The various disputes within the academy gradually subsided as the competition between Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing came to an end.
In a blink of an eye, nearly two years had passed.
Under the influence of the Nirvana Scripture and various supportive medications, Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's cultivation progressed rapidly.
They had both reached the twentieth level, enabling them to add a second soul ring to their martial souls.
During this period, Su Cheng continued refining the Nirvana Scripture and periodically taught it to Zhu Zhuqing under the guise of Zhu Hongtao.
Zhu Zhuqing had also informed Su Cheng about passing on her cultivation technique to him, a matter he didn't dwell on.
Post-incident, Zhu Zhuqing meticulously shared the modified cultivation technique with Su Cheng, leaving him somewhat amused.
She had wondered about her father's ability to improve this technique, considering his status as only a Soul Douluo. The existence of this cultivation technique alone had astounded her, as she had never heard of any technique capable of accelerating cultivation or refining martial soul quality.
Su Cheng had hinted to Zhu Zhuqing long ago that he had delved deep into the study of martial souls, attributing the improvements to his past research.
Although this reason might seem a bit stretched, the world was not lacking in research-oriented talents, making it somewhat plausible.
Zhu Zhuqing, now trusting and admiring her father, tended to overlook these minor details subconsciously.
The Nirvana Scripture had undergone significant changes compared to the past. Aside from an increase in cultivation speed, its most prominent effect was in purifying bloodlines.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul quality had improved considerably, reaching nearly the eighth level of innate soul power.
While this improvement seemed minimal, it was substantial, considering they were already among the top talents in the world.
Lower bloodline purity made it easier to enhance martial soul quality. For those whose innate soul power was below level one, the technique could effortlessly overcome many previously insurmountable bottlenecks.
Moreover, having practiced the Nirvana Scripture for only two years, Su Cheng speculated that once martial soul quality reached level eight, the upgrade speed would significantly slow down. Breaking through to level nine would then become a formidable challenge.
However, this was just the primary function of the current Nirvana Scripture.
Su Cheng's focus in the subsequent research was on optimizing the core essence of martial souls. Only through this could he apply the technique effectively in reality.
His original martial souls, the Eternal Sword and Innate Array, had exceptionally high quality and didn't require further enhancement.
However, achieving a perfect fusion of these twin martial souls was likely impossible without external assistance.
The interaction between tool-type and beast-type martial souls differed significantly. In terms of bloodline feedback alone, the impact of beast-type martial souls surpassed that of tool-type martial souls.
This influence had both positive and negative aspects.
Considering Su Cheng's personal preference, he favored the minimal self-affecting nature of tool-type martial souls.
Now in the Hunting Soul Forest of the Star Luo Empire, Su Cheng looked at Zhu Zhuqing beside him and said, "Zhuqing, we can try absorbing soul rings across years."
"Absorbing soul rings across years?" Zhu Zhuqing was surprised. "What do you mean?"
"It's exactly as it sounds. We can absorb soul rings from soul beasts that are over nine hundred years old as our second soul ring."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly. "Why would we do that?"
"We have some inherited techniques in the Su family, just as your Zhu family does. By using drugs and external stimuli, we can temporarily boost our physical strength, allowing us to absorb higher-aged soul beast soul rings. Once absorbed, we can use our soul power to replenish the temporary physical exertion, without any lasting consequences."
Su Cheng explained calmly.
"If you're willing to share your cultivation methods and expedite our progress, and since we have a common short-term goal, I don't see the need to keep everything to myself. With the power of our Martial Soul Fusion, I believe we can easily kill soul beasts that are nine hundred years old, right?"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's puzzled expression, Su Cheng assumed she didn't believe him, but he didn't take offense.
"It's okay. I'll absorb first, and you can watch. If there are no issues after my absorption, you can go ahead and absorb your second soul ring."
Zhu Zhuqing stared at Su Cheng deeply and spoke in a deep voice, "Su Cheng, you don't need to underestimate me. When the time comes, whoever is suitable for encountering the soul beast will absorb it."
In the past two years, although their relationship hadn't become more intimate, an unspoken understanding had developed between them.
Su Cheng's attitude towards Zhu Zhuqing had remained consistent throughout.
Whether it was mockery or harsh words, he treated her the same way. He never hindered her in any way and practiced as he pleased.
Even the Martial Soul Fusion technique now flowed smoothly between them.
However, Zhu Zhuqing's feelings towards Su Cheng were extremely complex.
In the past, he had been like a nemesis, casting a heavy shadow over her psyche, seemingly impossible to shake off.
