Teacher Wu, don't worry. With me here, we'll definitely gain a lot this time." Gu You patted his chest confidently. Forget about those below the four-ring level—even if a true nine-ringed Soul Master appeared, he wouldn't be afraid, as long as he used his divine power.
"In three days, you'll be entering the Spirit Ascension Platform. I'm giving you these three days off to relax and prepare."
A break? Teacher Wu's words left everyone stunned. Ever since entering the special class, aside from the usual one-day weekly break, they had never received any extra time off.
But now, they had three full days! Xie Xie and Zhang Yangzi were the first to cheer in excitement.
Gu You, however, had a thoughtful expression. Three days… what should he do? Simply training would be too boring. He had just received one billion federal credits, which meant he had no more song royalties for now. Instead of wasting time, he might as well check out some auctions or high-end markets to see if he could purchase something valuable.
"Gu You, what are you thinking about? What are you planning to do in these three days? How about we go out and have some fun?" Xie Xie grinned.
"Go out and play? Play what?" Zhang Yangzi leaned in.
Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking to you."
Zhang Yangzi laughed. "I'll pay, how about that? Take me with you."
"Fine, but don't ditch us again. Last time, you earned yourself the title of 'Runaway Brother,'" Gu You teased. Since someone was already suggesting having fun, the auction could wait. It would be better to save up more money and attend a bigger auction later when there were better items available. Besides, the Federal Citizen Bank had an interest rate of 0.5%, which wasn't much, but Gu You had plenty of money.
Xie Xie waved his arms. "What 'Runaway Brother'! That was just an accident last time. And Zhang Yangzi, if you're paying, I'll consider it. Also, I just remembered something—Teacher Wu mentioned that our final exam has two parts, but the Spirit Ascension Platform is only one. What's the other part? Any guesses?"
Everyone thought about it but could only shake their heads in confusion. Gu You remained silent.
Wang Jinxi sighed. "The Riot Spirit Ascension Platform… It's a great opportunity for us to improve, but isn't it a little too soon? I've heard that the competition inside is extremely intense, and once you're in, there's no such thing as mercy. After all, the chance to evolve a soul spirit isn't something that comes around often."
Tang Wulin rubbed his forehead. "We've been given so many chances to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform, and the academy has invested heavily in us. I think they want us to evolve our soul spirits to the thousand-year level before we graduate from the junior division. Have you guys checked your soul spirit's current cultivation level?"
As soon as he said that, the group stopped in their tracks.
Evolving a soul spirit to the thousand-year level… What did that mean?A thousand-year soul spirit meant a thousand-year soul ring. That alone was a game-changer. Even without comparing themselves to Gu You, achieving that would make them a one-in-a-million talent among Soul Masters.
If one's first soul spirit was at the thousand-year level, it would provide two soul skills, greatly reducing the mental strain of acquiring future soul rings. With another thousand-year soul spirit, they wouldn't have to worry about soul rings until they reached the four-ring level.
One of the biggest obstacles preventing Soul Masters from advancing was the limited number of soul spirits they could handle. A human's mental power dictated how many soul spirits they could fuse with, and failure to meet the required mental strength would result in fusion failure. This was why Wu Zhangkong emphasized mental training so much.
Based on millennia of research, the major Soul Master organizations standardized the levels of mental power and their corresponding soul spirit limits around 3,000 years ago.
Spirit Origin Realm: "The beginning of all, a world of renewal." Every human is born at this level—it is the most basic level of mental power. At this stage, one can support yellow-ranked or lower soul spirits.
Spirit Connection Realm: "Heart and mind connect, thoughts reach their destination." At this level, a Soul Master can begin to control their mental power. They can support two yellow soul spirits or one purple soul spirit.
Spirit Sea Realm: "A boundless sea of consciousness." This is the foundation for becoming a true powerhouse. Whether a peak Mecha Master or a peak Soul Master, reaching this level is essential. One can support up to five yellow soul spirits, three purple ones, or one black soul spirit.
Spirit Abyss Realm: "As deep as an abyss, as vast as the heavens and the underworld." This is the pinnacle of mental power, allowing one to fuse with legendary soul spirits. At this level, one can merge with any type of soul spirit, including orange and red spirits (though only one of each). Without these rare spirits, a Soul Master can still fuse with up to five other soul spirits without level restrictions. Normally, this is considered the human limit.
Gu You had already reached this level thanks to his ability to fuse with soul beasts, which dramatically increased his mental power. Additionally, the soul beasts in his mind could grow independently, further enhancing his mental strength over time.
Spirit Domain Realm: "Spirit forms a domain, a world of one's own." At this level, one's soul transforms into its own territory, allowing complete mastery over mental power. A Soul Master can theoretically fuse with any number and any type of soul spirit, with a limit of nine. According to legend, the first Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda—the legendary Ice God Douluo—had reached this realm.
Divine Origin Realm: "Spirit becomes divinity, origin takes form." This is the realm of gods, where mental power transcends mortality. At this level, one can perceive the divine world. Those who reach the Divine Origin Realm are considered half-gods.
For most Soul Masters, only the first four levels mattered. The Spirit Domain and Divine Origin Realms were dreams only a few purely mental-type Soul Masters could pursue.
The Spirit Origin Realm was inherent from birth. Reaching the Spirit Connection Realm (100 mental power points) was relatively easy. However, advancing from Spirit Connection to Spirit Sea Realm (500 points) was a massive hurdle—one that most Soul Masters could never overcome.
Spirit Abyss Realm required 5,000 points of mental power.
Spirit Domain Realm required 20,000 points.
Divine Origin Realm required 50,000 points.
Rumors spoke of an even higher level—the God King Realm—but that was beyond anything they could comprehend.
Among the six students, Gu Yue had the best chance of reaching the Spirit Sea Realm in the future. Only after reaching this level could someone hope to achieve nine soul rings, as long as none of them exceeded the thousand-year level.
Aside from Gu You, whose mental power was a mystery to the others, only Tang Wulin had currently reached the Spirit Connection Realm. The remaining three were still hovering on the threshold, close but not quite there.
However, given their talent, reaching the Spirit Connection Realm was only a matter of time. With enough training resources, they all had the potential to reach the Spirit Sea Realm one day.
(End of Chapter)