A while later, Li Mu began cultivating according to the meditation method Li Mingzhu had brought.
Soul power flowed through his meridians, and Li Mingzhu could sense that his cultivation efficiency had increased by more than ten percent.
Li Mingzhu watched Li Mu throughout the entire process. Now he could be absolutely certain that Li Mu was cultivating soul power normally.
He also had a theory about how Li Mu's soul power had appeared.
First, it absolutely could not have been the whale rubber itself. If whale rubber had that effect, it would have been worth half an immortal-grade herb.
Li Mingzhu strongly suspected that soul power had always existed within Li Mu, but his innate soul power had been so low that it had gone undetected.
Just think about it: with innate soul power below even half a rank, what could a crystal ball possibly detect?
Li Mingzhu could conclude that the faint innate soul power within Li Mu had increased after being stimulated by the whale rubber.
Judging by his observations just now, Li Mu's soul power was currently around rank two.
Li Mu having soul power was a pleasant surprise for Li Mingzhu. After all, in a supernatural world, he ought to have at least some means of protecting himself.
Li Mingzhu had worried about Li Mu before. He was not afraid of Li Mu having low innate soul power; he was afraid of him having none at all.
With soul power, once Li Mingzhu secured the immortal herbs he was planning to obtain, he would have plenty of ways to improve Li Mu's talent. As the saying went, sixty or seventy was just the age to venture out into the world.
Most of the immortal herbs he remembered required soul power to refine. If Li Mu had no soul power, even a treasure would be useless to him!
Li Mingzhu had long entertained a half-formed idea. The old man was already named Li Mu; not giving him a Mountain-Suppressing Sword would simply be inexcusable.
Now Li Mu definitely had soul power, and his martial soul was even a Black Iron Bar.
With a stalk of ink jade divine bamboo and a few soul bones piled on top, I might just be able to give Grandpa a budget version of the Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
The more Li Mingzhu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
"Grandpa, once I find the right opportunity in the future, I can help make your martial soul even stronger."
Li Mingzhu said this to Li Mu excitedly.
Those words did not stir Li Mu's heart. It was not that he did not believe him, but that it seemed unreal.
Li Mu thought, Even the legendary Titled Douluo probably couldn't do that!
Yet looking at Li Mingzhu's unwavering gaze, and recalling the surprise the whale rubber had brought him, for a fleeting moment he truly felt that Li Mingzhu might be able to accomplish it!
What grandfather would not believe in his grandson? At least at this very moment, his grandson had succeeded.
"Then I'll be relying on your help from now on, Mingzhu!" Li Mu said, looking at him affectionately.
And so Li Mingzhu stayed in the village with Li Mu for a while, helping him get his cultivation on the right track.
Once he was certain there were no problems with Li Mu's cultivation, Li Mingzhu prepared to return to the academy.
Li Mu was cultivating in the cellar. Sensing Li Mingzhu approach, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Mingzhu, you've come because you're getting ready to return to the academy, right?"
"That's right, Grandpa. If I'm away too long, the academy will worry."
Li Mingzhu spoke lightly.
"Grandpa, after I leave, don't let anyone find out that you have soul power, or you'll draw fire upon yourself. Just be careful and cultivate in the cellar as usual."
Worried about the secret getting out, Li Mingzhu reminded him cautiously.
"Go on! Don't worry about me. I'll be careful about this too," Li Mu replied quietly.
Feeling that he had made all the necessary arrangements, Li Mingzhu headed back to the academy at an unhurried pace.
After some time, Li Mingzhu returned to the academy. He briefly explained the situation to Dean Lin, then hurried back to his quarters.
In his office, Lin Nuo had wanted to ask more about Li Mingzhu's affairs, so he could play the affection card in the future. But upon hearing that Li Mingzhu was about to break through to the next soul power level, he kept things brief.
Li Mingzhu sat cross-legged on the floor of his room. He had not lied to Lin Nuo earlier. He really was about to break through, though not to rank twelve, but rank fifteen!
Under Li Mingzhu's guidance, his soul power became highly active. There was not much of this active soul power within him, but its quality far surpassed that of Soul Masters at the same rank. In time with Li Mingzhu's measured breathing, his soul power steadily accumulated and surged through him.
"Phew-!"
Li Mingzhu let out a long breath. His active soul power abruptly reached its peak, and just like that, he stepped into rank fifteen.
"Not bad. My soul power has finally reached rank fifteen. Come to think of it, I've climbed five ranks in less than a month. If other Soul Masters heard about this, they'd probably be so furious they'd cough up blood," Li Mingzhu said, rubbing his sore neck.
If I keep cultivating at this speed, I can definitely reach rank twenty within a year. Then I can leave Nuoding Academy at eight and see what that intermediate academy Lin Nuo mentioned is like.
At that thought, Li Mingzhu felt increasingly hopeful about the future.
As the days passed, Li Mingzhu did little more than two things at the academy.
They were meditation and study!
Meditative cultivation had something to do with how hard a person worked, but not much.
Meditative cultivation required focused mental power. Cultivating for too long would cause mental exhaustion, bringing side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and stabbing pain. In more extreme cases, it could cause a mental breakdown and severe psychological trauma.
One could say that every Soul Master's mental power had a threshold, and that threshold determined how long they could meditate. Once meditation reached that threshold, their mind would grow fatigued and their consciousness hazy.
The purpose of hard work was to help a Soul Master endure the side effects of meditating beyond that threshold. Of course, exceeding it by a suitable amount would not cause side effects, and could even raise the threshold and strengthen mental power.
That was one major benefit of diligent cultivation!
The same applied to Li Mingzhu's meditative cultivation. Fortunately, having lived two lives, Li Mingzhu possessed stronger mental power, which helped somewhat in the early stages of cultivation.
Ah! Thinking about it this way, I'm craving Little Scumbag's Mysterious Heaven Skill more and more! Li Mingzhu mused.
It was hardly surprising that Li Mingzhu coveted it. The Mysterious Heaven Skill was one of a kind on the Douluo Continent. Not only did prolonged cultivation cause no problems, it could even increase cultivation speed.
Once mastered, the three flowers would gather at the crown, and the five energies would return to their source. It offered tremendous endurance, allowing soul power and the like to replenish endlessly.
To put it bluntly, across the five-part Douluo series, the Mysterious Heaven Skill could be cultivated all the way to rank one hundred and fifty. It was a cultivation method that led straight to God King. (Guys, I'm not making this up. Tang San was still using the Mysterious Heaven Skill after becoming a God King.)
Li Mingzhu might be cultivating quickly now, but his martial soul possessed ultimate attributes.
The Ancient Void Dragon possessed two attributes: ultimate space and ultimate fire.
Later, when Li Mingzhu was between ranks thirty and seventy, his cultivation speed would decrease drastically. A good cultivation method could let him achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Li Mingzhu pondered for a while.
My chances of obtaining the Mysterious Heaven Skill are slim. After all, even Little Scumbag's disciples, children, and wife never cultivated the complete Mysterious Heaven Skill, let alone an outsider like me.
As for creating a cultivation method, I can dream about it and then go to sleep. Although I know a little about the twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, and can locate each one, I have absolutely no idea how soul power should circulate through them or in what order.
Li Mingzhu sighed helplessly.
I don't want to suffer qi deviation and have every inch of my meridians severed just because I tried to create a cultivation method. By then, I wouldn't even have anywhere to cry.
Forget it, forget it. For now, I can only give up and revisit it once I'm stronger.
Before you continue