Spirit Soul Mutation

Yet the changes did not stop there.

As his inner force circulated, Shi Quan felt his entire body grow warm. It was a sensation he had never experienced in previous cultivation. Wherever the mutually generating yin-yang inner force went, his whole body—even his bloodline—seemed to leap with joy.

"This feeling... is my Spirit Soul resonating?"

Shi Quan suddenly opened his eyes and finally discovered the source of it all.

It was already deep into the night. Everyone else in the dormitory had long since sunk into peaceful dreams.

A faint blue glow bloomed from Shi Quan's hand as Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm, swaying gently.

At first glance, the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand looked no different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass. But upon closer inspection, its branches and leaves were several degrees broader and thicker. The veins running through its blue leaves were not their usual blue, but were streaked with faint threads of black.

"The Blue Silver Grass's attributes have changed!"

Shi Quan's eyes widened, his throat feeling dry. After carefully observing and sensing it again, disbelief filled the depths of his eyes.

The attributes of his Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul had indeed changed—and there were two of them.

Life and devouring!

Two mutually contradictory attributes, neither particularly obvious at present, had somehow appeared upon his Blue Silver Grass.

"It's because of the inner force."

Shi Quan quickly identified the source of the Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul's changes: the yin-yang inner force within his body.

The inner force of those two yin-yang attributes seemed capable of awakening a Spirit Soul's inherent attributes.

Shi Quan was not sure whether his perception was mistaken. It had happened too suddenly, and he had not had time to react.

If the yang attribute corresponded to the Blue Silver Grass's Life Attribute, then the yin attribute must correspond to its Devouring Attribute.

Aside from Blue Silver Grass, would his other two Spirit Souls also awaken their own special attributes?

Were these changes to his Spirit Souls temporary or permanent?

A series of questions surfaced in Shi Quan's mind.

"Calm down!"

Shi Quan took several deep breaths and suppressed his restless emotions.

He could not recklessly test it in the dormitory. The same went for Blue Silver Grass. He could only wait until tomorrow and test it at the academy's Back Mountain.

"Cultivate first."

Clearing away the distracting thoughts in his mind, he circulated the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art through his body again. That warm sensation once more swept through his entire body.

"What a strange feeling."

It was as though his entire body had been immersed in a hot spring, leaving him comfortable and relaxed as Shi Quan gradually emptied his mind.

The night passed.

This was undoubtedly the most comfortable night of cultivation he had experienced since he began cultivating.

Morning training continued as usual. Because of the changes in his inner force, his martial arts practice was much smoother than before.

After class, Shi Quan did not even return to the dormitory. He grabbed his books, hurried to the Cafeteria for a quick meal, then raced toward the academy's Back Mountain.

After arriving at the Back Mountain, he looked around to make sure no one was nearby before raising his right hand. Blue light gathered and formed Blue Silver Grass.

The Blue Silver Grass was still the same as it had been last night, but for some reason, Shi Quan felt its attributes seemed even more distinct.

"Go!"

With a flick of his hand, the Blue Silver Grass in his palm stretched out with the wind. It wrapped halfway around a distant tree before returning to Shi Quan's hand.

"Even controlling it has become easier." Shi Quan's eyes lit up. His right hand slowly pulled, and the Blue Silver Grass swiftly drew taut. As he continued increasing the force, it finally could not withstand the strain and snapped.

"It's more resilient than before, and it really does have Devouring Ability, though it's rather weak." Shi Quan walked to the trunk and touched the spot where the Blue Silver Grass had bound it. The mark was shallow and almost imperceptible, but it at least proved that the Devouring Ability existed.

"Soil."

He clenched his right hand, dismissing the Blue Silver Grass. A light yellow glow emerged from his left hand.

When the clump of soil landed in his hand, Shi Quan's first impression was that it was heavy. Compared to before, its density had clearly increased. It felt dense and weighty, yet slightly damp and soft.

Unlike Blue Silver Grass, Shi Quan could not sense any obvious attributes from the Soil Spirit Soul. He only felt that it had become more substantial than before. He could not explain the exact changes, but one thing was certain: the Soil Spirit Soul had also been affected by his inner force.

"Spirit Soul!"

He clenched his left hand, and the soil vanished from his palm. A ghostly glint flashed through his eyes as the Spirit Soul attached itself directly to his body.

Ordinary Beast Spirit Souls could not attach themselves to their users before obtaining a Spirit Ring, but Shi Quan's Spirit Soul was special. Even without a Spirit Ring, it could possess him, and after doing so, it was no different from a normal Spirit Soul. That was why Shi Quan had casually used Spirit Soul possession before Shi Jian to enter the Spirit Enlightenment State.

"This feeling!?"

The instant the Spirit Soul possessed him, Shi Quan immediately sensed its subtle changes. He raised his hand toward the tree before him again, and strangely, his fingers passed directly through the trunk!

Soul Transformation!

More accurately, it should be Phantom Transformation. If the soul of the yang attribute represented the consciousness and thoughts one possessed while alive, then the yin attribute represented the lingering obsessions of a dead person's ghost.

Previously, his Spirit Soul had possessed only a pure spiritual attribute. Now, however, the Spirit Soul had gained the sinister mystique of a phantom in addition to that spiritual attribute.

The awkward part was that his Spirit Soul could currently transform only a small part of his body into a phantom—an area no larger than half a palm.

But Shi Quan had a feeling that the effects brought by the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art's inner force could not possibly be so simple. His inner force had only just undergone its transformation, and he still needed time to uncover its mysteries.

With a thought, the Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul appeared in his hand again. Looking at it, Shi Quan smiled faintly. "The changes to Blue Silver Grass have really helped me out."

To outsiders, his Innate Soul Power was only Level 1. Yet after drinking the Spirit Awakening Fluid, his Innate Soul Power had directly reached Level 4. After three months of hard cultivation at home, his soul power had broken through to Level 5. After inheriting the True Scripture, the conversion between soul power and inner force had raised his strength to Level 6 in only a single month.

For a Spirit Master with Level 1 Innate Soul Power, his rate of improvement was terrifying. It was already considered good if a Spirit Master with Level 1 Innate Soul Power could break through to Spirit Scholar within six years. Yet only one month after school began, he had already reached Level 6.

At his current cultivation rate, with the help of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art, he was confident that he could reach Level 10 within a year.

Rapid growth in strength was naturally a good thing, but how was a Spirit Scholar with Level 1 Innate Soul Power supposed to explain gaining nine levels of soul power in just one year to the academy and Spirit Hall?

Shi Quan had originally been worried about how to deal with that problem when the time came, but the changes in his Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul had given him an excuse!

Still, he needed to think this matter through carefully.

Every morning, Shi Quan would follow his usual routine and cultivate Muscle and Marrow Cleansing on the Sports Field. After finishing his classes in the morning, he would go to the Back Mountain in the afternoon to practice his other martial arts, then return to the dormitory at night and cultivate the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art.

Every day was exceptionally fulfilling. Each of the six martial arts was exquisitely profound, and Shi Quan could feel himself improving every day.

As for Xiao Wu, after behaving herself for over a month, she may have learned a way to deal with him from Tang San and once again challenged Shi Quan.

Shi Quan knew Xiao Wu's temperament. If he refused, he probably would not be able to cultivate in peace for quite some time, so he could only agree helplessly.

The outcome was unchanged. Shi Quan's divine skill had just taken shape, and his use of Nine Shadows Shift had become even smoother and more fluid. Even when Xiao Wu used her Spirit Soul, and even with the Blue Silver Grass restraining her, she simply could not get close to Shi Quan.

The fight ended amid Xiao Wu's furious shout.

Xiao Wu was clearly not someone who would give up easily. After that, she came to challenge Shi Quan nearly every month.

Shi Quan grew increasingly annoyed. To stop Xiao Wu from disrupting his cultivation, he found a relatively easy and quick-to-master whip technique in the True Scripture called the White Python Whip Technique, using it together with the evasive movements of Nine Shadows Shift.

He extended Blue Silver Grass into a long grass whip, dodging while also teaching Xiao Wu a lesson. Although his Blue Silver Grass had not absorbed a Spirit Ring, the saying went, "An inch longer, an inch stronger." Once the White Python Whip Technique was unleashed, it was unpredictable and strange. Its strikes would not injure her, but they certainly left her sore.

Xiao Wu had already been eager to beat Shi Quan senseless. After being lashed by his White Python Whip Technique, she stamped her feet in fury and hated Shi Quan even more.

The Work-Study Students said that Xiao Wu was rarely seen cultivating in ordinary times, yet recently they often saw her cultivating seriously. They had no idea what had provoked her.

