With a puff, a light purple soul force surged from Yu Xiaogang's hand, and a strange pig-like creature appeared in front of Tang San!
Tang San's face stiffened, and he asked softly, "Teacher, what is this?"
Yu Xiaogang wore a bitter smile. "This is my martial soul, I call him Luo San Pao. Due to my martial soul's mutation, it manifests in a physical form instead of a possession type."
"And my innate soul power was only half a level. I've been stuck at level 29 all my life, unable to break through to level 30, so all I can do is study martial souls theoretically."
Tang San nodded in shock. He hadn't expected his teacher's power to be so low, and his martial soul to take such a strange form!
No wonder his teacher was so obsessed with martial soul theories!
Tang San then said apologetically, "Sorry, teacher, for bringing up something that hurts you."
Yu Xiaogang chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It's fine, I'm used to it. Anyway, let's not dwell on it. Let's go find some suitable soul beasts for you."
"Luo San Pao, lead the way!"
Notting Academy.
Su Ming woke up early and found a quiet, secluded place to train. He wanted to test the effects of the "Wood Scripture" technique. If it truly compressed his soul power, perhaps his current level 10 soul power could be compressed even further. After all, he wasn't in a rush to acquire his first soul ring.
For the next few months, he planned to focus on cultivating the "Wood Scripture," refining his body, and practicing some low-level Wood Release techniques. It was a perfect cover since he had only entered the academy with level 7 soul power.
Following the flow of the "Wood Scripture," Su Ming began his training.
After half an hour, Su Ming confirmed that the technique indeed compressed his soul power, as he felt a unique sensation while practicing.
Generally, when a soul master reaches the peak of a major realm, although they can continue cultivating, they don't feel their soul power advancing. They need to acquire a soul ring to notice progress.
But now, Su Ming could clearly feel his soul power being compressed, and the quality of his soul power improving!
Su Ming remained calm and composed, continuing his cultivation until noon before heading out to find Xiao Wu for lunch. The food at the academy's first-floor cafeteria wasn't all that appetizing, and as a work-study student, he didn't feel comfortable going to the second floor.
Xiao Wu, of course, happily agreed to go out for lunch with Su Ming.
The previous afternoon, a staff member from Notting Academy had explained that the academy would post daily work-study jobs. If they completed the tasks, they could earn ten copper soul coins.
Xiao Wu had originally planned to take on these tasks to make some money, given that she didn't have a penny to her name.
However, after hearing this, Su Ming offered to lend her some money, saying there was no need to waste time on such jobs.
In the original story, Tang San didn't really do many of these work-study jobs. After all, when he went to hunt for his first soul ring, he and Yu Xiaogang spent several days in the Spirit Hunting Forest. Later, when they registered at Spirit Hall, he received a monthly stipend of one gold soul coin, so there was no need for him to take on those tasks.
As they left Notting Academy, Su Ming "innocently" asked, "Xiao Wu, you're a soul master now. Why don't you go to Spirit Hall to claim your soul master subsidy?"
Seeing Su Ming's feigned innocence, Xiao Wu could barely resist the urge to punch him. "Argh! Su Ming, keep pretending. Once I master the Wind God Leg technique, I'll definitely teach you a lesson!"
With a cold snort, Xiao Wu responded, "I would rather die than accept anything from Spirit Hall!"
Su Ming asked, "Do you have a grudge against Spirit Hall?"
Xiao Wu clenched her teeth and nodded.
Seeing this, Su Ming didn't ask any further questions.
He felt the question was necessary since, in this world, soul masters could claim subsidies from Spirit Hall. Xiao Wu's refusal to claim hers seemed unusual, so he had to ask. But little did he know, Xiao Wu had a copy of his diary and was silently watching him perform.
Bored, Su Ming decided to write in his diary. After all, diaries were meant for recording daily events.
[I tried cultivating the system-rewarded technique today. It indeed has the effect of compressing soul power, and the cultivation speed isn't too slow. It's just right for me.]
[After finishing my training, I invited Xiao Wu to have lunch outside. I asked her why she didn't go to Spirit Hall to claim her soul master subsidy, fully expecting her to get mad. And she did, as I anticipated. It would have been strange if she hadn't! After all, Xiao Wu's mother was killed by Bibi Dong and became her soul ring.]
The female protagonists reading the diary had mixed feelings. They wondered how Su Ming would react if he ever found out they all had copies of his diary and were quietly watching him. Would he feel completely humiliated?
Nonetheless, they agreed that Xiao Wu had every right to be angry. After all, her mother was killed by Bibi Dong. However, they also felt that the matter wasn't entirely black and white; it was more about differing perspectives. After all, soul masters and soul beasts had always been at odds.
In this world, the system required soul masters to hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings and level up. Over time, soul masters and soul beasts had become mortal enemies.
Watching Su Ming's diary from Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong felt conflicted, unsure of what to make of it.
[Still, I'm confused about something. In the original story, Xiao Wu should be full of hatred toward Bibi Dong, right? After her transformation, she should have been focusing on training to reach Titled Douluo level as quickly as possible to avenge her mother.]
[But what did Xiao Wu do in the original timeline?]
[She spent six years at Notting Academy sleeping next to Tang San and even became his 'sister,' all while gradually developing romantic feelings for him.]
[As a 100,000-year soul beast, after six years, her soul power was still at level 29, the same as Tang San's. Sure, they both had innate full soul power, but Tang San was stuck at level 29 because of external limits, while Xiao Wu was different!]
[Xiao Wu, being a 100,000-year soul beast in human form, had immense potential. With dedicated cultivation, she could have easily outpaced Tang San's progress before reaching Titled Douluo level!]
[This is evident when the other members of Shrek Seven Monsters consumed immortal herbs to enhance their talents and saw significant power boosts. Xiao Wu, however, didn't consume any immortal herbs but still managed to keep up with their cultivation speeds!]
[This proves that Xiao Wu had been slacking in her cultivation before. Is this really the same Xiao Wu who was supposed to seek revenge for her mother? Instead, it felt like she was more focused on her romantic relationship with Tang San and forgot about revenge!]