Breakthrough

"Something's not right. You must have held back some technique from me. Otherwise, how could I have lost to Tang San?" Xiao Wu looked utterly certain, as though Hu Jiu had secretly kept money from her.

"Phew! I really didn't. Aren't you cultivating quite smoothly? Did you go off to play instead of putting your heart into it?" After the false alarm, Hu Jiu wiped away his cold sweat and reminded himself to be careful. He absolutely couldn't say anything he shouldn't while dreaming.

"I—I think I've been pretty serious!" Xiao Wu suddenly felt a little guilty. To be honest, ever since she had become the big sister, she hadn't cultivated much in a long time.

Besides, Xiao Wu had excellent talent. Even without cultivating much, her Soul Power still increased quickly. She had already reached Level 13.

After successfully creating the Soul Power Control skill, Hu Jiu's confidence soared, and he immediately began his plan to create the Rasengan.

But after tinkering with it for several days, he discovered that the Rasengan demanded extremely high control over one's own Soul Power. At his current level, he simply couldn't create it.

More importantly, the Rasengan required Soul Power to leave the body. That was something only a Soul Master could do. With his Soul Warrior cultivation, it was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Seeing this, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the plan.

Time passed amid his playful antics with Xiao Wu.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

"Hic..."

A long burp left Hu Jiu stunned.

It seemed his Soul Power had already broken through Level 10.

After carefully confirming it, he discovered that he had truly broken through to the Soul Master stage.

"Xiao Jiu, what's wrong? Did you choke on your soup?" In the cafeteria, Xiao Wu looked at Hu Jiu with amusement.

"Haha, nothing. My Soul Power has broken through Level 10." Hu Jiu was no fool. Seizing the opportunity, he happily pulled Xiao Wu into his arms, so excited that he completely forgot himself.

It felt like he was hugging a doll!

He was so happy!

"Really? That's wonderful! Will your Carrot taste even better now?" Xiao Wu was delighted by the news as well. Hu Jiu's martial soul was a Food System martial soul, and as its level rose, its flavor would improve. As a little rabbit, Xiao Wu was thrilled at the thought of the delicious food she was soon going to eat.

"Hey, why are you hugging me? Let go!" Only after Hu Jiu had taken advantage of her for quite some time did Xiao Wu finally react. Her pink cheeks instantly flushed with embarrassment.

"Ah, sorry. I—I didn't mean to."

Hu Jiu was a professional actor. He looked utterly flustered, as though he had committed some enormous blunder.

"Forget it. J-just don't hug me whenever you want in the future, or I'll deal with you." Xiao Wu raised her fist and threatened him, though her intimidating act was all bark and no bite.

In other words, as long as it wasn't whenever he wanted, he could still hug her.

"Xiao Jiu, congratulations on becoming a Soul Master." Tang San, who had been with them, smiled and congratulated Hu Jiu.

"Hehe!" Hu Jiu grinned mischievously and stepped forward to sling an arm around Tang San's neck. "Little San, it's time for you to contribute. I've decided to consolidate my cultivation first, then ask for leave and go to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring."

"No problem." Tang San nodded seriously. He touched the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night at his waist, and a trace of confidence flashed through his eyes.

"I'm going too. Don't worry, with your Sister Xiao Wu helping you, we'll definitely find you a good Soul Ring." Beside them, Xiao Wu patted her chest, unwilling to be outdone.

"Good. Then the three of us will go together." Hu Jiu wrapped his left arm around Tang San and placed his right hand on Xiao Wu's shoulder, smiling broadly.

"By the way, do you have any ideas about what effect you want your Soul Ring to have? If not, I can ask Master for you," Tang San said.

"I really can't decide yet. I have a few ideas, but nothing's settled. How about you tell Grandmaster? I'll visit him tomorrow," Hu Jiu said.

When it came to knowledge about Soul Rings and Soul Beasts, Grandmaster was the true expert. To ensure that his First Soul Ring had the effect he wanted, Hu Jiu decided to ask Grandmaster for advice. With Tang San's connection, asking for his guidance shouldn't be a problem.

Besides, he remembered that the Soul Hunting Forest was jointly managed and stocked by the empire and Spirit Hall. Without a Spirit Hall token, no one could enter. If he could borrow one from Grandmaster, he wouldn't have to report to Spirit Hall.

He had always protected his information carefully. After all, he and Xiao Wu were already standing on the same side. Naturally, that made him enemies with Spirit Hall.

"Okay. I'll tell Master this afternoon," Tang San said with a nod. He had personally experienced his Master's theoretical knowledge. If Hu Jiu could receive some guidance from him, he would avoid many unnecessary detours.

The next day, after classes ended, Hu Jiu carried a bag of fruit and went with Tang San to Grandmaster's residence.

"Hello, Grandmaster. Sorry to disturb you." Upon seeing Grandmaster, Hu Jiu respectfully bowed.

Regardless of what Grandmaster's character was like, Hu Jiu had come to seek his help today. He had to show the proper respect.

"Sit. Little San told me about your situation. To be honest, you've surprised me. I've studied martial souls for so long, yet I've never seen anyone with only Level 2 Innate Soul Power—and with the most difficult-to-cultivate Food System martial soul, no less—reach the Soul Master stage in just one month. It's unbelievable."

"Grandmaster may have misunderstood. Strictly speaking, I've actually been cultivating for four full months. A Soul Master appeared among my ancestors, and thanks to the knowledge and resources they left behind, it isn't strange that I managed to reach the Soul Master stage." Hu Jiu had prepared an explanation for this long ago, so his answer did not seem unusual.

"Four months is still remarkable." Grandmaster gave Hu Jiu a deep look before saying calmly, "Forget it. Everyone has their own secrets. Tell me why you came today."

Once they got to the main topic, Hu Jiu became serious as well. He said earnestly, "Grandmaster, this is what I'm thinking. You know that my martial soul is a Carrot. It's destined to have no offensive power, so I can only become a Support Soul Master or a Food System Soul Master."

"Because a Carrot is both a plant and food, I'm planning to cultivate both the Support Type and Food System paths. What do you think? Is that feasible?"

This question had troubled Hu Jiu for a long time. He had also looked through a great deal of information about it, but unfortunately, Nuoding Academy had very little knowledge in this area, and he hadn't found the answer he needed.

"You're quite clever. That's right—your idea is correct. According to my Theory of Ten Core Competencies, the strength of a martial soul is directly proportional to its awakened Innate Soul Power, and vice versa."

Grandmaster tapped the table and continued, "Your Innate Soul Power alone shows that your martial soul isn't powerful."

Although Grandmaster's words were rather blunt, Hu Jiu still nodded. It was the truth, and there was nothing to argue about.

"Yet as a low-level martial soul, yours actually has a great advantage when it comes to obtaining Soul Rings. It's just like Little San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul. Ordinary means highly adaptable. In other words, your martial soul can absorb almost any type of Soul Ring. That is what will be most useful to you."

Grandmaster truly was Grandmaster. His explanation made Hu Jiu's eyes brighten, and a certain idea in his heart suddenly became clear.