Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
******
"If Senior Brother Lin Dong succeeds in this breakthrough, he will have a real chance of hitting Rank 10 next year."
"That's right. Even in another year, Senior Brother Lin Dong will only be nine years old."
"To think someone with Rank 1 Innate Soul Power could become a Soul Master by nine... in the past, no one would have dared to dream of such a thing."
It was clear that over the past year, Lin Dong had earned immense respect among the students of Monitoring Peak.
"You must not neglect your own cultivation either," Su Wen told the gathered children.
"Yes, Grand Scholar!"
"As students of my Academy, you each have three opportunities to receive a free 'Book of Ten Thousand Laws.' Whether it is the Soul Ascension Method, other cultivation techniques, or the self-created soul skills I have mastered, you may apply for the corresponding book whenever you wish to acquire them."
"Really?" The eyes of the students lit up in unison.
Following Su Wen's final demonstration of the Book of Ten Thousand Laws during the Continental Spirit Master Tournament, rumors across the continent regarding these books had become increasingly legendary. But regardless of the hyperbole, the power of the Book of Ten Thousand Laws was undeniable.
Many factions were already seeking to cooperate with the Academy, offering their own sect's secret techniques in exchange for the Academy's services. However, since the Academy was not yet fully established, these cooperative projects had not yet launched. This meant that, currently, there were no official channels for a Book of Ten Thousand Laws to circulate in the outside world.
Yet, as formal students of the Academy, they were each granted three applications.
"Furthermore, every time you break through to a new title rank, you will receive another free opportunity to apply for a book," Su Wen added.
At this, the students broke into cheers. Among them, three had already reached Rank 10 soul power. However, none of them had gone to obtain a spirit ring yet; they were waiting to master the Soul Ascension Method, determined not to fall behind in terms of spirit ring configuration.
But the Soul Ascension Method was notoriously difficult. Even with the Academy's guidance, they were still a long way from the entry level. If they had a Book of Ten Thousand Laws for the technique, they could let the book guide their soul power circulation. By familiarizing themselves with that sensation, the time required to truly master the technique would be drastically shortened.
They would no longer be stuck in their current dilemma: fearing the gap in spirit ring years if they waited too long, yet worrying that staying at Rank 10 to practice the technique would delay their overall soul power progression.
"I prefer that you learn the techniques on your own," Su Wen noted. "However, for those among you whose Innate Soul Power is relatively high, you should apply for the Soul Ascension and Body Tempering books to secure your first spirit ring as soon as possible."
"Your talent is naturally high; it shouldn't be wasted."
"For the rest of you, if you reach Rank 10 and feel you have no hope of mastering the Soul Ascension Method within six months, it is best to apply for a book directly."
"There is no shame in relying on a Book of Ten Thousand Laws for cultivation. On the contrary, allowing your progress to stall is the real loss."
Once a student reached a milestone rank, they needed to obtain a spirit ring quickly. Staying at Rank 10 just for a higher-year ring was, in a way, putting the cart before the horse. When Su Wen himself stayed at Rank 10 for a year, it was an extreme case. That delay was more about finding the path for his future cultivation—a momentous achievement—but in terms of actual soul power accumulation, he had taken a loss.
His overall "profit" at the time wasn't that high. That was why his rating in Spirit Hall's evaluation system had dropped significantly back then. But at that time, he had no choice; he had to walk that path to change his destiny.
Su Wen stayed at Monitoring Peak for three hours. While waiting for Lin Dong to break through his Rank 8 bottleneck, he conversed with these six-year-old students.
"Grand Scholar, did you really develop all these techniques by yourself?" asked a boy named Zhou Yuan.
Su Wen had a deep impression of him because Zhou Yuan had the highest Innate Soul Power and the best martial soul of this batch. His soul was the Radiant Dragon—a true dragon-type martial soul with the Light attribute. His parents' souls were a Radiant Giant Lizard and a Sunflower, respectively; however, Zhou Yuan's soul had undergone a direct mutation into the Radiant Dragon.
His Innate Soul Power was Rank 9.
"I developed the techniques myself, but I did so after reviewing a vast amount of data from Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. I also joined the Research Institute of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to facilitate the mobilization of personnel. Only then could I develop these various methods."
For scholars on the continent, the hardest part of research was verifying theories against the internal conditions of the body. Su Wen had solved this perfectly. He took the existing foundations of the continent's research and added "a bit" of his own refinement to create these techniques.
"I developed these techniques by standing on the shoulders of all the scholars who came before me. That is why I am opening them up to give back to the entire Spirit Master community," Su Wen said with feeling. "I hope that in the future, you can use my techniques as a foundation to develop even more and even better theories, pushing the Spirit Master world toward a higher level of progress."
Hearing Su Wen's words, the seventeen students present all showed expressions of deep admiration. As expected of the Grand Scholar. What a noble ideal. He had achieved his current success by standing on the shoulders of giants, and now he was willing to let others stand on his shoulders to achieve even greater heights!
"Xiao Yuan, your martial soul talent is very high; do not waste it. It's a pity I haven't mastered any Light-attribute self-created soul skills, but I have developed some general-purpose skills that dragon-type souls can use."
Zhou Yuan was one of the children Su Wen favored most. Aside from him, there was Lin Dong. Zhou Yuan had staggering natural talent, while Lin Dong was excellent in every aspect except for his slightly inferior martial soul. Under the Academy's nurturing, both had the chance to reach the pinnacle.
After three hours on Monitoring Peak, a ripple of soul power radiated outward. The source was the cultivation room where Lin Dong was in seclusion. Su Wen looked toward the room and smiled.
Success. Lin Dong had broken through to Rank 8.
"Senior Brother Lin Dong broke through!"
Lin Dong emerged from the room. When he saw Su Wen, he froze for a second before hurriedly bowing in respect. "Grand Scholar."
"Good." Su Wen nodded with satisfaction. "Rank 8."
"It is all thanks to your techniques," Lin Dong said quickly.
Su Wen took Lin Dong to a private room. "How is it? What level has your Body Tempering reached?"
"I should be able to withstand the impact of a 500-year spirit ring now," Lin Dong estimated.
Since Lin Dong had never absorbed a ring, his judgment couldn't be perfectly precise. However, Su Wen's mental power was incredibly strong; his observation of physical constitutions was thorough, and he had performed several basic check-ups on Lin Dong previously. Based on those standards, Lin Dong was able to evaluate his own progress.
"Five hundred years... that's only an increase of less than two hundred. You still have two years. You must not slacken for even a moment."
"Yes, Grand Scholar!" Lin Dong's gaze was resolute.
He knew his martial soul quality was poor, so absorbing a thousand-year ring for his first slot would be his greatest chance to defy fate and transform his life.
"Continue to practice the Soul Ascension Method diligently. Reaching the entry level is not the end. Practice it in conjunction with the Soul Fusion Technique. Once you have fully integrated those two methods, there will be a surprise waiting for you."
"Understood!"
(End of Chapter)