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After descending the mountain, Qian Renxue was about to return to the Royal High-Class Hotel arranged by Bibi Dong when she noticed Tang San walking with Gu Yuena, chatting and laughing as they headed toward Soul Martial Manor. This piqued her interest. With a few leaps, she covered several hundred meters, then casually approached them and greeted, "What a coincidence, Brother Tang. You live here?"
"Greetings, Emperor Qinghe." At this moment, Qian Renxue had resumed her male disguise, and since they were not in a private setting, Tang San naturally used a more formal address.
"No need to be so formal; this isn't an official setting either. I'll call you Brother Tang, and you can call me Brother Xue, as a sign of our camaraderie," Xue Qinghe said with a hearty laugh.
"Brother Xue is certainly straightforward," Tang San responded, dropping the formality as well. With a single "Brother Xue," the relationship between the two instantly felt closer. Along with Gu Yuena, they accompanied Xue Qinghe back to the royal hotel.
"Brother Tang, what are your duties here in Spirit City?" Xue Qinghe asked, curious about what Tang San was up to in the city.
"Primarily, I'm researching martial spirits, spirit power cultivation, along with some studies on vitality and mental strength. And lastly, I'm delving into research on innate martial spirits," Tang San explained briefly. These were things anyone could discover with a bit of investigation, but he didn't mention any specific details.
After all, there were still passersby around, and it wouldn't be good for others to overhear.
Xue Qinghe's curiosity was piqued, "Innate martial spirits? That's indeed a rare kind. Spirit Hall has been searching for people with such spirits in recent years. Could you tell me what's so special about them?"
Glancing around, Tang San noticed the sky growing darker and the number of pedestrians dwindling, so he said, "Based on the existing research, I've made a bold hypothesis: the innate martial spirit is actually the martial spirit that humans were originally supposed to possess. All other martial spirits have been influenced by external factors and eventually took on fixed forms through a combination of environmental conditions and people's beliefs."
"Martial spirits, at their origin, were likely just formless, unique energies. When a martial spirit awakens, it assumes a form based on human expectations, and the closest thing to a person is their body."
"But later, other factors came into play, leading to the emergence of other types of martial spirits."
"In ancient times, when humans discovered stone tools, they greatly aided in hunting and survival. This intense desire for such tools caused some martial spirits to take the form of objects when they awakened."
"At its core, a martial spirit can sense a person's innermost thoughts and respond accordingly."
"Of course, once the form of a martial spirit is set, it tends to remain stable. Under normal circumstances, it's difficult to change unless one undergoes cultivation or adds spirit rings to induce transformation. Otherwise, it evolves through generations, influenced by environmental changes and migration, as survival instincts shift beliefs, causing the martial spirit to gradually evolve over time."
Xue Qinghe nodded repeatedly. "This is the 'Theory of Martial Spirit Evolution,' which you wrote. I've read it, and it's well-supported and convincing. Each martial spirit is the result of our ancestors' struggles with nature."
"That's just how object-type martial spirits evolved," Tang San continued, "As for beast-type martial spirits, I believe a large portion of them originated similarly. From some remote villages and ruins across the continent, we know that ancient people revered powerful soul beasts, viewing them as totems. Their intense devotion caused their martial spirits to take on the form of soul beasts."
Xue Qinghe agreed, "The archives of the Tian Dou Empire also contain similar records. In areas with few spirit masters, the local people often use soul beasts as totems for worship, perhaps this was their most primal form of belief."
For Tang San, the shaping of an unformed martial spirit was driven by desire for a particular thing.
However, to Qian Renxue, this might represent the power of faith created by ancient ancestors' reverence, unknowingly harnessing this force to give their formless martial spirit the shape of their desires.
Still, this "shaping" is extremely stable. While change is possible, it requires time.
"Additionally, some beast-type martial spirits were likely given to humans by soul beasts."
"Soul beasts?" Xue Qinghe was surprised, then squinted as if realizing something. "Brother Tang, are you referring to 100,000-year soul beasts that have taken human form?"
"Exactly. I believe that many powerful beast martial spirits likely have an ancestor who was a formidable 100,000-year soul beast that took on human form. These soul beasts, in their quest for greater power, would have placed great emphasis on the strength of their bloodline," Tang San explained his theory. "Take for instance the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the White Tiger Clan, and the Netherworld Spirit Cat Clan."
"Of course, this is just a hypothesis…"
"Oh, by the way, I've noticed that some powerful beast martial spirits can transform into tool martial spirits. For example, the recently returned Snake Spear Douluo from Spirit City, whose martial spirit can switch between a tool and a beast form, existing in a state between the two."
Xue Qinghe smiled faintly, "Isn't your Haotian Hammer the same way, Brother Tang?"
Tang San nodded slightly. "Indeed, and not only that, my primary martial spirit can also shift between plant and tool forms…"
Perhaps human beings, with their natural abilities—such as an intelligent brain, dexterous fingers, long arms, and bipedal walking—were designed to be skillful in utilizing external tools.
Beast martial spirits are, at their core, symbolic, meant to awaken the primal instincts for combat. But their fundamental purpose is still to help humans master tools.
After all, when comparing a human with a beast martial spirit to an actual soul beast of the same type, under the same conditions, humans would lose in every aspect except intelligence.
But with weapons, even a physically weak human can still find a way to kill an animal many times their size.
This was the first time Xue Qinghe had heard such a perspective and found it fascinating. Tang San continued, "Of course, this is just my personal opinion, a theory I wouldn't publish. I don't have the perspective of someone standing at the peak of time, able to see the future. Take it as casual conversation."
However, Xue Qinghe found Tang San's speculation to be quite reasonable. After all, if you consider an ordinary human body (disregarding spirit power, vitality, mental strength, spirit bones, and such), it's naturally not suited for competing with fierce beasts in terms of speed, strength, or defense. The only advantage humans have is their inherent intelligence and dexterity.
"Are there other types of martial spirits, like angels?" Xue Qinghe asked, curious about other special types of martial spirits.
"I usually exclude those types of martial spirits from my research."
"Why?" Xue Qinghe was puzzled by Tang San's selective approach.
"Because those martial spirits are influenced by forces beyond the mortal realm—divine power," Tang San replied with a slightly grave tone. "Once a martial spirit takes its form, it generally can only be altered through generations of inheritance or cultivation by adding spirit rings. However, for divine powers, changing a martial spirit is as easy as eating bean sprouts—a trivial matter."
"In my estimation, if a god wills it, even the weakest martial spirit can be made overwhelmingly powerful."
"A god's power surpasses spirit power, and its energy is so potent that it can even alter the very essence of life."
Take the Dark Devilgod Tiger, for example—
Before it was imbued with the power of the Evil God, it was merely an ordinary white tiger.
(End of chapter)