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**
As they approached the dormitory area, Ling Xiao and Xie Yue bid each other farewell and headed to their respective buildings. Previously, in the Mystic Trace Canyon, their minds had been wound tight, staying vigilant at every moment and never daring to relax.
Now that they were back at the academy, they naturally felt the urge to take a comfortable rest.
Of course, the first priority was to change into clean clothes; having blood-stained garments clinging to the skin was anything but comfortable, and the thick scent of gore was becoming revolting even to themselves.
When Ling Xiao pushed open his dormitory door, he suddenly discovered someone sitting cross-legged on the bed opposite his own, deep in meditative cultivation. It was clearly his friend, Xu Yu, an auxiliary system Soul Master whose Martial Soul was the Golden Sceptre.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Yu ended his meditation and slowly opened his eyes.
He realized a person had appeared in front of him, watching him quietly. Although Ling Xiao was dressed in tatters and the temperament he exuded had changed drastically compared to a year ago, as roommates of many years, Xu Yu recognized him at a glance.
He couldn't help but say in pleasant surprise:
"Ling Xiao, you're finally back!"
"Mhm. This trial has ended, so naturally, I've returned. How about you? How have you been this past year?"
Compared to a year ago, Ling Xiao had become noticeably more composed. However, facing a close friend, he spoke with a relaxed tone, appearing as if nothing had changed since their last meeting.
"I've been doing quite well, but what about you?" Xu Yu replied with a look of joy.
As his excitement gradually cooled, he sized Ling Xiao up and said with curiosity, "I've noticed that compared to a year ago, you seem to have undergone many changes."
"I can't quite put the feeling into words, but I think you've definitely become much stronger," Xu Yu said with a firm tone.
With a faint smile, a powerful surge of Soul Power erupted from Ling Xiao's body. Simultaneously, four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—emanated a fierce energy as they rose from beneath his feet, rotating slowly.
Under Xu Yu's astonished gaze, Ling Xiao said, "I have now broken through to the Soul Ancestor realm."
"Amazing, Ling Xiao! I remember you're only fifteen, right? I never imagined you'd already be a Soul Ancestor. I've never heard of anyone else reaching this realm at such an age!"
Shaking his head slightly, Ling Xiao thought for a moment and said, "It's actually nothing much. Nana is like me; she reached the Soul Ancestor realm at fifteen as well. Furthermore, a Soul Master's cultivation speed is heavily related to the Martial Soul's capacity indicated by innate Soul Power."
"Even in the short term, though there haven't been many people with Innate Full Soul Power over the last few centuries, there certainly haven't been only two or three. As long as they are nurtured by a large-scale power, their cultivation speed wouldn't be much slower than mine."
At this point, Ling Xiao's eyes flickered.
He shook his head as he thought of someone, adding a sentence in his heart: "Besides, even now, I don't believe I am the fastest to break through to the Soul Ancestor realm."
After all, the Angel Clan of Spirit Hall possessed a genius with an Innate Full Soul Power of Rank 20: Qian Renxue. The time she spent to break through to the Soul Ancestor realm was absolutely less than his.
A ten-rank gap in Soul Power was not something easily bridged.
In his view, Qian Renxue was likely the most talented existence among the younger generation in the current Soul Master world, bar none.
Not only did she possess innate Soul Power that surpassed everyone else, but her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul was also a special existence that reigned above all top-tier Martial Souls—a God-Bestowed Martial Soul.
He had once learned some details regarding the hierarchy and transformation of Martial Souls from his teacher, Mu Chen. Generally, the world's Martial Souls could be divided into Low-level, Mid-level, High-level, and Top-level.
To ordinary people, a Top-level Martial Soul was already the strongest in the world. But in reality, in the eyes of true Soul Master experts, there was another tier above Top-level: Super Martial Souls and God-Bestowed Martial Souls.
The reason they are considered a single tier is that there is no inherent ranking of superiority between a God-Bestowed Martial Soul and a Super Martial Soul. A God-Bestowed Martial Soul is a type of Super Martial Soul, but not all Super Martial Souls are God-Bestowed.
Specifically, a God-Bestowed Martial Soul refers to one that originates from a God. For example, the Six-Winged Angel passed down through the Angel Clan comes from the blessing of the Angel God.
Based on Ling Xiao's deductions, the Sea God Martial Soul inherited by the High Priestess of Sea God Island, Bo Saixi, should also be a God-Bestowed Martial Soul, which is why it can be passed down.
One could say that a God-Bestowed Martial Soul is inherently a Super Martial Soul from birth and can be naturally inherited through bloodlines.
However, Super Martial Souls that are not God-Bestowed are not naturally inheritable from the start; rather, they are attained through cultivation. Take the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a pinnacle existence among Top-level Martial Souls, as an example.
If a Soul Master with this Martial Soul absorbs nine soul rings and attains the rank of Titled Douluo, and then manages to go a step further—breaking through the bottleneck of Rank 95 to reach Rank 96, Rank 97, or even higher—
The further strengthening of their power is enough to sublimate the Martial Soul beyond the Top-level tier, eventually causing it to evolve into a Super Martial Soul. In this process, the strength of the soul rings is not the decisive factor.
The most important element is the breakthrough in cultivation. After all, in the path of a Soul Master, once one becomes a Titled Douluo, it is impossible to strengthen the origin of one's Martial Soul by absorbing more rings.
Starting from Rank 96, the difference between each rank is astronomical. A massive breakthrough in Soul Power significantly bolsters the Martial Soul's origin power until it reaches the limit of its current tier, triggering an evolution.
This process is similar to how a Soul Beast cultivates after reaching a one hundred thousand year cultivation base; they must cross the Heavenly Tribulation.
The process of crossing the tribulation causes their bloodline to evolve, allowing their cultivation to continue growing. Of course, the strength of soul rings is not entirely useless; it's simply that for a Top-level Martial Soul like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the effect is not obvious.
Compared to Soul Beasts, Soul Masters have an additional chance for evolution once they reach the completion of nine rings, allowing them to attempt a tier evolution even before reaching Rank 96.
However, for a Martial Soul as powerful as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, even if one pursues the absolute limit when absorbing soul rings, the level of the Soul Beasts hunted under normal standards would not exceed that of Top-level Soul Beasts.
For the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, absorbing these remains nothing more than a path of "Devouring Evolution." Thus, even with the completion of nine rings paired with a Rank 95 cultivation, the Martial Soul cannot evolve.
Only after breaking through to Rank 96, when the Martial Soul's origin is further and significantly strengthened, will the transformation begin. This is the path of Devouring Evolution taken by most Top-level Martial Souls.
Because of this, for a Martial Soul like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, even if the soul ring configuration isn't exceptional, as long as the cultivation is high enough—
With a longer period of nourishment from Soul Power—the Martial Soul's origin strength can still reach the limit of its current tier. Whether it can evolve still depends primarily on whether the user can break through to the realms beyond Rank 96.
**
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