Chapter 18: The Essence of Martial Souls
Author: Yu Xiaogang.
Yu?
Could the author be a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?
As soon as Quan Yi saw the name, he immediately made the connection to that prestigious clan.
That was one of the upper three sects among the Seven Great Sects on the Douluo Continent—one of the most powerful families in existence. Their inherited martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, was renowned across the continent and hailed as the strongest beast-type martial soul.
He opened the book.
In the table of contents, the author had listed ten core competencies of martial souls.
The very first entry read: "Innate soul power is directly proportional to the quality of one's martial soul."
Upon reading that, Quan Yi's pupils contracted—his heart trembled.
This was precisely the secret behind his own awakening of full innate soul power. He didn't expect anyone else to have arrived at a similar theory.
Quan Yi was deeply impressed by the author.
He immediately flipped to the later sections of the book and found that the author had included extensive data analysis.
It contained comparisons between different martial souls, as well as comparisons between martial souls of the same type.
What shocked Quan Yi the most was the level of data collection—it wasn't something a single person could accomplish.
As expected of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Not only were they powerful, but they also had such deep insights into the study of martial souls.
Wisdom and strength coexisted. For the first time, Quan Yi felt a trace of awe toward the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
He continued reading, but noticed that the author didn't link martial soul quality with physical fitness.
This implied that Yu Xiaogang believed martial souls were innate and unchangeable.
In other words, his thinking was still rooted in a talent-based theory.
From this, Quan Yi realized the author had reached his theoretical ceiling.
He had yet to recognize the impact of physical conditioning on martial soul development.
Even so, the conclusions drawn in the book were still a major breakthrough.
Humanity advances by taking one step after another, getting ever closer to the truth.
But what Quan Yi didn't yet know was that his own martial soul awakening wasn't solely the result of his physical condition. There were deeper reasons at play.
First of all, Quan Yi's experience was nearly impossible to replicate—because luck had also played a role.
His stroke of luck was a mutated martial soul.
If Quan Yi had inherited a basic gauntlet-type martial soul, then no matter how much he trained, there would've been a hard limit. It could've improved, sure—but not to the level of full innate soul power. The same applied to the Flame Sun Lion.
However, both of his parents had mutated martial souls. His father's Black Iron Gauntlet was a mutation of the White Glove, and the Flame Sun Lion.was a mutation from a common lion-type.
Since both parents had mutation-prone martial souls, it influenced Quan Yi's own soul to move toward mutation as well.
Most martial soul mutations, however, are negative—like the unfortunate results of inbreeding. The risks are high.
Mutation represents uncertainty—but also opportunity.
During the formation of his martial soul, Quan Yi enhanced his body, consumed soul beast meat, and consistently provided energy to his developing soul. All of that played a positive role in nurturing his martial soul's mutation.
In the end, a tremendously powerful martial soul was born.
Of course, since this process couldn't be observed directly, Quan Yi wasn't aware of any of this. Still, through his effort and intellect, he managed to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—even one that the gods might not have foreseen.
Quan Yi felt puzzled. Why was this book placed in such a remote, dusty corner?
But then he remembered how rigid and conservative the soul master community could be. The reason became clear.
Even in his past life, new ideas were often met with skepticism and fierce opposition. Acceptance never came easily.
Especially in a society akin to the medieval age.
Fresh perspectives are always resisted by the majority.
Quan Yi stopped overthinking and continued reading.
He found the scholar's theories fascinating—some seemed outrageous, but all were deeply logical.
For example, the martial soul mimicry theory proposed that, under certain conditions, plant-type martial souls could absorb soul rings from non-plant soul beasts. Similarly, beast-type martial souls could absorb plant soul rings.
Then there was the concept of heterogeneous martial soul fusion—different martial souls being able to perform fusion techniques together.
These two theories could be considered together.
Martial soul fusion requires compatibility between two souls to create a skill stronger than the sum of its parts.
But even incompatible martial souls could fuse.
This suggested that martial souls might selectively absorb only the elements they needed, while ignoring irrelevant traits.
When you combine that with the mimicry theory—if a non-plant soul beast's soul ring contains elements that a plant-type martial soul can absorb, then the plant martial soul should be able to integrate it.
The reverse should also be true.
After all, soul rings are energy constructs, and martial souls themselves are condensed from soul power—also a form of energy.
Absorbing a soul ring is simply one energy form absorbing another. As long as the energies don't conflict, everything is possible.
Don't be fooled by appearances. See through to the essence.
That thought made Quan Yi so excited he wanted to jump up—just like Archimedes discovering buoyancy in the bath.
He had grown immensely curious about the book's author.
Yu Xiaogang's bold ideas and extensive experience had completely broadened Quan Yi's horizons.
[T/L: Poor MC, getting duped]
Quan Yi immediately decided to borrow the book—or better yet, buy his own copy.
He walked over to the library's reception desk, where a boy around ten years old stood. He was probably a senior student.
"Hello, may I borrow this book?"
Quan Yi raised the book in his hand.
The boy looked up and nodded. "Yes, you can. Please don't damage the book and return it within one week."
Then he pulled out a register.
"Please fill out the borrowing form with your name, class, book title, and the date."
Quan Yi paused.
"Senior, I'm a new student. I haven't been assigned a class yet."
The boy hadn't expected that—this fellow who looked about his age was actually a new student.
"Oh, then just write your dorm number. If you don't return the book, I'll use that information to remind you."
He paused for a second.
"But I don't think you'll be one of those people."
Quan Yi was surprised. "Why?"
A shrewd light flashed in the boy's eyes.
"You came to the library to borrow books before school even officially started. That shows a thirst for knowledge. People like you usually treasure books. Besides, so few people even borrow books from here. If someone doesn't return one, they're easy to track."
Quan Yi hadn't expected such insight from a boy barely older than ten.
He immediately asked for the boy's name. It was Zhang Ming.
Zhang Ming was a work-study student responsible for managing the library.
Quan Yi had read about such students in the school guide—civilian-born soul masters with cultivation potential could apply, and the school would waive their tuition.
Quan Yi thought it wouldn't hurt to build a relationship.
After chatting for a bit, Quan Yi brought up his question.
"Senior Zhang, do you know where I could buy this book? I'd like to get a new copy."
He pushed the book toward Zhang Ming to see if he had any leads.
Zhang Ming glanced at the cover and looked surprised.
"Yu Xiaogang? Why would you want to buy his book?"
(End of chapter.)