The establishment of the Elemental Nature Transformation Joint Research Group caused a massive sensation in Elemental City, naturally attracting a great deal of skepticism. Especially regarding Yu Chen, a group leader who was merely a Soul King with shallow seniority, the participants sent by the other four academies felt more or less unconvinced.
At the first plenary meeting, a hot-tempered Soul Emperor-level teacher from the Blazing Fire Academy launched a direct challenge: "Group Leader Yu Chen, it is not that we question the decision of the Thunder Academy, but this talk of nature transformation is unheard of. How can you lead such a grand project with only the cultivation level of a Soul King? Are we to be convinced by nothing more than a piece of empty paper?"
The gazes within the conference room instantly focused on Yu Chen, filled with scrutiny, curiosity, and undisguised contempt.
Yu Chen's expression remained calm; he did not grow angry, but slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present as he spoke in a steady voice: "I understand the concerns of my seniors and colleagues. The foundation of nature transformation lies in the control of Soul Power. If one cannot even exercise precise control over their own attribute, how can one speak of transformation?"
He did not release any Soul Power pressure, but simply raised his right hand. At his fingertip, a strand of blue arcs of lightning as thin as a hair quietly emerged. The next moment, under the astonished gaze of everyone, that strand of lightning began to undergo dazzling changes—at times condensing into a round, translucent, and silent thunder bead, hovering at his fingertip like an exquisite piece of art; at other times, it stretched and extended, transforming into a thin, slightly undulating water curtain of lightning that refracted a hazy brilliance; immediately after, the lightning collapsed, actually simulating the heavy and dense texture of rock. Though it was still lightning, it gave off the oppressive feeling of a mountain; finally, the arcs suddenly dispersed, turning into a soft, drifting mist of thunder that flowed slowly through the conference room, carrying no violence, but instead possessing a wind-like agility.
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water. His control over the Thunder Power had already reached a state of subtlety, precisely demonstrating the prototype of the Lightning Attribute simulating the "softness of water," the "heaviness of earth," and the "agility of wind" (though it was merely forcibly shaped through his mastery of the Lightning Attribute, possessing form but lacking the true essence)! Contained within this was a profound understanding of the nature of Soul Power and an incredible level of control!
The conference room fell into a dead silence, where even the drop of a needle could be heard. The teacher from the Blazing Fire Academy who had initiated the challenge opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. His face burned, and he was left with nothing but shock. Others who had originally harbored contempt also put away their dismissive attitudes, their eyes becoming grave and focused.
Yu Chen dissipated the lightning at his fingertip and said indifferently: "A mere trick, I hope you will forgive my clumsiness. The road of research is long, and I will still need your full support."
After this incident, there was no more discord within the research group. Everyone was won over by the unfathomable control of this young group leader and began to cooperate fully with his work.
The tedious and rigorous research work began, lasting for one year.
Step one: Data collection and characteristic analysis.
Yu Chen first requested that the four academies provide detailed information regarding the Soul Power characteristics, basic operational modes, and common manifestations of Soul Skills for their respective attributes (avoiding core secret teachings). He buried himself in the vast archives, relying on his powerful Spiritual Power and comprehension to absorb the essence like a sponge: the agility and speed of wind, the scorching ascendancy of fire, the flexibility and variability of water, and the heavy bearing of earth. He was not trying to learn the cultivation methods of these attributes, but rather to dissect the "inner laws" and "core artistic conception" of their power manifestations.
Step two: Establishing theoretical models and correlations.
After fully understanding the characteristics of each attribute, Yu Chen began to build a theoretical framework. He used the correspondence between the five viscera (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys) and the five elements (fire, wood, earth, metal, and water, with wind replacing metal for the lungs) as an inner guide (this part was not made public), while claiming to the outside world that he was searching for the "mapping laws" between the nature transformations of different attributes. He drew a large number of charts, marking the potential Soul Power circulation routes and methods of guiding spiritual thought for different nature transformations.
Step three: Guided experiments and data recording.
Once the theory was initially established, the most critical experimental phase began. Yu Chen used himself as the first test subject, and under extremely cautious conditions, he began to try to guide his own Lightning Attribute Soul Power to simulate the nature of other attributes.
Simulating the heaviness of earth: He guided his Soul Power to circulate in a slow, solidified manner, using his spiritual thought to visualize mountains and the earth, attempting to imbue the Thunder Power with the characteristics of "bearing" and "stability." He failed repeatedly at first, with his Soul Power becoming stagnant or even causing a backlash, but through his robust physique and precise control, he adjusted time and again, eventually allowing the Lightning Strike Robe on his body to carry a hint of the artistic conception of a boulder's defense.
Simulating the flexibility of water: The circulation of Soul Power required a continuous, smooth, and fluid flow, with his thoughts visualizing flowing water. This was a huge challenge for him, as he was accustomed to the explosive nature of thunder, and it led to chaotic Soul Power many times. After countless micro-adjustments, he could barely make the released lightning possess a hint of "penetration" and "cushioning" effects. Although it was far from the healing and nourishment of a true Water Attribute, it had already taken shape.
Simulating the agility of wind: This had some commonalities with the Dragon Swimming Steps, but focused more on the "lightness" and "speed" of the Soul Power itself. He adjusted the frequency of his Soul Power output, making it more erratic, which enhanced the speed advantage already inherent in the Lightning Attribute and allowed his attacks to carry a hint of "omnipresent" penetration.
