"This method of absorbing soul rings really is extraordinary."
Jin Ying's gaze fell on Yu Chen and Xiao Bai Dragon, his eyes brimming with amazement.
He also understood more clearly why Yu Chen could surpass the limits.
The soul ring's energy was first absorbed by Xiao Bai Dragon, then converted into Yu Chen's soul power.
Throughout this process, Xiao Bai bore most of the strain.
Not Yu Chen.
From this, the quality of the martial soul was clearly crucial.
The stronger the martial soul, the more energy it could withstand.
Yu Chen had innate full soul power and an exceptionally high-quality martial soul, so he could forge an entirely different path.
As for Yu Xiaogang...
Jin Ying guessed that his innate soul power was probably only level one or two. Otherwise, he would not have remained stuck at the Soul Grandmaster stage.
About half an hour later, Yu Chen opened his eyes.
Three soul rings, two yellow and one purple, revolved around him, radiating a fierce aura.
"Well done, lad!"
A trace of admiration appeared in Jin Ying's eyes.
A three-thousand-year soul ring was almost equivalent to an ordinary person's fourth soul ring.
Most soul masters needed at least an hour to absorb their fourth soul ring, yet Yu Chen had finished in half an hour.
It seemed this soul ring had placed no strain on him at all.
"Yu Chen, how do you feel?"
Jin Ying asked with concern.
Yu Chen carefully assessed his condition, his brows knitting together.
Noticing his expression, Jin Ying asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with this soul ring?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the other teachers gathered around as well.
Yu Chen was the Intermediate Academy's prized treasure. They could not allow anything to go wrong with this soul ring.
"There's nothing wrong with the soul ring. My soul power has reached level thirty-three."
Yu Chen raised his head and spoke calmly.
"Level thirty-three!"
Jin Ying froze for a moment, then wild delight surged across his face.
"Your soul power actually rose three levels in one go! Just what you'd expect from a three-thousand-year soul ring!"
Most soul masters only reached level thirty-one even after absorbing a fifteen-hundred-year third soul ring.
Yu Chen's detached martial soul was truly formidable!
"Yu Chen, you still don't seem very satisfied?"
Ming Dashan noticed something amiss and gently patted his shoulder.
Yu Chen smiled faintly. "Uncle Dashan, I originally thought absorbing this soul ring would raise my soul power to level thirty-five."
In truth, he had absorbed more than just this three-thousand-year soul ring.
The first soul ring of his second martial soul was also three thousand years old.
Two soul rings that exceeded the theoretical limit had left him only two levels above an ordinary Soul Elder after absorbing a soul ring.
Yu Chen was deeply dissatisfied.
Just then, he glanced at Xiao Bai, who was perched on his shoulder.
Xiao Bai Dragon's eyes were half closed, her front paws resting together as she bobbed her head, clearly in a good mood.
"Xiao Bai, did you secretly gobble up the soul rings' energy?"
As he spoke, Yu Chen picked Xiao Bai up.
Smack, smack, smack-
He gave Xiao Bai's bottom two hard pats.
"Yiya! Yiya!" (Nonsense!)
Xiao Bai Dragon escaped Yu Chen's wicked clutches and cried out twice in protest.
She was only a martial soul. How could she secretly gobble up any energy?
So far, the only benefit her true body had received from Yu Chen was a tiny trace of wood-type energy.
There was also a recovery skill, [Rest].
And [Dragon Dance].
"Hahaha, Yu Chen, you actually came up with that idea! A genius's thoughts really are beyond our fathoming."
Hearing this, Jin Ying could not help bursting into laughter.
He patted Yu Chen's shoulder and said earnestly, "Once a soul master reaches level thirty, their cultivation speed through meditation does indeed drop considerably."
Yu Chen frowned and asked humbly, "Please enlighten me, Commissioner."
Ming Dashan had never mentioned this to him.
Jin Ying rubbed his chin. "Strictly speaking, before level thirty, soul masters are still laying their foundations. It's also the period when their soul power rises rapidly."
"After level thirty, the soul power required to advance a single level is nearly twice what it takes at the Soul Grandmaster stage."
"Is that so?"
Yu Chen nodded.
His expectation of reaching level thirty-five had been calculated using the energy needed to advance one level at the Soul Grandmaster stage.
By this calculation, his actual soul power was not far off.
"Xiao Bai, I misunderstood you."
Yu Chen stroked Xiao Bai's head and said with a smile.
"Yiya!"
Xiao Bai Dragon glared at Yu Chen, looking as though she would not let the matter rest.
"Sorry. Here's something to make it up to you."
Yu Chen chuckled and took a small cake from inside his clothes.
