo Wu back into her seat, then promptly poured cold water over her excitement.

"Silly girl, you're imagining things too beautifully!" He lightly tapped Huo Wu on the head, then patiently continued explaining.

"If a Soul Master's body is compared to a wooden box, then well-trained areas are like intact sides of the box, while insufficiently trained areas are like incomplete sides.

"You can train those incomplete sides until they become whole, but wood is still wood. It won't undergo any qualitative change.

"If you put something beyond the box's capacity into it, the box will still split apart. That is what happens when one fails to absorb a Soul Ring.

"So, more comprehensive training may indeed raise the upper limit of Soul Ring age to some extent, but the actual improvement will not be especially great."

"Ah? Then wasn't I happy for nothing?"

Huo Wu propped up her cheek and pouted gloomily. Her disappointment left her looking rather dispirited.

"I told you, silly girl, you're far too impatient. You interrupted me halfway through before I'd even finished speaking. You really need to fix that bad habit."

Huo Lin found her reaction somewhat amusing. After laughingly scolding her, he comfortingly rubbed his daughter's little head before adding the second half of what he had intended to say.

"Actually, the most important thing about this discovery is that it increases a Soul Master's margin for error.

"There are many unstable factors involved in a Soul Master absorbing a Soul Ring. One concerns the Soul Master's own condition, while the other concerns the Soul Beast.

"There are too many factors involved in one's own condition to explain clearly, and the gap between the upper and lower limits is enormous. There have even been cases where certain Soul Masters failed to absorb a ten-year Soul Ring, so I won't go into that in detail.

"As for the Soul Beast issue, Xiao Wu, I believe you understand that a Soul Beast's true age is difficult to determine.

"Judging by size may lead to errors due to the Soul Beast's own growth, while judging by characteristics may result in misjudgment if the Soul Beast was injured during battle.

"Even judging by Soul Power intensity cannot guarantee that Soul Beasts of the same kind will always be consistent.

"So even though the books left behind by our predecessors contain all sorts of detailed records, mistakes still often occur in real situations.

"Because of this, many Soul Masters misjudge a Soul Beast's condition and end up absorbing Soul Rings beyond what their bodies can bear.

"For example, I once heard a bit of gossip. Supposedly, at some insignificant academy led by a Soul Saint, many students died during the absorption process because they pursued the limits of Soul Rings.

"Perhaps the teachers and students misjudged the Soul Beasts' true age, or perhaps the students themselves had problems with their physical aptitude. In any case, it's only a rumor, and I can't be bothered to speculate further."

After talking for so long, Huo Lin saw Huo Wu's thoughtful expression and assumed that she had taken it in.

He first took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, which was practically smoking, before finally giving his conclusion.

"Absorbing a Soul Ring is already extremely dangerous for a Soul Master. If one possesses a stronger body, that is undoubtedly the greatest safeguard.

"It can not only greatly reduce the chance of any Soul Master failing to absorb a Soul Ring, but it can also greatly lessen the backlash suffered after a failed absorption.

"This discovery alone will have an immeasurable impact on the entire Soul Master world.

"For our Fire Clan, it is also a treasure that can greatly improve the family's future."

That was where Huo Lin stopped, though in truth, he had glossed over many things with vague words.

For example, physical fitness could raise the upper limit of the Soul Ring age a Soul Master could endure.

In fact, by his most conservative estimate, a Soul Master who underwent complete training and made up for every weakness could increase their endurance limit by at least fifty to a hundred years.

Actually verifying this would likely require many Soul Masters to risk their lives before any results could be obtained.

But there was no need for Xiao Wu to know about such darkness hidden beneath the glittering surface.

Knowing that what Lin Huo had told her was not useless, but rather an enormous benefit, Huo Wu's spirits rose once more.

Looking expectantly at her father, Huo Wu smugly urged, "Dad, since the information I brought back really was good news, shouldn't you give me a reward?"

"You?" Huo Lin gave Huo Wu a disdainful glance, then dug a piece of candy out of a drawer and tossed it in front of her. "Then I'll reward you with a piece of candy."

"Dad!!!"

"Alright, alright. If I remember correctly, the student who told you about this discovery is called Lin Huo, right?"

Interrupting Huo Wu before she could start throwing a tantrum, Huo Lin took out a waist token and placed it on the table.

"If I remember correctly, Lin Huo was personally recruited by Huo Tian and designated as a special-class student. Since Lin Huo has now rendered such tremendous service to the academy, I, as the dean, cannot fail to show my appreciation.

"The waist token before you is a storage-type Soul Tool. It contains three cubic meters of storage space and thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Consider this my reward for Lin Huo."

Huo Wu picked up the waist token and casually weighed it in her hand, her eyes full of satisfaction. "Heh heh, I didn't expect you to be so generous, Dad."

Hearing that, Huo Lin's face immediately darkened. What that little black-hearted padded jacket had said was truly infuriating, as if he had embezzled something.

With a dark expression, Huo Lin spoke coldly. "The academy has its own rules for rewards and punishments. It has nothing to do with whether I'm generous or not.

"Oh, and when you go back, make sure to tell Lin Huo not to spread this matter around. Otherwise, there may be trouble later."

"Got it. I understand that much." Huo Wu waved her hand and answered impatiently.

"..."

"..."

The office fell into a brief silence. Seeing that Huo Wu had no intention of leaving, Huo Lin's gaze became increasingly disgusted.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"What about my reward?"

"You want a reward? Fine!"

Huo Lin pulled open the drawer, revealing an entire drawer full of candy before Huo Wu.

"Take as much as you want. Tell me, am I generous enough now?"

"Cheapskate!"

Huo Wu cursed angrily, then simply tore out the entire drawer and stuffed it into her Soul Tool before taking it away.

"You wild girl, remember not to embezzle someone else's things! I'll send someone to verify it afterward!"

Huo Wu, who had just reached the door, stumbled. Then she yanked the door open and hurried away.

"With that little skill, she thinks she can fight me? She's still far too inexperienced!"

Huo Lin took another sip of tea in the office, looking exceedingly pleased with himself.

Yet for some reason, Huo Lin thought of the matter of training again, and his brows gradually furrowed.

Logically speaking, the fact that running had flaws as a form of training was an issue so simple it could not possibly be simpler.

Yet over all these years, no one had discovered or raised this issue.

It was as though every Soul Master force across the continent merely relied on past experience without changing anything, showing no desire to forge ahead.

This collective stagnation of thought was too strange. Now that he had come to his senses, it was simply chilling.

Come to think of it, Blazing Fire Academy's educational methods would have to be changed in the future as well.