Chapter 15: Martial Soul Mutation

However, these were not the only changes.

As his Internal Energy circulated, Shi Quan felt his entire body growing warm; this was a sensation he had never experienced during his previous training. Wherever the Yin Yang Mutual Generation Internal Energy flowed, his whole body, even his blood vessels, seemed to be rejoicing.

"This feeling... is it the martial soul resonating?"

Shi Quan suddenly opened his eyes, only then realizing the source of it all.

It was already the dead of night, and the others in the Dormitory were long since immersed in their dreams.

A pale blue light bloomed from Shi Quan's hand, and the Blue Silver Grass appeared, swaying gently in his grasp.

At first glance, the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand looked no different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass, but upon closer observation, one could see that the branches and leaves of Shi Quan's Blue Silver Grass were somewhat thicker and wider than normal. The veins on the blue leaves were not the usual blue, but carried faint, deep black threads.

"The attributes of the Blue Silver Grass have changed!"

Shi Quan widened his eyes, feeling his throat go a bit dry. After observing and sensing it again carefully to be sure, the depths of his eyes were filled with shock.

The attributes of the Blue Silver Grass martial soul had indeed changed, and into two types at that.

Life and Devouring!

Two mutually contradictory attributes, though not yet prominent, were now eerily present on his Blue Silver Grass.

"It's because of the Internal Energy."

Shi Quan quickly discovered the source of the change in his Blue Silver Grass martial soul: it was precisely because of the Yin Yang Internal Energy within his body.

The Yin and Yang attributes of the Internal Energy seemed capable of stimulating the martial soul's own attributes.

Shi Quan was not sure if his perception was off, because everything had happened so suddenly that he hadn't been able to react in time.

If the Yang attribute corresponded to the Life Attribute of the Blue Silver Grass, then the Yin attribute corresponded to the Devouring Attribute of the Blue Silver Grass.

Besides the Blue Silver Grass, would the other two martial souls in his body also have their special attributes stimulated just like the Blue Silver Grass?

Was the change in the martial soul temporary or permanent?

A series of questions surfaced in Shi Quan's mind.

"Calm down!"

Shi Quan took a few long breaths, controlling his restless state of mind.

He could not test it rashly in the Dormitory, and the same went for the Blue Silver Grass; he would have to wait until tomorrow to go to the Hou Shan of the academy to conduct tests.

"Train first."

Clearing the distracting thoughts from his mind, the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art circulated in his body once more, and that warm sensation swept through his whole body again.

"What a unique feeling."

This feeling was like being immersed in a hot spring, giving one a sense of comfort and relaxation, allowing Shi Quan to completely empty his mind.

A night passed.

This night was absolutely the most comfortable one he had experienced since he began training.

The morning exercise continued as usual; because of the changes in his Internal Energy, today's Martial Arts training was much smoother than in the past.

After class, Shi Quan didn't even return to the Dormitory; he grabbed his books, hurried to the Canteen to eat a quick meal, and then rushed toward the Hou Shan of the academy.

Arriving at the Hou Shan, he scanned the area to ensure no one was around, then raised his right hand, the blue light condensing into the Blue Silver Grass.

The Blue Silver Grass was the same as last night, but for some reason, Shi Quan felt that its attributes seemed to have become a bit more pronounced.

"Go!"

Shi Quan waved his hand, and the Blue Silver Grass in his grasp extended with the wind, wrapping halfway around a distant tree before returning to Shi Quan's hand.

"The control has become a bit easier." Shi Quan's eyes brightened. He slowly pulled with his right hand, and the Blue Silver Grass quickly went taut. As the force continued to increase, the Blue Silver Grass finally could not bear it and snapped.

"The resilience is stronger than before, and it definitely has a Devouring ability, though it's a bit weak." Shi Quan walked up to the tree trunk and touched the spot where the Blue Silver Grass had bound it; the mark was very faint, and although there was almost no visible difference, it at least proved the existence of the Devouring ability.

"Mud."

With a grip of his right hand, the Blue Silver Grass dissipated, and a pale yellow light emerged from Shi Quan's left hand.

As the lump of mud entered his hand, Shi Quan's first sensation was that it was heavy. Compared to before, the mass of the mud had clearly increased, and it felt both thick and heavy while being somewhat damp and soft.

Unlike the Blue Silver Grass, Shi Quan could not sense obvious attributes from the Mud Spirit martial soul; he only felt that the Mud Spirit was heavier than before. He couldn't clearly define the specific changes, but he could be certain that the Mud Spirit had also been affected by the Internal Energy.

"Spirit Soul!"

With a grip of his left hand, the mud vanished from Shi Quan's hand. A ghostly light flashed in his eyes, and the Spirit Soul martial soul directly possessed his body.

