In the past, beneath the Heavenly Screen.
At some point, the image had returned to Wu Wei.
Wu Wei sat cross-legged on the balcony. The Heavenly Screen showed him in close-up, and his stat card slowly appeared.
[Name: Wu Wei] [Age: 19] [Cultivation: Level 1] [Soul Rings: None]
The entire Douluo Continent fell silent for a moment before erupting in an uproar.
"Level 1?!"
Flender stood on the Shrek Academy training ground, his eyes wide as saucers. "Wasn't he still level 0 yesterday? He reached level 1 overnight?!"
"That cultivation speed... isn't that outrageous?!" Dai Mubai looked both shocked and envious. "How long did it take us to gain one level? A few months at the very least!"
"My Innate Soul Power was level 9, and it took me three months to reach level 10," Ma Hongjun said from the side.
Everyone was stunned. How had Wu Wei cultivated so quickly?
He had gained a level in a single day. Even if it was the easiest level, from 0 to 1, it was still far too fast.
Many Soul Masters whose Innate Soul Power was only half a level needed months to reach level 1.
Only after Wu Wei's analysis, spoken to himself on the balcony, appeared on the Heavenly Screen did everyone learn the truth.
"His Martial Soul... remained?" Flender's lips trembled as he turned to Yu Xiaogang. "Xiaogang, what... what does that mean?"
Yu Xiaogang stood where he was, his eyes flashing as his mind raced.
"It means..." he began slowly, his voice brimming with excitement he could not suppress, "that the divine punishment reset cultivation, Soul Power Level, Soul Rings, Soul Bones, and Soul Skills. But the Martial Soul itself is a talent, the foundation. It wasn't reset."
He spoke faster and faster, his eyes growing brighter. "So after the divine punishment descends in the future and everyone's level is reset, the speed at which they recultivate will depend on three things. First, the concentration of spiritual Qi in heaven and earth. Second, the efficiency of their individual cultivation methods. Third, the quality and strength of their Martial Souls!"
"The higher the quality of the Martial Soul, the faster the recultivation!"
When Yu Xiaogang finished, the Shrek Academy training ground fell deathly silent once more.
Then Tang San abruptly raised his head toward the Heavenly Screen, his pupils contracting slightly.
"Doesn't that mean..." Tang San said, "that in the future, those who were already Titled Douluo or Soul Douluo will recultivate much faster than ordinary people?"
"Much faster doesn't begin to cover it!" Flender cut in, his voice excited with sudden realization. "Think about it. Can a Titled Douluo's Martial Soul be the same as a Soul Grandmaster's? How many times has a Titled Douluo's Martial Soul evolved, and how many years has it been nourished by Soul Power? Even if their level is reset, their Martial Soul's foundation remains!"
"When they recultivate, it's like starting over with a divine weapon in hand. How can ordinary people compete?"
"Then our future selves..." Ma Hongjun leaned closer, his eyes shining. "We were all Titled Douluo before we were reset! Doesn't that mean we'll recultivate very quickly too?"
"Of course!" Dai Mubai slapped his thigh, his face full of delight. "We're all Titled Douluo in the future, so we'll definitely gain a level a day when we recultivate!"
"But that's still our future selves!" Zhu Zhuqing coolly threw a bucket of cold water over him. "Right now, we should think about how to cultivate diligently. We still don't even know how our future selves cultivated to the Titled Douluo level!"
Dai Mubai was immediately left speechless.
So were Ma Hongjun and the others.
After learning of their respective future achievements, each of the Shrek Seven Devils had grown a little proud and arrogant, even getting somewhat carried away.
But they soon realized something was wrong.
Given their current talents and cultivation speeds, there was no way they could cultivate to the Titled Douluo level by that point in the future.
It was Yu Xiaogang who then stepped forward to analyze the situation.
Judging by what they had seen of the future, the Shrek Seven Devils would always remain together.
Given their talents, it would have been impossible for them to cultivate so quickly, so the Shrek Seven Devils must have come across some extraordinary opportunity together.
So Yu Xiaogang told everyone to stick to whatever cultivation plans they had originally made.
An opportunity that belonged to them surely couldn't get away.
If everyone made rash changes, they would be more likely to miss the opportunity.
Even so, Dai Mubai and the others couldn't help worrying. What if they failed to obtain the opportunity that should have been theirs in the future?
But all they could do was worry.
The future shown on the Heavenly Screen had given no indication of how they had cultivated so quickly.
On the Heavenly Screen, Wu Wei, still talking to himself, soon revealed that he had acquired a Blood Essence Soul Ring and could continuously improve its quality.
Beneath the Heavenly Screen, the Douluo Continent exploded into an uproar.
"Blood Essence Soul Rings? Devouring a Soul Beast's flesh and blood can improve a Soul Ring's quality?!"
Flender sprang straight off the ground. "What... what the hell kind of godly method is that?!"
"Soul Ring quality can be improved?" Yu Xiaogang was trembling all over, his eyes bulging nearly out of their sockets, his lips shaking so badly he couldn't get a complete sentence out. "I've spent my whole life researching Martial Soul Theory, from Soul Beast age to Soul Ring compatibility, from Martial Soul Evolution to Soul Bone fusion... I've never heard of a Soul Ring's quality being improved after the fact!"
A Soul Ring's quality was determined by the quality of the Soul Beast hunted for it, and it could not be improved afterward.
Yet that Wu Wei on the Heavenly Screen could actually raise a Soul Ring from ordinary quality all the way to the ten-thousand-year or hundred-thousand-year level just by devouring Soul Beast flesh and blood?
"Teacher... this..." Tang San's voice was hoarse. "This breaks the most fundamental rule of the Soul Master World."
"It does more than break a rule." Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, striving to calm himself. "This... changes the way Soul Rings are obtained from 'hunting' to 'raising.' A Soul Beast's age is fixed. Once you kill it, its Soul Ring's age is set in stone. It's a one-time thing. But if Soul Ring quality can be improved afterward..."
He paused, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes. "That means a Soul Master could start with low-level Soul Rings, then improve them step by step by devouring Soul Beast flesh and blood. There would be no need to risk hunting Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, no need to gamble with their lives."
"This..." Flender's voice trembled. "Isn't this fucking cheating?"
"This is cheating," Yu Xiaogang said decisively.
Everyone on the Shrek Academy training ground was left numb with shock by the revelation.
Dai Mubai's mouth hung open for a long time, unable to close.
"So that Wu Wei... his first Soul Ring was ten-thousand-year, and his Eighth Soul Ring was hundred-thousand-year..." Dai Mubai's voice sounded distant. "He raised them all by devouring Soul Beast flesh and blood?"
"Seven black and one red. So that's how he got his Soul Ring Configuration."
Oscar swallowed, his eyes shining with envy. "If I had that method, would I still need to search the whole continent for Soul Beasts to hunt? Couldn't I just go to the Soul Hunting Forest, kill Ten-Year Soul Beasts, and slowly raise the rings?"