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Su Wen had mapped out the most efficient progression for Ning Rongrong.
The path of developing her martial soul would proceed step-by-step. Simultaneously, she would leverage the initial phase of "sensing the martial soul" to first master the Visualization Method—using artistic conception to command elemental forces. This mastery would then serve as an auxiliary engine to accelerate the subsequent cultivation of her martial soul.
Of course, if the Sea God's trial criteria didn't strictly mandate the "martial soul development" route, she could theoretically stop halfway. However, if Su Wen's intuition was correct, this trial wasn't just about Ning Rongrong gaining elemental control; it was about using that mastery as a foundation for the trials to come.
The Forbidden Ground.
Ning Rongrong joined the ranks of Hai Da and the others. Under the crushing weight of the Sea God's Light, she made her way to the eighteenth step and sat down to begin her cultivation.
As she circulated her soul power, aided by the pathways of the Soul Fusion Technique, she rapidly gained a deeper perception of her martial soul. However, it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
The Sea God's intent was to use the Sea God's Light to force a holistic perception of her martial soul, allowing her to capture elemental forces through it.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda inherently possessed no offensive capabilities. It offered only near-rule-based auxiliary soul skills; this was its most heaven-defying trait, but also its greatest flaw. The martial soul itself lacked any attack power and could not naturally attach so-called "attribute abilities." Even its "Star" attribute was built on an auxiliary foundation; it couldn't actually manipulate stellar power—it merely used stellar energy as a partial "fuel source" when activating soul skills.
She had zero foundation for elemental control.
But if the ability wasn't there naturally, it could be added. Su Wen's Engraved Pages had circulated through her body more than once, long ago altering her physique to be increasingly compatible with various elements—essentially boosting her elemental affinity.
Her body now possessed an affinity for elements. Since physical changes are, to some extent, reflected in the martial soul, the Pagoda itself now shared that affinity. This meant that perceiving elements through the martial soul was viable; Ning Rongrong simply lacked the means to influence them through the soul itself.
However, when a door is closed, a window is often left open.
The martial soul couldn't influence the elements, but a soul master's soul power and mental strength could. By maintaining a high state of resonance with her martial soul to "detect" the elements, Ning Rongrong could then use her soul power and mental strength to try and "drive" them.
This was exactly how Su Wen had developed his own powers. Though Su Wen's process was less complex—since his innate affinities allowed him to use his second soul skill to bridge the gap—the underlying principle remained the same. As the development deepened, these abilities would eventually be etched into the martial soul's instinct, essentially retrofitting it with new capabilities.
Such a process usually took an incredibly long time. The Visualization Method, however, acted as a catalyst. The artistic conception used to command the elements of Heaven and Earth could be applied to the martial soul; under its constant influence, the soul would undergo continuous transformation.
This was the greatest significance of the Visualization Method to the soul master world—a use that, without Su Wen's guidance, had yet to be discovered by the public. Only the core students of the Academy, those whose devotion to knowledge and Su Wen was absolute, had begun to uncover these benefits.
Two months later.
Ning Rongrong's cultivation was firmly on track. Finally at ease, Su Wen left her on Sea God Island and departed, riding atop Xiao Bai toward the Sun Moon Continent.
"Xiao Bai, as long as there are sea soul masters on the islands along our route, we'll proceed as usual."
"You got it, Master Scholar! Don't you worry. No one knows the distribution of soul masters in this ocean better than us," Xiao Bai chirped in response.
Among sea soul beasts, there were many malevolent entities. As staunch supporters of the Sea God, the Demon Spirit Great White Sharks acted as the ocean's "scavengers," purging evil beasts under the Sea God's guidance. Beyond that, they were responsible for aiding the Sea God's followers—the soul masters on deep-sea islands—against natural disasters.
Sitting on Xiao Bai's back, Su Wen initially spent his time sensing the artistic conceptions of the world. But as time passed, his visualized conceptions became increasingly realistic, making further progress difficult. Sensing the "disasters" of the ocean yielded diminishing returns.
Eventually, he stopped contemplating the storms. Xiao Bai sought out the calmest routes possible, allowing Su Wen to focus on his internal cultivation.
"It's been four months since I broke through to Rank 69 in the Stone God Realm. My soul power refinement has finally reached the standard," Su Wen's eyes flashed with a sharp brilliance.
The condensation of a Soul Core was close at hand!
He wasn't agitated, nor was he in a rush. On the entire continent, only Xiao Zhan had successfully condensed a Soul Core; while useful as a reference, his experience wasn't entirely applicable. Su Wen needed to make even finer adjustments to ensure his Soul Core was perfectly attuned to his specific needs.
"Soul Core... Soul Ring..."
Condensing a Soul Core wasn't actually difficult for Su Wen. He possessed absolute mastery over his internal state and could micro-manage his soul power circulation to achieve a perfect condensation.
Compared to the Soul Core, Su Wen cared more about the Soul Ring. What was the secret behind the seventh ring? Why did it grant the fixed "Martial Soul True Body" ability? And why was there such a qualitative leap in strength between a Soul Emperor and a Soul Sage, even without activating the True Body?
Furthermore, another question plagued him: the source of his seventh ring.
There were currently three options: hunting a soul beast, a God-Bestowed Soul Ring, or condensing one himself.
Hunting a soul beast provides external modification, but finding one that fits the 'Heavenly Book' martial soul to provide a perfect True Body is nearly impossible—unless I just brute-force the year limit.
A God-Bestowed Soul Ring offers the optimal year limit and minimizes the lack of external modification, as the seventh position is primarily about mining the martial soul's internal potential.
Brute-forcing years via hunting couldn't compare to the extreme limits of a God-Bestowed ring. Thus, Su Wen leaned toward the latter.
Yet, the idea of a self-condensed soul ring haunted him. If he used a self-condensed ring for the seventh position, could it be called a "Natal Soul Ring"?
Sensing Su Wen's inner conflict, Xiao Bai asked curiously, "Master Scholar, have you run into some kind of difficult problem?"
(End of Chapter)