Rule Book Development

Su Mu looked at the Martial Soul in his hand and, as if possessed, took out his pencil. He gently pressed it against the second sheet of paper.

Thick black lines began to take shape. With every stroke Su Mu drew, the illustration became more complete.

Gradually, a sketch of a hamburger appeared on the paper.

Su Mu let out a soft breath.

He set down his pencil and looked at the picture.

According to the characteristics of his Martial Soul, the more times he did something, the better he would become at it.

This drawing was now basically perfect.

All that remained was to hone his speed.

However, whether he should continue practicing depended on what kind of ability this drawing could provide.

Su Mu no longer hesitated.

He placed his hand on the paper.

With a rustle, the entire sheet vanished.

A hamburger quietly appeared on the table before him.

Su Mu stood up and stared in astonishment at the hamburger only twenty or thirty centimeters away from him.

Its usual fragrant aroma was fully released through the soft bun.

"Could this ability be used to draw other things too?"

Su Mu was overjoyed.

He seemed to have found the true use of this Martial Soul.

It was not merely a support-type Martial Soul that provided passive effects and buffs.

As long as a Rule existed in this world, he would be able to grasp it.

And the book that formed the core of his Martial Soul had retained its original characteristics as well.

Text Decree and Illustration—these two abilities were Self-Created Soul Skills derived from using a book as his Martial Soul.

When Su Mu awakened his Martial Soul, Text Decree had appeared.

And now, after absorbing his first Soul Ring, he had accidentally deciphered the ability of Illustration as well.

Did that mean that, once his Soul Power Level grew higher in the future, there would be more and more things he could do with the Book Martial Soul?

Su Mu no longer hesitated.

He drew a spicy chicken burger on another sheet of paper.

Yet when it came to deciding what additional attribute buff to add, he found himself at a loss.

A 1000% cultivation speed boost?

Su Mu chuckled helplessly. Even he could not help laughing as he wrote those words down.

Before he could finish writing, however, the words at the front began to fade away.

Su Mu was helpless.

It seemed that, just like before, any boost exceeding a certain limit would disappear.

He immediately raised his pencil again and began rewriting it from scratch.

Cultivation speed increased by 50%.

This time, just like last time, the Text Decree he had just written vanished instantly.

Could it be that every attribute-type ability had a different multiplier limit?

Su Mu pulled out a wrinkled sheet of white paper from the pocket on his right leg, where it had been folded and crumpled.

Written on it were the words, "Speed increased by 54%."

Last time, he had gradually reduced it from 100% until it reached its current level.

But cultivation speed apparently could not be increased in the same way.

Su Mu tried a roughly similar range—10%!

This time, the words did not disappear.

Thus, Su Mu used Soul Power to erase the Text Decree on the paper.

He changed it once more to: Cultivation speed increased by 15%.

Just as before, the words vanished instantly.

After Su Mu continued experimenting, the cultivation Soul Power speed boost finally reached 11.6%.

Anything more than 0.1% would be erased.

Su Mu rubbed his sore fingers from all the writing.

He tore the sheet out.

At the same time, the Soul Power within his body dropped by one-third.

This was completely different from the consumption of simply adding speed or merely drawing a hamburger.

The more outrageous the effect of an ability, the greater the total Soul Power it consumed.

Could the percentage boosts provided by Text Decree be related to one-third of his Soul Power?

The speed increase last time had also consumed one-third of his Soul Power.

And now, although the cultivation speed boost had a different ratio, it had still consumed roughly one-third.

Su Mu seemed to have discovered a pattern.

If his total Soul Power increased, then the one-third he could expend would increase as well.

Did that mean the buffs he could provide would become stronger in the future?

Su Mu looked at the hamburger in his hand and took a bite.

Unlike the pure Soul Power from before, this paper hamburger now had a faint basic texture.

The bun was like wood shavings, while the chicken was so mushy that it fell apart with one bite.

It seemed that the more Soul Power he invested, the more closely the replicated item resembled the real thing.

If I spent even more, then when I became a Titled Douluo, could I draw a person and replicate a real human with 100% accuracy?

Su Mu swallowed the entire hamburger.

After carefully sensing it, he found that the speed at which he cultivated Soul Power did seem to have increased a little.

Su Mu released his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

He sat cross-legged and guided his Soul Power. The effect would be more obvious when he actively absorbed it.

His efficiency at absorbing Soul Power was indeed slightly higher than usual.

What about other buff-type attributes?

Su Mu tested every type of attribute power that he usually used or could think of, one by one, on the paper.

At his current Soul Power Level of fifteen, he could provide himself with a 58% speed boost.

He could provide a 31% attack boost.

He could provide a 26% spiritual power boost.

