Chapter 20: Level Ten

"That is certainly no problem. From now on, come to the Library to study in the mornings. I will notify the teachers."

Maerde's expression was excited. After catching his breath, he sighed, "Originally, I considered taking you as my apprentice. Now it seems I was right not to propose it; your world does not belong in this elementary Spirit Academy."

Shi Quan responded with a smile, "Thank you for your recognition, Dean."

Maerde kindly patted Shi Quan on the head, "Good child, rest assured, I will keep everything between us today a secret."

"Sorry for the trouble, Dean."

Maerde shook his head, "This is what I should do. Good child, I should also thank you for being willing to tell me all of this. From now on, I am your teacher in the academy. If you have anything you don't understand or need help with, you can come to me. Do you understand?"

Shi Quan immediately changed his address, "Understood, Teacher Ma."

Maerde said with a smile, "Good, good, good. My old bones have been idle for so long, it's time to get some activity. You don't need to take the books back; I will prepare a curriculum specifically for you. Just come directly for class tomorrow morning."

Leaving the Library after lunch, Shi Quan headed toward Hou Shan. His training plan for Hou Shan had changed somewhat because of this matter. The time spent on Martial Arts training was further compressed and reduced, with most of the time now devoted to the training of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul. He had already entered the line of sight of certain people; to put on a full act and be convincing, he had to do this.

From this day on, Shi Quan no longer did morning exercises on the Playground. After eating breakfast early in the morning, he would go to the Library to train and wait for Maerde to arrive. After finishing his morning classes, he would stay in the Library. When noon arrived, he would go to the Canteen for lunch and immediately head to Hou Shan to continue training, repeating this cycle.

……

"Maerde, have you asked about Shi Quan's situation?"

Yu Xiaogang, having not received news from Maerde for a long time, finally could not sit still and took the initiative to come to the Library to inquire about the situation.

Hearing the voice, Maerde finally lifted his head from a pile of books and looked at Yu Xiaogang.

"Xiaogang, I'm sorry. I've been busy teaching this kid for the past few days and forgot to tell you."

"You took Shi Quan as your apprentice?" Yu Xiaogang's expression was somewhat stiff.

Maerde smiled and shook his head, "Although I am the Dean of the academy, I am also a teacher at the academy. Isn't it perfectly normal to teach the academy's students?"

Yu Xiaogang said skeptically, "So, there is no problem with Shi Quan?"

Maerde nodded and said, "Xiaogang, this child Shi Quan is truly a prodigy. I have already investigated clearly; there is no problem with him."

"Then his soul power..."

"Xiaogang." Before Yu Xiaogang could finish, Maerde directly interrupted him, "That child does indeed have some secrets, that is true, but I promised him I would keep his secrets. You only need to know that there is no problem with him. He is my student now, and I hope you will not doubt him."

Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless. After a while, he nodded and said, "I understand."

Maerde also knew his tone had been a bit heavy just now, so he stood up to comfort him, "Xiaogang, I didn't mean to hide it from you on purpose, but I gave my word to that child, and I cannot betray his trust in me, right?"

"Mm, I understand." After saying a few simple words, Yu Xiaogang did not linger and left after finding a random excuse.

Watching Yu Xiaogang's departing figure, Maerde could not help but shake his head slightly. Compared to Yu Xiaogang, who could only rely on others to prove his theories, Shi Quan was clearly stronger, because he would verify his own theories himself.

It was not that Maerde did not believe in Master, but the fact that he let Tang San help him verify his theories was not pleasant to hear for those of them who were few in number as theoretical scholars. To put it bluntly, Master was using Tang San as an experiment. If it succeeded, that was fine, but if it failed, it would be Tang San who was ruined.

With Maerde's presence, Shi Quan's life became a three-point-one-line routine and settled down.

Four months later.

In the early morning, Shi Quan, who usually would have already gotten out of bed to tidy up and head out, remained in a five-hearts-toward-the-sky meditation posture.

It was not until the morning sun rose that Shi Quan slowly opened his eyes with a look of joy.

He had a Breakthrough!

Feeling the full and abundant soul power within his body, he seemed to have touched upon a certain bottleneck.

Without a doubt, his soul power had finally reached level ten!

Calculating the time, it had taken him about ten months to break through from level six to level ten, an average of one level every two months. If it weren't for the fact that a portion of his Internal Energy was constantly nourishing his martial soul during training, the speed would likely have been even faster!

