Su Cheng walked slowly along the road of Spirit Hall Academy.
His figure swayed slightly, as if merging with the natural environment around him. It wasn't until he reached the depths of the academy that no one even noticed his arrival.
Watching the young soul masters in the midst of their training, Su Cheng nodded silently in approval.
Although this academy was nominally under his management, he rarely visited it.
Even when he did come, it was mostly to visit Zhu Zhuqing or to give a few pointers to Feng Qingyu, his disciple of convenience. He didn't interact much with the others.
In fact, compared to Su Cheng's casual attitude, Bibi Dong was much more attentive to these young people.
"Take a bit more care of the academy. Even if you just give a few pointers here and there, it would be good. These are talented young soul masters, all in their prime training years. It would be a shame to let that go to waste. If it weren't for my status, I would definitely visit them more often."
These were Bibi Dong's exact words, which had surprised Su Cheng at the time.
He truly hadn't expected that the high and mighty Pope would care about this.
Because of this, although Su Cheng had neither the time nor the interest to teach at the academy, he still collaborated with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Poison Douluo to create some medicinal concoctions to assist in cultivation, aiming to enhance the students' foundation and training efficiency.
These medicines were made from rare herbs from the mountain behind the academy. Although not as potent as immortal herbs, they didn't leave much residue in the body, making them ideal for aiding the students in cultivating their innate skills.
Indeed, everyone at Spirit Hall Academy had already had the opportunity to learn from the two volumes of innate skills.
Of course, the first volume was just an incomplete version, containing only the method to cultivate soul power, but it couldn't be used to enhance the bloodline quality of their martial souls.
After all, the young soul masters here were already exceptionally talented, with no one having an innate soul power level below six.
Under such circumstances, unless Su Cheng was willing to spend the effort to research a specific method akin to the "Nirvana Sutra" tailored to them, even teaching them the first volume that purifies bloodlines would bring very little benefit.
Even if they mastered it, there wouldn't be much change in the short term. This technique is actually more effective for soul masters with weaker talent.
But if it accidentally leaked out, it would cause enormous trouble, and Spirit Hall would suffer significant losses, losing a crucial advantage.
It's important to note that Su Cheng hadn't even taught it to people like Xie Yue before, so how could he possibly teach it to these students?
As for the second volume, Su Cheng publicly shared only the part about using soul power to nourish the body.
All methods related to cultivating soul power were temporarily hidden by him. For ordinary soul masters, unless their talent was extraordinarily outstanding, there was no need to consider soul cultivation before reaching the Soul Emperor level.
Moreover, these techniques were just bait.
If the full version of the first volume of innate skills is irresistible to lower and middle-level soul masters and ordinary people, then the full content of the second volume is even more tempting to the strong among soul masters.
The original students of the academy didn't pose much of an issue. They were either from civilian orphan backgrounds or were the children and orphans of Spirit Hall members, and thus were trustworthy.
But the young soul masters who came from the various elemental academies to study here had different thoughts.
To make them, and the academies they represent, fully join the ranks of Spirit Hall, more methods were needed.
With all the superior conditions provided by Spirit Hall Academy, the young soul masters' progress was naturally astonishing.
Unfortunately, the quantity of raw materials for preparing these cultivation elixirs was limited, so it wasn't possible to supply them to everyone.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was very protective of his precious plants and flowers, and allowing them to be picked without damaging the roots was the most he was willing to compromise.
Moreover, even without considering Yue Guan's stance, in the future, when Ah Yin returns, if she found out that the "children" she treasures were ravaged by Su Cheng, it would be hard for him to explain.
So now, Spirit Hall Academy is divided into two parts: the inner academy and the outer academy, with only members of the inner academy receiving elixirs.
However, the division was not based solely on the quality of their martial soul bloodlines, but rather on their progress in cultivating innate skills.
Whoever worked harder, progressed faster in the techniques, and had better understanding would enter the inner academy.
But even so, all six students from the elemental academies were admitted to the inner academy.
Su Cheng had to admit that the reason these students stood out in their original academies wasn't just that they were the best among a mediocre bunch; they were genuinely strong.
