Han Li saw that no one refuted him and nodded with satisfaction before continuing:
"From the perspective of quality, the martial souls of the White Tiger and the Hell Civet are comparable. Even if one is stronger, it doesn't result in absolute dominance. It can only be said that their development focuses differ based on the characteristics of their martial souls."
"But in terms of martial soul fusion techniques, they are different from other martial soul fusion techniques and have been developed to a very high degree."
At this point, Han Li couldn't help but express his admiration.
"Firstly, their martial souls are similar—cat and tiger. Secondly, one focuses on strength while the other on agility, complementing each other. Finally, there's incremental evolution. Their martial soul fusion technique centers around the White Tiger, incorporating the advantages of the Hell Civet, allowing the White Tiger to undergo a unique martial soul evolution during the fusion process."
"Thinking about the performance of the 'Ehl White Tiger' after forming the martial soul fusion technique, everyone should understand what 'incremental evolution' means."
Guang Ling and Azure Luan couldn't help but nod. They had seen it with their own eyes and strongly agreed with Han Li's words.
"Indeed, if we follow Xiao Li's explanation, the Star Luo Empire is quite capable. It's just unclear whether they inadvertently inherited this tradition or if they discovered the true secret of martial soul fusion techniques. It seems necessary to visit the Star Luo Empire."
A cold light flashed in Guang Ling's eyes as he spoke with a murderous intent.
"Yes, it is indeed necessary."
Azure Luan also nodded in agreement. Whether the Star Luo Empire was aware or not, it was essential to take precautions.
The corners of Han Li's mouth curved slightly. He didn't hide the fact that he was specifically targeting the Star Luo Empire.
After all, Guang Ling had already mentioned last time that the Martial Soul Hall was prepared to unify the continent even without Bibi Dong. Now that he was a future high-ranking member of the Martial Soul Hall, he believed that doing so would be more beneficial for him.
The three women nearby looked at each other in amazement, realizing that the Star Luo Empire was about to face misfortune.
"Alright, let's discuss this matter later. Since Xiao Li mentioned that the 'Hell White Tiger' is a special case, there must be more obvious examples of incremental evolution."
"I guess the next example you're going to mention is the 'Golden Iron Triangle,' right?"
Guang Ling retracted his murderous intent and brought the topic back, though a slight smile appeared on his lips as he spoke.
"That's right, the most obvious example of incremental evolution is the famous 'Golden Iron Triangle.'"
Han Li couldn't help but shake his head with a smile but continued to speak.
"The Flying Corner, Flender, with the martial soul Owl; the Slaughtering Corner, Liu Erlong, with the martial soul Fire Dragon; and the Directing Corner, Yu Xiaogang, with the martial soul Luo Sanpao."
"Yu Xiaogang? That name sounds familiar. The Grandmaster? 'The Core Competitiveness of Martial Souls'?"
Dugu Yan and Shui Bing'er were both top students. With just a little thought, they remembered where they had heard the name, but once they realized it, they both shook their heads.
Xiu'er remained the calmest. She had met this person with her young master.
"Bing'er, remember yesterday when I talked about cases where one's abilities are insufficient to support martial soul mutation, leading to degeneration? This person is the most famous example."
Han Li looked at Shui Bing'er, hinting for her to continue, suggesting it was partly her discovery too, which would be acknowledged when reported, essentially making her the second author.
"So it was him, Yu Xiaogang, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. His martial soul should have been mutating into a higher-level dragon-type soul beast, but due to an insufficient foundation, it degenerated. No wonder."
Shui Bing'er, being astute, figured out the key point with just a hint from Han Li.
"Incremental evolution—if we consider the true quality of the martial souls, his should be the highest among the three. His martial soul possession mode is also very peculiar. It's said that his martial soul has a certain level of intelligence. If his mutation had succeeded, his true martial soul should have been the golden dragon mentioned in legends."
"The Owl has the lowest quality but provides flight abilities, the Fire Dragon is in the middle, providing dragon lineage, and finally, Luo San Pao offers the body and upper limit, integrating the soul power, abilities, and lineage of the other two into itself. From an ability perspective, they complement each other, but referring to the 'Hell White Tiger' case, fundamentally, it's all about strengthening Luo San Pao, aiding its evolution."
"Moreover, according to your theory, with the Fire Dragon acting as a mediator, it also addresses the issue of differences in martial soul quality, making incremental evolution plausible as you suggested."
The more Shui Bing'er thought about it, the more it made sense. Her gaze toward Han Li changed significantly.
