Furina's excitement hadn't faded yet, but looking at the Iudex before her—dressed in such magnificent attire with a temperament so mismatched with this dilapidated courtyard—she belatedly realized a serious problem: this big shot seemed to know nothing about the current situation and was a complete novice to this other world!
"Uh... Neuvillette," she rubbed her hands together, trying to look like a reliable leader (though the effect was questionable), "since you've agreed to help, then... then I have to give you an emergency crash course first! Otherwise, when you see people using spirit tools for lighting later, don't go thinking it's some new kind of Indemnitium!"
Neuvillette nodded slightly, his posture still impeccable despite the backdrop of a crooked fence and a pile of flour sacks. "As it should be. Please proceed, Miss Furina." His cerulean eyes swept over the pots and pans in the corner of the yard that were clearly kitchen utensils. "Also, regarding the specific production and distribution process of the 'sacred objects,' I also need a detailed understanding." When he mentioned 'sacred objects,' there was a microscopic pause in his tone, as if he were redefining the word.
"Right, right, right! Leave it to me!" Furina immediately perked up and began her incoherent, scattered explanation of the world's worldview, a process that was quite jumbled.
"First of all, this place is called the Douluo Continent! We're currently in... some small, broken city in the Star Luo Empire? Anyway, it's not important!" She waved her arms. "The people here mainly rely on something called a 'Martial Soul' to fight... Oh right, you're my Martial Soul now too, although you can't fight for now... It sounds a bit weird, don't mind it! Martial Souls can be hoes, swords, animals, or even steamed buns! There's all sorts of strange things! After all, even the body itself can be part of a Martial Soul." She added, remembering the bizarre Martial Souls from the original work.
"At the age of six, one can undergo an Awakening ceremony, provided someone helps, of course," Furina spread her hands. "Everyone has a Martial Soul, but not everyone has Soul Power, and only those with Soul Power can become a Spirit Master. This Awakening probability, tsk, it's like a gacha game—there isn't even a pity System."
"As for Spirit Masters..." She curled her lip. As someone who had seen the power levels of Teyvat and had even (once) possessed some strength herself, her evaluation was quite blunt.
"To be honest, they aren't that impressive. Even the so-called Titled Douluo feel just so-so? In a burst of power, they might be able to level a hilltop? But their stamina seems lacking. They might not even be as capable of causing a stir as some of the powerful Vision holders back home. But there's no helping it; they are the main fighting force of this world. They're just picking the best from a mediocre bunch."
She continued introducing the core mechanism of Spirit Masters: "The main way they get stronger is by hunting Soul Beasts to obtain spirit rings. Without a spirit ring, they can't even cast skills—can you believe it? For example, a basic First Soul Skill might just be 'Bind' or 'Charge' or something like that." Speaking of this, Furina could hardly help laughing. "It feels... quite primitive, right? Like a newbie leaving town only being able to use basic attacks, and only learning skills after a monster drops a skill book."
"The color of the spirit ring represents its age: white for ten years, yellow for a hundred, purple for a thousand, black for ten thousand, and red for a hundred thousand. The further you go, the stronger they are. Though I hear hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts are pitifully rare, and red spirit rings are basically legends." She pointed to where her three hidden spirit rings would be at her feet and said proudly, "But starting with Purple-Purple-Black as a food system Martial Soul like me is simply being the chosen one! I am the Water God after all! It's only natural that I can easily do things Mortals cannot." She completely missed Neuvillette's slightly furrowed brow as he seemed to ponder the logical connection between 'Water God' and 'food system Martial Soul.'
Neuvillette listened quietly, trying to extract the key points from this mess of information. "spirit rings... originate from hunting Soul Beasts?" He caught a keyword, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Right, right! Soul Beasts are... creatures with Soul Power. They look all sorts of strange, from grass and trees to lions and tigers, and even a bunch that look like chimeras; they could all be Soul Beasts with Soul Power." Furina gestured. "But my spirit rings are God-bestowed! No need to fight to the death! Eco-friendly and convenient!" —Even though they were bestowed by the System, ignoring the facts for a moment, hadn't Furina herself worked hard (by accepting the tasks)? Besides, since she had become the Pope of this Axis Cult and was the Water God herself, calling them God-bestowed was perfectly reasonable.
"Spirit Masters are divided into Ranks: Spirit Scholar, Spirit Master, Spirit Grandmaster, Soul Elder, Soul Ancestor, Spirit King, Spirit Emperor, Spirit Saint, Spirit Douluo, and Titled Douluo." She counted on her fingers, getting a bit confused toward the end. "Oh right, and then there's the legendary Divine Rank above that."
"Are there deities in this world?" Neuvillette followed up with a question.
"There are, there are," Furina nodded, then waved her hand again, her tone carrying a hint of subtle mockery. "But honestly, they feel just so-so, not as good as Barbatos... Although our Axis Cult doesn't have many Spirit Masters right now, I believe that under my great leadership, and with your assistance, we will surely reach the Peak of the world and unify the continent!" She began to fantasize about the future, completely missing the "Are you sober?" look flashing in Neuvillette's eyes beside her.
Then she continued to chatter about the international situation of this land: "Currently, there are four major Empires on the continent: Heaven Spirit, Dou Ling, Star Luo, and the Sun Moon Empire, which has a slightly skewed but still overwhelming technological lead over other countries."
"Oh, and there's Shrek Academy. Although it's an academy, it has a very strong armed force and isn't subject to national control, making it essentially a small country. Because seven gods emerged from there ten thousand years ago—different from the Seven Sovereigns. Anyway, it's currently the place every Spirit Master dreams of going. The tuition is obscenely expensive and requires recommendation letters from city lords and the like. It's incredibly competitive inside. As for their teaching and education, I don't think they can teach much; it's good enough if they don't mislead their students."
She specifically mentioned 'Soul Engineers,' brought over by the Sun Moon Empire and rising in the last few thousand years. "They're into R&D and weapon invention, making spirit tools. They can make anything from small things like lighting and heat preservation to large things like war fortresses. But I feel like their approach isn't great, a bit... well... too dependent on external objects and energy? Any random thing requires rare metals and such. In any case, it's not as practical as us handing out cakes!"
"Anyway," she took a breath and summarized, "here, Spirit Masters are the elite! It's as hard as climbing to heaven for ordinary people to undergo Awakening! So the main purpose of our Axis Cult is—to help everyone Awaken! At least... give them some hope! And incidentally, hand out cakes to improve their lives!" She finally circled back to the main topic and began introducing her "great undertaking."
"Our Axis Cult's current main business is helping the children of commoners who meet the age requirement to Awaken, and distributing cakes enriched with the Water God's grace! Eating them can cure minor ailments! Look!" As she spoke, a white light flashed in her palm, and a fresh strawberry cake appeared. "There, this is the basic model, the First Soul Skill: 'Healing Cream Cupcake'! It can quickly restore some physical strength and treat minor flesh wounds. The effect... is roughly equivalent to a decent first-aid kit?"