Mu En's Guidance: The Prototype of a Future Soul Core

At that moment, Mu En was leisurely basking in the sun in the dormitory area. Watching the freshmen laugh and cry over the Freshman Assessment, each with their own joys and sorrows, Mu En seemed to see his former self again. In the blink of an eye, more than two hundred years had passed.

As he watched the people coming and going in the distance, a familiar presence suddenly entered Mu En's senses.

Ah, that little fellow had arrived!

"Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan, come! Keep this old man company while I bask in the sun!"

Hearing the familiar voice by his ear, Lu Yuan instinctively looked toward a familiar spot beside the dormitory building. Sure enough, a familiar hunched old man was enjoying the bright sunlight.

"Coming, coming!"

After bidding farewell to the others traveling with him, Lu Yuan expertly slipped into the dorm manager's area, rummaged around until he dragged out a recliner similar to Mu En's, then pulled it over beside Mu En and lay down comfortably.

Because of his Martial Soul, Lu Yuan also enjoyed basking in the sun. Of course, moonbathing was fine too, but nighttime was usually when he cultivated.

Ever since they had watched Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao's dormitory war together at the start of the school year, the old man and the young man would occasionally sit down for a chat or discuss cultivation matters—though Mu En was usually the one guiding Lu Yuan.

Before long, the two had become a pair of sunbathing companions in the Outer Court dormitory area.

As they enjoyed the pleasant sunlight, they chatted about recent trivialities and amusing happenings. Before they knew it, Mu En had brought up the recent Freshman Assessment.

"Lu Yuan, this old man heard that you used a very impressive Self-Created Soul Skill during the recent elimination rounds. Could you let this old man have a look?"

"Strictly speaking, it isn't a Self-Created Soul Skill. It's a half-self-created skill built upon my second soul skill," Lu Yuan explained.

He was not surprised that Mu En knew about it. Whether Mu En had watched the matches from afar with his spiritual power or received reports from his subordinates, he could have learned of it either way.

"I can show it to you, but... won't it affect other people?" Lu Yuan gestured toward the Outer Court students who passed by from time to time.

"Haha, you don't need to worry about that!" Mu En replied cheerfully. Without any visible movement, an invisible ripple spread from around him. For a moment, Lu Yuan felt as though he had entered another world, but when he came back to himself, he realized he was still in the same place.

"They can't notice us now." Mu En winked playfully at Lu Yuan.

A domain-type soul skill? Or some kind of spiritual domain?

Despite retaining memories of his previous life, Mu En's method still gave Lu Yuan a tangible glimpse of the terrifying strength possessed by powerful Soul Masters.

After considering it briefly, he stopped dwelling on it and began demonstrating the Eight-Part Light Wheel before Mu En.

"Old man, this is my second soul skill. I call it Blade of Light, and it's also the foundation of my self-created skill."

Lu Yuan raised a hand, and a thin light blade, delicate as a cicada's wing, appeared in his palm.

"Oh? It looks like a soul skill obtained from a Light Butterfly soul beast. It provides a mid-to-long-range skill with relatively strong cutting power and a fairly long attack range among soul rings of the same age," Mu En commented after narrowing his cloudy eyes and studying it for a moment. "A very good soul skill."

Mu En then gestured for Lu Yuan to continue.

Lu Yuan resumed his demonstration.

One exquisite, translucent light blade after another appeared in Lu Yuan's palm. As he deliberately controlled his Soul Power, the blades began to float and spin. His spiritual power then adhered to them, compressing and integrating them. At last, a breathtaking wheel of light, beautiful yet brimming with deadly intent, appeared in Lu Yuan's hand.

"Eleven years old, thirty-eighth rank cultivation, an ultimate attribute, and capable of comprehending a Self-Created Soul Skill as well. Young people these days are truly remarkable."

"Haha, old man, I'm nothing special." Hearing Mu En's praise, Lu Yuan waved a hand as though he did not care, but the corners of his mouth, which he could not suppress, told Mu En exactly how he truly felt.

He really was still a child.

Seeing Lu Yuan like this, Mu En could not help recalling several decades ago. He had also discovered Yan Shaozhe in the Outer Court then, using the Radiant Phoenix Martial Soul. However, Yan Shaozhe had been far more calculating despite his young age and constantly weighed many schemes in his mind. Because of that, he had never been as relaxed and unrestrained around Mu En as Lu Yuan was now.

"Using Soul Power to make it spin, then using spiritual power to compress it and further control it." As Mu En carefully observed the light wheel in Lu Yuan's hand, a sharp gleam flashed through his cloudy eyes. "A very ingenious concept. You've combined spiritual power with a soul skill. In the future, as your Soul Power and spiritual power improve, this skill's strength will grow with them. Its power will not be limited solely by the age of your soul ring!"

A peerless genius! That was Mu En's current thought. As someone who possessed a self-created spiritual combat technique like Sovereign Over All, Mu En naturally understood just how astonishing Lu Yuan's achievement was. Although this self-created skill still appeared somewhat rough in many aspects, it was already extraordinarily impressive for a child who had not even reached the Soul Ancestor realm.

"However, Lu Yuan, have you considered trying to use spiritual power as the core, driving the surrounding Soul Power to compress and rotate?"

Looking at the light wheel in Lu Yuan's hand, Mu En seemed to have thought of something and offered the suggestion with a smile.

"Using spiritual power as the core?" Lu Yuan seemed to vaguely grasp something.

"That's right, spiritual power as the core!" Mu En continued explaining. "Right now, you're splitting your attention in two: controlling the Soul Power's rotation while controlling your spiritual power to form a shell around the light wheel and maintain its stability. So why not change your approach? Directly use spiritual power as the core to drive and control the rotation and compression of Soul Power. This would demand more from your spiritual power, but I believe that with your ability, you can accomplish it!"

With the insight of a Limit Douluo, the moment Mu En saw this soul skill in person, he understood its greatest value—not how much offensive power it possessed, but the process Lu Yuan underwent while trying to condense it.

A Soul Core!

From the instant Lu Yuan began rotating and compressing his Soul Power, Mu En had immediately thought of that. Although Lu Yuan's spiritual power was still exceedingly far from the level needed for a Soul Core, and a true Soul Core was condensed within a Soul Master's body, Lu Yuan's soul skill undoubtedly contained the prototype of a Soul Core!

However, the existence of Soul Cores was still too distant for Lu Yuan to know about now. Thus, Mu En did not directly tell him about Soul Cores or how to condense one. Instead, he tried to guide Lu Yuan into thinking along that path.