A Man Must Never Say He Can't!

"So, if I chose to have Little White fight independently, wouldn't I become a Fountain Commander, an onlooker who could only hide in the distance and spam '666'?"

Zhu Wu could not help thinking of that story about a Martial Soul and its useless little master.

Although Beast Martial Souls were originally meant to fight through possession, this could only be considered a flaw that was not really a flaw. But Little White was, after all, an External Martial Soul. If he did not release it to fight on its own, Zhu Wu felt that something was missing.

His obsessive-compulsive tendencies had been triggered, and he found himself oddly conflicted.

Compared to having his Martial Soul fight independently or possessing his body, he felt that a mixed double-team would be the better choice.

They said you could not have both fish and bear's paw, but as an adult, he wanted it all!

"Uh, why isn't he awake yet?" Outside, seeing that the soul ring had already vanished while Zhu Wu still had not awakened, the Dean looked puzzled.

Unable to help himself, he called out softly, "Student Zhu Wu?"

Zhu Wu immediately came back to his senses. Remembering that the Dean was still standing outside guarding him, he quickly opened his eyes.

"Sorry, Dean. I was thinking about the soul skill I just acquired," he said apologetically.

He really was still a child. The Dean smiled.

After a soul master absorbed a soul ring, information related to the soul skill would naturally surface in their mind. Back then, he too had found it incredibly wondrous.

"To leave you so lost in thought, it seems you gained quite a good soul skill," he teased.

"Clone. The soul skill I obtained is called Clone. It can create two clones to confuse enemies," Zhu Wu said without hesitation.

It was actually Charm plus Clone. Clearly, the roughly four-hundred-year-old Three-Eyed Demon Fox only possessed those two innate skills, and both were limited in power. He clearly remembered that the sixty-thousand-year-old Three-Eyed Demon Fox Xiao Wu encountered in the original story could create seven clones, and those clones apparently could even be controlled in battle. Unlike the Clone skill his Martial Soul had now acquired, which could only be used for deception.

Clearly, lower-aged Three-Eyed Demon Foxes had yet to comprehend this innate ability to such a level.

This also showed that after Little White absorbed a soul ring, both the quantity and quality of the abilities it could gain would be limited by the soul beast's own innate talent.

From another perspective, the quality of a soul ring determined the number of inherited skills and their base strength.

Of course, it also determined the increase in strength it brought after being absorbed by a soul master—physical strength and Soul Power included.

"I wonder whether it will have a chance to evolve in the future?"

For a skill like Charm, there was no doubt that the power it could exert mainly depended on the soul master's own spiritual strength. But a skill like Clone was still heavily constrained by the quality of the soul ring. If it could not be improved later, it would be rather useless.

The Dean felt the same way. As expected, a silkworm Martial Soul isn't suited for combat, he sighed inwardly. But to avoid hurting Zhu Wu's feelings, he still smiled and said,

"It's not bad. It can be considered a decent life-preserving ability."

"Mhm, mhm." Zhu Wu nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, now that everything has been settled, it's time for us to head back," the Dean continued.

"Okay." Zhu Wu smiled and followed him onto the return journey.

There was nothing important to deal with along the way, so Zhu Wu inevitably let his mind wander as he considered the Martial Soul abilities he had discovered today.

"Come to think of it, Little White's method of obtaining skills is somewhat like the Mirror Sausage created by Oscar's Sixth Soul Skill. The difference is that Oscar uses blood as material, then creates sausages through his soul skill—or rather, Soul Power—and only gains another person's soul skills after eating them. Because of that, he can only replicate soul skills and cannot obtain self-created skills, and there is also a time limit."

"Little White, on the other hand, gains soul beast skills by absorbing soul rings."

"A soul ring's additions to a Martial Soul are permanent, so Little White can permanently possess that soul beast's skills."

