The First Lesson

Shi Jian was stunned, his mouth agape, his eyes fixed on him.

The stream gurgled and splashed.

Lu Yuan didn't rush him. He picked up a flat stone and weighed it in his hand. "Take a good look first." He stood up. "Now, release your Rock Shield. Just keep it floating, and see the cracks clearly."

Shi Jian took a deep breath and raised his right arm. A trembling phantom of a gray-brown Rock Shield covered with Spiderweb- like cracks appeared.

"Select a wisp of Soul Power, as fine as a hair." Lu Yuan approached. "Walk close to the inside of the shield, don't let it seep in. Focus on feeling the changes as the Soul Power flows through the cracks."

Shi Jian closed his eyes, his brows furrowed.

Time passed slowly. Lin Xiao leaned against the rock wall not far away, watching. Shen Moxin slowed down her movements as she changed the dressing.

Suddenly, Shi Jian trembled and his eyes snapped open.

"... It scattered!" His voice trembled. "When it reached the crack, it scattered outwards on its own! And it even turned a corner!"

How many people are leaving? Which way do they turn?

Shi Jian tried several more times, his face turning bright red. "It's scattered by 30-40%. The turning is unpredictable, it's very chaotic."

"That's right." Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. "The crack is a 'breakpoint' in the Soul Power structure. When Soul Power flows here, its stability is disrupted, causing it to naturally dissipate and change direction."

He squatted down, picked up a dry twig, and drew a crooked funnel on the muddy ground.

"Think of the crack as a small funnel, and the dissipating Soul Power as the chaotic airflow that spews out." The withered branch tapped at the funnel's opening. "What you need to do is not to block it—you can't block it, and the more you try to block it, the more chaotic it becomes. You need to try to guide the direction of these 'sprays.' Even if it's just guiding one stream."

Shi Jian's face turned pale. "How is this possible? The Soul Power just scatters wildly through the crack; it's impossible to grasp it!"

"Then don't try to catch it yet," Lu Yuan said steadily. "Feel it first. Spend an hour each day letting a wisp of your Soul Power flow through the crack, then 'watch' it dissipate, remember its winding trajectory, remember that awkward feeling."

He stood up.

"Three days from now, I'll still be here. Tell me, how many ways did you 'see' it spread out?"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Shi Jian stared at his shield shadow, his gaze slowly shifting from blankness to a desperate, all-or-nothing intensity.

On the first day, Shi Jian sat by the stream until dark.

When his Soul Power was exhausted, he would catch his breath, recover, and try again. He saw his Soul Power springing away from the cracks like startled earthworms, or ripples spreading out like water dropped into oil, and sometimes even swirling inexplicably.

He memorized each and every one of them perfectly.

The next day, his eyes were bloodshot.

But he began to notice a pattern. The cracks at the edges caused the Soul Power to dissipate and slant upwards. The deepest one in the middle always had its Soul Power bend to the left first, then suddenly jerk to the right.

He tried to gently "push" the crack with his consciousness just as the Soul Power was about to flow through it.

It failed ninety-nine times.

The hundredth time, the Soul Power that was about to turn left seemed to have deviated slightly further to the left front.

Shi Jian's heart pounded wildly.

On the afternoon of the third day, when Lu Yuan walked out of the camp, Shi Jian was still sitting in the same old spot.

His back was hunched, but his expression was taut.

After a long silence, Shi Jian spoke in a hoarse voice, "... Seven. There are seven major ways to disperse."

Which one is easiest to spin?

"That diagonal crack in the bottom left corner will spin on its own six or seven times out of ten."

Lu Yuan nodded. "Now, choose the method of dissipation you are most familiar with. At the 'moment' when your Soul Power is about to dissipate, imagine a hand gently 'guiding' it in the direction it's dissipating. Not resisting, but going with the flow. Like pushing a boat with the current."

Shi Jian closed his eyes. The phantom image of the Rock Shield trembled slightly.

Once, twice, three times... the twenty-seventh time.

Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes; his Soul Power was nearly exhausted, and his meridians ached as if pricked by needles. All that remained in his mind was the diagonal crack and the "omen" that his Soul Power was about to begin swirling.

Now!

Consciousness, like the finest thread, gently brushed against the swirling Soul Power—

In the lower left corner of the Rock Shield, the air suddenly blurred for a moment.

A faint, almost invisible grayish-white vortex appeared out of nowhere, lasted for less than a breath, and then dispersed with a "poof".

Shi Jian saw it.

He began to tremble violently, his eyes wide open.

Lu Yuan bent down, picked up a stone the size of an egg, and casually threw it at Shield Shadow.

The stone passed through the afterimage without any obstruction. However, when it passed through the area in the lower left corner, its trajectory deviated very slightly to the left.

Almost imperceptible.

But Shi Jian saw it. He was struck dumb, frozen in place.

"Was it... was it off course?" The voice was faint, like a dream.

"It deviated." Lu Yuan confirmed, "Although it was only a trace, and lasted only a moment, your Soul Power did indeed cause a 'disturbance' to reality through that crack."

He walked up to Shi Jian.

"This isn't a complete shield. It will never become an impenetrable fortress." Lu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Shi Jian's ears. "But it can be a shield that 'deflects attacks.' The paths may be different, but the destination isn't necessarily lower."

Shi Jian listened blankly.

Then, this man in his thirties, who had long forgotten how to cry due to the pressures of life, suddenly had tears welling up in his eyes. He clenched his teeth tightly, his cheeks bulging, and a sob like that of a trapped beast escaped his throat.

He raised his hand to touch the shield, but stopped halfway through, his hand trembling violently.

