"Don't worry, you'll have it!"
"You'll have all of it!"
Meng Qianqiu understood full well that people feared not scarcity, but inequality. He immediately nodded, repeatedly assuring them that each of them would get a share.
"Young master, I'm really curious!"
"I heard your Soul Ring configuration is different from ordinary people's, and your Soul Power far surpasses theirs, too. Is that true?"
Xu Qianqian looked at Meng Qianqiu. She had heard people outside say that two peerless prodigies had entered Spirit Hall's Elite Selection Tournament this time.
"That information is probably true!"
"I've merely stood on the shoulders of giants, seeing a little farther and walking a little faster than ordinary people."
"It's nothing much!"
Meng Qianqiu waved a hand. Indeed, everything he followed now belonged to the cultivation system from ten thousand years in the future, far beyond this era.
Ten-thousand-year whale glue, peerless immortal herbs!
Along with Martial Soul Avatar Armor and the method of cultivating Soul Cores, these were all products that would flourish in cultivation ten thousand years later.
Ten thousand years later, the Soul Master system on the Douluo Continent had already forged an entirely new path, and Titled Douluos could be found everywhere.
But right now, Titled Douluos were still a rarity.
In Douluo I, Titled Douluos were indisputably powerful figures. Only major factions with God's Examinations could overpower the ranks of Titled Douluos.
By Douluo II, Titled Douluos were everywhere. Even ordinary Soul Masters could advance to become Limit Douluos if they cultivated properly.
That was the power of a cultivation system!
Ten thousand years of accumulated development in that system was enough to greatly strengthen ordinary Soul Masters' foundations, giving them the means to contend with factions that possessed God's Examinations.
"That information is actually true!"
"Gasp... a thousand-year second ring, a ten-thousand-year fourth ring!"
"I never imagined I'd meet a genius like that!"
Xu Qianqian was stunned, too. Coming from a prestigious sect, she naturally understood exactly what such a Soul Ring configuration meant.
"Boss isn't just a Battle Soul Master. He's also a theoretical Soul Master. Following him has benefited us enormously."
Wang Zhan spoke from the side, his eyes filled with respect!
"In the field of Martial Soul research, there's practically nothing he doesn't know. You'll get used to it!"
Dugu Bo spoke as well. In this regard, he had no choice but to admire Meng Qianqiu, who truly was a genius accomplished in both scholarly and martial pursuits.
Calling him a genius was actually selling him short.
Such an extraordinary person ought to be called a monster.
"Young master, I'm desperate to improve!"
At that moment, She Long, who had remained silent at the side, spoke as well. His goal was utterly simple, and his determination to grow stronger had never changed.
"She Long, Ling Yuan, Xu Qianqian!"
"Now that the three of you have joined my team, by rights, I should hold nothing back from you."
"But your foundations are already set, and there's nothing I can do right now!"
"The first four Soul Rings are crucial for a Soul Master. As long as a Soul Master's physical constitution is strong enough, they can absorb Soul Rings beyond the limit."
"As long as you keep up with physical training, a thousand-year second ring is entirely manageable for ordinary Soul Masters, but you have to understand the trade-offs."
"After all, plenty of Soul Masters focus solely on cultivating Soul Power. They simply don't have time to temper their bodies and establish a firm foundation for cultivation."
Meng Qianqiu shook his head and continued speaking to the three of them.
Without the aid of whale rubber potions, absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the limit was as difficult as ascending to heaven for an ordinary person, no different from seeking death.
Back then, Meng Qianqiu had spent several years tempering his body precisely to establish a firm cultivation foundation and make rapid progress easier.
A towering building rose from level ground; a shaky foundation only harmed oneself!
Although whale rubber offered a shortcut, when Soul Masters fought to the very end, it came down to a contest of Soul Skills, Soul Power, and physical bodies.
As the saying went, a single force could shatter ten thousand methods. The same held true here!
Tang Chen had become one of the Soul Master World's twin peaks because he was strong enough, with physical strength sufficient to overpower the ranks of Titled Douluos.
Extreme-style Soul Masters possessed terrifying explosive power!
Balanced-style Soul Masters, however, often neglected to temper their bodies, leaving them with weak explosive power and attacks that lacked sustained force.
"The ages of a Soul Master's first four Soul Rings are actually linked to their physical constitution? That's truly a major revelation."
Hearing this, the three new team members felt as though they had pushed open a door to a new world, and immediately said they understood.
"Soul Masters, Martial Souls, Soul Power, Soul Rings, Soul Formations!"
"The five elements I just mentioned are intimately connected to our daily cultivation, and many great secrets remain hidden within them."
"Long, long stretches the road ahead; above and below, I shall seek."
