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**
According to current research in the world of Soul Masters regarding Martial Soul evolution, the process is essentially a transformation of the Martial Soul's origin power.
Based on the two forms of origin power absorption proposed by the Sword Master, Yun Xi, evolution can be categorized into two distinct types.
The first type is Fusion Evolution.
This occurs when a Soul Master absorbs a soul ring from a soul beast whose bloodline power is significantly stronger than the Soul Master's own Martial Soul origin, provided the beast's cultivation is not weaker than the Soul Master's.
In this scenario, as the Martial Soul origin expands in quantity, its quality is influenced by the soul ring's power, entering a state of fusion.
The Martial Soul acquires partial characteristics of the corresponding soul beast and may even develop or evolve toward that beast's lineage.
For instance, Soul Masters born with ordinary Beast Martial Souls often see their souls evolve this way during cultivation.
Upon reaching higher ranks, they can pass down these evolved Martial Souls to their descendants, creating their own Soul Master clans. This method is clearly better suited for those born with relatively weak or common Martial Souls.
For those possessing naturally powerful Martial Souls, it is difficult to achieve evolution this way because it is nearly impossible to find soul beasts with bloodline powers significantly stronger than their own.
Even if such a beast is found, its cultivation might not be suitable; if it is too weak, it is useless, and if it is too strong, the Soul Master might not be able to defeat it or could even be killed by it.
Of course, this does not mean that naturally powerful Martial Souls have no way to evolve.
The second method of evolution is known as Devouring Evolution.
When those with naturally powerful Martial Souls absorb soul rings, the soul beasts involved often lack a bloodline significantly stronger than the Martial Soul itself.
During the absorption process, the Martial Soul origin directly devours the power of the soul ring, using it as nourishment to strengthen itself based on its own foundation.
When the Martial Soul's origin power reaches a certain threshold—surpassing the limit of power that its current level can produce—it triggers an evolutionary transformation.
The defining characteristic of this second method is that it is not instantaneous. It relies on quantitative accumulation to trigger a qualitative change. Consequently, this method places extremely high demands on a Soul Master's cultivation level.
It is difficult to see immediate evolutionary effects in a short period; to a certain extent, the early and middle stages of cultivation do not even count as evolution.
While Fusion Evolution offers immediate, visible changes after absorbing a soul ring, Devouring Evolution only reveals its results after reaching a high level of cultivation.
If Fusion Evolution is viewed as one Martial Soul transforming into another—a leap in nature—then Devouring Evolution is a method of mining one's own latent potential.
For low-to-mid-tier Martial Souls using this method, evolution can be seen once cultivation reaches a certain point.
However, if a high-tier Martial Soul follows this path exclusively, the effects typically only manifest at Rank 96, where a distinct evolution occurs.
Nevertheless, owners of high-tier or even some top-tier Martial Souls can still attempt to achieve a transformation upon reaching nine rings if they primarily use Devouring Evolution supplemented by the path of Fusion Evolution.
A prime example in the soul master world is the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
His Martial Soul was originally the Jade Phosphor Serpent, an elite soul ranked among the Five Poisons. During his cultivation, he specifically sought out and absorbed nine powerful soul rings.
The corresponding soul beasts were not only highly toxic but also possessed bloodline powers comparable to his Jade Phosphor Serpent origin. In fact, the entity hunted for his final soul ring possessed a bloodline level even stronger than his own Martial Soul.
The first eight soul rings he absorbed served as nourishment, strengthening the Martial Soul based on its own essence.
The absorption of the ninth soul ring, however, allowed his Martial Soul to fuse with certain characteristics of that ring's power, triggering an evolution.
Because his Martial Soul power was extremely strong by the time he absorbed the ninth ring, and because the first eight rings had been completely devoured by his soul—
Representing the purest form of self-potential excavation—his transformation remained within the lineage of the Jade Phosphor Serpent. He did not fundamentally change his development path due to the ring's power.
Instead, it granted his Jade Phosphor Serpent unique characteristics.