Su Cheng never imposed any restrictions on these "exchange students." They could take leave to visit their families at any time.
These students were here to learn, not to be held hostage. Su Cheng didn't need to resort to such low-level tactics that would do more harm than good.
After a year and a half, they would even be free to decide whether they wanted to stay or leave.
However, if anyone dared to spread the Innate Technique without permission, they would have to be prepared to face the wrath of the Spirit Hall.
In fact, of the six students who came from the Elemental Academy, not a single one has returned home more than twice since their arrival.
There's no way around it—the cultivation conditions here are just too excellent.
Compared to when they first arrived, their progress over the past year has been nothing short of astonishing.
Even Huo Wushuang, who had the least improvement among the six, managed to increase his soul power by nearly three levels.
As the results of these students' cultivation were made known to the teachers of the major academies, their attitudes changed significantly; now, they all wanted to send a few more excellent students over.
In the inner courtyard of the academy, Zhu Zhuqing and Shui Bing'er were standing in the rest area next to the training ground, casually chatting.
This place was called the inner courtyard, but in reality, it was just a part of the academy that was located a bit further inside.
The so-called inner and outer courtyards were only differentiated by the distribution of cultivation resources. The actual locations weren't far apart, and it served as a sort of aspiration for the students in the outer courtyard.
Su Cheng had never intended to completely isolate these people into two different classes.
"... You seem to be in a good mood?"
Shui Bing'er carefully scrutinized the black-clad girl standing opposite her. Although she phrased it as a question, her tone was one of absolute certainty.
"You noticed?"
Zhu Zhuqing was first a little surprised, then a smile blossomed on her face, fleeting like a blooming epiphyllum. Shui Bing'er was momentarily entranced.
Such a clear emotional change was rare to see in Zhu Zhuqing.
"Su Cheng's injuries are almost healed."
"No wonder."
Shui Bing'er suddenly understood and playfully teased, "Other than matters related to him, I can't imagine anything else that could make you so happy."
She got along well with Zhu Zhuqing.
Both girls were not particularly flamboyant by nature, and coupled with the fact that they were of similar age and their talents far exceeded those of ordinary people, they had gradually become good friends over time.
Moreover, Shui Bing'er and Feng Qingyu were the only two young soul masters, aside from Zhu Zhuqing, who had received the complete inheritance of the second volume of the Innate Technique.
Feng Qingyu was Su Cheng's disciple, so there was no need to say more about that.
However, the reason Shui Bing'er received the teachings was somewhat special.
Her martial spirit had great potential, something Su Cheng had noticed as early as the Soul Master Competition.
Unlike the Hell White Tiger, a martial spirit fusion technique formed by the dual cores of the Netherworld Spirit Cat and White Tiger martial spirits, Shui Bing'er's "Ice and Snow Drift," though seemingly a combined effort between her and Xue Wu, was actually centered entirely around her own Ice Phoenix martial spirit.
Even if Xue Wu's "Sleek Snow Dance" were replaced with another high-quality ice-type martial spirit, as long as it could resonate to some degree with the Ice Phoenix and their compatibility was improved, it would still be possible to perform a similar martial spirit fusion technique.
If her soul power were strong enough, Shui Bing'er's martial spirit might even undergo further transformations, which was why Su Cheng valued her.
In addition, Su Cheng actually felt a bit of gratitude towards Shui Bing'er.
Back then, when he was able to comprehend the True Immortal Intent and the Bright Moon Sword Style, the indestructible core exhibited by the Ice Phoenix's soul technique provided him with great inspiration.
To be honest, without that fortuitous encounter, Su Cheng wouldn't have obtained the True Immortal Intent to balance and support his spirit on a mental level, and his future growth path would have been heavily influenced by the Oblivion Will—whether that would be a blessing or a curse was hard to say.
After all, at that time, his soul foundation was far too weak, and such an extreme will could easily erode his mind without him realizing it.
Su Cheng didn't fully appreciate this in the past.
But as his understanding of the cultivation path deepened, he began to truly grasp just how immense the potential risk had been.