Chapter 95: The Frog at the Bottom of the Well
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Innate Spiritual Power represents potential, indicating the upper limit of a Soul Master's future.
However, whether this potential can be translated into real strength depends on a multitude of external factors.
Even someone as talented as Ah Xing in 'Kung Fu World,' a one-in-a-million martial arts prodigy, would not have undergone his final transformation if not for the Fire Cloud Evil God's brutal beating, which fatefully unlocked his potential.
If he had been given a small business to run and lived a stable life, he would likely have remained a bug with astonishing recovery powers until his death, never becoming the 'Bruce Lee' who could flatten a building with a single palm.
Shallow waters cannot nurture true dragons, and even a thousand-mile horse will be ruined if kept in a stable.
Given the foundation of the [Waterwood Principality], it is extremely difficult to cultivate true powerhouses.
Just like the [Tian Dou Empire], which has no officially recognized Douluo, the [Waterwood Principality] openly lacks any Soul Douluo-level existence.
The few veteran Soul Sages are either elders of Duke Mu Feng's family or the elders of the principality's marquises. The president of the [Botanical Academy], originally an independent control-type Soul Sage, was sincerely invited by Duke Mu Feng's father to join the principality's official ranks, helping to cultivate and retain high-quality talent for the [Waterwood Principality].
Almost all the talented Soul Masters in the [Waterwood Principality] have the same idea: to go to the territories of the [Tian Dou Empire] or the [Star Luo Empire], or join the [Soul Temple], leaving the small pond of the [Waterwood Principality] for broader lakes and seas.
Soul Masters with an Innate Spiritual Power of level six or higher are typically approached by [Soul Temple] officials immediately. Unless they come from a family with some background, most people, whether commoners or from small families, would not refuse such an opportunity to join the first power of the Douluo Continent.
The [Soul Temple] thus manages to gather a large number of talented Soul Masters from commoner and small family backgrounds each year.
Of course, as long as one has Innate Spiritual Power and can become a Soul Master, the [Soul Temple] will not turn them away. After all, they represent a foundation, and their future offspring might possess high-end talents.
However, even with potential and a good cultivation environment, it is not guaranteed that one will have the best growth trajectory.
Many people focus on the various cool soul rings and soul skills of the main characters, but few realize that the optimal soul ring configuration of the early period is something that nine out of ten Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent can only dream of.
In the original story, when Tang San revealed his first soul ring, a yellow one-hundred-year-old ring, it immediately stunned the overthinking son of the city lord, the minor character Xiao Chenyu.
In a sense, Xiao Chenyu wasn't wrong to overthink it; Tang San's background is indeed one of the strongest and hardest forces on the Douluo Continent.
Later, when the minor character Ye Zhiqiu, the head of the external affairs department of [Canghui Academy], displayed his Soul King strength, it caused a stir among the onlookers. A Soul King is a rare and powerful existence on the Douluo Continent, often holding the title of viscount or even baron in some kingdoms.
Where was this happening?
In a town more than a hundred miles away from the [Star Luo Great Forest], a place teeming with Soul Masters.
Therefore, a Soul King in the [Waterwood Principality] is an existence of significant importance.
Even Ye Zhiqiu, who was described indirectly, only had a soul ring configuration of one white, two yellow, and two purple rings.
When the main characters called him a 'mediocre talent' for not daring to cause trouble, he was likely aware that the undeveloped main characters were not yet his match. The 'Immovable Vajra King' Zhao Wují, the vice-principal, then appeared with Soul Sage-level strength, mimicking Tang Hao's method to slap him away without using his soul beast, putting on a very smooth act.
Besides Ye Zhiqiu, the minor character Qin Ming, recorded by the [Soul Temple] as the second youngest Soul Emperor in Douluo Continent history, a genius from the first graduating class of [Shrek Academy], had a fifth soul ring that was still a purple thousand-year-old ring.
Decades later, in the original timeline, during the 'All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Competition,' a plethora of young geniuses emerged, seemingly due to an explosion of talent to highlight the main characters' strength.
However, the most outstanding young Soul Masters gathered in the [Waterwood Principality], the main team of the [Botanical Academy], were still defeated by Ma Hongjun, who took on seven of them.
Most of the competition participants were not like the main characters, who were in their teens; they were generally on the cusp of being twenty-five.
Of the [Botanical Academy]'s seven main team members, only three were Soul Masters, and the other four were Soul Spirits.
One of them, a control-type Soul Master with the soul beast 'Crimson Flame Thorn,' had a soul ring configuration of three yellow and one purple ring.
There were also two strong supporting characters, the 'Serpent Halberd Douluo' She Long and the 'Porcupine Douluo' Ci Xue, both of whom, despite being formidable Title Douluo, had soul ring configurations of two yellow, three purple, and four black rings!
Who could say that their potential was poor, given that they managed to cultivate to the rank of Title Douluo?
The longer Ling Yi stayed in the [Waterwood Principality], the more he felt a sense of constraint, in addition to the growing sense of security.
If Ling Yi were a native of the principality, he would have eagerly joined Lou Gao in traveling to [Gengxin City] two years ago, seeking a Soul Sage-level master through the [General Blacksmith Association].
But Ling Yi did not.
It wasn't that he didn't crave the support of a Soul Sage-level master; rather, he knew that what he wanted to learn was beyond the capabilities of even a Soul Sage, let alone the Title Douluo like Qian Daolou and Tang Chen.
He, Ling Yi, was not a fake 'waste soul beast' like the original protagonist Tang San, who was actually a descendant of the 'Blue Silver Royal' lineage and possessed the top-tier soul beast 'Heavenly Hammer.'
Oh, and he also had the highest inheritance of the [Tang Sect] from his previous life, the [Xuantian Treasure Record], which contained various profound techniques.
Ling Yi was a true possessor of the 'waste soul beast' 'Blue Silver Grass'!
An Innate Spiritual Power of half a level was enough to say it all!
Yu Xiaogang, who also had an Innate Spiritual Power of half a level, had a father who was the clan leader of the [Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan] and a Title Douluo over ninety-five levels, yet he could not solve Yu Xiaogang's cultivation problems due to his innate potential.
As the [Soul Temple] Saintess, Bibidong, who was so love-struck that she abandoned her Saintess identity and the [Soul Temple] that had raised and taught her, would she not have tried to help Yu Xiaogang with his low innate potential if there was a way?
Even if the cost was too high for the [Soul Temple] to bear, would Bibidong not have informed Yu Xiaogang if there was a chance?
Given Yu Xiaogang's status, he might have been able to seek help from his father.
The most likely scenario is that over the years, the Douluo Continent has seen very few cases of solving a Soul Master's innate potential issues.
Even if there were lucky exceptions, they would keep such information secret, treating it as a family secret.
Or perhaps it cannot be replicated?
For example, the first famous 'Green Phosphorus Snake' Soul Master, Dugu Bo, did he become a Title Douluo because his soul beast evolved into the 'Green Phosphorus Snake Emperor,' or did his soul beast evolve because he became a Title Douluo?
The original story doesn't say, and the current Dugu Bo's whereabouts are unknown, so all of Ling Yi's speculations remain just that—speculations.
In any case, Dugu Bo's son died from soul beast backlash, and his granddaughter Dugu Yan's soul beast is the 'Green Phosphorus Snake,' which did not inherit the 'Green Phosphorus Snake Emperor' quality but still suffers from the soul beast's toxicity.
(End of Chapter)