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**
The reason for saying this actually stems from the true methodology behind the Soul Ring Age Table summarized by Spirit Hall; it was never intended to be applied in the rigid, cookie-cutter fashion that Yu Xiaogang advocated.
Because the maximum age a Soul Master can absorb is subjective and varies by individual, it is impossible for a single set of data to apply to everyone.
However, Spirit Hall was incredibly creative.
They devised a special approach: since they couldn't directly obtain the "maximum limit" data for every unique individual, Spirit Hall's initial goal was actually to derive a baseline that the vast majority of ordinary Soul Masters could use as a reference.
The soul ring age data summarized by Spirit Hall is, in essence, simply an average value taken from Soul Masters across all Martial Soul types when absorbing rings.
This data was calculated based on the massive amount of information provided by Spirit Hall's own enormous community of Soul Masters. It cannot explicitly tell every Soul Master exactly what level of Soul Beast they should seek, but it can tell them the general range.
It provides a benchmark, allowing them to use the data as a starting point and then judge their own specific soul ring limit based on their personal cultivation history and physical constitution.
Generally speaking, because it is an average, the Martial Soul quality corresponding to this table falls somewhere between mid-to-high tier for Tool Martial Souls. Therefore, if a Beast Martial Soul practitioner of the same quality uses it, they can refer to the table and aim slightly higher.
Conversely, a Support System or Food System Soul Master should adjust their target slightly lower. Other cases follow this logic; for example, the bloodline strength of the Soul Beast also plays a role—if the bloodline is excessively powerful, one should choose a lower cultivation level.
All of this sounds quite complex and can be confusing, but that is the reality.
Essentially, this table is useless to the powerful Soul Master Clans famous across the continent. It's even largely redundant for small clans that possess some ancestral experience for the first few rings.
However, the data for the later rings is immensely useful. If someone in a small clan reaches a higher cultivation level than their ancestors, even without family records to guide them, they can use this summarized data as a reference.
This prevents them from absorbing a ring that is too strong—leading to an energy explosion—or one that is too weak, which would waste their potential.
In Ling Xiao's view, the greatest value of Spirit Hall's data table was that it represented progress in the Soul Master world. It brought salvation to those who were truly commoner Soul Masters. Previously, the world was in a stage of "fending for oneself."
The strong grew stronger, while the weak, though capable of improvement, moved slowly because they had to grope in the dark. Spirit Hall's move was akin to the strong offering a helping hand to their juniors, allowing the Soul Master world to develop more rapidly and produce more experts.
An act like this was truly worthy of Spirit Hall's status in the world.
However, thinking about the fate of Spirit Hall in the original timeline, Ling Xiao couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
As for Yu Xiaogang—according to Ling Xiao's guess—it was likely that during his time in Spirit Hall, he accidentally saw the summarized soul ring data but didn't understand how the table was actually meant to be used.
After all, he hailed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. For a top-tier clan like the Yu Clan, they had absolutely no use for this table, so it naturally wasn't kept in their records.
Furthermore, Spirit Hall had published that table long ago.
It had circulated in the world for years and had already become common knowledge, unknown only to young Soul Masters who had never attended an academy or traveled the continent. Within Spirit Hall, no one paid much attention to those numbers anymore, as they had been public for decades.
Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul aptitude was too poor.
During his early years in the Yu Clan, his father likely didn't teach him much about the intricacies of being a Soul Master, simply because he would never be able to use the information.
The result was a comedy of errors.
When the young Yu Xiaogang was traveling the continent, he saw ordinary Soul Masters absorbing rings with an attitude of cautious experimentation. He assumed those Soul Masters were absorbing blindly because they lacked family experience.
Then, seeing the soul ring data in Spirit Hall, he was overjoyed and incorporated it into his own theories.The irony was that he didn't know the true origin or usage of that data. Consequently, when he published his theories, he became a laughingstock.
His theories were either wrong or were just common-sense platitudes.
The only part that seemed "rigorous"—the soul ring age data—was already well known to the world. And his erroneous application of that data—stubbornly believing that every Soul Master's limit was the same—was a total embarrassment.
However, because he was born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, few people dared to call him out to his face. Over time, he gained the superficial title of "Grandmaster."
Thinking about it, it was both pathetic and hilarious.
Although Ling Xiao's Profound Sky Axe was a Tool Martial Soul—and at the same level, the physical boost it provided couldn't compare to a Beast Martial Soul—the soul power attribute granted by the Axe was exceptionally overbearing.
Coupled with the fact that Mu Chen had completely reconstructed his physical foundation, his body was now comparable to a top-tier Beast Soul Master of the same rank.
His second soul ring had exceeded nine hundred years, nearly reaching a thousand, and his third soul ring far surpassed the average average limit.
The current results of the battle proved their might.
With the Vajra Tiger and the wolf pack repelled, Ling Xiao deactivated his soul skill. The golden light faded, and a slight curve touched the corners of his mouth. He glanced at the Gale Demon Wolves and thought: These little wolves are in the way. Might as well get them out of my sight!
"Profound Sky Rapid Punch!"
Ling Xiao unleashed Explosive Step once more, charging toward the hundred-year Gale Demon Wolves.
The powerful impact caused the ground to shake repeatedly.
Ling Xiao's form moved so fast his features were a blur, leaving only a shadow as his fists struck out continuously. Having mastered the Eight Extremes Fist, every punch was incredibly condensed and imbued with his domineering soul power.
Even without activating his Martial Soul, he still severely wounded these hundred-year wolves.
A chorus of pathetic whimpers rang out. With every punch, a Gale Demon Wolf was sent flying. Soon, all dozen or so wolves had been blasted away by Ling Xiao. Pausing his movement, Ling Xiao crossed his arms and slightly eased his soul power.
Looking at the wolves that had been knocked back over ten meters, a smile played on his face.
He had intentionally avoided their vitals, merely using his fist force to blast them away. After all, these hundred-year Gale Demon Wolves were just lackeys of the thousand-year wolf, and killing so many at once would be a bit of a waste.
Although there were still plenty of Soul Beasts on the continent and they weren't so rare that killing one would cause immediate heartache, it was better to spare them.
**
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Thanks for reading!
I have 70 advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday