Chapter 6: The First Spirit Soul Confirmed

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Xu Shengqun had some understanding of his nephew.

If Xu Yuan had brought it up, there must be a reason.

He was also curious to hear why Xu Yuan felt that the ability to materialize soul beasts wasn't suitable for him and why he didn't want to absorb vine-type spirit soul.

"My martial soul, the Tianyuan Brush, has indeed undergone some special mutations. Over the past few days, I've been exploring its capabilities. In its Tianyuan Brush form, my soul power can fuse with the origin energy of heaven and earth through the brush, condensing it into ink for attacks. If I'm going to develop my martial soul, this should be the main direction. A system that relies on materializing soul beasts for battle isn't suitable for me."

Xu Shengqun was momentarily stunned.

His attention was drawn to one particular word Xu Yuan had used.

"Tianyuan Brush form?" He stepped forward, grabbed Xu Yuan's shoulders, and shook him gently. "Your Tianyuan Brush can switch forms?"

Xu Yuan nodded and summoned his Tianyuan Brush martial soul, transforming it into its spear form.

Seeing the Tianyuan Brush in Xu Yuan's hand quickly morph into a spear, Xu Shengqun was immediately overjoyed.

A spear!

This was something he was very familiar with.

Upon closer inspection of the Tianyuan Brush-spear, Xu Shengqun quickly noticed the unique presence it exuded.

"Does your spear form naturally carry a spear-like momentum?"

Xu Yuan nodded and explained, "Yes, I've been sensing this momentum over the past few days. It's an unstoppable force, breaking through everything in its path, harnessing the grand laws of the universe to suppress all opposition!"

Xu Shengqun nodded repeatedly.

"So this is the strength of a mutated martial soul?"

Even though the mutation had only resulted in innate soul power at level seven, the foundation of the mutation was undoubtedly comparable to that of a top-tier martial soul. With the right spirit soul and some rare treasures, elevating the Tianyuan Brush-spear to the level of a top-tier martial soul wouldn't be a problem.

It wasn't just the brain martial soul that had room for growth—this Tianyuan Brush also had a foreseeable future for advancement.

"Your Tianyuan Brush must be a fusion of both your parents' martial souls, mutated through their combination. Such a phenomenon is extremely rare across the continent. You can consider your martial soul as being inherently in the state of a martial soul fusion technique from the start." Xu Shengqun marveled.

Xu Yuan's father, Xu Zhi, was a researcher with exceptional research abilities. Aside from providing cultivation advice and analyzing spirit soul options for Xu Shengqun, Xu Zhi had influenced him in various ways during their exchanges, particularly in research.

Although Xu Shengqun wasn't a researcher himself, his understanding of martial souls and his ability to analyze fundamental theories were quite advanced.

"If that's truly the case, your martial soul is extraordinary," Xu Shengqun said after pondering for a moment. "Of course, whether or not it matches my assumptions will depend on how your martial soul evolves in the future."

Xu Yuan wasn't overly concerned about this.

He had already analyzed his own martial soul to some extent.

But without sufficient exploration, it was difficult to draw definitive conclusions.

Everything would depend on the subsequent abilities of his martial soul.

What excited Xu Shengqun the most at this moment was the spear form of the Tianyuan Brush.

This meant Xu Yuan could inherit his spear techniques.

An unstoppable, penetrating spear momentum—it resonated somewhat with the essence of his Tian Sheng Void-Shattering Spear.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind.

"Xiao Yuan, I suddenly have an idea for a spirit soul that would be perfect for you."

As he spoke, Xu Shengqun couldn't help but smile and express his amazement.

"Fate—it can only be called fate."

Xu Yuan was puzzled and looked at his uncle quizzically.

After reflecting for a moment, Xu Shengqun snapped back to reality, looked at Xu Yuan, and smiled. "Xiao Yuan, I can confirm your first spirit soul for you. It will definitely be the most suitable spirit soul for you."

"Uncle, what spirit soul is it?" Xu Yuan pressed.

He didn't want his uncle to drag this out.

Unfortunately, some factors in his considerations were things he simply couldn't explain to Xu Shengqun, which might lead to misunderstandings.

Seeing no other option, Xu Shengqun relented and shared the details of the spirit soul.

"Do you know why your father became the deputy director?"

Xu Yuan shook his head.

"It's because of the research topic he was working on. He was studying the Spirit Soul Cultivation Method."

The Spirit Soul Cultivation Method?

At first glance, Xu Yuan assumed the core of this project was enabling spirit souls to cultivate.

However, Xu Shengqun quickly corrected his misunderstanding.

"Don't take it literally. Your father's Spirit Soul Cultivation Method wasn't about teaching spirit souls to cultivate—it wasn't the goal." Xu Shengqun chuckled, recalling his own initial misunderstanding.

"The essence of the Spirit Soul Cultivation Method was to use spirit souls to compensate for deficiencies in martial souls and assist soul masters in their cultivation."

Borrowing the false to cultivate the true?

After hearing his uncle's explanation, Xu Yuan's first thought was precisely that.

If a martial soul was too weak to cultivate effectively, then use spirit souls to cultivate instead.

"Unfortunately, the project couldn't be completed. However, your father was—well, let's say persuasive. Combined with the promising prospects of the project if successful, the Spirit Pagoda approved it."

"After extensive research, they ultimately disproved the concept."

Xu Yuan stared at Xu Shengqun, dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, while listening to Xu Shengqun describe the method, he had begun fantasizing about the potential benefits if the project were near completion or had a chance of success. But then Xu Shengqun abruptly declared it had been disproven.

This...

"There was no way around it. The core of the project was essentially to allow ordinary people who hadn't reached level ten—or even those without soul power—to contract spirit souls prematurely. Your father initially had a reasonable and convincing approach, which earned the approval of the Spirit Pagoda's higher-ups."

"But the more they researched, the more they disproved the feasibility of this concept from various angles. Fortunately, by coincidence, his research greatly contributed to breakthroughs in extending the lifespan of spirit souls—specifically, advancements in the Spirit Ascension Platform technology."

"Additionally, they achieved another significant result—a new branch of spirit souls."

At this point, Xu Yuan was highly anticipating what was coming next.

This must be the first spirit soul his uncle had mentioned as being suitable for him.

"This branch can be called metal spirit souls. They are a type of artificial spirit soul—not created by replicating the genes of any soul beast, but entirely crafted using soul-guiding technology to transform metal into a spirit soul."

When Xu Yuan heard "metal spirit soul," it sounded vaguely familiar.

After some reflection, realization dawned on him.

Wasn't this the first spirit soul of Xie Xie from the original story?

"The technology behind metal spirit souls is still incomplete, and the Spirit Pagoda hasn't invested much effort into it. Only about a dozen metal spirit souls have been created so far, and most of them are merely ten-year spirit souls."

"The ones I'm referring to aren't these. I'm talking about the spirit soul your father personally participated in researching during the project. It's a hundred-year spirit soul. What makes it unique is that it's not only a metal spirit soul but also shaped into the form of a spear, created entirely from metal infused with spear-like properties."

"It's not just the external appearance that resembles a spear—the very essence of its power and the spirit soul's core are guided by spear intent."

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