Teaching (III)

He had to admit, he appreciated Zhu Zhuqing more and more.

Mixing with that inhuman bunch at Shrek was simply a waste.

He pondered briefly, as though sorting out his thoughts, then slowly began, "The paths of growth for Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent can broadly be divided into two categories: the balanced school and the limit school. The Speed Clan is a representative of the limit school."

"They focus on just one direction in their cultivation: speed. Their Soul Ring choices are also extremely single-minded. They only choose speed-type Soul Beasts of the same category, with swifts being the most popular. Every ring provides speed, every ring stacks agility to the extreme."

"This strategy does indeed make them run extremely fast, so fast that ordinary people can only gaze at the dust in their wake." At this point, Jiang Che's tone grew slightly heavier. "But the problem is that they can gain speed, yet cannot control it."

There was one other thing Jiang Che had not said: what if the Speed Clan could survive until the Douluo II era?

Extreme speed combined with a powerful Soul Tool would definitely double the effect.

As for the current Douluo I era, the Sun Moon Empire was still on the other side of the sea, and Soul Tools had yet to fully develop. Moreover, most Soul Masters were extremely resistant to the development of Soul Tools, believing reliance on external objects to be a crooked, unorthodox path.

Without Soul Tools, Jiang Che could only have Zhu Zhuqing strengthen her physical capabilities.

Just imagine Zhu Zhuqing in a war, relying on extreme speed and a formidable physique to ram straight into people with her body, smashing them into clouds of blood.

"Cannot... control it?" Zhu Zhuqing blinked, confusion rising between her brows. "Isn't faster always better? If they can already run that fast, why would they still lose control?"

Jiang Che explained, "That's right. What Agility Attack System Soul Masters pursue has never been simply running fast, but using speed to fight. Controlling speed is the key."

"If you can't even command your own speed, then at most, you're just a passerby who can run fast."

Jiang Che held up three fingers and continued, "To put it more vividly, the Speed Clan's speed is better suited to scouts. For delivering intelligence and scouting enemy movements, running fast is enough."

"From now on, when you obtain Soul Rings, you must prioritize Soul Beasts with speed and dark attributes. Long-legged cats and leopards are best. If they can increase your speed while also strengthening your body, that would be ideal."

"Whatever you do, don't settle for hunting Soul Beasts for attack or enhancement Soul Rings just because you can't find a speed-type Soul Ring."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded earnestly.

Jiang Che inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, behind this lay a theory that had been widely discussed on forums in his previous life.

The martial soul bloodline factor theory: put simply, when a martial soul continually absorbed Soul Rings from Soul Beasts of the same type, its specialization would gradually change at the bloodline level.

At the same time, when Soul Rings from agility attack-type Soul Beasts combined with the Nether Civet martial soul, they were also more likely to produce agility attack-type Soul Skills.

He did not dare make this theory public, because he knew better than anyone that once it spread across the continent, it would inevitably spark a frenzy of slaughter targeting specific Soul Beasts.

Generation after generation, Soul Masters would hunt the same species of Soul Beasts, attempting to use Soul Rings to "purify" their bloodlines and evolve their martial souls, ultimately establishing so-called powerful bloodline families.

But once Soul Beasts went extinct in great numbers, human Soul Masters would not be far from destruction either.

There were still tens of thousands of years before Soul Spirits would appear.

Although all of this was merely theoretical and had never been put into practice, as long as the theory existed, someone would try it.

There was another, more important reason: if all the Soul Beasts died off, how the hell would he earn any skill points?

Jiang Che gathered his thoughts and calmly added, "Even if these speed-type Soul Beasts don't necessarily give you agility attack-type Soul Skills directly, they will improve the Hell Spirit Cat's base speed little by little, right at its foundation. That accumulation matters more than any one or two Soul Skills."

Zhu Zhuqing listened intently, her fists unconsciously tightening a little.

Jiang Che nodded and continued, "Aside from choosing Soul Rings, the most crucial thing is how an Agility Attack System Soul Master cultivates. Soul Rings may not give you speed-enhancing Soul Skills, but cultivating our martial souls is something we can control ourselves."

He paused, his earnest gaze settling on Zhu Zhuqing. "So I intend to teach you an entirely new approach to cultivation. Although I haven't cultivated this way myself, I believe this path will definitely suit Agility Attack System Soul Masters."

"What is it?!" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes went round, her voice filled with incredulous wonder.

She truly could not understand how Jiang Che knew so much. It was as though he had packed all the cultivation theories on the entire Douluo Continent into his head, even though he clearly looked about the same age as her.

Jiang Che answered, "Your martial soul is the Hell Spirit Cat, so you naturally have access to Martial Soul Possession. After possession, your physical strength and speed both increase greatly, and you also gain a cat's reaction speed and dynamic vision. This is an innate advantage that Soul Masters with tool martial souls can never match."

"So the method I'm teaching you is called..."

He slowly enunciated the words:

"The Martial Soul Possession Adaptation Method."

Zhu Zhuqing blinked. Clearly hearing this term for the first time, she could not help asking, "Adaptation method? What exactly do I need to do?"

The corners of Jiang Che's mouth lifted slightly, as though he had long expected this question. "It's simple. Starting now, you must learn not only to 'enter possession,' but also to 'live within possession.'"

"What Soul Masters with beast martial souls use most in combat actually isn't Soul Skills, but Martial Soul Possession." Jiang Che looked at Zhu Zhuqing, his tone calm yet certain. "So from now on, whether you're cultivating or doing your daily training, you must maintain Martial Soul Possession as much as possible."

"Make Martial Soul Possession your normal state-this will continually hone your ability to adapt to the possessed state."

Zhu Zhuqing tilted her head slightly, a trace of confusion appearing in her feline eyes. "Adapting to Martial Soul Possession... what does that mean?"

Jiang Che patiently explained, "What you normally use is a purely human body. But once you activate Martial Soul Possession, your body changes into another form-something more like a cat-person form. Your strength and speed change, and your senses are different too."

"In other words, every time you fight, you're actually fighting with a 'new body.'" He paused. "But you never normally live in this body, run or jump with it, or raise your hands or turn your head with it. How could you possibly bring out a hundred percent of your strength right away?"

"Making Martial Soul Possession your normal state is meant to let you keep adapting to this 'new body' until you can command it as naturally as your original body, bringing out all the potential of your possessed state." Jiang Che explained carefully and earnestly.

He sighed softly and added, "Actually, the best way to improve your adaptability is to maintain Martial Soul Possession twenty-four hours a day-unfortunately, maintaining possession constantly consumes Soul Power, so that isn't truly possible."