But now, they were comrades striving for the same goal.
No matter how much they appeared to dislike each other on the surface, their styles and objectives were remarkably consistent.
Yes, "comrades" was the perfect term.
They weren't friends, they weren't partners, and even the ultimate paths they pursued were different.
But at this moment, she was willing to trust Su Cheng unconditionally and entrust her back to him.
As Su Cheng looked at the colorful cat with over nine hundred years of cultivation in front of him, he chuckled lightly.
"It seems it's your turn to absorb first."
Glancing at Zhu Zhuqing, he asked, "Are you ready?"
Seeing her nod, Su Cheng's body trembled slightly.
With a low roar, the White Tiger Martial Soul emerged from his body, accompanied by his white fur and black stripes surging madly outward.
Beside him, Zhu Zhuqing was enveloped in black light as the Hell Civet Martial Soul appeared.
Then, she charged towards Su Cheng.
Su Cheng opened his arms, welcoming Zhu Zhuqing's ethereal figure.
Soon, their two figures merged, and the auras of the White Tiger and Hell Civet Martial Souls completely blended in that moment.
In the next instant, a heart-stopping energy fluctuation swept out.
Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing's bodies disappeared in the moment of fusion, leaving behind only a huge white tiger.
The White Tiger, over six meters long and two meters tall at the shoulder, transparent and adorned with white fur and black stripes, shimmered with a cold light in its purple eyes as it stared coldly at the colorful cat before it.
The battle ended quickly.
The Hell White Tiger simply lifted its right paw and gently slapped down.
"Crack!"
Under the palm's cover, the small figure of the colorful cat had no room to dodge, instantly crushed to pieces.
Moments later, a yellow soul ring emerged.
After unleashing this attack, the Hell White Tiger disappeared instantly, and Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing reappeared.
Both of them looked slightly tired but didn't show any significant signs of aftermath.
They had used the Martial Soul Fusion technique many times before.
Now, they could control the fused energy with clarity.
Seeing the nine-hundred-year soul ring floating above the colorful cat's corpse, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes glittered.
Su Cheng threw over silver needles and auxiliary potions.
"Just focus on absorbing the soul ring, I'll guard the perimeter for you."
Su Cheng now had a deep understanding of using the Martial Soul Fusion technique.
The essence of Martial Soul Fusion was to complete the martial souls, not to promote bloodline ascension.
This insight was inspired by the Golden Dragon Martial Soul Fusion technique of Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and Liu Erlong, the Golden Saint Dragon.
Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul, Luo San Pao, was originally a failed evolution.
But after fusing with Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon and Flender's Owl Martial Souls, it could temporarily achieve the powerful state of the Golden Saint Dragon.
Why was Yu Xiaogang, with the lowest cultivation level, the core of this Martial Soul Fusion?
Because the core information of the Golden Saint Dragon existed within Luo San Pao.
This illustrated that Martial Soul Fusion techniques didn't necessarily rely on the strength of the user.
In fact, even the participating soul masters, their strength level, soul ring configuration, spiritual power level, and other factors were irrelevant.
These factors only influenced the final strength of the Martial Soul Fusion technique, but had no effect on the fusion process itself.
The core of it all was the essence of the information contained within the martial souls.
Su Cheng's focus on this point was not on the Fusion technique itself, but on bloodline extraction.
The premise of bloodline extraction was based on the foundation that this Martial Soul Fusion technique could achieve.
Otherwise, fusion of bloodlines would be detrimental, leading to a mixture of bloodlines.
Su Cheng had discovered this during the last simulation.
The so-called malignant mutation of martial souls was not just caused by one of the parents having a weak martial soul.
It was the accumulation of impurities in the bloodline over generations that led to the degradation of martial souls.
Purifying the bloodline to achieve atavism often represented a benign mutation.
To extract bloodlines, the key point was to achieve perfect complementarity of the inherited information.
Could the White Tiger and Hell Civet achieve this?
There was no doubt about it.
The Martial Soul Fusion technique of the Dai and Zhu families, passed down through generations, was a perfect proof.
As for how powerful the Hell White Tiger would be after the bloodline fusion, just from the demonstration of the Fusion technique's power, Su Cheng had gained a deep understanding in the past year.
"A Hell White Tiger from one person, how powerful would it be, can it reach the threshold of a Divine-level Martial Soul..."
Su Cheng leaned against a large tree at the edge of the forest, gazing blankly at the swaying weeds in the distance, guessing randomly in his mind.
...
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