Ordinary Beast Spirit martial souls cannot possess the body before obtaining a Soul Ring, but Shi Quan's Spirit Soul martial soul was very special; even without a Soul Ring, it could possess him, and there was no difference from the ordinary state after possession. This was also the reason why Shi Quan had previously used the Spirit Soul to enter the Spirit Enlightenment State in front of Shi Jian.

"This feeling!?"

Once the Spirit Soul possessed him, Shi Quan immediately felt the subtle changes in the Spirit Soul martial soul. He raised his hand and reached toward the tree in front of him again; eerily, Shi Quan's fingers passed directly through the tree trunk!

Soul-ification!

To be precise, it should be Ghost-ification. If the Yang-attributed soul represented the consciousness and thoughts of a person while alive, then the Yin-attributed one represented the ghostly obsession of a person after death.

Previously, the Spirit Soul was purely a mental attribute, but now, on top of the mental attribute, the Spirit Soul martial soul had added the seductive charm of a ghost.

However, the awkward part was that the current Spirit Soul martial soul could only Ghost-ify a small part of his body, just the range of half a palm.

But Shi Quan had an intuition that the effect brought about by the Internal Energy of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art should not be that simple; his Internal Energy had only just transformed, and he still needed time to explore its mysteries.

With a thought, the Blue Silver Grass martial soul appeared in his hand again. Looking at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Shi Quan's mouth, "The current changes in the Blue Silver Grass have actually done me a huge favor."

His Innate Soul Power was only level one to the outside world, but after drinking the Martial Soul Awakening Liquid, his Innate Soul Power had directly reached level four. After three months of hard training at home, his soul power broke through to level five. Inheriting the true scripture, because of the conversion between soul power and Internal Energy, his strength had grown to level six in just one month.

For a Spirit Master with level one Innate Soul Power, the speed of his strength improvement was too terrifying. It was already considered quite good for a level one Spirit Master to break through to become a Spirit Master within six years, but he had already broken through to level six after only one month of school.

According to his current training speed, with the help of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art, he was confident he could break through to level ten within a year.

It was good that his strength was improving quickly, but how could a level one Soul Scholar jump nine levels in just one year? How was he supposed to explain this to the academy and the Spirit Hall?

Shi Quan had originally been worrying about how to handle this problem, but now the changes in the Blue Silver Grass martial soul had helped him find a reason!

However, he still had to plan this matter carefully.

Every morning, Shi Quan would go to the Playground to practice Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing as usual. After finishing classes in the morning, he would go to the Hou Shan in the afternoon to practice his other Martial Arts, and after returning to the Dormitory in the evening, he would practice the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art at night.

Every day of his life was exceptionally fulfilling; each of the six great Martial Arts was exquisite, and Shi Quan could feel his improvement every single day.

As for Xiao Wu, after being well-behaved for over a month, perhaps having learned a countermeasure from Tang San, she once again issued a challenge to Shi Quan.

Shi Quan knew Xiao Wu's temperament; if he did not agree, he feared he would have no peace to cultivate for the foreseeable future, so he had no choice but to accept.

The battle remained the same; Shi Quan's Divine Art was initially formed, and his use of Nine Shadows Shift was even more fluid and natural. Even when Xiao Wu used her martial soul, coordinating with Blue Silver Grass to restrain him, she could not get close to Shi Quan at all.

The battle ended with Xiao Wu's angry, exasperated shouting.

Xiao Wu was clearly not someone who would let things rest, and afterwards, she would come to challenge Shi Quan almost every month.

Shi Quan was also tireless. Later, to prevent Xiao Wu from disturbing his cultivation, Shi Quan found a whip technique in the True Scripture that was relatively easy to cultivate and master quickly, called the White Python Whip Technique, to use in coordination with the dodging of Nine Shadows Shift.

He extended the Blue Silver Grass into a slender grass whip; while dodging, it also served to teach Xiao Wu a lesson. Although Shi Quan's Blue Silver Grass had not absorbed a Soul Ring, the whip technique followed the principle that "one inch longer is one inch stronger." Once the White Python Whip Technique was unleashed, it was strange and unpredictable. Although the lashes would not cause injury, they inevitably resulted in a bit of physical pain.

Xiao Wu, who had originally been itching to give Shi Quan a sound beating, was whipped by Shi Quan using the White Python Whip Technique and stomped her feet in anger, feeling even more disgusted with him.

Hearing from the Work-study Students, Xiao Wu was rarely seen cultivating on normal days, but recently, she had frequently been seen practicing diligently; no one knew what had provoked her.

