"This kind of offensive spiritual soul skill is the hardest to test for specific effects."
Zhou Qing sighed. After all, the effectiveness of offensive-type spiritual soul skills depends on the spiritual power level of others. In this era, there's no standardized method for testing spiritual power. Terms like Spiritual Origin, Spiritual Link, Spiritual Sea, Spiritual Abyss, and Spiritual Domain and their corresponding point-based classification were only conceptualized much later, when soul tool technology had sufficiently developed.
In the current Douluo Era (Douluo One), spiritual power is still the "exclusive domain" of Soul Douluo and Title Douluo. Even most Title Douluo can't clearly explain what kind of energy spiritual power truly is.
If spiritual power could be applied to external objects for example, to manipulate matter with it then perhaps it could be measured somehow.
But only Title Douluo-level individuals could possibly achieve something like that.
"Troublesome..."
Zhou Qing felt a headache coming on. He pulled a pouch of water from a small gray bag and helped Romantina take a sip.
Romantina slowly woke up, but her clear eyes made it obvious: she was currently possessed by the Skydream Iceworm.
In Douluo 2, this guy didn't possess Huo Yuhao that often, but in this era — the Douluo One era — he still had a considerable amount of remaining cultivation, so his energy was more abundant.
"It's you, Old Skydream." Zhou Qing greeted him casually.
"Of course, it's me."
After possessing Romantina, the Skydream Iceworm leaned against the tree beside Zhou Qing. "Your spiritual power is really impressive — even my great self's soul skill couldn't affect you. This girl's spiritual strength, compared to others her age, is already quite outstanding."
Zhou Qing asked, "So, before finding Romantina, you also tried other twelve-year-olds, maybe even younger children, but failed?"
The Skydream Iceworm's sacrifice experiment obviously didn't just target adults — surely quite a few young soul masters died by his hand.
"Finding soul masters with spiritual-type martial souls isn't easy," the Skydream Iceworm replied. "I originally wanted to go straight for a Title Douluo, but I haven't run into any in the past two years. And with those bastards in the Star Dou Forest ordering other soul beasts to hunt me down, I had no choice but to escape with a shape-shifted rabbit..."
"You human soul masters kill who knows how many soul beasts every year. Even among yourselves, it's survival of the fittest — just not as nakedly brutal as we soul beasts."
"Objectively speaking, it's natural selection — survival of the fittest. More importantly, I don't really know those people, so I won't speak for them. But as you've probably already guessed, I'm still human. I won't side with soul beasts," Zhou Qing responded.
"Hehe. That's exactly the mindset I need — makes it easier for me to help you hunt ten-thousand-year soul beasts or even fierce beasts who've absorbed my cultivation to become your soul rings or soul bones."
The Skydream Iceworm didn't mind at all. "And don't think soul beasts are united. Those fierce beasts and hundred-thousand-year soul beasts barely give a damn about other species of soul beasts."
"It's only through brute strength that the older-than-100,000-year soul beasts have temporarily forced some semblance of unity."
"In terms of cohesion, they don't compare to you humans at all."
"Just like you said: survival of the fittest... Tch, among humans, you're one of the smarter ones. Back on topic — only after truly entering the human world and seeing things through Romantina's perspective did I fully understand the 'big fish eats little fish' logic among soul beasts..."
"For example, me — at most, I'd care about the survival of the Iceworm species. As for other soul beast races, if I find them agreeable, maybe I'll lend a hand. If not — I wouldn't mind wiping them out entirely."
"So long as there's a distinction between species, soul beasts can never truly unite. Each race has its own way of life and its own agenda."
"But you humans are different. Even though you're more complicated, you're all upright-walking, hairless apes. You'll fight and kill each other over resources, sure — but you'll also lay down your lives for things like honor and justice, even if those ideals are vague or unrealistic."
Zhou Qing was stunned — he hadn't expected the Skydream Iceworm to be this insightful.
Right... Even if this meat worm mostly eats and sleeps, after being oppressed in the Star Dou Forest for so many years, he's learned a few things about people... or rather, how to conduct himself as a beast.
In the original story, most of his accumulated power over a million years was nearly lost after the sacrifice, so he slept for the majority of the time. But now — with much of his vitality still intact — there's no way he'd just lie flat like in the original.
With this much energy, of course he'd try to improve himself.
Which means...
I absolutely have to win this worm over!
"What's with that look in your eyes?" the Skydream Iceworm furrowed Romantina's brows. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He hugged himself with her arms like she would, and said, "You're not thinking of doing something to my body, are you?"
"It's not even your body," Zhou Qing rolled his eyes, wondering if the Skydream Iceworm was being influenced by Romantina's personality.
"Oh, right — it's not mine." The Iceworm came back to his senses and grinned. "In that case, feel free. I've never been on the receiving end before, could be fun."
Zhou Qing: "..."
Right, I just remembered — this meat worm wasn't exactly proper in the original story either.
"I've got an idea about Spiritual Detection — want to hear it?" Zhou Qing asked, his tone serious.
"Go ahead, little Qing Qing. I'm all ears." The Iceworm crossed his arms and gestured for Zhou Qing to get to the point.
"This relates to a theory I have about soul rings, soul skills, and martial souls..." Zhou Qing began explaining the internal flow of soul power within a soul ring, the soul master's own cultivation route, the soul power circuits within the martial soul, and the way soul rings are 'grafted' onto martial souls.
"Interesting theory." The Iceworm nodded. "I've also noticed the rough soul power flow inside Romantina's body, but the pathways inside her brain martial soul are incredibly complex — she can't sense them herself. Maybe I could lend her some of my spiritual power temporarily to help her perceive it? Not sure if it'll work though..."
"Try it. If it doesn't work, I'll find another way later."
Romantina couldn't get close enough to her brain-based martial soul with her current basic meditation method, so she couldn't fully sense the pathways that directed her soul power.
That was indeed a problem. But whether it was Tang San's Purple Demon Eye or the spiritual cultivation portion of Zhou Qing's Innate Meridians Diagram, they could both help her connect with her martial soul more effectively.
Helping her develop her own complete cultivation method in the future wouldn't be an issue.
What Zhou Qing really wanted to know was: "Do you know how the soul skill patterns inside a soul ring are formed?"
"The specifics? No idea. Probably formed under the influence of the world's laws. Back then, when I used these four abilities, I didn't need my soul power to flow through such complicated routes," the Skydream Iceworm replied.
"So it's as I thought. Soul rings and soul skills are ways of converting a soul beast's strength and abilities into forms compatible with and usable by human martial souls."
Zhou Qing confirmed his theory, then made a request of the Skydream Iceworm:
"Please use Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing, but don't go beyond Romantina's limits. I want to run a test..."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix