Chapter 5: Spirits and Innate Soul Power, Declining a Spirit Bone
"Good, I also want to see my little brother sooner."
After absorbing the spirit ring, Su Yuntao's height shot up by a large margin; if it weren't for the lingering childishness on his face, one might have mistaken him for a grown man.
The leather armor he wore gave him a heroic air, which, combined with his fairly handsome face, held a decent amount of attraction for girls.
As he walked briskly to keep up with Su Haichao, who had already started heading back, he spoke incessantly about the gains from his Breakthrough... fine beads of sweat popped out on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and splashing onto the ground.
Tang Shan shuttled through the streets and alleys of Nuoding City alone at a pace somewhere between a jog and a brisk walk.
After all, he currently had the body of a three-year-old child; other exercises were unsuitable to avoid affecting his development. However, activities like brisk walking or jogging were harmless. Since other children engaged in such activities normally, he was merely increasing the volume of exercise to make his body healthier.
Tang Shan did not know what factors determined the amount of Innate Soul Power, but he was certain that with poor physical fitness and malnutrition, Innate Soul Power would definitely not be high.
However, this did not mean that good physical fitness would guaranteed Innate Soul Power.
Tang Shan's hypothesis stemmed from that "Grandmaster" who originated from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. As the young clan leader, he surely never lacked nutritional medicinal herbs growing up, yet he only awakened a meager rank one Innate Soul Power. The reason for such low awakened soul power was worth deep consideration.
Combining this with the Spirit Fusion Ability of the other two, as well as the situation of a certain Limit Douluo from the douluo two era and the Sea God Pavilion Master's great-great-grandson, Beibei, Tang Shan had a vague suspicion.
Beibei's situation in the douluo two era was somewhat similar to Yu Xiaogang's, except one awakened toward the Radiant Holy Dragon while the other awakened toward the Golden Holy Dragon.
Whether it was a personal issue or a matter of luck, Yu Xiaogang's Spirit tried to awaken directly into a Golden Holy Dragon, but clearly his physical foundation at the time could not support a one-step Awakening. Consequently, his Innate Soul Power might have been entirely consumed to awaken the Golden Holy Dragon Spirit. The result was naturally unfavorable; even though the Spirit awakened, it was equivalent to a failed Awakening, resulting in only half a rank of Innate Soul Power.
Beibei from the douluo two era was different; he didn't rush to awaken the Radiant Holy Dragon for quick success, but kept that potential stored within his body, only fully Awakening it later when he encountered a perfectly compatible spirit soul.
Synthesizing the above information, Tang Shan made the following judgments regarding Spirit Awakening and Innate Soul Power:
First: The strength of a Spirit is to some extent related to the nutrients stored within the human body. The amount of Innate Soul Power is related to the strength of the Spirit itself. If the Spirit is normally powerful and the body is well-nourished, the Innate Soul Power will be correspondingly good. If the Spirit is excessively powerful, even with ample nutrition, it might conversely drain Innate Soul Power to maintain its own Awakening.
Second: Soul power is ultimately a form of energy; it cannot be born out of thin air and must involve a conversion process. Before a Spirit awakens, it cannot absorb energy from the World, so this converted Innate Soul Power can only originate from the human body itself. If nutrition cannot keep up, no matter how powerful the Spirit is, it simply cannot convert enough Innate Soul Power. One can refer to Tang San for this.
The original work describes him only feeling a Bottleneck after practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill for a significant amount of time, which is when he reached Innate Full spirit power. From this, it is evident that he did not originally have Innate Full spirit power.
Even though he sensed through his physical performance that his Spirit would certainly not be weak, Tang Shan still decided to push himself to the absolute limit of his capabilities.
Step by step he marched on, feeling the fatigue radiating from his limbs and bones, yet Tang Shan's expression remained unchanged.
In his view, anyone from a scientific World arriving in a World containing transcendent powers and the potential for eternal life would certainly be unable to suppress their desire for such power in the short term. At the same time, their will during that period would be incredibly firm. Tang Shan was no exception.
Although he didn't know if his future self would become slack over time, he was certain that his current level of determination was likely at its peak across two lifetimes.
Physical fatigue was nothing; the desire for the transcendent and the eternal was enough to suppress any bodily discomfort.
When the sun was high in the sky, Tang Shan stopped his workout. By then, his clothes were almost entirely soaked with sweat. Returning home, he turned on the cold water to wash up.
Creak!
Tang Shan's ears twitched while rinsing. Before he could even doubt if he had misheard, Su Yuntao's shout reached his ears.
"Little brother, we're back!"
After a quick rinse, he changed his clothes and walked out to see a young man nearly 1.8 meters tall running toward him excitedly, who then proceeded to lift him into the air.
"Big brother, put me down quickly."
Being tossed and caught like a child while having the mind of an adult made Tang Shan feel extremely awkward. He tried to struggle in Su Yuntao's grip, but unfortunately, his arms and legs were too short for his resistance to have any effect.
After another bout of chaotic play, Tang Shan finally landed safely on the ground.
Only then did he have time to notice the changes in Su Yuntao.
His height had increased a lot, making him look not much different from a sturdy eighteen-year-old lad. Furthermore, seeing the faint muscles on his arms and stomach, it seemed the boost from the spirit ring was much greater than he had imagined.
"Yuntao, Shan Zi, come to my room for a moment."
Su Haichao's words, having appeared nearby at some point, interrupted Tang Shan's thoughts. He signaled for the two to follow and led the way toward the second floor.