Upon hearing this, Shi Quan felt a headache. His original intention was to have Xiao Wu stop bothering him, but he had not expected it to backfire, instead stimulating Xiao Wu to work even harder to improve her strength so she could teach him a lesson.

Thus, two months passed, and the strength of both Xiao Wu and Tang San was improving steadily.

Looking at Shi Quan, however, his soul power level had strangely stagnated. For two months, his Internal Energy had not increased in the slightest, yet Shi Quan was not in the least bit panicked; on the contrary, he was tireless in his efforts.

Because as he continued to cultivate, he discovered that his Internal Energy had not stopped growing; rather, all the Internal Energy he had cultivated over these two months had been used to nourish his martial soul.

Shi Quan also gained a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the power of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art.

Under the nourishment of his Internal Energy, his three martial souls were in a state of postnatal mutation.

The changes brought about by the Internal Energy of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art were not temporary, but permanent.

Shi Quan had originally thought that the changes in his martial soul were merely a form of expression caused by his Internal Energy, and that as his soul power level grew stronger, the changes in the martial soul's attributes would become more obvious under the infusion of Internal Energy.

But as his cultivation progressed, he discovered this was not the case; the changes in the martial soul were not simple changes in form, but a transformation from the inside out.

Even without using Internal Energy, the summoned martial soul remained in a state where yin and yang attributes coexisted.

This was a type of martial soul mutation, and a beneficial one at that. As the martial soul continued to mutate, Shi Quan was also surprised to find that his control over his martial soul had become increasingly handy, as if the martial soul was no longer a separate entity, but rather like the Internal Energy within his body, with no sense of the previous barrier when controlling it.

This series of discoveries could not help but make Shi Quan marvel at the wonder and power of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art.

This situation of stagnant Internal Energy lasted for a full six months before his Internal Energy began to recover and increase.

His martial soul had only just initially completed its transformation.

Because he discovered during cultivation that although his Internal Energy had begun to increase, his martial soul was actually still being nourished by his Internal Energy all along; in the future, as his Internal Energy grew stronger, the special attributes of the three martial souls would also strengthen accordingly.

For six months, Shi Quan's soul power level had remained at level six, while Xiao Wu and Tang San's soul power levels had already reached around fourteen or fifteen.

To keep Xiao Wu from disturbing his cultivation, Shi Quan's attacks became heavier and heavier. To let her hammer him? Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Since she insisted on looking for a beating, Shi Quan could not be bothered to show mercy. Although there was a gap of nearly ten levels in soul power, relying on the mysteries of the True Scripture's Martial Arts, this gap of less than ten levels could be easily smoothed over. Plus, with the endless Internal Energy of the Divine Art, becoming stronger the more he fought, even if Xiao Wu had a higher soul power level, she could not outlast Shi Quan in a battle of attrition.

Therefore, in the battles between the two, from beginning to end, Xiao Wu had never once gained any advantage from Shi Quan.

The books Shi Quan borrowed had been finished one month after the start of the semester. After returning the books, Shi Quan borrowed two more. Repeating this, Shi Quan would go to borrow and return books about once a month, and every time, the person responsible for his borrowing and returning was Dean Maerde.

Furthermore, every time he returned books, Maerde would briefly test him with a question or two. Through this back and forth, he and Dean Maerde had quite a lot of interaction. In later times, whenever Shi Quan came to return and borrow books, Dean Maerde would prepare two new books for him in advance, which saved Shi Quan a lot of effort in searching for books.

The learning system at Notting Academy was based on academic years, with one semester lasting about a year. During this process, students were not allowed to go home, but relatives could come to visit. Li Meili and Shi Jian would come to the academy to see Shi Quan about every two months; sometimes when Shi Jian's business was good, the two would visit even more frequently.

Soon, the first academic year drew to a close.

Waking up early, Shi Quan uncharacteristically did not immediately go to the Playground to cultivate Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, but instead began to pack up.

After this morning's classes ended, the vacation would begin. Once class was over in a little while, he could just take his things and leave.

There were not many things Shi Quan needed to bring, not even a change of clothes. In the end, he packed a few books, his reading notes, and some other small items. Thinking that the vacation would last a full two months, Shi Quan had specifically borrowed two extra books from Dean Maerde the last time he returned books.

As the vacation approached, the minds of everyone in the class became restless, and most people had no heart for listening to the lectures.

During this academic year at Notting Academy, Shi Quan had spent every day extremely fruitfully. Of course, his gains were also enormous; aside from Martial Arts and the improvement of his martial soul, his Internal Energy had already broken through to level seven, and it would likely only be a matter of a few weeks before he reached level eight.

Although his strength had stagnated for six months due to the martial soul mutation, Shi Quan was still very satisfied with his current rate of improvement.

(End of this chapter)