Chapter 19: Xu Shengqun’s Plan
Thank you to our new Patrons: Josh, Nilist, Neopolitansoso, Foolie, Resid Kuliyev, Bodybags87, Jaden Henderson, spiritwolf86, Kyle Bates, Macabre Threener, Jakob Harris, Koner !!, Elan Jones, NaasH NS, Shon Ducusin, Kai Zambrano!, mty and BenDover110 You are what makes this possible! We are up to Chapter 40: The Plan to Split the Martial Soul on Patreon!
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Xu Yuan was troubled.
He simply couldn't settle on a name for his spirit soul.
Fortunately, the Five-Element Spear Spirit hadn't yet developed true intelligence, so Xu Yuan wasn't in a rush to name it. But he knew it was only a matter of time.
Perhaps other soul masters didn't place much importance on naming their spirit souls, but Xu Yuan was different.
This Five-Element Spear Spirit was destined to ascend to the peak alongside him, grow and evolve with his martial soul, and ultimately achieve the status of a divine artifact—or even a super divine artifact.
This was Xu Yuan's goal—or rather, his ambition.
Putting the naming issue aside for now, Xu Yuan gave instructions to his spirit soul.
The advantage of a spirit soul lay in its very existence—it extended the soul master's perception. Powerful spirit souls could even think independently and activate soul skills without the soul master's direct control.
Of course, the consumption of soul power for using soul skills still fell on the soul master.
However, with the cooperation of a spirit soul, a soul master's overall strength would inevitably see a qualitative leap.
Xu Yuan's Five-Element Spear Spirit possessed a significant level of sentience and the instinct of a spear. While it couldn't independently participate in battle like an intelligent spirit soul, it could still respond adeptly to Xu Yuan's commands.
Holding the Tianyuan Spear, Xu Yuan allowed the spirit soul to merge with it. The flow of soul power became smoother, especially when manipulating and utilizing the five elemental forces within the spear—it felt more fluid and natural.
Switching forms, the spirit soul merged into the Tianyuan Brush.
After fusing with the spirit soul, the bristles at the tip of Xu Yuan's Tianyuan Brush had changed. They were no longer hair-like but now gleamed with a metallic luster, appearing far more resilient.
With the spirit soul integrated, the brush's bristles transformed into the familiar spear-tip shape when Xu Yuan shifted forms.
At first glance, it seemed to have little effect.
In reality, the impact was immense. It unified the two forms of Xu Yuan's martial soul, allowing him to use spear techniques in the Tianyuan Brush form without needing to switch forms.
Moreover, the Tianyuan Spear's first soul skill was ultimately a spear technique. In the Tianyuan Brush form, Xu Yuan could harness the five elemental forces. By mastering the Five-Element Spear Technique, he could execute it seamlessly even when the Tianyuan Brush transformed into a spear.
This granted him both the capabilities of a warrior and a mage!
Of course, to fully maximize such abilities and develop combat techniques best suited to these conditions would require a significant amount of effort.
Xu Yuan already had numerous tasks on his plate, and this added yet another layer of complexity to his already demanding cultivation schedule.
But Xu Yuan didn't regret it.
Though his daily cultivation tasks were heavy, he thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.
For someone who had lived over twenty years in his previous life, satisfying their inner "chuuni" soul through descriptions in fantasy novels, entering this real fantastical world and experiencing the process of cultivation firsthand was utterly addictive.
Xu Yuan was no exception.
It wasn't just about envying such a life for twenty years in his past life—even if he'd been born as a child in this world, he might still become addicted to cultivation.
After absorbing the spirit soul, Xu Yuan incorporated training for his soul skills into his daily cultivation routine.
He was able to adjust his schedule thanks to Zhen Hua streamlining his forging tasks. Zhen Hua wasn't unreasonable—he understood that Xu Yuan wouldn't abandon the path of a soul master. Instead of requiring Xu Yuan to engage in extensive daily forging, he reduced it to once a week, with the rest of the time spent on theoretical review and analysis.
Time passed amidst fulfilling cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, it had been a year since Xu Yuan awakened his martial soul.
At the time of awakening, his innate soul power was only at level seven. Within a month, he fused with his first spirit soul, becoming a soul master and reaching level thirteen.
Over the next eleven months, his soul power continued to rise rapidly at a rate of one level every two months, bringing him to level eighteen.
"Xiao Yuan," Xu Shengqun approached Xu Yuan, interrupting his preparations for soul skill training.
"Uncle, what is it?"
In just a year, Xu Yuan's body had grown significantly.
On the Douluo Continent, after a soul master awakens their martial soul, their physical development isn't limited to natural growth—it's also influenced by the evolution of their martial soul and the increase in soul power.
The enhancement of soul power driving physical development was common, though rarer cases involved a resurgence of vitality following a breakthrough in soul power.
Xu Yuan's growth wasn't excessively abnormal. If he could only be called a child a year ago, he was now undeniably a youth. A year of practicing spear techniques had imbued him with a sharp, piercing aura.
"Xiao Yuan, do you remember the path I planned for you?"
Xu Shengqun looked at his nephew with a mix of emotion and pride.
Xu Yuan was his nephew, and he had personally nurtured him. Even Mu Ye's involvement and Zhen Hua's guidance in forging were indirectly facilitated by Xu Shengqun. Thus, claiming credit for Xu Yuan's cultivation wasn't inaccurate.
Planning his path was part of that cultivation—and fundamental to it.
As such, Xu Shengqun was quite confident in his planning abilities.
"Shrek?" After some thought, Xu Yuan realized what his uncle was referring to.
He quickly furrowed his brow.
"Uncle, is this year's Shrek Academy enrollment? Are you asking me to participate now?"
Xu Shengqun chuckled and shook his head.
"Of course not. While your current abilities might give you a chance to pass Shrek's entrance exam, it's still not guaranteed."
Xu Shengqun had some understanding of Shrek Academy's admission tests.
Every year, Shrek's admission process followed a similar pattern. Over time, the higher-ups of various factions had come to know the general procedures. However, to ensure the effectiveness of their evaluations, Shrek had agreements with these factions not to disclose details to younger generations.
Shrek's admissions placed certain demands on willpower and mentality. Xu Shengqun wasn't worried about Xu Yuan's willpower but rather his mentality.
It wasn't that Xu Yuan's mentality was poor—it was actually too good.
Having been born with knowledge, Xu Yuan's thoughts were exceptionally clear and mature. However, this maturity came at the cost of lacking a youthful mindset. While he thought comprehensively, his overly realistic approach might lead to elimination during the evaluation.
Of course, the likelihood of this happening was low.
But if he were eliminated, he wouldn't have another chance for three years.
Thus, Xu Shengqun wasn't in a rush to have Xu Yuan participate in this year's Shrek admissions.
Even with Xu Yuan's current talent, passing the exam would almost guarantee him a spot as an inner court disciple.
"Entering Shrek too early wouldn't be beneficial for you."
The specifics of the exam were secondary. What mattered most to Xu Shengqun was his reluctance to send Xu Yuan to Shrek too soon. While Shrek was powerful, it also possessed a terrifying ability to indoctrinate its students.
------------------------------------------------------
Support my writing journey: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow