In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
After arriving at the Sun Moon Royal Academy, Xiao Yan quickly adjusted to the rhythm of life there.
During that time, aside from his daily cultivation, he devoted nearly all his efforts to studying Soul Tools.
Soul Tool theory, metal materials science, and the fundamentals of Soul Power circuits were not difficult subjects for Xiao Yan, who never forgot anything he saw.
What truly challenged him was his daily practice engraving Soul Power circuits.
Every day after returning to his dormitory, he engraved more than a dozen Soul Power circuits to hone his core Soul Tool skills.
Engraving Soul Power circuits looked easy, but it was anything but simple.
The depth of every line, the sharpness of every turn, and the distance between different nodes all affected the way Soul Power was conducted.
Moreover, he could not immediately tell how it had turned out. Only after completing the engraving, injecting Soul Power, and activating it would he know whether he had succeeded or failed.
It was therefore a demanding test of experience and mastery. There was no shortcut to ascending to heaven in a single step; only through constant trial and error could practice make perfect.
After engraving hundreds of Soul Power circuits, his understanding of Soul Power nodes grew deeper and deeper.
As Xiao Yan understood it, a Soul Power circuit consisted of countless intersecting lines, and the nodes at their intersections were the key to whether the circuit would work. Some nodes conducted, diverted, or gathered and regulated Soul Power.
The structure of Soul Power circuits also gave Xiao Yan a deeper understanding of Soul Skill patterns.
Perhaps combinations of Soul Power circuits could be applied to Soul Skills.
"Soul-gathering pattern..."
Holding a carving knife, Xiao Yan slowly injected Soul Power into its blade and engraved the pattern bit by bit along a route he had planned beforehand.
Xiao Yan held the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, white flames burning on its blade, and engraved a Soul Power circuit onto a sunken silver plate stroke by stroke.
The knife did not move quickly, but every stroke landed with pinpoint accuracy.
"This node..."
"Every node where the patterns intersect has a different function. They connect with one another to form a complete circuit."
Wasn't this line of thinking exactly in keeping with the idea behind Ring Fusion?
The different forms Soul Skills took were also created and manifested through different Soul Power nodes.
Forcibly pressing two Soul Rings together was like piecing together two different Soul Power circuits. Even if both could function independently, whether they could work properly after being combined was another question.
What truly mattered might not be getting the two Soul Rings to fuse with each other.
So what truly mattered was not joining the two Soul Rings together, but fusing the common nodes that connected them!
"Done!"
Xiao Yan let out a long breath and put down his carving knife. The flames dispersed with it.
Engraving Soul Power circuits was mentally exhausting. Even with his spiritual power, he could only manage about twenty attempts a day before it was depleted.
Though Xiao Yan was exhausted, his face was full of smiles.
Not only had he succeeded in engraving a complete soul-gathering circuit, but he had also found the right way to use Ring Fusion!
First Soul Skill, Mountain Suppression.
Its core lay in building power and delivering a heavy blow. By increasing his Soul Power, he could increase the weight of the Heavy Ruler and concentrate his strength into one final strike.
Second Soul Skill, Qian Jun.
Through a succession of strikes, each stronger than the last, it continuously suppressed the opponent.
He had previously experimented with the Multiple Casting technique, White Dragon Breaks the Night.
But that merely involved using the two Soul Skills in succession. In essence, the only difference was when each skill was released.
It was not Ring Fusion in the true sense.
But now Xiao Yan had a new understanding of Ring Fusion.
The two Soul Skills seemed different, but both involved stacking and releasing power.
So his idea was to fuse the nodes where the two Soul Skills stacked their power and optimize away the redundant Soul Power nodes...
Xiao Yan's thoughts grew clearer and clearer.
Suddenly, frost spread through his hair as he activated Ultimate Ice: Thinking Mode!
Xiao Yan immediately drew on the Soul Power within him, sensing his First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring.
He examined every Soul Power node in the two Soul Rings. As his perception delved deeper, those Soul Power paths that had originally operated independently began to change ever so slightly.
The sensation was extremely faint, like two utterly unrelated lines suddenly developing nodes that resonated with each other.
If Xiao Yan had not studied Soul Power circuits, he might not have noticed that tiny change.
His spiritual power probed toward the spot where that slight change had occurred, and the Soul Power within him grew increasingly active.
But Xiao Yan's formidable spiritual power suppressed it all within his body, preventing it from causing the slightest disturbance. Then a deeper, more powerful presence spread out from him.
The surrounding Soul Power was drawn toward Xiao Yan, gradually gathering within his body.
Level forty-eight!
As his Soul Power circulated faster, Xiao Yan's Soul Power broke straight through to level forty-eight!
Though his level had advanced, that was not what made Xiao Yan happiest.
It was his insight into Ring Fusion!
"So that's how it is..."
"I think I know the key to Ring Fusion now!"
Xiao Yan waved his hand, putting all his practice equipment into his Storage Soul Tool.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice came from his Sea of Consciousness. "Xiao Yan, I knew you could do it!"
"I could already sense that those two Soul Rings were about to fuse. Your approach was absolutely right!"
Xiao Yan smiled. "I'm not quite there yet. I need more practice, and I'm still searching for a better way."
"After all, an enemy won't stand there like a fool waiting for me to fuse my Soul Rings before fighting me."
"That's true, but if you fuse them too quickly, won't the Soul Rings become unstable?" Tian Meng asked.
"That would be a different technique. I think it could be called Ring Detonation."
Xiao Yan's voice rang out in the Sea of Consciousness.
"Ring Detonation?"
The Ice Empress, who had still been somewhat puzzled, perked up and came closer.
"Ring Detonation? Why are you humans so crazy?"
"Let's hear it." ×2
With both great Soul Spirits curious, Xiao Yan explained his own understanding and ideas about Ring Detonation.
After hearing him out, Tian Meng did not answer immediately, but fell into thought. After a while, he spoke:
"There's some sense to your thinking. There is indeed a connection between Soul Rings and Soul Skills, but whether that connection can provide a breakthrough for Ring Fusion still needs to be tested."
"What you're saying does make some sense. But I think you should master Ring Fusion first. One careless mistake with Ring Detonation, and you could blow yourself to pieces."
For once, the Ice Empress did not argue. She nodded and said:
"The most important thing now is to find the common nodes between the two Soul Skills. Even shared Soul Power nodes aren't necessarily capable of fusing perfectly. They're still two different types of Soul Ring, after all. This will be a serious test of your control over Soul Power."
"I understand."
Xiao Yan nodded. "So I've divided Ring Fusion into three stages: first resonance, second compatibility, and third completion."
As the Ice Empress listened to Xiao Yan explain his ideas at length, her tone softened. "That sounds pretty good. Much better than when Tian Meng was instructing you."
Tian Meng immediately took offense.
"What do you mean, much better than when I was instructing him? If I hadn't guided him back then..."
"You gave him plenty of pointers, but only you know whether any of them were actually useful."
Listening to his two great Soul Spirits argue, Xiao Yan did not interrupt much.
Cultivation was far too dull and tedious. Livening things up once in a while was nice.