Even as a transmigrator, Meng Qianqiu still hadn't figured out the connections among these five things. Martial Souls were simply too profound.
Time slipped by, and another year passed in the blink of an eye!
Over that year, Meng Qianqiu and the others passed Spirit Hall's elite training, and their courses officially concluded that day.
"This is rigged!"
"I'd bet anything this is rigged!"
"What gives Qian Xunji the right to tie with Boss for first place?"
"Is it just because he scored well in etiquette class?"
Wang Zhan stood before the rankings, protesting the injustice done to Meng Qianqiu.
"A gentleman isn't bound by petty courtesies, but still holds greater righteousness in his heart!"
"This result is already very good for us."
Meng Qianqiu spoke calmly. In the Elite Selection Tournament, academic classes only accounted for twenty percent of the score and weren't worth quibbling over.
The real highlights were still the individual and team competitions.
The individual competition accounted for forty percent, and the team competition another forty percent. Those two competitions were the true keys to deciding victory and defeat.
"You all need to cultivate diligently during this time!"
"In another year, the individual selection competition will begin."
A gleam flashed through Meng Qianqiu's eyes. After a year of cultivation, his Soul Power had risen five ranks, reaching rank fifty.
Now, Meng Qianqiu only needed to hunt down a ten thousand year Soul Ring to become a Five-Ring Soul King and go on to dominate the Elite Selection Tournament.
"I intend to take some leave and go out to hunt for my fifth Soul Ring."
Meng Qianqiu's calm words rang out, as though raising his Soul Power by five ranks in a year was merely an ordinary little matter to him.
"Wait, you've already broken through to rank fifty?!"
Xu Qianqian stared at Meng Qianqiu in astonishment. He nodded, his expression unchanged, as though this were merely an everyday trifle.
"..."
"Five ranks of Soul Power in one year? How exactly do you cultivate?"
Xu Qianqian no longer wanted to say anything. Her Star Crown Martial Soul could draw down the power of stars from across the sky to aid her daily cultivation.
Even with her Martial Soul's support, a year of arduous cultivation had only raised Xu Qianqian's Soul Power by three ranks, barely putting her on par with Wang Zhan.
No one wanted to comment on Meng Qianqiu's cultivation speed anymore. After all, some members of the team were still struggling bitterly in the Soul Elder realm!
"My Martial Soul is very special. In broad daylight, it can draw down the essence of the sun to accelerate the accumulation of Soul Power, while also feeding it back into the Soul Master's body."
"Moreover, my Martial Soul is an external Martial Soul. It can cultivate independently, and I can accelerate my cultivation, too."
"It cultivates during the day, and I cultivate at night!"
"Between the two, it's equivalent to me cultivating all day long, with all sorts of buffs on top. It would be fishy if my cultivation weren't fast!"
Members of his cohort, such as Ling Yuan, She Long, and Wang Zhan, were still struggling bitterly as Soul Elders, yet Meng Qianqiu had already reached rank fifty.
Other members of the team, such as Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Dugu Bo, were also Soul Ancestors, but none of the three had made as much progress as he had that year.
"Heavens!"
"We're all Soul Masters!"
"Why are you so outstanding?"
Xu Qianqian had only recently broken through to become a Three-Ring Soul Elder. She had originally felt rather pleased with herself, but now, she no longer knew what to say.
The gap between them was simply too vast.
"Compare people, and you'll die of frustration; compare goods, and you'll throw yours away."
"Yue Guan's Martial Soul is the immortal herb Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. When he absorbs plant-type Soul Rings, he can also extract some of their medicinal power."
"That's why his Soul Power is the highest in the team apart from Boss Meng's. We envy his talent, too."
"But that's a characteristic of his Martial Soul. Envy won't change anything!"
Dugu Bo spread his hands. That kid Yue Guan was nothing short of a pill-popper. The rate at which his Soul Power grew was already close to catching up with his own.
After all, Dugu Bo was two years older than Yue Guan!
Yue Guan's Soul Power was now as high as rank forty-six, just one rank below Dugu Bo's, and the gap between them kept shrinking.
"Old Ghost!"
"Honestly, sometimes I really envy you!"
"You don't have to worry about a thing all day. Just stick close to Chrysanthemum Guan, and when the two of you support each other's cultivation, your own Soul Power shoots straight up."
Wang Zhan looked at Gui Mei and spoke with intense envy.
Gui Mei's Martial Soul was a body Martial Soul, and Yue Guan's Martial Soul provided a tremendous boost to body Martial Souls, allowing the two to cultivate together.
Just as Dugu Bo had said, Yue Guan was a cheat in his own right, yet Gui Mei had actually turned Yue Guan into his personal cheat.
All one could say was that everything had its counter!
This, too, was simply making reasonable use of what was available!
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