Tang Shan threw a questioning look at his elder brother, asking what was up with their father. Su Yuntao's response was simple: innocent eyes and a shrug, indicating he wasn't very sure either.
After an exchange of looks, the two followed obediently, beginning to recall if they had done anything out of line recently. Their father's expression just now made it feel like this wasn't going to be a simple matter.
They arrived at Su Haichao's room, which wasn't particularly luxurious. Aside from a bed and a desk, there was a row of bookshelves packed to the brim. Tang Shan had browsed these books before; most of them recorded the trivial matters of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall. There were hardly any books involving Cultivation, theory, or Spirits. Tang Shan had lost interest after a brief browse.
The curtains in the room were already drawn. Su Haichao channeled his spirit power to activate a Spirit lamp, and a dim yellow light emanated from the spirit tool.
The room, which had been dark due to the closed curtains, brightened up a bit.
"Father, why are you so serious?"
Feeling the somewhat oppressive atmosphere, Su Yuntao was the first to speak.
"Little brother is still young after all. Making a few mistakes is perfectly normal; there's no need to be so stern, right?"
After reflecting, he confirmed he hadn't done anything out of line recently, so his father's seriousness was very likely because his little brother had made a mistake. It made sense; he was just a three-year-old child, and no matter how precocious, making mistakes was normal.
Hearing this, Tang Shan was also stunned. 'Me, making a mistake? No way, I'm not a real kid.'
As he thought about it, Tang Shan suddenly felt a bit guilty. He remembered that a few days ago, hadn't he been trying to set up his big brother with a girlfriend? It couldn't be that this matter had come to light, could it? But even so, there was no need to be this serious; he was doing it for his brother's own good.
Su Haichao finally reacted, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he looked at his two anxious sons.
"What are you two thinking? My seriousness is for another reason."
As he spoke, he sat cross-legged on the floor and signaled for the two of them to sit as well.
At this, Tang Shan and Su Yuntao breathed a complete sigh of relief and hurriedly sat down.
"Father, what is it that makes you so solemn?"
Since it wasn't a personal problem, Tang Shan was no longer flustered and simply asked directly.
Su Haichao didn't speak, but instead took out a bloody front leg from his storage bracelet.
Su Yuntao was the first to react. "Isn't this the front leg of the Gray Wolf I killed? Father, why did you bring it back?"
A flash of inspiration struck his mind, and Tang Shan cleanly spat out two words: "Spirit Bone."
"Correct." Su Haichao nodded. While looking at his younger son with praise, he slapped his hand down onto Su Yuntao's shoulder, suppressing the exclamation that was about to burst from the latter's mouth.
"Spi..."
After a good while, once Su Yuntao had calmed down, Su Haichao took out a dagger from his spirit tool and began cutting from the incision site.
Soon, a palm-sized bone resembling a human right arm appeared in his hand.
Looking at the bone emitting a gentle luster, the eyes of Su Yuntao and Su Haichao were filled with fanaticism, and Tang Shan was also somewhat amazed.
What amazed him wasn't the Spirit Bone itself, but the fact that a Spirit Bone could be obtained from a hundred-year Spirit Beast.
According to a certain San's Late Stage settings, so-called Spirit Bones are actually transformed from a Spirit Beast's spirit core or an embryonic spirit core. Since 100,000-year Spirit Beasts must have a spirit core, their drop rate for Spirit Bones is naturally 100%. As for the claim that torturing a Spirit Beast can increase the drop rate, Tang Shan seriously suspected that it was simply torturing them into a burst of power, forcing them to condense an embryonic spirit core.
It could be said that any Spirit Beast under 100,000 years capable of producing a Spirit Bone was a Genius among Spirit Beasts. If they could grow up smoothly, perhaps not to 100,000 years, they would have no problem becoming 10,000-year Spirit Beasts.
To condense an embryonic spirit core, the soul power in the body must reach a certain level, which leads to the general rule that the higher the age of the Spirit Beast, the higher the Spirit Bone drop rate.
Yet the Spirit Bone Su Haichao and the others obtained actually came from a Gray Wolf—a Spirit Beast with neither age nor powerful Bloodline. Tang Shan could only say it was truly rare, perhaps even one of a kind.
"Yuntao, this is the Spirit Bone obtained from that Gray Wolf you killed. Absorbing the spirit ring and Spirit Bone of the same Spirit Beast yields the best enhancement effect. Absorb it quickly now; I will protect you."
"Father, how about we save it for little brother? I have already absorbed a spirit ring that exceeds the normal limit, and the boost I've gained is enough. Little brother's future is still uncertain; let's leave it for him."
Although there was desire in Su Yuntao's eyes, he still voiced his thoughts without hesitation.
Hearing this, a warm current flowed through Tang Shan's heart. This was a Spirit Bone. Even if it seemed trivial to him because his perspective had been raised extremely high while reading Douluo, to Su Yuntao, who was just an ordinary Spirit Master, let alone a Spirit Bone, a spirit ring exceeding the normal limit was something he'd never seen before. Now, with the most suitable Spirit Bone right in front of him, he could actually resist the urge to absorb it and choose to leave it for his kin. As for saying the boost was enough—in cultivation, there is no such thing as 'enough'; it was merely an excuse to decline.
This sentiment moved Tang Shan and also made him reach a certain resolution.
Move aside, Grandmaster; I am the real Grandmaster!