Inspection

"A genius and bold idea!" Salas raised his head, secretly praising him. "From merely knowing that Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts possess intelligence no less than humans, he was able to infer that absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring requires enduring a Soul Impact. This child truly has extraordinary talent for theory. No wonder he came up with the Cross-Level Soul Ring Absorption Theory. Moreover, his Martial Soul talent is probably no longer poor either."

"After the Martial Soul Evolution, it can communicate with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass and gather information to sense the area around it. Without a doubt, this is an effect only possible when a higher rank suppresses a lower one. In other words, Yang Yunhai's Martial Soul has already surpassed the category of Common Blue Silver Grass."

"Not to mention that it possesses considerable Thunder Attribute offensive power. Otherwise, he could not have killed a Pot Vine with more than two thousand years of cultivation all by himself."

That meant he had no choice but to take this seriously.

If Yang Yunhai's Martial Soul had no Thunder Attribute, if his cultivation had not advanced to Soul Elder, and if his Martial Soul had not evolved, Salas might have had Yang Yunhai draw some blood so he could try drinking it himself and see whether it would have any effect. For example, could it slightly improve the quality of his own Martial Soul?

But given the current situation...

As he thought, he turned to Yang Yunhai and gave a slight nod. "Yang Yunhai, you are very impressive."

As he spoke, he slowly rose to his feet. "This theory is of great significance to Spirit Hall. Tomorrow, I will personally travel to Spirit Hall to report it to His Holiness the Pope. However, before that, I need to reassess your Individual Ability and report it together to His Holiness the Pope."

Yang Yunhai stood as well and slightly cupped his hands. "Please give your orders, Bishop."

Salas nodded slightly, strode to the open space in the room, then turned around. "Now, release your Martial Soul and attack me with your full strength, just as you did against that two-thousand-year Pot Vine."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Spirit Rings beneath his feet pulsed, and light shimmered around his entire body.

"Yes." Yang Yunhai nodded. With a flick of his right hand, his Martial Soul appeared and rapidly grew into vines that shot toward Salas.

"This..." Seeing the dense golden patterns on the vines' surface, as well as the countless sharp barbs gleaming with Golden Light beneath the lamplight, Salas could not help showing surprise.

The next moment, the vines came into contact with his body and visibly climbed and spread across him. At the same time, they continuously squeezed inward and tightened, displaying powerful constricting and cutting force. A faint suction accompanied them as well.

"This strength, this force, this sharpness..." Salas exerted a little force and broke free, inwardly shocked enough to completely ignore the fact that his Soul Power was being slowly absorbed.

Compared to its control ability, he felt that this devouring ability was merely the icing on the cake.

Even a Battle Spirit Master at the Soul Ancestor level would find it difficult to break free from this degree of control, wouldn't he? he assessed inwardly.

"Bishop, be careful. I'm about to unleash the Thunder Attribute attack." Yang Yunhai's reminder reached him amid his thoughts.

Salas immediately came back to himself. A trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes as he nodded. "Use your full strength."

Yang Yunhai nodded slightly. In the next instant, the vines before him suddenly erupted with dazzling Golden Electric Arcs. "Golden!?" Under Salas's astonished gaze, the current surged over his body.

Crackling electrical sounds continuously echoed through the air. The entire room instantly brightened, and Salas's hair began to rise strand by strand.

"This power... the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul at the same level is absolutely far inferior!" He completely ignored his hairstyle, his eyes filled only with excitement.

"Stop." He immediately called out.

"Yes." Yang Yunhai stopped supplying Soul Power, then dismissed the vines and his Martial Soul.

Salas then strode over, light shining in his eyes. "Next, extend your hand. I need to examine your physical condition and the stability of the Soul Power within your body. Given the Martial Soul abilities you have displayed, I do not believe your recent rise in Soul Power came from the devouring of your Second Soul Skill. But in order to report the details to His Holiness the Pope, I must follow procedure."

"Alright." Yang Yunhai's heart stirred, and he decisively raised his left hand.

Salas naturally grabbed it with his right hand and repeatedly pressed and kneaded it up and down for a while. A flash of surprise passed through his eyes.

