At this moment, Xu Lin continued her lecture.
"By now, you should all understand the cultivation methods for ordinary Beast and Plant Martial Souls during that era."
"The third stage of the Fusion Stream's development was originally intended to address the unique cultivation challenges faced by a specific group of Soul Masters."
"By tailoring the process to their requirements, researchers aimed to bridge the gap in their spiritual progression and power stability. Can anyone guess which category of Martial Soul I'm referring to?"
Ling Xiao rested his chin on his hand, his right index finger slightly curved as he tapped the tabletop. His brows furrowed in concentration.
'Which one could it be? The first two stages of the Fusion Stream were designed to solve the issues of dual-attribute Martial Souls because the pure Extreme Stream couldn't unleash their true power. Besides that, what other category faces major cultivation hurdles?'
Seeing that no one spoke, Xu Lin smiled faintly and provided the answer.
"It was the Tool Martial Soul."
Tool Martial Soul?
Ling Xiao's finger stopped mid-tap.
He was confused.
'Do Tool Martial Souls not suit the Extreme Stream?'
On the podium, Xu Lin elaborated, "To be more precise, it was the 'ordinary' category of Tool Martial Souls. Just like Beast and Plant types, Tool Martial Souls are divided into ordinary objects and those born with unique innate powers."
"We will set aside Support-type Tool Martial Souls for now, as every Support-type discovered thus far possesses its own unique power; none are considered 'ordinary.'"
"Looking strictly from the perspective of Combat Martial Souls, those born with unique power—such as the Clear Sky Hammer or the Seven Kill Sword—are extraordinary from birth."
"Their archetypes are comparable to divine weapons forged by top-tier smiths using precious materials. At their worst, they are still considered High-Level Martial Souls. By following their natural traits and walking the Extreme Stream, their true power can be fully unleashed."
"However, thousands of years ago, people discovered that those with no unique power—Martial Souls modeled after ordinary objects like common knives, spears, or swords—found the results of the Extreme Stream to be highly unsatisfactory."
"Back then, people realized that after these Soul Masters added Soul Rings to their ordinary Tool Martial Souls, the results were consistently disappointing."
"Even if the Soul Ring possessed high quality and characteristics that closely matched the Martial Soul, the resulting strengthening of the source power remained insufficient."
"Consequently, the actual potency of the Soul Skills proved to be underwhelming despite the compatibility of the bond. The effects couldn't even compare to Soul Masters of other categories."
Hearing this, Ling Xiao couldn't help but form a hypothesis. Xu Lin continued: "Those ordinary Tool Soul Masters tried to continue cultivating and absorbing rings from different Soul Beasts to see if the phenomenon would fade, but unfortunately, it was useless. The results were always the same."
"Because this phenomenon was extremely similar to how Mid-to-Low level Plant Martial Souls struggled with animal-type Soul Rings, most people at the time believed it was an issue with the Martial Soul's form itself."
"After all, whether it's an ordinary Beast or Plant Martial Soul, they can choose animal or plant Soul Beasts. Their forms are similar, their essence is identical, and their natural compatibility is high."
"In contrast, there are no 'object-turned-spirit' Soul Beasts for a Tool Martial Soul to absorb. This lack of a corresponding biological counterpart led to the problem."
"Naturally, High-Level and Top-Tier Tool Martial Souls—like their Beast and Plant counterparts—are unaffected by this compatibility issue. The effects they gain from Soul Rings are just as potent as any other type."
Ling Xiao nodded silently; he had just reached the same conclusion.
"This problem troubled the Soul Master world for a long time," Xu Lin said.
"Countless Tool Soul Masters tried to fix it, but for thousands of years, there was no significant improvement. As the Extreme Stream became more refined, the major Soul Master clans grew stronger, but the community of ordinary Tool Soul Masters stagnated."
"While a few Tool Soul clans gained prominence because their inherited weapons were naturally powerful—ranking as High-Level or above—their numbers were far too small to compare with the mainstream Beast Martial Soul lineages."