It was hard for her to imagine that someone younger than her could propose such a well-formed and systematic hypothesis about martial soul fusion techniques in such a short time.
"Of course, this is just my conjecture and isn't necessarily correct. It will require extensive experiments to prove."
"Moreover, there are still many unresolved issues, such as how martial soul fusion techniques are formed when there is a significant quality gap between the martial souls, and how martial souls that are completely different in type, attribute, or quality can fuse."
"Although such cases haven't appeared yet, it's not impossible. Or rather, what is the underlying principle behind their fusion? That I still don't understand."
Han Li's humble remarks elicited a series of eye rolls from the group.
"Having discussed innate factors, let's talk about martial soul fusion techniques developed postnatally, such as the fusion technique of Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo mentioned by Master and Martial Uncle."
"Yes, after experimenting with Bing'er, I have some ideas. Let's try it with me later."
"Let me first explain the hypothesis."
Han Li gently pushed away Dugu Yan, who was trying to cling to him and gave her a playful flick on the forehead, ignoring her resentful look. Then, he turned to demonstrate on the whiteboard with fire elements.
He first condensed a wavy line with the fire element and then drew a straight line below it before turning sideways:
"Suppose the first line above represents my soul power fluctuations and martial soul aura, and the second line represents Sister Yan's."
"Everyone knows that soul masters commonly identify each other by sensing the fluctuations of soul power and martial soul aura, especially among acquaintances."
The group nodded in agreement.
"Good. Now, watch this."
Under Han Li's control, the two lines of fire on the whiteboard began to converge and eventually intertwined.
"This represents the interaction between two people, during which they inevitably pick up each other's aura."
Guang Ling and Azure Luan exchanged glances and nodded.
"Very well, now there's one more point, a very important point."
Han Li was in his element; he truly enjoyed this teaching and guiding role, a lasting impression from his past life spent surfing the internet.
"According to the records, many people who acquire martial soul fusion techniques have very close relationships—either spouses or close friends. Have you ever wondered why that is? Moreover, the records deliberately mention emotional connections, and if one party rejects the other, the fusion technique can fail."
"This implies that the aura of the martial soul and the fluctuations of one's soul power can change. For example, after my martial soul evolved, its aura changed significantly. As for the fluctuations, I'm not entirely sure, but they should have changed as well."
This time, Dugu Yan answered, having vaguely guessed Han Li's idea.
"Very good, Sister Yan is correct."
Han Li gave her an approving look and continued:
"Humans are highly susceptible to their surroundings, especially those close to them. Over time, it's inevitable to be influenced by each other."
"The same goes for martial souls. This is essentially the effect of the so-called martial soul mimetic environment, which helps martial souls adapt to their surroundings and speed up cultivation."
"Master, you and Martial Uncle can try this. Use the method Bing'er and I used earlier to show your soul power fluctuations and see if they align with my hypothesis."
Guang Ling and Azure Luan exchanged glances. One used cold air, and the other used air, to demonstrate their soul power fluctuations to the group.
"This is mine, just for reference. I recently synchronized with Bing'er, so there might be some changes, but for reference, it should be enough."
Han Li also released his soul power fluctuations and stood beside the two.
Sure enough, although the soul power fluctuations of the three didn't reach the seventy to eighty percent similarity that Han Li and Shui Bing'er had, using Guang Ling as a standard, both Azure Luan and Han Li's soul power fluctuations overlapped with his by about fifty percent.
"Sixty percent—I speculate this is the minimum standard for forming a martial soul fusion technique. After a successful fusion, the two will further synchronize. This is why there is a concept of proficiency even with martial soul fusion techniques."
"In our daily cultivation, most of the time, we drive soul power using spiritual power, which is where the emotional factor comes in."
"Mental and psychological states greatly affect soul power fluctuations. This is why martial soul fusion techniques emphasize emotional connections, and why rejection from one party can lead to failure. Therefore, it's crucial to clear your mind when performing a martial soul fusion technique to ensure that soul power fluctuations remain as stable as possible."
After Han Li finished, Guang Ling tried recalling some angry thoughts, and sure enough, his soul power fluctuations changed.
"It really is like this."
Guang Ling then tried different emotions, testing how each affected his soul power fluctuations.
Seeing his master about to get sidetracked, Han Li took the initiative to interrupt, his expression turning serious.
"I must warn everyone about one thing: spiritual power is a very mysterious field, and I don't fully understand it yet. But never attempt to engage in incremental martial soul fusion techniques lightly with others, especially if the main evolving subject is not yourself."
"Why is that?"
