Xu Yuan wasn't in a rush.
He continued to train and compete at his usual pace.
It was only after five full days that something changed.
Xu Yuan sat in his room, meditating with his eyes closed.
Mu Ye descended from the balcony.
Sensing the movement, Xu Yuan opened his eyes.
"Teacher?"
"Mm, I've finally stabilized my soul power," Mu Ye said.
After consecutively breaking through to level ninety-seven, he had left the Star Luo City area to avoid complications and spent a week stabilizing his cultivation.
At level ninety-seven, he still had the potential to push further. Riding the momentum of his breakthrough, with his blood essence surging, he could have solidified the state of his innate martial soul, using it as a foundation to expand his soul power to level ninety-eight.
But in the end, he held back.
Level ninety-seven was sufficient for now. He would stabilize his current state and aim to break through to ninety-eight within a year.
After all, even if he reached level ninety-eight, he would still be bottlenecked by the third soul core. It made more sense to prepare for the third soul core before attempting to break through to ninety-eight.
"I'm still missing one final spirit soul core," Mu Ye explained.
On the continent today, most powerful individuals condensed their first soul core before reaching level seventy. Some exceptionally talented individuals might even condense their first soul core during the Soul King stage—Yun Ming, for example, had condensed his first soul core while still a Soul King.
After condensing the first soul core, they would work on the second before breaking through to the ninety-level mark. This allowed them to reach their peak strength as a Title Douluo while minimizing bottlenecks, almost ensuring a rapid ascent to level ninety-eight.
After reaching ninety-eight, breaking through to ninety-nine required condensing the third soul core.
This path largely followed the footsteps of Huo Yuhao from the past.
Of course, not everyone could achieve the same level of opportunity as Huo Yuhao. Few could even match a tenth of his fortune. However, with the advent of battle armor, the threshold for soul masters to condense soul cores had been significantly lowered.
Even so, it remained an extremely difficult process.
Condensing the third soul core was especially challenging—it was no easier than condensing the second soul core ten thousand years ago, and in fact, it was even harder.
While battle armor did make the process of condensing soul cores somewhat easier, it didn't simplify the condensation of the third soul core to the extent that it surpassed the difficulty of condensing the second soul core in the past. Overall, the bottleneck of breaking through to Limit Douluo had actually become slightly higher. However, there were now more level ninety-eight Super Douluos on the continent.
Most strong individuals completed their cultivation to level ninety-nine by condensing three soul cores. Many followed the path pioneered by Huo Yuhao, condensing each of the three soul cores around a different core ability.
However, few were truly proficient in such a wide array of techniques. Most specialized in one aspect, so their soul core condensation focused on a single ability.
That said, there were still distinctions based on emphasis.
For instance, the soul core condensed in the lower dantian emphasized integration with the body, incorporating blood essence. The soul core in the middle dantian was purely soul power-based. Lastly, the soul core condensed in the upper dantian—the sea of spirit—was primarily spirit-based, with soul power playing a secondary role.
Among these, the soul core in the sea of spirit was the most difficult for most soul masters to condense, which is why it was often the last to form.
The individual forces of spirit, energy, and essence alone couldn't meet the standard for condensing a soul core, so soul power was used as a medium.
And no one had ever decreed that only pure spirit, energy, or essence could form distinct soul cores.
In fact, even Huo Yuhao initially condensed two soul cores based on soul power. It was only during the formation of his third soul core that he refined them, purifying all three cores around the attributes of spirit space and ice.
Moreover, the final results of his cultivation methods were never passed down.
Today, what remains in circulation regarding Huo Yuhao's method of condensing three soul cores are merely preliminary deductions he made during his time at Shrek Academy before entering seclusion. These were left behind with Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.
It was reasonable to deduce the principles first, then attempt the risky endeavor while leaving behind these findings.
"Teacher, how do you plan to condense your third soul core?" Xu Yuan asked curiously.
He didn't fully understand the theory behind soul core condensation.
To be honest, he had never understood it.
After all, it was easy to grasp the concept of two soul cores complementing each other in yin and yang, but three soul cores doing the same was much harder to accept.
"There are currently two mainstream methods for condensing soul cores: dual complementation and triple resonance," Mu Ye explained, taking on his role as a teacher to impart this advanced knowledge to Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan was nearing the stage where he would need to condense his own soul cores, so it was time to explain these concepts to him.
"The difference in ultimate achievement between the two methods is negligible. Their strength is roughly the same," Mu Ye stated upfront.
"The difference is minimal?" Xu Yuan looked at Mu Ye skeptically.
"The difference is indeed small. To put it this way, if we soul masters had four dantians and could condense four soul cores, choosing four cores in resonance would be the strongest path. For soul beasts, which can only condense two soul cores, yin-yang complementation is the strongest approach.
Three soul cores, however, represent a critical point.
The reason lies in the terrifying effects of resonance. This is something we only came to understand later, after the development of soul technology gave us insight into fundamental material laws. The more cores in resonance, and the closer their frequencies align, the greater the resulting amplification."
Mu Ye went on to provide an example to illustrate that triple resonance was no weaker than dual complementation.
"Pavilion Master Yun likely chose the method of triple resonance, using it to assist in cultivating his spirit, energy, and essence."
Xu Yuan's skeptical gaze faded, replaced by deep contemplation.
Resonance.
With more cores involved, the amplification ratio increased dramatically!
Two soul cores in resonance might result in a simple 1 + 1 = 3 effect, but three soul cores in resonance could reach 9—or even more!
With yin-yang complementation, 1 + 1 might result in a qualitative leap, but adding another 1 disrupts that leap.
This disparity led to the outcome where the final strength of three soul cores using triple resonance versus dual complementation ended up being roughly equal.
"The difference lies in the process. Resonance is relatively smooth—so long as one has sufficient innate talent, the condensation can be completed safely and reliably. Yin-yang complementation, however, is highly dangerous. When forming the second and third soul cores, many factors must be considered, and without a strong body to support it, it's nearly impossible to succeed."
"Of course, the advantages of yin-yang complementation are also clear—it excels during the two-soul-core stage."
Xu Yuan nodded slowly as he listened to Mu Ye's explanation.
"As for me, I've chosen yin-yang complementation. My first two soul cores were formed this way. Now, the third soul core, which will be condensed in the sea of spirit, must not only complement the core in the middle dantian but also resonate across a distance with the core in the lower dantian to ensure stable operation."
Mu Ye pointed to the three locations on his head, chest, and lower abdomen, explaining the challenges of yin-yang complementation.
Xu Yuan was left speechless.
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