"Mid-level Tool Martial Souls were virtually non-existent back then. Consequently, during that era, the status of Tool Soul Masters was always inferior to that of Beast Soul Masters."
"That was until one person appeared. Only then did ordinary Tool Martial Souls find the correct path, and thanks to that person, the landscape of the Soul Master world was completely transformed."
As she spoke, Xu Lin's expression turned even more reverent than before, as if this person was her personal idol. The young boys and girls in the classroom pricked up their ears, eager to hear the conclusion.
"That person belonged to the Yun Clan—the lineage of the current Sect Master of the Sword Sect, one of the lower four sects. However, 2,500 years ago, there was no such thing as the Sword Sect."
"Or rather, at that time, there were no 'Sects' on the continent at all. Aside from our Spirit Hall, every power existed in the form of Soul Master Clans. The Yun Clan back then was merely a mid-sized clan; their strongest member was only a Soul Saint."
Wait?
Ling Xiao's eyes sharpened.
He hadn't expected to pick up such a piece of historical lore. 2,500 years ago, there were no sects in Douluo Dalu, only clans?
Then how did sects come to be? As far as he knew, besides the seven great sects, there were currently many other sects—some hidden, some public.
Some major sects had as many members as the top seven, while tiny ones had only a few dozen. He found himself growing very interested in how the current era's structure had formed.
Xu Lin's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"At that time, the Yun Clan's inherited Martial Soul was the Sword. However, it was just a common iron sword, not a Sword Martial Soul born with special power. It was an ordinary Tool Martial Soul."
"That was the era when the Extreme Stream had reached its peak and the Fusion Stream had just recently taken shape."
"Because the Yun Clan's sword only had the single characteristic of 'sharpness' and was an ordinary tool, the newly-emerged Fusion Stream was useless to them. They stuck to the Extreme Stream."
"To strengthen their Martial Soul's source, they pursued the extreme of sharpness. Yet, no matter how they chose powerful attack-type Soul Beasts, the results were poor, just like every other ordinary Tool Soul Master."
"But then, a genius in Martial Soul research was born into the Yun Clan. She was the legitimate daughter of the clan leader—clever, bright, and incredibly beautiful. She was the apple of everyone's eye."
"But when she turned six, her Martial Soul underwent a malignant mutation. It wasn't the family's sword; it was a Rusted Sword. Her Innate Soul Power was only half a rank."
"In an instant, she fell from the beloved daughter of the patriarch to a cultivation trash. You can imagine how devastating that blow was. However, she didn't sink into despair."
"The mockery from her clan and the outside world became her motivation. She realized that for the Yun Clan, it didn't matter how high one's Innate Soul Power was; as long as the problem of poor Soul Ring compatibility wasn't solved."
"Even someone with Innate Full Soul Power couldn't truly make the clan strong. Thus, she decided to dedicate her life to studying Martial Soul theory, vowing to fix her family's defect."
Ling Xiao took a breath, his eyes flickering.
This is quite the inspirational story. I wonder how she actually solved it, he thought curiously.
"That woman of the Yun Clan, despite her poor talent and trash Martial Soul, never gave up on cultivation. She believed that even for a researcher, one cannot abandon the path of the Soul Master."
"One must gain a personal understanding of the Martial Soul through the cultivation of Soul Power and the absorption of Soul Rings. She believed this was vital for theoretical research—much like the top powerhouses, the nine-ring Titled Douluos."
"At that level, even if they don't study theory, they possess a profound innate understanding of the Martial Soul, more than enough to teach disciples. So, from the age of six, she began her journey."
"While other clan members slept during theory classes, she listened intently, frequently debating her thoughts with the instructors and elders."
"Because of her hard work, the people of the Yun Clan gradually stopped looking down on her. However, they still didn't believe she could truly solve the problem that plagued the Yun Clan—no, the problem that plagued the entire Soul Master world of that era."