"Finally, I can obtain a Soul Ring."

Shi Quan calmed his excited emotions and quickly got out of bed to wash up and tidy himself.

After leaving the Dormitory and finishing breakfast, he hurried toward the Library without stopping.

Library.

Maerde looked at the empty Library with some confusion. Usually, Shi Quan would already be waiting for him in the Library early on. Not seeing him today, he was inevitably a bit puzzled.

Fortunately, before long, Maerde heard familiar footsteps coming from outside the Library.

"Teacher, I'm level ten." Just as Maerde was about to ask if something had happened to Shi Quan, he heard Shi Quan's excited voice.

"Level ten?" Maerde stood up with a start and strode toward Shi Quan, hurriedly checking the situation inside Shi Quan's body.

"One and a half years." Maerde said, his expression too excited to speak, "In one and a half years, you went from level one to level ten."

"No wonder you have been asking me about Plant Spirit knowledge during this time." Maerde patted his own head, revealing a look of sudden realization, "It seems you have already prepared yourself?"

Shi Quan smiled and nodded, "That's right."

Maerde thought for a moment and reminded him, "Xiao Quan, the fact that Plant Spirit martial souls can absorb Spirit Beast soul rings has already been verified. Have you not considered absorbing a Spirit Beast's soul ring?"

Shi Quan shook his head, "I believe that Plant Spirit martial souls are best suited to absorbing Plant Spirit soul rings. Soul ring absorption has a certain degree of compatibility; the more similar the category of the spirit, the higher the compatibility. For example, with Tang San's Datura Snake soul ring, the Blue Silver Grass cannot inherit the Datura Snake's hard scales, sharp fangs, or flexible body. Its only improvement is gaining the Datura Snake's poison and the attribute boost brought by the soul ring. But if he were to obtain a soul ring from a plant spirit like a Ghost Vine or Blood Vine, which also possess powerful toxins, the Blue Silver Grass would not only gain the poison but also potentially gain the Ghost Vine's thorns or the Blood Vine's saw-toothed vine leaves."

After hearing Shi Quan's explanation, Maerde suddenly felt enlightened. Although he was the teacher, Shi Quan's various unique and original insights often benefited him greatly.

"What are your thoughts regarding your first soul ring?"

Shi Quan calmly flipped through his notebook and handed it to Maerde.

"Lanxin Vine, Qingxin Grass..." Maerde looked at the names of the various Plant Spirits marked in Shi Quan's notebook and soon frowned, "Xiao Quan, are the spirits you chose..."

Seeing Maerde's hesitant expression, Shi Quan understood why he reacted this way. The spirits he had marked were all ordinary spirits, none of which had any powerful abilities. If one had to speak of any characteristics, they were all spirits with relatively strong vitality. But apart from a few very special ones, which kind of plant spirit had weak vitality?

Shi Quan unhurriedly took out another notebook, "Teacher, look at this first."

Maerde knew that Shi Quan must have a reason for choosing this way, so he took the notebook Shi Quan handed him and began to flip through it.

The first page began with a few large characters: Soul Ring Absorption Limit Theory!

"This is?!" Maerde's eyes widened as he looked at the content of the book, becoming more shocked the more he read. After a long while, Maerde asked with an extremely serious expression, "Xiao Quan, do you want to absorb a soul ring that exceeds the limit?"

"That's right!"

"That is too dangerous." Maerde hurriedly shook his head, "You must know that once your body cannot withstand the energy, you will die. The current limit year data is the optimal choice summarized by countless predecessors."

Shi Quan also said unhurriedly, "Teacher, the current limit theory is not accurate. In my view, this limit theory is wrong; it simply cannot be adapted to everyone."

The absorption limit of a soul ring's years should be comprehensively considered based on different Spirit Masters' martial soul quality, physical fitness, Soul Soul, soul power, and so on. It is impossible to have a unified standard for soul ring years.

"To give a simple example, Teacher, do you think a Tool Spirit possessor can compare their physical endurance to that of a Beast Spirit possessor? Can a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul and a Lizard martial soul of the same level be the same?"

"Indeed... indeed they are not the same." Maerde only felt that his worldview had been impacted, and coupled with the detailed records and descriptions in Shi Quan's notes, he was momentarily unable to find words to refute it.

