Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
******
Xiao Zhan was an expert at the Spirit Saint level.
A Spirit Master's strength would undergo a qualitative change at several stages. The Spirit Elder stage was one; it was a major bottleneck, and also the node for the first thousand-year spirit ring.
Next was the Spirit King stage, which was the node for the first ten-thousand-year spirit ring. At the same time, because of the 'soul shock' from the ten-thousand-year ring, a Spirit King's spiritual will, after absorbing it, would far surpass that of a Spirit Ancestor.
Further on, in what could be called a true qualitative transformation, was the Spirit Saint stage. No matter what spirit beast the seventh spirit ring came from, the Spirit Master would gain the ability, Spirit Avatar.
The final stage, the last in a Spirit Master's cultivation, was Titled Douluo. Every single rank of a Titled Douluo held an enormous gap in power, especially after level ninety-five.
"For Spirit Masters with different spirits, the manifestation of Spirit Avatar is also different. A Beast Spirit Master who uses their Spirit Avatar will undergo a 'Beast Soul Transformation,' as if truly transforming into their spirit. Their physical strength and all other aspects will take a qualitative leap. At the same time, the power of their spirit skills will increase, and the consumption will decrease."
Although Su Wen had not reached this level, Xiao Zhan still explained these things to him. In his view, Su Wen was a researcher of theory, so there was no problem with him knowing this information in advance.
"As for Tool Spirit Masters, for the most part, it's as if their body and their tool spirit fuse into one. The spirit itself is massively enhanced. The amplification of their spirit skills is even stronger than a Beast Spirit's Spirit Avatar, and the spirit power consumption is also lower."
Su Wen nodded.
He actually knew all of this, but he still listened carefully to Xiao Zhan's explanation.
Different people had different insights. This was especially true for Xiao Zhan, who was a Spirit Saint himself and had direct experience, so his description was even more detailed.
"This technique that Old Bai and I developed is, in fact, based on these different manifestations of Spirit Avatar.
A Beast Spirit Master can undergo a 'Beast Soul Transformation' when using their Spirit Avatar, so why can't a Tool Spirit Master undergo a 'Tool Soul Transformation'? Even if they can't transform into the appearance of their spirit, what if the spirit fuses into their body?
This is especially true for a Spirit Master like me, who doesn't use their tool spirit as an actual weapon. Letting my spirit fuse into my body makes it much more convenient to use skills and fight."
Su Wen had a sudden realization. He now understood the origin of Xiao Zhan's technique that allowed him to use spirit skills without formally releasing his spirit.
"Of course, this was just the source of inspiration for the technique. To truly develop it, we had to rely on another theory. After all, for a Spirit Saint, Spirit Avatar is a trump card. Its consumption is enormous, so it cannot be used as a conventional combat method."
Xiao Zhan hadn't even continued his explanation, but Su Wen had already come to an understanding.
"Uncle Zhan, your technique relies on the 'degree of fusion' between the spirit and the Spirit Master, doesn't it?"
"Oh?" Xiao Zhan was stunned, not expecting Su Wen to 'snatch the answer' like that.
He immediately revealed an expression of admiration and said, "That's right. It seems your research into spirit cultivation is truly profound."
Xiao Zhan had only heard from Bai Yuan that Su Wen had some unique insights, but he hadn't expected that just by stating the source of his inspiration and demonstrating the effect, Su Wen would be able to guess its theoretical basis.
"A Spirit Master's cultivation, in the final analysis, is a process of the spirit and the Spirit Master continuously fusing. The Spirit Saint stage is the first major point of transformation. Because of Spirit Avatar, the degree of fusion between the spirit and the Spirit Master is massively increased. Even without using Spirit Avatar, this fusion is enough to grant a qualitative boost to the Spirit Master's strength. This just shows how important the fusion degree is. According to Spirit Hall's data, in the later stages of a Titled Douluo's cultivation, spirit power accumulation is no longer the main barrier; the advancement of one's spirit power level actually depends on this degree of fusion."
(The original novel did have this setting, it just seems like it was forgotten as the story went on.)
"In other words, Uncle Zhan, you relied on a high degree of fusion between yourself and your spirit to achieve this technique?"
Xiao Zhan nodded. "Correct. I named it the 'Spirit Fusion Method'."
It was easy to see that he was very proud of it.
"Actually, many Spirit Masters have attempted this. After all, Spirit Hall has no shortage of theorists. But they were never able to develop the Spirit Fusion Method." Xiao Zhan shook his head. "It was only by a stroke of luck, combined with the Book Spirit's special all-encompassing nature, that I was able to successfully grasp it."
"The Book Spirit's 'all-encompassing nature'?" Su Wen murmured, pondering the meaning of what Xiao Zhan called 'all-encompassing'.
"That's right." Xiao Zhan smiled, seeing Su Wen's confused expression.
It seems there are still things you don't understand, kid. Your research into spirit cultivation is deep, but your understanding of your own spirit seems to be a bit lacking.
"A book is a carrier of knowledge. It is capable of recording all things."
"Recording?" Su Wen vaguely understood what Xiao Zhan meant by "all-encompassing nature."
The so-called "all-encompassing" nature was the "recording" characteristic of a book.
A book can record.
"When a spirit and a Spirit Master fuse, it's not just a superficial fusion, but a complete and total one. The spirit's characteristics will also gradually merge into the Spirit Master."
Su Wen nodded. Hearing this, he now had a rough understanding of the Spirit Fusion Method's principle.
Xiao Zhan was still explaining: "The Spirit Fusion Method is the stimulation of this characteristic, allowing you to 'encompass' your spirit and spirit rings—that is, to 'record' them."
"In truth, to put it plainly, it still requires one to completely master their spirit skills. Then, one uses the Book Spirit's 'recording' characteristic to 'record' the skill, thereby gaining an almost instinctive level of control over it," Su Wen thought to himself.
If it works for spirit skills, then what about self-created spirit skills?
Su Wen's train of thought quickly began to diverge.
Xiao Zhan saw Su Wen thinking and asked him what he was pondering. Upon learning his question, he smiled.
"As long as it can be 'encompassed,' then it is possible."
"So, the Book Spirit actually has this many benefits..." Su Wen lamented.
A book was truly extraordinary.
A book is the carrier of knowledge; how could it possibly be ordinary?
"It's just that I haven't been able to fully utilize the book's characteristics before now."
Su Wen's spirit had gained the 'Clarity' characteristic after absorbing the first spirit ring. Looking at it now, that was just one of a book's many characteristics.
"'Recording' is also a vital ability of a book. In my future spirit development, I must also excavate this characteristic."
Su Wen felt that 'recording' was much closer to the true essence of a book.
"Alright, if nothing unexpected happens, it's impossible to successfully cultivate the Spirit Fusion Method before you reach the Spirit Saint stage. You don't need to delve too deeply into it for now," Xiao Zhan said. "Of course, you can start preparing now. If you want to 'record' a spirit skill, you must first possess a much deeper level of mastery over that skill."
Returning to the immediate cultivation plan, what Su Wen needed to do now was to train his understanding of his own spirit skills.
Su Wen, however, did not directly give up on the Spirit Fusion Method just because of what Xiao Zhan said.
If nothing unexpected happens?
But in this world, the 'unexpected' can be found around every corner...
"I possess 'extraordinary perception,' and I've even developed that perception to the point where I can deeply sense my own spirit space. Perhaps... this is the process of fusing with my spirit?"
If that was the case, then without a doubt, Su Wen's degree of fusion with his spirit was already considerably high.
"In that case, it's not entirely impossible for me to cultivate the Spirit Fusion Method."
(End of this chapter)