He also tried various elemental buffs, but each could only be increased by 10%.

Only special attributes such as light, darkness, and evil could be increased by just 5%.

Su Mu flipped through the entire book.

The book only had a little over a hundred pages.

Nearly fifty or sixty pages were now filled with writing.

Each page could only hold one boosting effect.

Because every one of them was at its maximum boost, tearing one out would drain one-third of his Soul Power.

In theory, he could use them three times in one go.

After using them three times, he would only have 10% of his Soul Power left to run away with.

Looking at the book filled with words, Su Mu inexplicably felt a sense of security.

Ultimate Rule... Had I really drawn something this heaven-defying? Was there even such an Ultimate Attribute?

His evolved Martial Soul had already granted him two enhanced passive abilities: Learning Behavior and Practice Makes Perfect.

It had even given him a Self-Created Soul Skill.

As an extension of the book, a record of civilization itself, the powerful ability of Text Decree had already surpassed Su Mu's original expectations.

And now there was Illustration as well.

The more closely what he drew resembled a physical object, the more closely it possessed the properties of that object.

The more Soul Power it consumed, the closer its essence became to the original.

The sheet that provided him with an 11.6% cultivation boost only lasted for one hour.

Then the entire sheet burned away.

Afterward, it turned into a blank sheet of paper and reappeared within the book.

Seeing this, Su Mu sensed the total amount of Soul Power within his body.

After one hour of cultivation, his Soul Power had risen to 90%.

Through cultivation over a short period, he had recovered 20% of his Soul Power.

This could practically be called a perpetual-motion machine.

Su Mu picked up his pencil again.

He wrote the same Text Decree on the paper once more.

Then he tore it out. The words surged into his body.

The effects of rapid cultivation and automatic Soul Power recovery appeared once more.

This method of quickly increasing Soul Power was almost addictive. He simply could not stop.

It was not until dawn the next day, when the sun rose, that Su Mu slowly ended his cultivation state.

Early that morning, Bei Bei led a middle-aged man inside.

After examining Jiang Nannan's mother, the man shook his head and left.

He seemingly had no way of dealing with this kind of Soul Power at all.

Su Mu watched from the side. The man was a Five-Ring Soul King, which could be considered mid-tier strength in Heaven Dou City.

Those stronger than him were basically at the top level. Those weaker than him were insignificant nobodies.

Su Mu watched Jiang Nannan quietly sob beside the bed.

She had originally waited full of hope today for the doctor Bei Bei had invited from Heaven Dou City.

In the end, they spent ten Gold Soul Coins, the man found nothing, and then he left.

Tang Ya's mood was also stirred by the sorrowful atmosphere.

She gently patted Jiang Nannan's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Nannan."

"The one who came today was only someone Bei Bei invited from Heaven Dou City."

"He isn't the high-Soul-Power healing-type Soul Master Bei Bei mentioned."

"He's only a Soul King right now. It's normal that his medical skills aren't good enough to cure her."

"Once that Soul Master arrives, he'll definitely be able to cure your mother."

As Tang Ya spoke, she patted Jiang Nannan's exposed back.

Meanwhile, Su Mu circulated his Soul Power and replenished the bracelet tied around Jiang Nannan's mother once again. He continuously supplied it with Soul Power.

Bei Bei merely watched Su Mu's movements in silence.

He could not help frowning.

That Soul King had said earlier that the poison was an extremely vicious type of Martial Soul poison.

Those afflicted by extreme cold and extreme water would have their life force rapidly decline, though they would not die immediately.

If no cure could be found, they would basically lose their lives within one or two months.

It sustained itself by devouring and absorbing the target's life force.

As long as the target's life force was weak, it would be very difficult to completely eradicate it.

Yet when the doctor turned away from the others, he secretly told Bei Bei that Jiang Nannan's mother's life force was currently extremely stable.

That was because an exceptionally powerful Life Attribute force was forcibly sustaining her.

That life force was continuously being consumed in place of Jiang Nannan's mother's own life force.

It kept Mother Jiang's body continuously maintained at a healthy level.

The doctor had even said that he had not expected them to invite such a powerful Life Attribute Soul Master, so why had they needed to seek out a mere Soul King like him?

Those words had left Bei Bei stunned at the time.

From beginning to end, Jiang Nannan's mother had only received one Soul Skill from Su Mu.

There was no high-level Soul Master present at all.

And the powerful Life Attribute force the doctor mentioned was generally a trait found only in high-level life-type healing Soul Masters.

Yet it was controlled by a Soul Master with Blue Silver Grass.

Bei Bei could not make sense of it.

He looked at the Blue Silver Grass ring on Mother Jiang's hand.

Wasn't this thing supposed to disappear after an hour? Why was it still here today?