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"Su Wen..."
Repeating the familiar name in his heart, the Grandmaster felt a complex mix of emotions.
Book Martial Soul. Su Wen.
This was no longer a coincidence. He could preliminarily determine that the Su Wen mentioned in his father's letter was the very same Su Wen he knew.
However, everything he knew about the situation was completely incomprehensible to him.
Rank thirty-nine Soul Power!
Based on the timeline, Su Wen should only be fourteen years old, yet he possessed a staggering Soul Power of Rank thirty-nine, poised to break through to Rank forty at any moment.
Even Tang San, who possessed Innate Full Soul Power and was now twelve years old, had only just absorbed his third Soul Ring. Although absorbing the Soul Ring of the Man-Faced Demon Spider beyond the optimal limit had pushed him directly to Rank thirty-two, it would be almost impossible for him to reach Rank thirty-nine within two years.
Seven ranks in two years.
This speed was incredibly difficult during the Soul Master stage, let alone the Soul Elder stage.
Moreover, the Grandmaster had not forgotten one crucial detail: Su Wen's Innate Soul Power was only Rank five!
Even disregarding the aptitude gap represented by Innate Soul Power, Su Wen had to cultivate five more ranks of Soul Power than Tang San just to catch up.
When calculated this way, the gap in cultivation speed was even more disparate.
After thinking it over, the Grandmaster could only attribute the cause to one thing: Su Wen's Martial Soul had mutated.
"His Martial Soul underwent a mutation during his awakening."
This was something the Grandmaster had analyzed with the bald headmaster back at Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy. Su Wen's Martial Soul was mutated; it was tougher and more durable than a typical Book Martial Soul.
At the same time, Su Wen's cultivation speed back then had also been slightly different from the norm.
Therefore, the Grandmaster speculated that this mutation extended to his Soul Power cultivation as well.
Now that Su Wen's Soul Power had shown such explosive growth, the Grandmaster could only conclude that the mutation of Su Wen's Martial Soul in this direction had become even more thorough.
As for overdrawing potential in exchange for Soul Power advancement, the Grandmaster had considered it. However, he could hear the admiration for Su Wen in his father's letter, which told him that such a possibility was virtually non-existent.
Thinking of his own situation, the Grandmaster fell into a bout of silence.
Flender, who had been secretly pleased with his own acting skills, noticed the change in the Grandmaster. Puzzled, he restrained his expression, trying his best to prevent his own petty schemes from being seen through.
"Tianheng will be coming to Soto City for Spirit Arena training in a while. When that time comes, I will personally speak to him. If Tianheng insists on staying at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, then I will persuade Flender to merge Shrek into Blue Tyrant Academy and participate in the Soul Master Tournament under Blue Tyrant's name."
The Grandmaster cast his personal issues to the back of his mind and began to ponder 'official business' once again.
Over the years, he had become accustomed to the process of stepping out of self-doubt. Or rather, he had become an expert at escapism.
Divine Wind Academy.
Su Wen had already gone through six battles.
Aside from the Divine Wind team captain, Feng Xiaotian, the other six members had all been defeated.
"So strong!" Feng Xiaotian's expression was grave, and he felt immense pressure in his heart.
"Xiaotian, get ready," Director Mo said, his expression heavy as he looked at Feng Xiaotian with high hopes.
The others could lose, but Feng Xiaotian could not.
Although there was a gap of a few ranks in Soul Power, the only reason Feng Xiaotian's rank was only slightly higher than his teammates was because he had dedicated so much time to his self-created soul skills.
His true strength should far exceed that of his teammates.
Out of respect, Su Wen rested for a period of time after each battle before starting the next.
After resting for ten minutes, his condition had returned to its peak, and he had finished digesting the Martial Souls copied during the previous battles.
"Come, Su Wen. Let me see just how strong you are!" Feng Xiaotian stepped forward slowly, cyan light flickering around his body.
"Battle start!" Director Mo announced once both sides were ready.
The cyan light around Feng Xiaotian intensified. His bones crackled, his stature grew taller, and his hair turned cyan. A wolf's head appeared on his left shoulder.