At this age, his bone strength is actually this high!? he thought in secret astonishment.

"Have you practiced some kind of Soul Skill with your hands?" He raised his head and could not help asking.

"Not really. I only trained my arm strength by lifting heavy objects with my hands and doing some other movements. You need strength to pull vines, after all." Yang Yunhai's expression remained unchanged. "If there is anything else, it should be that bamboo shoot and my long-term cultivation through Lightning Attraction."

Hearing this, Salas immediately remembered that Yang Yunhai had mentioned in his letter that drawing lightning into the body could strengthen the physical form. When lightning struck the body, it would naturally electrocute the entire body, including the bones. Over long periods of time, the improvement should not have been small.

Besides, he had consumed a rare treasure, absorbed three Spirit Rings across levels, and regularly trained hard.

Thinking about it this way, it was reasonable enough.

With that thought, he nodded slightly, then lowered his head again, his expression turning serious.

He carefully mobilized the Soul Power within his body and slowly seeped it through his fingertips into Yang Yunhai's wrist. To judge a Spirit Master's cultivation aptitude, one needed to assess not only the quality of his Martial Soul, but also the toughness, width, and smoothness of his meridians.

As for judging whether a Spirit Master had used devouring abilities to greatly raise his cultivation in a short period, that was simple. One only needed to determine whether the Soul Power in his body was pure enough and stable enough. Devouring abilities truly accelerated cultivation, but they also brought many negative effects.

For instance, Soul Power could be insufficiently pure, cultivation could be somewhat unstable, and impurities could remain within the body. This was also why Fallen Soul Masters throughout history had rarely managed to cultivate to the Titled Douluo level.

There was no need to inspect the entire body. A Spirit Master's Soul Power and meridians formed their own circulation and connected throughout the body.

Therefore, inspecting a small area was generally enough to make a judgment, especially certain core regions.

With this in mind, he carefully controlled his Soul Power as it entered Yang Yunhai's meridians, then let it flow in the direction of the internal Soul Power's circulation. Seconds passed one after another, and Salas's inner shock grew increasingly intense, until his Soul Power crossed Yang Yunhai's shoulder and reached his spine.

The spine was the central axis of the body's skeleton and the core pillar supporting the human body. The meridians contained within it held the same status among the body's meridians as the spine did among its bones: they were the main pathways and core. Thus, by understanding the bone strength there, as well as the meridians' toughness, width, and smoothness, one could practically make a final estimation of a Spirit Master's aptitude.

"This bone strength, this meridian width, toughness, and smoothness... how is this possible? Is it the result of lightning entering his body, or did drinking the water collected in that bamboo shoot truly produce such an effect?" Salas was shocked beyond measure.

In terms of meridian smoothness alone, he discovered that he was actually inferior to Yang Yunhai. That was simply absurd.

"His Soul Power is so pure. It is absolutely impossible that he has devoured external energy into his body." He was extremely certain of this.

"Furthermore, I did not sense any other special energy. It seems the medicinal potency of that bamboo shoot has already been completely absorbed." With that thought, he quickly withdrew his Soul Power and released Yang Yunhai's hand, then looked at him with a solemn expression.

"Yang Yunhai, tomorrow, accompany me to Spirit City. With your aptitude and talent for theoretical research, only Spirit City can give you the best training. Only Spirit City can uncover your potential to the greatest extent."

A top-tier Martial Soul. In Salas's view, judging by this Martial Soul's strength and abilities, Yang Yunhai's Martial Soul—which had first mutated and then evolved—had undoubtedly reached the level of a top-tier Martial Soul. It was even superior to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.

More importantly, his physical aptitude was this exceptional as well.

He did not know whether Yang Yunhai could cultivate to the Titled Douluo level in the future. After all, he had not reached that realm himself and knew too little about it. But one thing was certain: as long as he could bring Yang Yunhai to Spirit City, his position within Spirit Hall would definitely become even more secure.

If luck favored him and Yang Yunhai caught the eye of some Titled Elder who took him as a disciple, Salas might benefit even more.

"Sorry, Bishop, but I cannot go to Spirit City for the time being." Yang Yunhai shook his head.