When Shi Quan heard that, he felt a headache coming on. He had wanted Xiao Wu to stop bothering him, but the result was the exact opposite. Instead, he had motivated her to work even harder so she could teach him a lesson.

Two months passed like that, and both Xiao Wu and Tang San steadily improved their strength.

Shi Quan, on the other hand, experienced a strange stagnation in his Soul Power Level. Over those two months, his inner force did not increase in the slightest, yet Shi Quan was not worried at all. On the contrary, he found it delightful.

As he continued cultivating, he discovered that his inner force had not stopped increasing. Rather, all the inner force he had cultivated over the past two months had gone toward nourishing his Spirit Souls.

Shi Quan also gained a more complete and clear understanding of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art's power.

Under the nourishment of his inner force, his three Spirit Souls were undergoing a state of acquired mutation.

The changes brought by the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art's inner force were not temporary, but permanent.

Shi Quan had initially thought that the changes in his Spirit Souls were merely changes in outward form caused by inner force. As his Soul Power Level grew stronger, their attribute changes would become increasingly obvious whenever inner force was infused into them.

But as his cultivation continued, he discovered that was not the case. The changes to his Spirit Souls were not merely changes in appearance, but transformations from within.

Even without using inner force, the Spirit Souls he summoned remained in a state where yin and yang attributes coexisted.

This was a Spirit Soul Mutation, and a beneficial one at that. As his Spirit Souls continued to mutate, Shi Quan was surprised to find that his control over them became increasingly effortless. It was as if they were no longer independent entities. Instead, like the inner force in his body, they no longer carried that former sense of separation when he controlled them.

These discoveries could not help but make Shi Quan marvel at the wonder and power of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art.

This stagnation of inner force lasted for a full six months before his inner force finally began increasing again.

His Spirit Souls had only then completed their initial transformation.

While cultivating, he discovered that although his inner force had begun to increase again, his Spirit Souls were still constantly being nourished by it. As his inner force grew stronger in the future, the special attributes of his three Spirit Souls would also strengthen.

For six months, Shi Quan's Soul Power Level remained at Level 6, while Xiao Wu and Tang San had both risen to around Level 14 or 15.

To keep Xiao Wu from disrupting his cultivation, Shi Quan's attacks became increasingly heavy. Let Xiao Wu hammer him? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Since she insisted on coming for a beating, Shi Quan could not be bothered to hold back. Although their soul power differed by nearly ten levels, the profound martial arts of the True Scripture could easily bridge a gap of less than ten levels. Moreover, the inner force from his divine skill was endless, making him stronger as the battle went on. Even though Xiao Wu's Soul Power Level was higher, she could not outlast Shi Quan.

Thus, in every fight between them, Xiao Wu had never gained any advantage against Shi Quan.

Shi Quan had finished the books he first borrowed one month after school began. After returning them, he borrowed two more books. This cycle continued, and he went to borrow and return books about once every month. Every time, the one handling his loans and returns was Dean Marde.

Since Marde would also casually test him with a question or two each time he returned books, the two gradually had many exchanges. Later, whenever Shi Quan came to return and borrow books, Dean Marde would prepare two new books for him in advance, saving Shi Quan a great deal of effort searching for them.

Notting Academy's education system was based on academic years, with one term lasting roughly a year. Students were not allowed to return home during that time, though relatives could come visit. Li Meili and Shi Jian came to visit Shi Quan about once every two months. Whenever Shi Jian's business was doing well, they came even more often.

Before long, the first academic year was nearing its end.

Shi Quan got up early, but unusually, he did not head straight to the Sports Field to cultivate Muscle and Marrow Cleansing. Instead, he began packing.

Once the morning classes ended today, vacation would begin. After class, he could take his things and leave directly.

Shi Quan did not have much to bring. He did not even need a change of clothes. In the end, he packed several books, his reading notes, and a few other small items. Since the vacation lasted a full two months, he had deliberately borrowed two extra books from Dean Marde the last time he returned some.

With vacation approaching, everyone in the class had grown restless. Most of them had no mind for lessons.

During this academic year at Notting Academy, Shi Quan had lived each day to the fullest, and naturally, his gains had been enormous. Aside from the improvement of his martial arts and Spirit Souls, his inner force had already broken through to Level 7. He was likely only a few weeks away from Level 8.

Although his Spirit Soul Mutation had caused his strength to stagnate for six months, Shi Quan was still very satisfied with his current rate of improvement.