Simulating the scorching of fire: Attempting to integrate the artistic conception of "explosion" and "scorching heat" into the lightning was the most dangerous, as a slight carelessness could lead to self-immolation. He was extremely cautious, mainly drawing on the case studies of students with the Lava Thunder Bird in the academy. Eventually, he was able to make his thunderballs carry a continuous burning and scorching effect upon explosion, increasing their power even further.
At the same time, he also guided Soul Masters of other attributes within the group to conduct reverse simulation experiments, such as guiding Fire Attribute Soul Masters to try to simulate the defense of earth, or Water Attribute Soul Masters to try to simulate the penetration of lightning. The process was equally difficult, but there were occasional pleasant surprises, continuously enriching the theoretical database of nature transformation.
Step four: Preliminary application and verification.
One year passed in the blink of an eye, amidst countless failures, adjustments, and further experiments. Under Yu Chen's leadership, the research group achieved major phased results—successfully summarizing and initially realizing the Lightning Attribute simulation of twelve common nature transformations of the four major attributes (wind, fire, water, earth) (as well as simple simulations between some other attributes)! Although these simulated nature transformations were far inferior to the original attributes in terms of purity and effect, their significance was immense, proving the feasibility of "attribute nature transformation"!
Yu Chen compiled some of the relatively mature and safe nature transformation techniques into a manual for the internal reference and study of the Five Elements Academy. For a time, in Elemental City, Soul Masters began to try to imbue their flames with a hint of heaviness, their flowing water with a hint of sharpness, and their wild winds with a hint of scorching heat... Although most were only scratching the surface, it opened a brand new door for the development of Soul Masters!
The top brass of the Five Elements Academy were ecstatic about these results! They knew that once this technology matured, it would become a unique advantage and a golden signboard that distinguished the Five Elements Academy from other Soul Master forces! To commend Yu Chen for his outstanding contributions, the deans of the five academies jointly resolved to confer upon him the lofty title of "Honorary Dean of the Five Elements Academy"! Furthermore, some of the core inheritances mastered by the five academies were also opened to the protagonist.
When Lei Dongtian informed Yu Chen of this honor on behalf of the five academies, he did not decline the offer to access the inheritances. Although most of these core inheritances were of little effect to him, as he already possessed his family's inheritance, he was quite interested in one technique—Ring Fusion. As for the position of Honorary Dean, he only said modestly: "Many thanks to the deans for their kindness; this is the result of the joint efforts of everyone in the research group. It is just that this junior's strength is still shallow and my seniority is insufficient. To suddenly hold such a high position, I fear it would be difficult to convince others and would also attract too much unnecessary attention from the outside, which would be detrimental to our research. It would be better to keep this news hidden for now. When I have made further progress and our research results have advanced, it would be more appropriate to announce it then."
The deans felt that his words made sense. A "Soul King" serving as an Honorary Dean of the five academies was indeed too shocking; a tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind. They agreed to Yu Chen's request and temporarily suppressed the matter, but internally, they all regarded him as an equal core figure.
During the research process, Yu Chen also asked why the Plant Academy, which represented the "wood" attribute, was not ranked among the Elemental City. The answer he received was that the mainstream cultivation for current Plant System Soul Masters was to continuously strengthen their own Martial Soul, and then use the Martial Soul to control external plants or directly use the power of the Martial Soul to fight. It was more of a "life control" or "Martial Soul strengthening" route. They had not delved deeply into the exploration and control of the "growth, nourishment, and dredging" internal nature of the "wood" attribute Soul Power itself, and the Plant Academy had taken this route to the extreme. This was the opposite of the "artistic conception of wood" that Yu Chen wanted to comprehend for the purpose of quenching his liver.
Helpless, Yu Chen had to find another way. He recalled the "Awakening of Insects" solar term from his previous life, where the spring thunder rumbled and all things recovered. Spring thunder is not only thunder, but also contains the "growth" intent of awakening life and stimulating plants! This might be the thunder transformation closest to the "wood" attribute.
Thus, in the spring of the following year, he found a vibrant valley outside Elemental City and sat in meditation to comprehend it. With the rolling spring thunder in his ears and the new green breaking through the soil before his eyes, he tried to restrain the destructive and violent side of his Thunder Power, attempting to capture and amplify that trace of hidden "growth" intent that awakens life.
The process was not smooth. Destruction and creation, while seemingly in opposition, coexisted within the thunder. Trying to separate them and strengthen the latter was far more difficult than simulating other attributes. He could only vaguely grasp a faint sense of "life force," and when he used it to quench his liver, the effect was far less obvious than when the other four attributes were used to simulate their corresponding viscera. It could only be said that it was better than nothing, and the progress of his liver quenching lagged far behind the other four viscera.
"Wood attribute quenching still requires a true opportunity." Yu Chen understood in his heart that this matter could not be rushed.
After a year of dedicated research and cultivation, his Soul Power, driven by his solid foundation and continuous insights, naturally rose to the peak of level sixty-six. Although his level did not increase rapidly, his understanding of Soul Power, his control over thunder, and the clarity of his own path were far beyond what they had been a year ago.
The path of viscera quenching had already taken shape, and the resources of the Five Elements Academy had been initially utilized. It was time to look for a new opportunity for the slow-progressing liver quenching.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan