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Su Wen did not personally undertake the project of condensing the second soul core; instead, he handed it over to Xiao Zhan.
With Su Wen's guidance on the two primary directions—Co-location Resonance and Yin-Yang Complementarity—Xiao Zhan's research progress was remarkably swift.
The entire second soul core project was approached from an angle Su Wen was intimately familiar with: Soul Power Circulation Routes.
Adjusting the circulation of soul power is the critical first step in successfully condensing a soul core. Much like how different stages of a cultivation technique yield different effects, the circulation of soul power itself is the key for a soul master to break through various bottlenecks.
In the past, researching soul power circulation was a monumental task. The difficulty of locating meridians and the lack of accessible knowledge regarding them meant that the academic world's progress in this area was consistently underwhelming.
However, since Su Wen established the Academies, the Human Meridian Distribution Map he had personally mapped out was made public to all soul masters. With this map provided by Su Wen—and his occasional personal assistance in helping scholars pinpoint specific meridian locations—the difficulty of researching circulation routes dropped to an all-time low.
With these foundations, researching soul power circulation became a matter of trial and error and logical combination. Research projects across the Academies began to sprout up based on these routes, advancing steadily.
Xiao Zhan's Dual Soul Core Condensation Project was no exception. However, perfecting it would still require a vast amount of time and exploration. During this period, Xiao Zhan couldn't afford to remain stagnant.
"Uncle Zhan, these are the techniques for the Acquired Body Martial Soul Awakening. Give them a try," Su Wen said, handing his latest results to Xiao Zhan.
"Acquired Body Martial Soul?"
Su Wen explained his vision for the Acquired Body Martial Soul, causing Xiao Zhan's eyes to widen in shock.
"Xiao Wen, only you could come up with a cultivation direction like this!"
If one truly followed Su Wen's method of cultivating an Acquired Body Martial Soul by "condensing soul bones," it would represent a total revolution for the soul master world of the continent. It was an entirely different cultivation system: Cultivating the Skeleton and The Path of Body Tempering.
At the same time, Xiao Zhan was incredibly excited. He had high expectations for this system because it seemed perfectly suited to his Path of the Fire Demon.
Xiao Zhan looked at Su Wen with eyes full of admiration.
Sure enough, even though you've become a 'Grandmaster' (Wen Shi) and your soul skill combinations lean toward being a 'Mage,' you still remember the Path of the Fire Demon I guided you toward! Close-quarters combat is the true king!
Su Wen was speechless but nevertheless urged: "Uncle Zhan, the core of Acquired Body Martial Soul cultivation is Bloodline Energy (Qi and Blood). I've categorized Bloodline, Soul Power, and Mental Power as the three major energy systems for a soul master. I plan to condense soul cores based on these three energies respectively."
"Oh?" Xiao Zhan adopted a posture of careful listening.
"Breaking through Rank 90 requires condensing a second soul core. Breaking through Rank 99 likely requires a third soul core."
At this, Xiao Zhan looked as if he had seen a ghost. In his excitement, he had almost forgotten that Rank 99 had its own threshold!
Though considering Rank 99 seemed premature, Xiao Zhan—who was riding the wave of continental change and possessed immense ambition—did not underestimate himself. He didn't believe that with his talent and the current tide of reform, he wouldn't have a chance to touch Rank 99 in this lifetime. Therefore, the hurdle of the 99th rank was a necessary consideration.
Only...
"How would the condensation of a third soul core even work?"
Reminded by Su Wen, Xiao Zhan immediately thought of the conflicts between this and his current Dual Soul Core project.
"Dual soul cores can be Yin-Yang Complementary... but how can three soul cores be Yin-Yang Complementary?"
Complementarity is fundamentally a relationship between two things. How could three fit that mold? Having heard Su Wen's previous lecture on the power of Yin-Yang Complementarity, Xiao Zhan had focused all his research there. Now, with the mention of a third core, he felt as though his previous efforts might have been in vain.
"It's not a big problem. You can stick with Yin-Yang Complementarity for now; we can adjust it slowly later," Su Wen waved his hand dismissively.
For dual cores, Yin-Yang Complementarity is undoubtedly more powerful, but for three cores, it isn't necessarily so. Perhaps one could have two cores complementary and the third resonating, but that combination wouldn't necessarily beat a Triple Resonance.
Resonance has always been an outlier. The more points of resonance you have, the more the power is multiplied and stacked. Furthermore, Su Wen had a different idea for the triple core setup.
Three energy systems, three soul cores—one for each—all resonating to return the three energies back to One. No matter how great Yin-Yang Complementarity is, it remains duality (Yin and Yang), not the Wuji (Limitless)—the original point of origin. Even if Triple Resonance didn't inherently beat the hybrid model, if it allowed for the "Three Energies Returning to One" state, it would surely surpass any other combination.
"First, condense two soul power cores using Yin-Yang Complementarity. Later, we can slowly adjust, siphoning out Soul Power, Mental Power, and Bloodline Energy to condense a core for each system," Su Wen explained.
Xiao Zhan remained noncommittal. While that was the optimal path to maintain peak strength at all times, the later adjustments would be nightmarishly difficult. Siphoning energy between two established cores was hard enough; reversing the entire rotation and operation of established soul cores was simply heaven-defying.
Su Wen noticed Xiao Zhan wasn't keen on continuing with the Yin-Yang research, but he didn't mind. He wasn't even sure if reversing soul core operations was feasible, which is why he personally preferred starting with the Co-location Resonance model from the very beginning. It was safer.
"To condense three soul cores and achieve unity through resonance, you naturally need to keep your Mental Power and Bloodline Energy cultivation in sync. Your mental power is decent, Uncle Zhan, but your Bloodline Energy is a bit lacking. The Acquired Body Martial Soul cultivation is a must for you."
Xiao Zhan nodded, understanding the logic. To aim for Su Wen's "Unity" state, his Bloodline Energy couldn't lag behind.
"Therefore, Uncle Zhan..."
Su Wen looked at him seriously. "I'm quite busy right now and don't have the energy to research the Soul Bone Condensation Project for the time being."
Xiao Zhan's mouth twitched.
You don't have the energy? Neither do I!
(End of Chapter)