The Soul Ring Absorption Limit Theory written by Shi Quan was something he had synthesized based on his current learning accumulation and his analysis of the original work.

Just as Shi Quan said, the limit of a Soul Ring is not limited to physical endurance; martial soul quality, Soul Soul strength, soul power, and the environment all have an impact on the limit of the Spirit Ring Year Limit.

For example, the Third Soul Ring of the Man-Faced Demon Spider that Tang San absorbed was his first time absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his limit. At that time, Tang San did not have the transformation of an Immortal Herb, yet he stubbornly endured it. Aside from his so-called unyielding will, the most special thing about Tang San was the soul power within his body; the Internal Energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill is supple, powerful, and ceaseless.

In Shi Quan's view, Tang San's ability to absorb his Third Soul Ring beyond his level was also largely due to the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

The help of energy soul power for Soul Ring absorption became even more obvious when Tang San absorbed his Fourth Spirit Ring.

"Teacher, you know my situation. Because of my cultivation, my martial soul quality is no longer ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Under the nourishment of the Blue Silver Grass's vitality, my soul power is purer than that of a normal Spirit Master, and my body is also much stronger than an ordinary person's."

Shi Quan paused and continued: "I am confident that I can withstand more energy, and to be on the safe side, the Spirit Beast I have chosen is one with relatively weak aggression, so the pressure during absorption will be much less."

He knew his own situation clearly: his body possessed the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, his interior had the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, and his Internal Energy had the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Art. The yin and yang attribute Internal Energy could even achieve the effect of transforming his martial soul, and it also possessed the special ability to grow stronger the more he fought. Wanting to absorb a Soul Ring beyond his level was absolutely feasible.

"But..." Maerde naturally felt Shi Quan's persistence. As a scholar of theory, how could he not understand the risks involved?

Shi Quan said with a fearless expression: "Teacher, as scholars, shouldn't we have a heart that dares to try?"

Silence. Having spent so much time together, Maerde also understood Shi Quan's character. After pondering for a moment, he asked again with a solemn expression: "Xiao Quan, are you sure you've thought it through? Doing this..."

"... really will get people killed!"

Shi Quan said solemnly: "Teacher, don't worry, I have thought it through. I believe in myself, I won't have any accidents!"

"By the way, Teacher, if possible..." After a slight pause, Shi Quan added: "... I would like to trouble you to call the people from the Spirit Hall for me."

"Why?"

Shi Quan immediately explained: "The fact that my Innate Soul Power is only level one is not a secret. Although you helped me hide the matter of my soul power level, after I obtain a Soul Ring, the fact that my soul power has reached a Breakthrough of level ten will be exposed sooner or later. Rather than being discovered by others, investigated in secret, and targeted, I think it is better to report it proactively. Besides, I also don't want my theory to be buried."

"That's true." Maerde nodded, "It was I who didn't consider it comprehensively."

"Xiao Quan, don't blame me for nagging, but I still have to remind you: do not join any faction casually, especially the Spirit Hall." However, because of Master, Maerde did not have a good impression of the Spirit Hall.

Shi Quan said with a smile: "Don't worry, Teacher, I don't want to lose my freedom."

Although he said this, Shi Quan did not think so. Given his current situation, he had to find a backer; otherwise, his situation would be extremely dangerous.

"It's good that you know." Maerde nodded slightly and stood up, "Then you should just read and study on your own today. I will go to the Spirit Hall first to talk to Hall Master Daosen about your situation. Your strength has reached a bottleneck, so there is no need to cultivate; just wait here for my news."

"Alright." Shi Quan nodded immediately.

In order to rationalize his level one innate talent, the scheme he had laid out for so long had finally reached its conclusion. As long as the Spirit Hall did not discover any abnormalities, even if other factions came to investigate, there would be no flaws.

If his Innate Soul Power had been higher, he would not have needed to go to such great lengths to establish this persona for himself.

"Master?" Shi Quan smiled faintly, leaned back against the chair, and whispered to himself: "In the future, the only master of Spirit Theory will be me, Shi Quan. As for Yu Xiaogang, let him become a joke."

Suddenly thinking of something, Shi Quan sat up abruptly, "If I ruin Yu Xiaogang's reputation, will that crazy woman Bibi Dong target me? This matter still needs to be considered carefully; otherwise, if I offend Bibi Dong, that would be a huge loss..."

(End of chapter)