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"Infiltrating the Scholarly Realm?" Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed the moment he heard Tang San's words.
He looked at Tang San, his gaze flickering with a hint of concern. Could his disciple have allowed rage to cloud his judgment?
Before the Scholarly Realm had even been established, they had toyed with the idea of seizing other people's Soul Seals for their own use. However, because a Soul Seal is fundamentally bound to the Soul Master, the seal can only be activated by its original owner. If that weren't the case, there would be no need for every Soul Master to receive a unique, personalized seal.
Now that the Scholarly Realm had officially opened, the entry requirement was clearly reliant on these seals. How could they possibly have a chance?
"Teacher, you might not have delved deeply enough into this specific area of research." Tang San shook his head calmly. "My Purple Demon Eye has reached a level where I can consciously mobilize my mental energy. I am certain that Su Wen's Soul Seals are designed specifically to act as conduits for mental power."
"Oh?" Yu Xiaogang's curiosity was piqued. Since mental energy was a field he hadn't explored extensively due to his own cultivation limits, he tended to steer his research away from high-level concepts reserved for elite Soul Masters. He knew the basics, but his depth was limited. Hearing Tang San link the Soul Seals to mental energy made him doubt the absolute certainty of his own prior conclusions.
Tang San continued with growing confidence, "Actually, when we were interrogating those Soul Masters about their internal techniques earlier, I tried to study their Soul Seals. My findings suggest that while the seal is indeed bound to the individual and their Martial Soul—rendering it unusable for anyone else—I have discovered the principle behind how it guides a Soul Master into the Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning."
"When a Soul Master enters that space, their consciousness is essentially hitched to a thread of mental energy that is pulled into that pocket dimension. If one's mental energy can resonate with the Scholarly Realm, there is a chance to integrate with it even without a physical Soul Seal."
"After all, haven't many Soul Masters speculated that the Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning is less about pure spatial manipulation and more about high-level illusions?"
An illusion. A controlled, restrictive illusion designed to pull people into a dreamscape. If one isn't pulled in passively, but instead chooses to merge with the illusion actively, could they still enter the Scholarly Realm?
Tang San had harbored this suspicion for a long time. Unfortunately, the Scholarly Realm's influence used to be restricted to the immediate vicinity of the Academy. Now that the realm had expanded to cover the entire continent, allowing access from any corner of the land via a Soul Seal, Tang San saw a golden opportunity.
Yu Xiaogang remained silent. These concepts touched upon the nuances of mental energy that he didn't fully grasp. He wasn't sure if an active mental projection could mimic the official entry process of a standard Soul Master.
"Even if the Scholarly Realm covers the continent, we have no idea where the actual source of the illusion is located. How do we even begin to try?" Dai Mubai asked. He was highly intrigued and moved the conversation along, shifting the focus from 'if' it would work to 'how' to execute it.
If the plan was viable, Shrek Academy could acquire those precious cultivation techniques. That was vital for their growth.
Tang San pondered for a moment. "The problem still circles back to the Soul Seal. It doesn't just pull in low-level Soul Masters who lack mental control; it serves as a bridge, a localized anchor to the realm. If a Soul Master uses a Soul Seal right in front of me, I can use my mental energy to sense the fluctuations. If I can catch the frequency of the illusion's waves, I can merge directly into it."
The group fell into a contemplative silence. None of them could offer much advice. The other students lacked Tang San's mental cultivation, and among the teachers, Flender—despite having the highest soul power—could only vaguely influence mental energy with his soul power. He lacked the precision to manipulate it freely.
Tang San, thanks to the Purple Demon Eye, was currently the most knowledgeable person among them regarding the application of mental energy.
"Fine. I'll go out and catch a Soul Master, bring him back, and have him enter the realm. Little San, you'll try to follow him in then," Flender decided.
He didn't leave immediately, instead turning to Liu Erlong and the other teachers. "When Little San first shared the Tang Sect secret techniques with us, I didn't take it too seriously. I thought our abilities were already set in stone and that, aside from the Mysterious Heavenly Technique, other skills wouldn't help much. I see now that I was wrong."
"Brothers, our mental energy is certainly strong enough to be manifested and mobilized; we simply lack a mental-attribute Martial Soul or a specific method to do so. Since the Purple Demon Eye is effective for mastering mental energy, we shouldn't neglect our cultivation in that area."
Mastering mental energy was crucial. There was a world of difference between having high raw mental capacity and being able to weave that energy into a focused, usable force. It could vastly enrich both their defensive and offensive capabilities.
"Waiting for Little San to learn all those techniques by himself would be too slow. We teachers can't just sit idly by," Liu Erlong added, vowing to begin practicing the Purple Demon Eye immediately. Even if they couldn't reach the higher stages quickly, the basic process of refining their mental energy through the eye-training exercises was a reachable goal.
"Alright, I'm off to bag a couple of Soul Masters." Flender activated his Martial Soul and soared out of the valley toward the border of the two great empires—a lawless region teeming with bandits and rogue Soul Masters.
In Spirit City, after sensing Su Wen's spatial mastery, Bibi Dong had completely abandoned any thought of forcibly seizing the skull bone that served as the core of the Scholarly Realm. Su Wen stayed in the city for three days before taking his leave.
"Senior Zhan Tian, the prototype for the Spirit Arena is already taking shape. I've even diverted some of the energy from the Academy to offset the consumption required to manifest the stages. What do you think...?" Su Wen rubbed his fingers together suggestively.
Since this was a partnership and he was helping the Great Spirit Arena, shouldn't there be some reciprocal benefits?
Zhan Tian Douluo frowned, not out of annoyance at Su Wen's behavior, but because he was seriously considering what kind of reward would be appropriate.
"Is there even anything you specifically need right now?" he asked. Having traveled with Su Wen, the God's Envoy had actually learned quite a few things he hadn't known before, feeling as though his long-standing bottleneck was finally beginning to loosen. He truly couldn't think of how the Great Spirit Arena could assist someone like Su Wen.
"Hehe, how could I not need anything?" Su Wen replied with a grin. "I actually have a project that's quite urgent: the research into Soul Bone Armor."
(End of Chapter)