Behind him, the phantom of a Two-Headed Gale Devil Wolf condensed.
"Third Soul Skill: Gale Double Wings!"
A pair of cyan wings materialized behind Feng Xiaotian, and he quickly ascended into the air.
"Second Soul Skill: Double Wolf Possession!"
The double-headed wolf phantom behind him gradually merged with his body. In this instant, his attack, defense, and agility were all boosted by fifty percent!
The battle had only just begun, yet Feng Xiaotian had already elevated his state to its absolute peak.
Similar to Su Wen's setup, Feng Xiaotian's current three soul skills were all strengthening or fundamental types, used to complement the development of his self-created soul skills.
After activating his third and second soul skills in succession, his first Soul Ring lit up as well.
"First Soul Skill: Wind Blade Array!"
Sharp wolf claws popped out from his palms, and semi-circular wind blades condensed upon them.
His first soul skill could normally unleash dozens of semi-circular wind blades to seal off all of an enemy's dodge routes. However, at this moment, he held back from firing them, keeping the wind blades condensed on his claws instead.
Seeing this, Su Wen did not interrupt Feng Xiaotian. He wanted to see what stage Feng Xiaotian's self-created soul skill had been perfected to, and he wanted to experience it for himself.
However, he was not careless.
In his hand, a Spiraling Sphere had already taken shape.
"Su Wen, this is the self-created soul skill I have developed over many years. It is also my strongest move. Given your strength, I need say no more—I will use this move directly to battle you!"
The wings on Feng Xiaotian's back burst forth with currents of cyan air. His body shuttled rapidly through the sky, diving straight toward Su Wen.
"My self-created soul skill is named: Gale Devil Wolf Eighteen Consecutive Slashes!"
Only eighteen consecutive slashes?
Su Wen's heart stirred.
However, the movements of his hands did not pause in the slightest. The Spiraling Sphere collided with the wind blades condensed on Feng Xiaotian's wolf claws.
Bang!
Feng Xiaotian retreated rapidly.
Blood trickled from the wolf claw on his right hand.
In just a single exchange, the Spiraling Sphere had inflicted injury on his right arm.
However, his momentum never stopped. Following the impact force of Su Wen's Spiraling Sphere, he flew through the air, converting the force before quickly swinging out his second slash.
The power of this slash was stronger than the first.
However, Su Wen blocked it using a Spiraling Sphere of the same intensity.
Third slash.
Su Wen still blocked it with the most basic Spiraling Sphere, though this time, the slash forced him to take a step back.
Fourth slash, fifth slash, sixth slash. Su Wen was forced back further and further, beginning to use air currents to cushion his retreating steps.
By the seventh slash, Su Wen changed his strategy. The Spiraling Sphere seemed to transform; upon collision with Feng Xiaotian's wind blade, it did not explode. Instead, the massive airflow rotated to form a small vortex, neutralizing the force of the slash.
Under layers of swirling air currents, Su Wen received the slash.
By now, Feng Xiaotian's heart was incredibly heavy.
Up until the tenth slash, Su Wen continued to use this method to block.
However, at this stage, the force of Feng Xiaotian's slashes had become terrifying.
The first slash was merely equivalent to the effect of a hundred-year soul skill, but by the tenth slash, it was already comparable to a soul skill of around three thousand years.
Eleventh slash.
This time, Su Wen chose to condense a Spiraling Shuriken and threw it out, intercepting Feng Xiaotian's slash in mid-air.
Yet, as the force of Feng Xiaotian's slashes stacked, they became more terrifying, and his speed grew faster.
The reason there were only eighteen consecutive slashes was not just because his physical constitution couldn't withstand more, but also because he himself could not control the speed beyond that level.
Seventeenth slash.
Su Wen didn't have time to condense a Spiraling Shuriken. He directly used the Giant Spiraling Sphere, using the vortex-shaped airflow to cancel out the force of the slash.
Eighteenth slash.
The final slash.
Cyan wings materialized behind Su Wen's back, and he flashed out of the way.
(End of Chapter)