Compared with soul beast meat, Yu Chen had discovered that Xiao Bai Dragon preferred sweets, so he carried plenty with him.
"Yiya!"
Xiao Bai swallowed the cake in one bite, her eyes curving into crescents.
"This martial soul really is something else."
Jin Ying shook his head, his voice full of wonder.
Then he looked at Yu Chen seriously. "Yu Chen, the higher the grade of a martial soul, the slower its cultivation can seem after reaching the Soul Elder stage."
"That's because the stronger the martial soul, the more energy it needs to advance one level."
"Someone with a martial soul inferior to yours might already become a Soul Ancestor while you're only at level thirty-seven or thirty-eight. You need to be prepared for that."
Jin Ying spoke with earnest concern.
"That can happen too?"
Yu Chen was somewhat surprised.
Jin Ying nodded and said seriously, "Yes. Take the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul, for example. Their disciples cultivate much more slowly than others their age precisely because their martial soul's bloodline power is too strong."
"However-"
His tone shifted. "That slowness is only temporary. After level seventy, the situation reverses, and the advantages of a high-grade martial soul truly emerge."
As he spoke, Jin Ying shook his head gently, a hint of self-mockery in his voice.
"My martial soul isn't weak, but its potential has almost reached its limit. Even if I were lucky enough to break through to Soul Douluo, or even Titled Douluo, I probably still couldn't defeat a Soul Sage with a blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul."
Yu Chen listened quietly, considering this in silence.
Some details in the original story had indeed been strange.
For instance, Yu Tianheng had been hailed as one of the Blue Lightning Twin Stars. Even setting aside Tang San and his cheats, Yu Tianheng's soul power had fallen far short of Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others during the same period.
That was very unusual.
With Jin Ying's explanation, it now made sense.
Yu Tianheng's martial soul was stronger, so his cultivation slowed somewhat in the middle stages, allowing Dai Mubai to surpass him.
But in the later stages, Yu Tianheng would most likely be able to break through to Titled Douluo thanks to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's bloodline power.
By contrast, the Dai Family's white tiger martial soul had not produced a single Titled Douluo in hundreds of years.
That was the difference between martial souls.
In the second Douluo story, this was even more pronounced among soul masters with ultimate attributes. They needed several times as much energy as those with ordinary martial souls to advance each level.
So Xiao Bai Dragon's immense potential is also a happy burden?
Yu Chen stroked Xiao Bai's head, sighing inwardly.
Then how could he quickly get through this long stage of accumulating soul power?
Without a doubt, soul bones were one option.
After absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's soul bone, his soul power had risen straight to level twenty-nine, saving him several years of arduous cultivation.
The other path...
Would probably be immortal herbs.
Yu Chen thought to himself.
In the original story, Tang San had obtained immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
From then on, all the Shrek Seven Devils had entered their cheating phase.
Looks like I need to finish my theoretical studies and join the Imperial Fighting Team as soon as possible.
A plan formed in Yu Chen's mind.
"Yu Chen, would you mind telling us what your third soul skill does?"
Just then, Jin Ying spoke again.
He added, "I'm not prying into your private affairs. The academy requires us to register the soul beasts students hunt and the soul skills they obtain, so future students have references when hunting for soul rings."
Yu Chen nodded. This was the benefit of joining a major organization.
Passing down martial souls was important, but passing down knowledge was equally indispensable.
This was also why he had decided to study at the Intermediate Academy for a while before joining the Imperial Fighting Team.
"My third soul skill is called Water Element. It lets me attack with [Hydro Pump]."
Yu Chen explained.
Xiao Bai Dragon understood his intention immediately. A ball of pale blue watery light gathered in her mouth, and she spat it toward the lake.
Boom-
Water erupted across the lake's surface, no less violently than when the Xuanming Turtle had attacked.
"It's an area-of-effect attack. After the water hits an enemy, it also reduces their speed and increases their soul power consumption."
Jin Ying nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent! That's a very good soul skill! It has both offensive power and control effects!"
Then he turned to Ming Dashan. "Principal Ming, what attribute do you need for your soul ring?"
Ming Dashan hurriedly replied, "Wind-type. Any ten-thousand-year soul beast will do."
He would already be more than satisfied to obtain a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring and did not want to cause everyone too much trouble.
"How could that do? If I'm personally taking action, how could I shortchange you? We must find the most suitable one!"
As Jin Ying spoke, he casually glanced at Yu Chen.
With a nephew like Yu Chen, Ming Dashan's future path was bound to be smooth and unobstructed.
Today, he was helping Ming Dashan hunt a soul beast. Perhaps one day, he would come knocking at Ming Dashan's door for help.
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