The only thing that somewhat interested Lin Xiao was a method to enhance mental power. By devouring the mental power of others to improve oneself, the stronger the devoured person's mental power, the greater the gains one could obtain.
Unfortunately, in the memories of the Nightmare Douluo, he seemed to only target ordinary people and those with cultivation far inferior to his own, so even though he devoured the mental power of many, he did not gain much improvement. Instead, it made his mental power mottled and impure.
Lin Xiao did not find any exploration of the Nightmare Demon martial soul in the Nightmare Douluo's memories, nor much research related to nightmares, at most some content on how to weave nightmares.
And the most abundant was how to use the fear of others to enhance cultivation.
Even the Spirit Devouring Douluo, who was also an evil soul master, had many studies on curses after breaking through level ninety; no wonder the Nightmare Douluo's cultivation stagnated after breaking through level ninety.
No wonder he was so heartbroken after learning of Lin Xiao's talent. If he truly possessed such an ability, perhaps the only thing he would think about every day would be how to create slaughter.
Lin Xiao sighed lightly and still put away the Nightmare Douluo's soul. It was rare to encounter the soul of a mental attribute titled Douluo, which was much more complete than other remnant souls, and he had already promised the Nightmare Douluo to make good use of his soul.
Sitting on the bed, Lin Xiao's breathing gradually steadied, as soul power flowed within his body, scenes from the battle with the Nightmare Douluo constantly emerging before his eyes.
After consecutive cultivation improvements followed by such a battle, it was a rare experience for Lin Xiao. Control of mental power, consumption of soul power, and coordination between soul skills after cultivation improvement also needed corresponding adjustments.
Whether for soul masters or soul engineers, actual combat was quite important, but even more important were the gains from battle.
It was precisely this habit that allowed Lin Xiao to grow to his current level in the Holy Spirit Church's way of cultivating disciples.
The sea of spirit also gradually calmed down, with only that faint layer of gray mist slightly surging, emanating the purest aura of death...
...
"Teacher."
Several months later, in the soul guidance testing area, Lin Jiayi was watching two disciples sparring on a platform beside the ring when Lin Xiao's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Is the assessment ready?" Lin Jiayi turned his head upon hearing this.
"Mm." Lin Xiao nodded, his gaze sweeping around.
There weren't many students beside the ring, only about a dozen figures, among whom there were quite a few faces Lin Xiao was familiar with. Besides Lin Jiayi, there were two old men, also teachers from the academy.
These should be the participants prepared by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy for the Soul Dueling Competition. What surprised Lin Xiao was seeing Nana's figure here.
But thinking about it, originally, Nana missed the preliminary team selection upon enrollment, but later relied on her strength to qualify for the competition. Now that she had enrolled earlier, it was not unexpected for her to be selected as a preliminary team member.
As for the other students, he was not unfamiliar with them either; having lived in the academy for so long, he had at least crossed paths with them.
"Mm, no need to be nervous." Lin Jiayi nodded, "Entering the Illustrious Virtue Hall now shouldn't be a big problem for you, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall assessment is personally handled by the hall master. You already had the status of an intern student before; today is just roughly going through the process."
"After entering the Illustrious Virtue Hall, the way of learning will also change. Previously, I taught you how to make soul guidance devices, but students who can enter Illustrious Virtue Hall have already found the path they want to take and need to learn the things they're interested in on their own."
"Although the soul guidance devices you research have never appeared before, there are still many commonalities between soul guidance devices. Additionally, if you have the chance to meet ninth-level soul engineers, their guidance might benefit you for life."
"I understand, teacher." Lin Xiao said, glancing at the ring again. On it, Ma Rulong was controlling a soul guidance cannon to bombard the feet of another student, sending him off the ring without causing much harm, clearly extremely skilled in controlling the soul guidance cannon.
"What do you think of this battle?" Lin Jiayi turned his head to look at Lin Xiao, "From a soul master's perspective."
"Mm..." Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment, "It feels like everyone is fighting too politely."
As soon as these words came out, before Lin Jiayi could react, one of the old men nearby had already turned his head to look over, his expression clearly somewhat displeased.
"Sorry, I haven't participated in the Soul Dueling Competition, just saying casually." Lin Xiao glanced over and apologized at light speed, with no intention of entanglement with that old man.
Lin Jiayi, however, turned to stare at that old man for a moment before looking at Lin Xiao, "It's fine, just say whatever."
Lin Xiao looked at Lin Jiayi, pondered for a moment, "Battles are originally about using any means necessary. I've fought many soul masters, and the most difficult to deal with aren't actually soul masters with high cultivation, but opponents with weird methods."
"Sometimes, even if cultivation is inferior, a surprise attack can achieve victory in one strike. In my view, compared to soul masters, soul engineers have one great advantage: it's hard to predict their combat methods."
"Unlike the fixed soul skills of soul masters, soul guidance devices come in all varieties, and soul engineers' methods are much harder for opponents to grasp than soul masters'."
"Hmph." The old man nearby finally couldn't hold back and spoke, "Each soul engineer specializes in different soul guidance devices. Even if the types of soul guidance devices differ, a soul engineer's combat style is fixed."
"As long as they fight a few more matches on the ring, others will still take notice. There's no need to mention these underhanded tricks that can't be brought to the table."
"So I said I haven't participated in the Soul Dueling Competition, just saying casually." Lin Xiao smiled at that old man, with no intention of debating him.
He knew how difficult it was to change a person's mind, and in the eyes of the person opposite, he was just a student, so his words were even less important.
Moreover, Lin Xiao really hadn't participated in any major competitions; what he had experienced was all real combat, and even each time he made a move, he rarely left anyone alive.
Lin Jiayi, however, looked at Lin Xiao thoughtfully, "Alright, it's getting late; you should go to Illustrious Virtue Hall for the assessment first."
"Mm." Lin Xiao had only come to say hello, nod, and was about to leave.
"By the way."
"Is there anything else, teacher?"
"What's the highest level your self-propelled soul guidance cannon can reach?"
Lin Xiao paused for a moment, somewhat understanding what Lin Jiayi wanted to do.
"Teacher, does this kind of soul guidance device comply with the rules of the Soul Dueling Competition?"
Lin Jiayi smiled, "I don't know if it complies, but the rules don't explicitly prohibit it."
"Mm, give me some time; I can probably make a sixth-level self-propelled soul guidance cannon."
"Good, go ahead." The smile on Lin Jiayi's face clearly became even more pronounced.
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