A Leisurely Journey

When Lu Xuan attaches Soul Ring to himself, he always prepares several alternative plans in advance, and each of these plans has enough room for maneuver.

Just like how his initial goal for his First Soul Ring wasn't the Azure Jade Bird.

He didn't rigidly adhere to the order in which he acquired his Fifth Soul Ring and Sixth Soul Ring.

When he first encountered the mutated Soul Beast [Peach-Rhyme Immortal Bamboo], he realized that the compatibility between the Soul Beast and the beast far exceeded his expectations. So he did not hesitate to overturn his original plan and change the Soul Ring arrangement accordingly.

The same applies to Dugu Yan's side.

Aside from the First Soul Ring she obtained by chance, all her subsequent Soul Ring were locked onto the Jade Phosphorus Five Poisons lineage.

Even when she encountered Soul Beast with higher potential and seemingly better suited to her along the way, she was not tempted to change her route and always guarded the foundation for the development of her own Martial Soul.

However, the Soul Master of Element City had a completely different approach.

Or rather, it's not just Element City; apart from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the White Tiger of the Star Luo Empire, most people's Soul Ring Configuration are just about the same, and they get lucky if they encounter a powerful Soul Beast.

The creation of Soul Ring and Soul Skill is the result of the interaction and collision between the Soul Master's Martial Soul and the Soul Beast's abilities—two "skill pools."

When luck is on your side, the two can complement each other and create a powerful Soul Skill. But in most cases, it's impossible to control, and whether you can get a suitable ability depends entirely on fate.

When luck is on your side, it can Shui Bing'er's First Soul Skill [Ice Seal], which takes effect instantly and covers a wide area. It is an extremely troublesome group control skill and is quite unsolvable in actual combat.

But when luck turns bad, the outcome is drastically different; her Second Soul Skill, [Ice Ring Armor], is a prime example.

As Soul Master specializing in both control and offense, this Soul Skill's purpose is to buff the defense of oneself and teammates, but the increase is quite limited. The primary role is to control the battlefield and exert pressure, yet this Soul Master is assigned a lackluster support ability, making it rather useless.

If she had made a thorough plan beforehand and hadn't wasted her Soul Ring slots, her strength would have been able to increase even further.

At that point, the battle will be completely rewritten. It won't just be about breaking Tang San's mentality; it will be about steadily suppressing him and utterly crushing him like a dog.

"The quality of Martial Soul sets the foundational upper limit, Innate Soul Power determines the initial speed of cultivation."

The three rode the Clear-Charm Spirit-Horned Deer at a leisurely pace. Lu Xuan gazed at the road stretching into the distance and spoke slowly and calmly, "But to truly join the ranks of the strong, talent alone is far from enough; ultimately, it requires daily struggle and perseverance."

He turned his head to look at Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling beside him, a hint of approval in his eyes. "You two are quite diligent."

He then shifted his focus to the Five Elements Academy they had just discussed. "But the students in those academies might be a different story."

Dugu Yan tilted her head slightly, her gaze thoughtful, and softly pressed, "But you still haven't answered my question directly. Are you just blindly focusing on increasing your Soul Power Level? That doesn't seem quite right."

"When you're young, Soul Power Level is always the highest priority." Lu Xuan gently shook his head and explained earnestly, "Only when Soul Power growth gradually slows down and improvement becomes difficult is it appropriate to spare energy for other things, as a way to relax and consolidate your strength."

"This is the idea behind cramming training," Lu Xuan said calmly. "Its advantage is very direct: it can propel Soul Master to the highest achievement possible at their current stage in the shortest amount of time."

"Don't waste time on trivial matters, don't make mistakes unnecessarily, and focus all resources and time on improving your Soul Power. This path is both brutal and efficient, and the benefits are most direct during your youth."

"This cultivation method is not suitable for everyone, but it is the most suitable choice for most Soul Master."

Lu Xuan continued calmly, reiterating the earlier discussion about rote learning. "Many Soul Master have limited foundations, and throughout their lives, their potential never reaches the threshold of Titled Douluo. For them, a training method focused solely on leveling up is perfectly adequate and offers the highest cost-effectiveness."

"Only those with exceptional talent who have the potential to reach level 95 or higher Titled Douluo have the resources and the necessity to make slight adjustments to their cultivation path and reserve room for growth."

But!

The entire training logic of the academic school is essentially a prelude to the continent-wide elite competition for high-level Soul Master Academy.

Ordinary students have no choice at all; they are already fortunate if they can reliably assemble a standard Soul Ring Configuration.

Even for those geniuses who are the center of attention, the choice of their first four Soul Ring is mostly based on serving the competition, and the combination of Soul Skill is all based on the principle of being useful on the field.

This is clearly stifling the potential of Soul Master, yet everyone seems to enjoy it immensely.

The three were riding the Clear-Charm Spirit-Horned Deer along the road, chatting idly, when Lu Xuan raised his eyes slightly and noticed several figures slowly walking out of the woods to the side and heading straight towards them.

With just one glance, Lu Xuan saw through the other person's thoughts.

This group of people saw the three of them as easy prey.

Why bother?

Lu Xuan sighed softly, and with a thought, the [Black Jade Divine Flute] rose from his palm. He brought his lips to the flute's mouth, and a melodious yet subtly chilling tune slowly flowed out.

Fifth Soul Skill: [Black Jade Soul Devouring Song]!

The invisible sound waves spread out like a tide, silently enveloping the few Soul Master who were blocking their way.

The leader Soul Master in his forties, wore a ferocious grin, completely oblivious to the danger. He gruffly shouted, "Boy, still have the leisure to play music before you die? Hand over these two beauties if you know what's good for you, or I might leave you with a whole corpse!"

Lu Xuan glanced at them indifferently, his expression calm and unwavering, his tone carrying a hint of detached sarcasm. "Have you had enough? You're nothing but a few skeletons in a tomb, yet you dare to bark so incessantly here."

"You're asking for it!"

Enraged, the group stopped talking and unleashed their Soul Power, summoning their Martial Soul and causing Soul Ring to rise from their feet.

White!

In vain!

White, white, white!

What came into view were all white Ten-Year Soul Ring, without a trace of any other color.

This is the terrifying effect of [Black Jade Soul Devouring Song].

Lu Xuan's sonic Soul Skill forcibly reduced their original Soul Ring grade to the most basic white Ten-Year Soul Ring.

His cultivation foundation was still intact, but the Soul Skill that came with his Soul Ring were completely rendered useless.

"How so!"

"My Soul Ring... why have they turned white?!"

"Impossible! This must be an illusion, it's fake!"

Panic gripped the group of robbers instantly; they screamed and looked around helplessly.

A moment later, a trembling gaze locked onto Lu Xuan. The person's voice trembled, and with a sob in their voice, they demanded sharply, "It was you! Was it you who did this, turning our Soul Ring white?"

"You're scared already?"