"Mm, Little White, as an External Martial Soul, already possesses an innate talent for simulating Illusion Transformation. So this method of gaining skills through absorbing soul rings must have evolved from that. In other words, every time I break through a major realm in the future, Little White can obtain the innate skill of a soul beast by absorbing its soul ring. That leaves quite a lot of room for manipulation."

"It just has to transform into that soul beast to use its skills..."

"So, should I take the versatile route and maximize survival across land, sea, and air with no blind spots? Or should I specialize and raise my damage output?"

"Damn it, I need to think this through properly after I get back."

"But there's no rush. It'll be a long time before I absorb my next soul ring, so I can take my time."

"So, if Little White fights independently, what am I supposed to do?" He returned to the original question.

"Mm, soul skills are ultimately just applications of Soul Power. Since I can use the soul beast skills Little White inherited after Martial Soul Possession, why can't I learn those skills through comprehension while possessed?"

"It's the same body using the skills. Why can I use them while possessed but not without possession?"

It simply felt unreasonable to him.

"If all else fails, I'll properly develop the Vajra Longevity Exercise next and see if I can figure out some derivative skills. And if that doesn't work, I'll find a way to mooch off Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record?"

"In any case, I can't be left without combat power after my Martial Soul leaves my body."

A man had to be hard enough himself—long, hard, and enduring!

"With the Vajra Longevity Exercise as my foundation, if I can't do it, who can?" Thinking of this, a blazing fire rose in his eyes.

A man could never say he couldn't do it!

Once he got back, he would have to study it carefully. With that thought, he came back to his senses, released Little White, and carefully observed the surroundings.

Little White could transform into any soul beast it had seen. Looking at more now might come in handy later.

Besides, after returning, he wanted to test whether he himself could use its Illusion Transformation talent after Little White possessed him.

A day later, at the gates of Notting Academy, the two got down from the carriage.

"Little Zhu, if you have nothing else to do, you can make a trip to Spirit Hall this afternoon to register as a soul master and collect this month's soul master allowance. You're growing right now, so that money can help cover your meals," the Dean said with a smile.

"Alright." Zhu Wu nodded and gave a slight bow. "Thank you so much for this."

"It was nothing but a small effort." The Dean smiled. "Alright, I've been away for several days, so the academy has probably accumulated some matters waiting for me to handle. I won't escort you back to the dormitory. There's still plenty of time. You can return to your dormitory first, wash up, rest a bit, and then go to Spirit Hall."

"Mhm, mhm." Zhu Wu hurriedly nodded and watched the Dean leave.

After the man had gone far away, he did not delay any longer and headed straight for the dormitory.

"Little Zhu, you're back!" The moment he entered the dormitory, he immediately caught his roommates' attention. Wang Sheng was the first to greet him.

"How was it? What soul ring did you hunt, and what soul skill did you get?" Xiao Wu asked right away.

Were you being polite? Didn't you know this was a taboo topic among soul masters? Zhu Wu was speechless as he swept his gaze over them.

Tang San sat quietly nearby without stopping her. School had just ended, and it was noon. Tang San had not yet gone to the Blacksmith Shop.

"A hundred-year Three-Eyed Demon Fox. The soul skill is Clone." Seeing that all his roommates were looking at him, Zhu Wu gave a simple introduction.

"Pretty average," Xiao Wu commented casually before turning over to sleep.

Zhu Wu could not be bothered to pay her any attention. Turning back to Wang Sheng and the other roommates, he smiled. "I'll go wash up first. Later, I'm heading to Spirit Hall to register as a soul master. Once I collect the allowance, I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight as a celebration."

"Hehe, that sounds great." Wang Sheng chuckled.

"Hehe, Little Zhu, now that you've gotten money, shouldn't you pay respects to the dorm's boss?" Xiao Wu's voice suddenly rang out.

Zhu Wu turned his head. Xiao Wu had rolled back onto her back and was looking at him with a beaming smile.

"When you go out later, shouldn't you bring your boss something tasty?"