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Xu Yuan's talent was astonishing, but the Douluo Continent had never lacked geniuses.
With the development of soul-guided technology and the accumulation of generations of soul masters, the proportion of awakened martial souls with soul power far exceeded that of ten thousand years ago. Countless soul masters with high innate soul power were emerging.
This was the result of the soul master community's progress.
Through cultivation, a soul master might be constrained by their martial soul, forever trapped at a certain level. However, even if their martial soul's quality was low, it didn't mean their potential was completely locked. With a powerful soul ring, they could still have a chance to defy fate.
Such examples were rare in a single era—perhaps only one every decade or even several decades—but across the span of ten thousand years, they were not uncommon.
When these mutated martial souls were passed down through generations and underwent bloodline optimization within families, the development of the times led to an increase in powerful martial souls. Naturally, there were more soul masters with high innate soul power.
It wasn't guaranteed that a powerful martial soul would always come with high innate soul power, but inheriting a strong martial soul increased the probability of having high innate soul power.
This was the evolutionary history of a few martial souls. For most martial souls, their strength didn't arise from a single generational mutation but rather from the cumulative effect of generations of soul masters, each contributing minor improvements through their soul rings. Over time, these incremental changes accumulated until a qualitative leap occurred.
The overall quality of martial souls was improving as a result.
This was the inevitable trend of the times.
From twenty thousand years ago to ten thousand years ago, only the former process occurred. From ten thousand years ago to the present Federal Era, the latter process was added.
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Xu Yuan was already an extraordinary prodigy. At twelve years old, he had reached Level 40—a feat unmatched by anyone else in this generation on the continent.
However, among this year's freshmen, there were others who could rival him.
Wu Siduo, also thirteen years old, was already a Soul Ancestor. Though the exact timing of her breakthrough to Level 40 was uncertain, it was undeniable that she was currently a Soul Ancestor, with no gap in soul power level compared to Xu Yuan.
Hell Wu Siduo—the "Hell" in her name on the Spirit Pagoda rankings didn't refer to her Ghost Cat martial soul but rather to the fusion of her twin martial souls: the Hell White Tiger!
Yes, she possessed twin martial souls.
What set her apart from previous cases of twin martial souls was that her two martial souls could perform a self-fusion technique—a solo fusion of her own martial souls!
Although performed by a single Soul Ancestor, this self-fusion technique might initially appear inferior to the combined soul power of two Level 40 Soul Ancestors. In reality, however, the power of her self-fusion technique was no weaker than a dual-soul fusion performed by two individuals.
Compatibility!
That was the key.
The compatibility between her two martial souls was among the highest ever recorded for a martial soul fusion technique, barring a few exceptional cases.
Not only did Wu Siduo possess extraordinary martial soul talent, but she also worked hard in her cultivation and excelled in auxiliary professions, placing her in the top tier among her peers.
Of course, Xu Yuan's auxiliary professions and Tang Wulin's forging skills were both at Level 4, which might warrant placing them in a separate category. Thus, Wu Siduo's sole "weakness" could be considered her auxiliary profession level, which placed her in the second tier…
Compared to Xu Yuan, Wu Siduo lagged behind in many aspects. However, the existence of her self-fusion technique was enough for Yun Ming to remind Xu Yuan to stay vigilant.
At Level 30, Wu Siduo's threat was manageable because a single person at Level 30 couldn't sustain a martial soul fusion technique. But now that she had reached Level 40, she could use her self-fusion technique in short bursts without overexerting herself.
"Teacher, believe me—I will become the strongest in this era," Xu Yuan said confidently.
His many accomplishments since beginning his cultivation had given him immense confidence.
Bloodline?
Cheating?
Well, I have a father too, and I have my own advantages.
To say nothing of the fact that achieving the Lingyuan Realm of spiritual power at twelve years old demonstrated Xu Yuan's potential to catch up to Gu 'Dragon'na's later-stage spiritual power progress.
The most difficult stage might not be the Ling Domain Realm, but the Divine Origin Realm—a level no soul master had yet reached. (There are many contradictions in the original work; I'm reorganizing the power levels of the top-tier experts.)
Seeing Xu Yuan's confident demeanor, Yun Ming couldn't help but smile.
Yes, as my disciple, he naturally had to inherit the title of being number one under the heavens.
Yun Ming sighed.
Yes, so what if she has a self-fusion technique?
My disciple won't be inferior to her!
---
After learning from Yun Ming that he would be transferred to the outer court for studies, Xu Yuan had to temporarily adjust his plans.
The outer court was different from the inner court, with numerous classes that would divide his attention significantly.
Xu Yuan understood Yun Ming's reasons for transferring him and recognized that this division of energy was necessary.
For the future Shrek Academy that belonged to him!
"This generation's Shrek Seven Monsters must all stand behind me!"
A sharp glint flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes.
"Since I'll be going to the outer court, I won't be able to cultivate full-time anymore. However, this won't significantly affect most of my deduction tasks conducted in the Dreamscape."
The Phantom Beast possessed the ability to create phantom clones, but it wasn't compatible with Xu Yuan. Therefore, when granting him a soul skill, it provided him with a different one instead.
Additionally, the Phantom Beast helped Xu Yuan expand his brain capacity. Combined with his past experience controlling multiple phantom clones, it allowed him to quickly master the ability to multitask.
Multitasking enabled Xu Yuan to continue cultivating and studying in the real world while dedicating most of his consciousness to performing deductions in the Dreamscape.
Of course, the inability to share memories in real-time wasn't due to multitasking or the Dreamscape itself but rather Xu Yuan's inability to handle the stimulation caused by the differing flow of time between the two parts of his consciousness. To avoid mental instability, he had to resort to special methods, severing the connection between the two parts of his consciousness and assigning them separate tasks.
Though somewhat awkward, this approach minimized the risks associated with simultaneously subjecting his consciousness to the effects of time discrepancies. Xu Yuan's current method could be viewed as periodically receiving infusions of experience and knowledge.
It was precisely because of his multitasking ability that Xu Yuan felt confident saying that his task of perfecting various techniques wouldn't be significantly affected.
"I can slow down on practicing spear techniques for now. My spear techniques have reached a bottleneck. Let Jue practice tirelessly in the Dreamscape. Since our spear experience is shared, I can occasionally spar with it."
"The Tianyuan Brush…"
Thinking of the Tianyuan Brush, Xu Yuan couldn't help but worry again.
There was still no news of his uncle.
Whether or not the paper soul spirit could be created no longer mattered much to Xu Yuan. His main concern now was his uncle's safety.
---
Tiandou Continent
Mount Wuhua
The highest peak
At the edge of a broken cliff, space seemed torn apart, appearing incomplete from any angle.
The spatial energy here was chaotic.
Amidst the chaotic rifts, faint voices could be heard.
"Brother Qun, we haven't had any news for two years. Is Little Yuan okay over there?"
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