Finally, he clenched his fist and slammed it hard into his thigh. A dull thud was heard.

Tears fell and mingled with the soil.

When Shi Jian returned to the settlement, his steps were unsteady, but his back was ramrod straight.

The next morning, the news spread like wildfire through the valley like a spark falling into a haystack.

That "strainer" Shi Jian, with his tattered shield, actually made a name for himself!

At first, no one believed it. But when Shi Jian demonstrated it to the public—the cyclone was pitifully weak and the deflection effect was negligible, but the fluctuation of Soul Power could not be faked, and several sharp-eyed people saw the subtle changes in the stone's trajectory.

For the first time, waves surged through the stagnant settlement.

First, two men with incomplete Tool Martial Soul, their eyes red, found the camp at the valley entrance and stood at a distance. Then came a woman with a limp and a Martial Soul Mutation, leading a small, thin child. In the afternoon, the old man whose palms oozed corrosive liquid also came over, leaning on his cane.

More and more people gathered.

They dared not make a sound, quietly surrounding the camp and gazing longingly inside.

Lu Yuan didn't let Shi Jian hide. He made Shi Jian sit on a large rock by the camp and have him recount his feelings over the past three days, how many times he failed, and how he finally succeeded, albeit haltingly.

Shi Jian spoke incoherently, his face turning bright red. But no one laughed.

Everyone listened intently.

Lu Yuan came out after Shi Jian finished speaking. He leaned against a cart, his voice steady and clear.

"Soul Power has properties similar to water when it flows. It will change course when it encounters obstacles, and it will disperse when it encounters gaps."

"Martial Soul is a 'manifestation channel' for the characteristics of Soul Power. The appearance of the channel determines the effect. If the channel has cracks or distortions, the effect will also be distorted."

"The traditional approach is to desperately try to mend the cracks and pursue a 'perfect channel.' This is difficult and often inefficient."

"But there is another way—accept the existence of the cracks, and then study and control the 'special effects' that these cracks bring. Turn the flaws into characteristics."

He spoke slowly, using the most straightforward language, and occasionally gesturing with his hands.

The crowd was silent. Many Soul Master who had only ever learned how to activate Soul Skill in their entire lives were hearing for the first time someone break down Martial Soul and Soul Power so clearly.

A young man couldn't help but raise his hand, stammering, "My beast Martial Soul Mutation, one arm is thicker than the other, and I can't exert my strength evenly. What should I do?"

Lu Yuan looked at him. "Does your Soul Power flow faster and more powerfully in your thick arms? Does it become sluggish and weak in your thin arms?"

The man nodded vigorously.

"Then let's not force both sides to be the same," Lu Yuan said. "Treat the thick arm as the main attacker, and concentrate all your bursts of Soul Power there. The thin arm can temporarily only serve as an auxiliary path for the flow of Soul Power, or even... we can consider using it as a ' Soul Power buffer,' specifically to absorb and neutralize the Soul Power of the opponent's impact."

The man stood there, mouth agape, stunned.

The old woman beside her asked in a trembling voice, "My Martial Soul is a 'needle,' so thin it's invisible, it breaks as soon as Soul Power is poured into it... Can it still create a path?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment.

"An embroidery needle is extremely fine, meaning its Soul Power channel is extremely narrow. It cannot withstand a large amount of Soul Power poured into it. But what if you guide only a wisp of Soul Power and control it with extraordinary precision, condensing that wisp of Soul Power to its extreme at the needle tip?" He looked at the old woman. "It may never be able to unleash a powerful light blade. But it might become a... ' Soul Power shield."

The old woman's cane fell to the ground with a thud.

One question after another. Lu Yuan remained calm and composed, analyzing each question from the perspective of the essence of Soul Power and the structure of Martial Soul, offering a possible direction rather than a specific answer.

He repeatedly emphasized, "I'm only pointing out one possibility. How exactly to proceed is up to you to discover step by step through trial and error."

But that's enough.

For this group of people who have already been declared "without a way out," any possibility is a lifeline.

As dusk fell, the crowd refused to disperse. A bonfire was lit, illuminating their excited and eager faces.

Shen Moxin silently moved out a stone slab and used charcoal to draw a basic Soul Power flow diagram. Mo Chen disassembled the broken Soul Tool parts and explained the energy circuit. Even Lin Xiao crossed his arms and occasionally chimed in with his ruthless insights on the timing of Soul Power bursts.

The small valley was enveloped in a restless and vibrant atmosphere that night.

But on the periphery of the crowd, in a few shadowy spots, some people didn't push forward.

Wu Meng, with a scar on his face, crossed his arms and coldly stared at the campfire, snorting under his nose. He was surrounded by three or four people, all of whom had relatively normal Martial Soul and were considered among the strongest in the settlement.

"Playing tricks," Wu Meng muttered, spitting under his breath. "A few twisted arguments and they've completely fooled this bunch of good-for-nothings."

"Brother Wu Meng, I think that kid... is a bit strange," the skinny guy whispered. "Shi Jian's broken shield is practically useless. But now..."

"He just got lucky." Wu Meng interrupted him, his eyes dark. "If he's really that powerful, why is he still a Soul Scholar? Why is he hiding in this wretched place?"

He paused, then lowered his voice even further.

"The key issue is that his actions have unsettled people. Who will listen to us anymore? If these fallacies and heresies get out, and attract the attention of those major sects outside... can we still keep this last peaceful place?"

The people around fell silent, their faces showing worry.

Wu Meng took one last look at the calmly speaking boy in the center of the fire, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.

"Keep an eye on them," he said, "Don't let these outsiders wreak havoc on our base."