Chapter 52: The Soul Attribute Detector
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Calmly sipping his tea, Ye Wen pondered which factions might approach him. On the Spirit Hall's turf, few ordinary factions would dare to make a move.
The only ones with both the audacity and influence were the upper three sects and the two empires.
The royal families of the two empires, though not martial-oriented, had ruled the continent for over a millennium and likely possessed their own methods of inheritance. They probably wouldn't bother approaching him.
That left only the upper three sects as suspects.
The Hao Tian Sect, being the strongest of the upper three, was deeply rooted in tradition and possessed countless secret techniques. They had no need to seek him out.
As for the remaining two sects, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda suffered from an inherent limitation that capped cultivation at Level 79. However, as an auxiliary-type martial soul, it wasn't urgent for them to act. Even if they did invite him, they would typically do so politely—sending someone like a steward rather than an assassin.
Eliminating all other possibilities, the only faction likely to approach him was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. Though their martial soul was powerful and their clan members proud, who could blame them for having a disappointment like Yu Xiaogang as their young master? As the only son of a Title Douluo, his lackluster cultivation and martial soul were issues Yu Yuanzhen undoubtedly wanted resolved.
Clearing his thoughts, Ye Wen calmed himself, showing no signs of haste or panic. After all, he wasn't the one seeking favors. Settling the bill, he gestured for the assassin to lead the way.
The two didn't hide their movements, and the factions observing Ye Wen from the shadows promptly reported the situation.
As leaders of major powers, most were shrewd individuals. It didn't take much thought for them to guess Yu Yuanzhen's intentions.
"Hmph, what misfortune for the family."
"This tyrant dragon sure has guts. But can such a waste even be saved? I'm somewhat curious."
"How dull."
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is already a super martial soul. Advancing it further won't be easy. It seems this is all for the sake of his useless son."
They eventually arrived at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's residence.
Seeing the burly Yu Yuanzhen seated in the center of the reception hall, Ye Wen couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. After all, the side effects of a lightning-attribute martial soul often included a volatile temper.
If he said the wrong thing, who knew whether this "tyrant dragon" might lose control? He decided to tread carefully.
"Master Ye Wen, with your intelligence, I assume you've already guessed why I've invited you," Yu Yuanzhen said gravely.
Ye Wen gave a noncommittal nod, glancing at Yu Xiaogang standing nearby.
"So, Master Ye Wen, do you have any insights? To be honest, I don't know why my son's talent turned out this way, but he is indeed my biological son. If you can resolve his martial soul issue, I, Yu Yuanzhen, will owe you a favor."
A single favor might seem trivial, but coming from someone destined to become a Super Douluo in the near future, it held significant value. Ye Wen felt a flicker of interest.
However, despite Yu Yuanzhen's evident concern for his son, Ye Wen couldn't help but feel slighted. He had been invited here as a guest, yet Yu Yuanzhen hadn't even offered him a seat. Such arrogance left a bitter taste. Ye Wen silently vowed to remember this insult.
Though unafraid of Yu Yuanzhen, Ye Wen knew better than to escalate the situation. Pretending to rummage through his robes, he pulled out a small circular disk and handed it to Yu Xiaogang, saying,
"I've had some theories about your son's condition. This disk is an experimental prototype of a soul-guiding device I created—it's called the Soul Attribute Detector. Its primary function is to analyze the attributes present in one's soul power. Let your son test it first."
With that, Ye Wen handed the soul-guiding device to Yu Xiaogang.
It was a simple copper disk embedded with ten differently colored metals, connected by silver wires.
Yu Yuanzhen observed the rudimentary soul-guiding device with interest.
Yu Xiaogang infused his soul power into the disk, causing a golden and a purple metal to light up.
Ye Wen gestured for Yu Xiaogang to return the device, examined the glowing metals briefly, then stowed it away before speaking.
"I now have a general understanding of your son's situation. Even if his talent is poor, he shouldn't be stuck below the Soul Elder level.
The root cause likely lies in the direction he took when acquiring his first two soul rings. If I'm not mistaken, your son's martial soul originally possessed only the light attribute. Yet, you allowed him to hunt lightning-attribute spirit beasts, correct?"
Yu Yuanzhen's body trembled. Everything Ye Wen described matched Yu Xiaogang's condition, except for the mention of the light attribute.
As part of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon lineage, they naturally followed familiar paths when hunting spirit beasts. Consequently, the younger generation's spirit beast choices were largely similar. Out of habit, they assumed Yu Xiaogang's mutated martial soul would align with theirs.
Thus, they had him hunt sub-dragon species lightning-attribute spirit beasts for his first two soul rings. Unfortunately, the resulting soul skills lacked any lightning properties, instead producing nauseating farts.
"Is there an explanation for this?" Yu Yuanzhen asked.
Instead of answering immediately, Ye Wen countered with a question.
"Your Excellency, have you read my Treatise on the Origin of Martial Souls?"
"I've heard of it, but I've been busy and haven't had time to read it. Please, Master Ye Wen, explain."
Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, had read it. Hearing Ye Wen's explanation, he seemed to grasp something, his expression growing excited.
"To put it simply, in my treatise, I advocate that soul masters should prioritize hunting spirit beasts whose attributes align with their martial soul's origin, rather than focusing solely on soul skills. While the resulting soul skills may not be particularly strong, absorbing the soul ring optimizes the martial soul. When optimized sufficiently, it can even evolve.
For example, consider a soul master with an ordinary lone wolf martial soul. Initially, their martial soul is no different from a regular wild wolf. However, if they consistently hunt wind wolves, by the third or fourth ring, their martial soul could undergo a beneficial evolution, transforming into a wind wolf martial soul. This trait could then be passed down to their descendants.
In this way, their offspring would inherit an advanced martial soul. Through successive generations of optimization, their descendants could eventually obtain a top-tier martial soul—or even a super martial soul.
I've already tested this theory on my disciples. One of my students had the Blue Silver Grass martial soul, considered a worthless martial soul. However, after hunting plant-attribute spirit beasts with strong life force and a century-old Blue Silver Vine, her martial soul evolved into Blue Silver Vine.
Though it only reached the level of an ordinary martial soul, for a previously worthless Blue Silver Grass, this was a significant breakthrough.
Based on this theory, the reverse also holds true. Your son's stagnation at Level 30 is entirely due to absorbing incorrect soul rings."
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