Guang Ling saw Han Li's serious expression and quickly stopped his playful behavior.
"Because I suspect that the primary subject of incremental evolution may influence the subordinate soul master on a spiritual level. As they perform the martial soul fusion technique more frequently and become increasingly synchronized, the subordinate soul master might unconsciously start to prioritize the other."
"My hypothesis comes from the case of the 'Hell White Tiger.' Over the years of its inheritance, the Zhu family hasn't always been weaker than the Dai family, yet they've always willingly played a subordinate role."
"Furthermore, there's a record of a Soul Douluo-level soul master with a Hell Civet martial soul completely obeying a White Tiger soul master who was stuck at the Soul Sage level, without any resistance. This soul master was the strongest among both families at that time."
"Although I'm not sure if my hypothesis is accurate, we can investigate this further. After all, no one wants to become someone else's puppet."
Han Li's voice was ethereal, and he didn't go into further detail, but he believed everyone present was smart enough to understand his point.
The records were indeed accurate; he had seen them in the archives of the Spirit Hall.
However, his hypothesis was also influenced by his memories of Zhu Zhuqing, Liu Erlong, and Flender.
Zhu Zhuqing's transformation was the most noticeable. After being persuaded by the Grandmaster to perform the martial soul fusion technique with Dai Mubai, her change was stark.
As for Flender and Liu Erlong, in a world that respects strength, their behavior was hard to comprehend. They were already middle-aged; could Yu Xiaogang pull off a "don't underestimate the middle-aged poor" and make a dramatic comeback overnight?
One had given up on a lifelong crush, and the other had remained infatuated for twenty years despite knowing their blood relation. What kind of emotions could drive such actions?
If it were someone else, Han Li might have believed it, especially if it was Tang Xiao. But Flender and Liu Erlong? He didn't buy it.
Their personalities were key—one was cunning and miserly, the other fiery and just.
The only plausible explanation was that the martial soul fusion technique had influenced their choices to a significant extent.
Of course, this was just Han Li's speculation, as he always assumed the worst in his enemies.
But it didn't stop him from warning the others. After all, what if he was right?
Hearing Han Li's words, everyone shivered slightly, cold sweat running down their backs.
If true, such a subtle influence was far more insidious than any soul skill effect.
"I'll investigate further. If this is true, then the Dai family must be hiding something. They must know something."
Guang Ling and Azure Luan's expressions were identical, both looking very serious.
"Yes, it's best to investigate. If it's true, then the Zhu family's successive leaders..."
Han Li shook his head, not finishing his sentence.
"And what about Yu Xiaogang?"
Guang Ling suddenly brought up someone they had overlooked, a flash of killing intent in his eyes.
"He probably hasn't realized it yet. Otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't have hidden in a place like Nuoding City for over a decade," Han Li said, somewhat amused.
"That's true," Guang Ling nodded, recalling Yu Xiaogang's past actions and shaking his head in disdain.
"Oh, right, I remember that bastard Qian Xunji mentioning that Liu Erlong is Yu Xiaogang's cousin."
"Ugh, that's even more disgusting."
Feeling uncomfortable, Guang Ling shook his head to rid himself of these messy thoughts.
"But just to be safe, let's get rid of him."
Despite his disgust, Guang Ling was ready to eliminate Yu Xiaogang.
"Hold on. Given his intelligence, which even managed to mess up copying books, and his weak strength, if you told him the theory, he'd probably add some of his own 'immature suggestions.' Relying on him to figure it out would be nearly impossible, even in his next life."
"Also, there's been no news from Bibi Dong since the recent competition. Grandmaster must have his plans. For now, let's not complicate things. Besides, keeping Yu Xiaogang around might be useful in the future. He could be an asset against our Pope."
Thinking of something, Han Li's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Wait, how do you know about this?"
Guang Ling's initial delight turned into confusion as he looked at his disciple.
"Oh, you mean this? Grand Uncle told me during our last chat," Han Li said calmly, shifting the blame to Qian Daoliu.
"Did he really?"
Guang Ling eyed him skeptically.
"Of course. Otherwise, how do you think I found out? Grand Uncle told me a lot. I can't possibly recount everything to you," Han Li said, meeting his master's gaze without a hint of guilt. After all, he knew Guang Ling wouldn't ask Qian Daoliu about this.
"Alright then."
Sure enough, after staring at him for a while and finding nothing suspicious, Guang Ling gave up probing further, though he still felt a bit uneasy.
"Big brother, what exactly did you tell my disciple? And why keep it from me?"
He couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one being left out.