Should anyone else evolve a Jade Phosphor Serpent upon becoming a Titled Douluo in the future, their power's nature would likely differ significantly from his.
After Dugu Bo absorbed his ninth soul ring, his Jade Phosphor Serpent reached a new realm, evolving into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. This elevated it from a high-tier Martial Soul to a top-tier Martial Soul.
This level of transformation is so rare and precious that it is considered no less significant than the transformation a One Hundred Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergoes after surviving a Heavenly Tribulation.
In theory, once the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul is achieved, it can be passed down to offspring. In reality, however, those who reach the Titled Douluo realm are usually of advanced age and rarely marry or have more children.
Thus, Dugu Bo did not pass down the Serpent Emperor; his son and granddaughter's Martial Souls remained the standard Jade Phosphor Serpent. However, Devouring Evolution is mostly applicable to high-tier Martial Souls.
For top-tier Martial Souls, there are two distinct cases.
Souls like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the Seven Kill Sword, or the Clear Sky Hammer—which are exceptionally powerful even among top-tier souls—essentially cannot evolve through this method.
They can only experience a transformation after their cultivation breaks through Rank 96. This is because their Martial Soul origins are already so potent that it is difficult to transform them via soul ring absorption.
No soul ring can force a fusion, so they only devour. Yet, "lesser" top-tier Martial Souls may still evolve through soul ring absorption. Take Bibi Dong's Martial Souls, for example.
When she awakened, she was not only a twin Martial Soul user, but both her Soul-Devouring Spider and Death Spider were top-tier. However, in terms of sheer quality, they weren't yet at the absolute peak of the top-tier category.
As Bibi Dong cultivated, following a path similar to Dugu Bo's, she was able to push them further after absorbing nine soul rings. Her Martial Soul origins transformed into the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor and the Death Spider Emperor.
These are now in no way inferior to the absolute peak souls like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Clear Sky Hammer, or Seven Kill Sword.
In the journey of a Soul Master, the evolution of a Martial Soul is far more difficult to grasp than the simple strengthening of its power.
For owners of high-tier Martial Souls, even reaching the Titled Douluo realm does not guarantee their soul will become top-tier.
If, during the process of absorbing nine soul rings, one lacks a clear understanding of their cultivation direction, chooses unsuitable soul rings, or if the rings' power is insufficient, the Martial Soul will fail to reach the threshold for transformation.
Likewise, for a mid-level top-tier Martial Soul to take that extra step upon reaching the nine-ring stage, the difficulty is even higher. The essence of these two evolutionary paths is actually quite similar to the cultivation of soul beasts.
Whether a soul beast's bloodline is weak or strong, its normal cultivation process involves mining its own bloodline potential. As its cultivation increases, its racial bloodline undergoes a transformation.
For example, take the mid-tier soul beast, the Gale Demon Wolf.
If one could cultivate to the One Hundred Thousand-Year level and survive the Heavenly Tribulation, its bloodline would inevitably undergo a massive transformation to become a top-tier soul beast, known as the Gale Demon Wolf Emperor.
This "Emperor" title represents both its strength and its bloodline rank.
Because its bloodline would then be far superior to the mid-tier Gale Demon Wolf, it could be viewed as a new lineage. If it produced offspring at that stage, there is a high probability they would be born with a top-tier bloodline.
This is the purest form of soul beast cultivation.
However, survival for soul beasts inevitably involves slaughter. Carnivorous soul beasts consume the flesh and blood of others.
If a weak-blooded soul beast is lucky enough to consume the flesh of a beast with a powerful bloodline, it may be influenced by that power, leading to a bloodline shift or transformation—much like the Fusion Evolution seen in human Soul Masters.
As for Hu Liena's Charming Fox Martial Soul, to cultivate it to the Nine-Tailed state, she must follow the path of Devouring Evolution.
She must focus on excavating the potential of the Charming Fox itself, ensuring that the soul beasts for her soul rings do not have bloodlines significantly stronger than her Martial Soul origin.
Only then can she develop and strengthen based on the original foundation of her soul.
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday