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Xu Yuan observed his aunt carefully.
She wore a white robe, exuding the air of a scholar. There was an unmistakable scholarly elegance about her, yet she possessed no trace of frailty—instead, she radiated a striking vigor and confidence.
Looking at Xu Yuan, Ye Yuan, the Paper Saint Douluo, revealed a gentle smile.
"Little Yuan, your uncle has mentioned you countless times. You are truly his pride and joy." Her gaze carried both curiosity and admiration.
What kind of achievements could make Xu Shengqun speak so highly of Xu Yuan?
Xu Yuan smiled modestly.
"Aunt, you flatter me. Any success I've achieved is thanks to the legacy left by my elders."
This statement held elements of humility, but it was also heartfelt. Whether it was Mu Ye's unconditional support for his Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique, the various ingredients that enhanced his blood qi, or the top-tier spirit souls Xu Shengqun had gathered for him—not to mention the Blood Qi Martial Soul he inherited from his father Xu Zhi's nearly completed research project—Xu Yuan truly stood on the shoulders of giants.
"Whether it's the efforts of our predecessors or any other factors, the ability to absorb and transform them into your own strength is your innate talent," Ye Yuan said with a smile.
"Little Yuan, this is your paper spirit soul. Are you prepared for the martial soul split?"
"The martial soul split?"
Ye Yuan was momentarily stunned.
Clearly, Xu Shengqun hadn't privately mentioned this cultivation project to her.
"Little Yuan's martial soul is somewhat unique—it exists in two forms, which he has separated using a special method. He plans to develop them as two separate martial souls."
"Artificial twin martial souls?" Ye Yuan was astonished. She had never imagined such a thing was possible.
"Little Yuan was already born with twin martial souls. After the split of the Tian Yuan Brush and the Tian YuanSpear, he will have three martial souls." Xu Shengqun had already used his soul power to shield their surroundings, so he wasn't worried about being overheard.
There was unmistakable pride in his eyes.
My nephew!
An unprecedented triple martial soul!
Even Huo Yuhao, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, claimed to possess three martial souls, but strictly speaking, they didn't qualify as true triple martial souls. Based on what Xu Shengqun knew from classified information within the Spirit Pagoda, Huo Yuhao's third martial soul was actually his teacher—a powerful individual who had helped him develop the spirit contract technique—and it didn't have any soul rings attached.
In contrast, all three of Xu Yuan's martial souls would eventually have soul rings added, paving the way for continuous cultivation!
"But wouldn't splitting a martial soul cause damage to its essence? If that happens, the quality of both martial souls would decline, making it counterproductive," Ye Yuan asked, her eyes reflecting confusion.
Xu Shengqun turned to look at Xu Yuan.
Nephew, explain.
To be honest, even now, Xu Shengqun didn't fully understand Xu Yuan's preparations or how he planned to prevent such damage.
"Splitting a martial soul does indeed cause some damage to its essence, but it also purifies the two forms. A single martial soul with two forms inevitably splits its innate talents between them. By separating them, each becomes purer, making it easier for them to grow individually. For example, my Tian YuanBrush—the metallic pen barrel always felt awkward to use."
Xu Yuan explained that when he first developed the Tian YuanBrush, he often designed it with a spear-like form in mind. The way the brush bristles extended resembled spears piercing downward, heavily influenced by the Tian YuanSpear form.
"When the essence is split, it's also the best time for modifications. I've prepared many rare treasures to compensate for the essence loss of my two martial souls. Not only will their essences remain undamaged, but they'll also improve. With purer martial souls, they'll only become stronger."
However, it would take some time to fully integrate these resources.
After all, the value of rare treasures lies in their suitability, not their quantity. Many soul masters rarely consume special-effect rare treasures beyond those used for nutritional supplementation, precisely because they require time to digest.
Ye Yuan nodded, though she only partially understood.
It sounded profound, but she was still unclear on the specifics of how it would work.
Nevertheless, she didn't press further.
"The paper spirit soul is inside. It consumed a fair amount of spiritual energy, barely reaching a thousand-year level. You'll need to raise its spirit energy further on your own," Xu Shengqun said, a flicker of pain crossing his face as he mentioned the spiritual energy.
The Spirit Pagoda's spiritual energy reserves were limited. As a Spirit Envoy, expending such a large amount of spiritual energy to create this paper spirit soul had cost him dearly—nearly depleting half of his accumulated resources.
Without the backing of a family legacy, he was still a Super Douluo who had served as a Spirit Envoy for over a decade, accumulating a significant amount over time.
Even raising the paper spirit soul to a thousand-year level was only possible by infusing leftover scraps of spiritual energy.
Fully artificial spirit soul technology was still incomplete. To customize a spirit soul, this was the best they could do.
Xu Yuan took the spirit soul orb, his heart racing slightly as he gazed at the transparent scroll shimmering with radiant light inside.
Space attribute, paper spirit soul.
"Uncle, let me show you around the academy."
Xu Yuan led Xu Shengqun and Ye Yuan into Shrek Academy, then to the inner court, finally arriving at his dormitory.
"Your dormitory isn't bad at all. Why do rumors say that Shrek's living conditions are poor?" Ye Yuan looked around curiously, puzzled.
"Because there really are dorms with terrible conditions," Xu Yuan remarked dryly.
He couldn't help but think of the working-student housing.
To this day, he still didn't understand why anyone would choose to live in such simplicity.
"You go ahead and fuse with the spirit soul. Your aunt and I will look around."
"Alright. If anyone asks, just tell them I brought you in."
Xu Yuan's name carried weight both in the outer and inner courts.
Entering the cultivation room, Xu Yuan sat cross-legged and held the spirit soul orb in his hands.
Through the transparent orb, he could see the strange scroll inside.
A scroll, suspended and coiled within the spirit soul orb, shimmered with a silvery base color dotted with starry lights. Elemental patterns representing the five elements adorned its surface.
"Uncle specifically sought out rare treasures with five-element attributes, extracted their essence, and infused them into this paper spirit soul." Just by observing, Xu Yuan could deduce much.
Perhaps these materials weren't suitable for direct consumption, but they were undoubtedly precious resources.
And then there was the starry attribute.
These tiny starry lights surprised and delighted Xu Yuan.
"If the *Heaven OriginBrush can incorporate the starry attribute, it will definitely reach a whole new level."
With the assistance of the paper spirit soul, the *Heaven OriginBrush should be able to harness stellar power as well.
Previously, after his brain martial soul absorbed Huan Xing, it gained a starry attribute. However, aside from his development of the brain, this attribute hadn't shown much utility.
On the other hand, the Tian YuanBrush was better suited for this type of elemental expansion. Once it could harness starry power, its capabilities would shine even brighter.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan opened the spirit soul orb and held the paper spirit soul in his palm.
Though the paper spirit soul had reached a thousand-year level, its creation process had been too short. While it possessed sentience and rudimentary intelligence, it was still quite naive.
It didn't resist Xu Yuan's soul power binding but instead floated quietly above his palm.
"In the future, we will be partners. You were born for me, and you will fight for me. I will lead you to the pinnacle."
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