"Teacher, I have a question. You haven't explained why Godwind Academy was only founded by one branch of the Lu Clan?"
"Logically speaking, since the Lu Clan pioneered the true Fusion Stream, shouldn't their strength have increased significantly? Why is the Lu Clan of Godwind Academy considered only a single branch of the original clan?"
As Ling Xiao was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Hu Liena, who was standing beside him, pose this question to Xu Lin. He couldn't help but perk up his ears, curious about the reason.
Looking at the young Hu Liena, Xu Lin replied with a pleasant smile, "Hehe, I forgot to mention that earlier. Actually, this is closely related to the very Fusion Stream the Lu Clan created."
"When the Lu Clan established a true Fusion Stream, their strength indeed should have surged, placing them ahead of most Soul Master clans with dual-attribute Martial Souls."
"Compared to single-attribute clans, their overall strength would typically improve much faster. However, the Lu Clan's Martial Soul had a very unique trait—one that turned the creation of this dual-attribute Fusion Stream into the very root of the clan's division."
"In our Soul Master world, Martial Souls are generally classified by their strength into Low-level, Mid-level, High-level, and Top-tier Martial Souls."
"Low-level Martial Souls have very low intensity and are inconvenient for combat; they serve little purpose and, most importantly, are difficult to cultivate to higher realms."
"Mid-level Martial Souls are different. They possess decent power and great cultivation value. The types of Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent are diverse, but Mid and Low-level souls are the most numerous."
"These are followed by High-level souls, while Top-tier Martial Souls are the rarest. If we say Mid-level souls have respectable power, then High-level Martial Souls can be described as possessing formidable might."
"The powerful Soul Master clans of the world possess Martial Souls that are at least High-level. As for the rarest Top-tier souls, their power is far more tyrannical than High-level ones—"
"The gap between them is even larger than the gap between Mid and High-level souls. Of course, even among Martial Souls of the same tier, there are differences in power. In the Mid and Low levels, the difference isn't huge."
"But within the High and Top-tier categories, the gap between souls of the same rank can be quite significant. But that's a topic for another time; I won't dwell on it now and will explain it to you all later."
"The Wind Fire Phoenix Martial Soul passed down by the Lu Clan is a Top-tier Martial Soul. What makes it special is that the corresponding soul beast, the Wind Fire Phoenix."
"Not only possesses an extremely strong bloodline but also carries the bloodlines of the Azure Luan and the Fire Phoenix, with the Azure Luan bloodline being more dominant."
"Both the Azure Luan and the Fire Phoenix are overlord-level existences among Top-tier soul beasts. By extension, the Azure Luan and Fire Phoenix Martial Souls are both ranked as Top-tier, specifically among the very pinnacle of that category."
"Therefore, there has always been a faction within the Lu Clan that desperately pursued the Extreme Stream. Even if following the Extreme Stream made it difficult to unleash the full potential of the Wind Fire Phoenix."
"They hoped that by doing so, they could strengthen the wind attribute to the absolute limit and completely purge the fire attribute. Their goal was to force the Martial Soul to evolve into a true Azure Luan Martial Soul."
"If they succeeded, the Lu Clan would likely become one of the undisputed peak Soul Master clans on the continent."
At this point, Xu Lin spoke with a hint of helplessness, "Do you all understand now?"
"At that time, most of the Lu Clan realized that following the Extreme Stream to evolve the soul into a Azure Luan was an incredibly difficult task—harder than raising a talented disciple into a Titled Douluo."
"Consequently, most people gave up hope on that path. Yet, a small group remained stubborn. The creation of the dual-attribute Fusion Stream gave the Lu Clan the foundation to fully exert their Martial Soul's power, but it further intensified this ideological divide."
"Ultimately, after the true Fusion Stream was successfully established, the Lu Clan split into two branches due to these conflicting philosophies."
"One branch later founded Godwind Academy, while the other eventually moved to Heaven Dou City to develop, later gradually entering the service of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"No wonder."
"Alright, everyone quiet down. There is still a third stage of the Fusion Stream to discuss."
Xu Lin interrupted the students' chatter, continuing: "As I said at the start, the development of the Fusion Stream is divided into three stages."
"The first stage was the initial founding of the Fusion Stream. The second was its official recognition by the Soul Master world. As for the third stage—it is the further development of the Fusion Stream."
"Moreover, the impact of this third stage was arguably greater than the influence of the first two stages combined."
A look of excitement flashed in Xu Lin's eyes.
"Back then, after the Lu Clan established the dual-attribute Fusion Stream, it indeed allowed all dual-attribute Soul Masters on the continent to follow the path of Fusion. It became a legitimate new school of cultivation."
"However, you must realize that possessors of dual-attribute Martial Souls are as rare as dual-attribute soul beasts."
"So, while it became a new school, the number of people following the Fusion Stream was far less than those following the Extreme Stream—it wasn't even one-tenth. You can imagine its limited influence."
"However, after passing through the third development stage, the Fusion Stream quickly became a cultivation school that could stand on equal footing with the Extreme Stream."
"Of course, it was also from that moment that the rivalry between the Extreme Stream and the Fusion Stream began to take shape. Previously, the two stages I described were formed to solve the cultivation problems of certain Soul Masters and to maximize the true power of their Martial Souls."
"The third stage was no different. I first taught you about the Extreme Stream; it focuses on the absolute development of a Martial Soul's source attribute or characteristics. Let's take Beast Martial Souls as an example."
"Generally, Beast Martial Souls are modeled after soul beasts. By understanding the soul beast, we can easily identify the source attribute of the Martial Soul. Even for soul beast types that don't master elemental powers, they certainly possess specific traits."
"For instance, the Stormwind Demon Wolf is a soul beast that masters the power of the wind attribute. For this Martial Soul to follow the Extreme Stream, one simply needs to strengthen its wind attribute power to the fullest."
"Meanwhile, a soul beast like the Vigorous Vajra Bear does not master elemental power, but its strength and defense are both outstanding; it is a type of soul beast characterized by power and defense."
"For such a Martial Soul, following the Extreme Stream like the Huyan Clan did in their early days is acceptable. Of course, following the dual-path Fusion Stream created by the Huyan Clan is even better."
"But regardless, generally speaking, for Beast Martial Souls modeled after soul beasts, it's easy for us to find the direction for Extreme Stream development. But... if a Beast Martial Soul is not modeled after a known soul beast, how do we determine the direction of the Extreme Stream?"
Xu Lin stepped down from the podium, pacing as she spoke: "Generally, Beast Martial Souls modeled after powerful soul beasts are categorized as High-level, such as the Vigorous Vajra Bear."
"If they are modeled after weaker soul beasts, they are Mid-level, like the Stormwind Demon Wolf. However, among Beast Martial Souls, not all correspond to soul beasts."
"Many are modeled after ordinary animals, such as common rabbits, wolves, or tigers, which generally rank as Mid-to-Low-level Martial Souls."
"In that case, how do you all think these Beast Martial Souls modeled after ordinary animals should follow the Extreme Stream?"