While Teacher Wu was taking a shower, Mu Ji Wu quietly explored the soul power inside his body, recalling every meridian the soul power had flowed through during the technique.
This was his first real contact with something like this.
Even during his month-long journey, when he activated his body with soul power or used his first soul ring technique, he only felt soul power spreading through his body without any direction.
It just came out and scattered.
He never thought about a way to recover soul power after it ran low, except time and breathing.
The reason?
Ignorance and lack of knowledge.
But now, after Wu Zhangkong circulated his soul power through his body, with each circulation Mu Ji Wu felt his body “breathing” and absorbing soul power.
Every limb the cycle passed through would gather enough soul power, then it was collected through his blood and soul meridians from limb to limb until it returned to the soul power center, where it merged and slowly accumulated.
After these five hours, Wu Zhangkong had completed nearly ten cycles before his body reached its limit.
A person cannot train without limits.
The body has a daily absorption cap, and the soul power center needs time to consolidate that soul power and fuse it with his own to make it truly his.
Now, even if he performed another cycle, it would only regulate his breathing, restore stamina, and heal his body.
That was exactly what he needed after all this time.
Mu Ji Wu began using the soul power in his spiritual sea, recalling the meridians the power had started from, and slowly followed them again.
Suddenly, his face flushed slightly as he stopped.
He had entered a small meridian the wrong way due to weak control over his soul power, causing an internal reaction from the rest of the meridians.
After the soul power retreated a little, he continued slowly, stopping every now and then because of a mistake, or reviewing the path to identify the correct veins to pass through.
The pain of a minor injury after failure?
What was that?
It couldn’t compare to when he used to slam his head against the cave rocks and smash his fist against stone until the bones of his wrist protruded from the flesh because of madness and loneliness.
Did it compare to the pain when he realized he would remain in a cave for 100 years?
True, pain can never be gotten used to, because it’s still pain.
But his current tolerance made it so he wouldn’t even flinch if his hand was suddenly cut off.
So, while monitoring his body, he kept practicing and slowly training his control over soul power.
Meanwhile, Wu Zhangkong came out of the bathroom.
Steam rose from him as he dried his body with his soul power.
The sight of Mu Ji Wu, still in the same position, fell into his view, and his appreciation for this potential disciple increased, especially after sensing his talent.
Mu Ji Wu hadn’t told him, but Wu Zhangkong felt it while circulating soul power in his body: the meridians were solid, strong, wide, and tough, able to withstand heavy training.
All of this showed that he had awakened at a full innate level—Rank 10 from the start—which made Wu Zhangkong realize his hidden talent.
Suddenly he noticed Mu Ji Wu’s face flushing red.
It shocked him and he almost stepped forward to support him, but he saw the child was still in the same position.
The soul power flow around him calmed down a little before returning to normal after his flushed face settled.
‘What unwavering will and endurance,’ Wu Zhangkong thought to himself.
The pain of deviation while circulating soul power was like a whole needle stabbing through the body—shocking, sudden, and painful, especially if the needle was inside the body.
If a Soul Master moved from the shock and didn’t calm the disturbance at the earliest chance, the pain would only multiply.
Yet a nine-year-old child in front of him didn’t care and stopped immediately as if nothing had happened?
Amazing!
At first, when Wu Zhangkong told Mu Ji Wu not to move, he only meant for him to memorize the meridians and observe the changes in his soul power at the soul power center, nothing more—not to try it himself, at least not without supervision.
Yet he found him doing it and already making progress!
Wu Zhangkong sat on a nearby chair, his naturally cold temperament calming him, and continued watching.
Even after another hour, Mu Ji Wu stopped and opened his eyes, letting out a long breath.
‘One full cycle completed,’ he thought to himself.
During the past hour and a quarter filled with pain, he had finally completed one cycle.
This made his respect for Wu Zhangkong grow, especially as he remembered that crystalline, solid, shining soul power.
His current power was barely a transparent gas and had only condensed a little after eleven cycles.
But Wu Zhangkong’s power was crystalline, solid, pure, and shining!
He didn’t even know when his own power would become liquid, let alone crystalline solid, which made him admire Wu Zhangkong and his strength.
“You’ve finally woken up,” Wu Zhangkong said beside him.
Before Mu Ji Wu could say anything, he added, “Go take a shower, then wash your clothes before putting them on again.
After that, let’s go get a meal.
You must be exhausted.” Then he closed his eyes and took a meditative posture on the chair, beginning to meditate and rest his body.
This made Mu Ji Wu feel warmth in his dead heart, and even the way he looked at Wu Zhangkong changed slightly.
The man had waited patiently for him to circulate his soul power and heal his fatigue, waiting until he woke up safely.
Behind that cold, hard face was truly a warm heart.
‘What a good child.
He has the heart of a true teacher.
It’s good that I met him.’ Leaving him undisturbed, Mu Ji Wu entered the bathroom, stripped off all his clothes, threw them into an electric washing machine, and turned it on after studying and reading the instructions.
As he showered, he felt his body more relaxed, warmth spreading through it as cold water fell on him and washed away all the sweat and fatigue he was carrying.
He smiled happily, his eyes drifting a little as he sank into his memories, as if he were somewhere else and not under the shower.
His body moved on its own—or rather, part of his consciousness remained—as he took the shampoo and washed his slightly long hair, then washed the rest of his body with a shower towel before finally finishing.
At the same time, his stomach gave him a gentle kick, expressing protest because he still hadn’t had lunch.
He took his clothes (the leathers) out of the washing machine, already dry, and put them back on—all while still wearing the same happy smile.
Only when he was about to leave did his eyes return to their dead state as his consciousness came back.
As soon as he came out, Wu Zhangkong opened his eyes.
When he saw that Mu Ji Wu was ready, he stood up too.
It seemed the time was enough for him to recover from his fatigue thanks to his deep level of cultivation.
The two left without any short exchanges, just like their personalities, before arriving at the cafeteria.
Since lunch time had already ended a long while ago—about seven hours had passed since breakfast—the little food that remained had been collected or frozen, and nothing was left on the tables.
“Sit down first,” Wu Zhangkong said, then walked toward the kitchen area and went inside.
Mu Ji Wu didn’t know what happened, but after a short while Wu Zhangkong came out, sat down, and didn’t say a word.
Mu Ji Wu didn’t ask either.
After a little while, a chef brought a hearty meal for both of them, full of meat and nutritious food.
While eating, Mu Ji Wu felt the meat spread warmth from his stomach to his entire body as his calm soul power moved.
A few small halos of soul power entered his soul power center, so he knew the food was not ordinary at all.
When he raised his gaze toward Wu Zhangkong, the man said nothing and just continued his meal.
So Mu Ji Wu didn’t ask and quickly finished his meal.
The nourishment spread through his body and every part of it, especially after his fatigue from the soul power cycles and especially the last one that had damaged some of his thin internal meridians.
But now everything was healed with just one meal.
One more thing—the meal was delicious, extremely delicious, more delicious than anything he had eaten before, except for his wife’s food.
That was first in his heart, even though he had forgotten the taste long ago…
Thinking of her slowly, a faint melancholic aura spread from him as he ate with his head lowered.
His tablemate noticed this but didn’t disturb him.
In emotional moments, everyone just needs silence.
After a while, Mu Ji Wu broke free from his usual gloom and finished his meal quickly and cleanly.
The same went for Wu Zhangkong, whose body was a little drained and especially his mind from the intense concentration required.
His soul power was very strong and pure, capable of tearing Mu Ji Wu’s body like paper, especially internally if he lost control a little.
So you can imagine the focus and control needed to circulate it through the veins and arteries—thin and large in specific formations.
After the nutritious meal, the two returned to the house again.
After sitting down, both closed their eyes in sync to rest their minds and let their bodies absorb the nutritious food.
After fifteen minutes, Wu Zhangkong asked, “How do you feel after this meditation?” “Great.
My whole body is clear.
Soul power circulates faster.
Using a soul ring is faster too.
One wisp of gaseous soul power appeared, its color deeper than completely transparent to slightly transparent, like looking at smoke wisps in the air, but it has already condensed.
The quantity increased a little too.
I can feel a certain limit, which, according to your earlier explanation, is the sign of a level being full, after which you break through,” Mu Ji Wu analyzed his body and condition before answering.
“Very good.
That shows your talent.
Yes, the limit means you break through after it’s full.
Breaking through has nothing to do with the soul power condensation you mentioned.
Condensation comes with the breakthrough, but it doesn’t mean you break through directly and quickly.
What’s important is to balance between condensation and raising your rank.
That helps build a solid foundation.
For example, a person at Rank 20 might naturally reach 1.9 in power, but if you condense it more and stronger, maybe you reach 2 or even 2.1.
That small difference makes a difference when breaking through the bottleneck between rings and increases your strength in the future, making it possible to fight above your level and making you unbeatable at the same level,” Wu Zhangkong entered teacher mode, explaining the details and important points about cultivation.
Mu Ji Wu changed his sitting posture to listen attentively to these valuable lessons for someone ignorant about Soul Masters like him.
And so Wu Zhangkong began teaching Mu Ji Wu some basics of the world and background about the city, the academy, and the classes there.
At the same time, he passed on what beginning Soul Masters like him needed to learn and focus on—what Mu Ji Wu would have learned if he’d been in the basic course, but he had been in a cave.
When evening came, Wu Zhangkong finally stopped talking.
Because of the hearty, nutritious meal, they didn’t feel hungry and didn’t go for dinner this time.
When Wu Zhangkong saw that Mu Ji Wu had taken out his pipe, he thought for a moment and said, “Here’s a training that will help you.
Channel soul power into your pipe.
While smoking, if your control deviates, the airflow will be disrupted and the tobacco might be sprayed into the air.” Wu Zhangkong had noticed these days how much Mu Ji Wu loved smoking and cherished the pipe, so he created this training for him to help him control his soul power until he mastered meditation quickly and had fewer internal deviations.
After hearing this, the child quietly observed his pipe and didn’t fill it with tobacco immediately.
Instead, he channeled his soul power into it before putting it to his mouth without filling it.
He tried inhaling, and indeed, because of his control, the out-of-control soul power came out like an air wave blowing from his mouth and exited the other side.
If he had filled the pipe, the precious tobacco would have been wasted and he would have been very sad.
Luckily, he didn’t.
Watching this, Wu Zhangkong left him to train and entered his room, sitting in a meditative posture.
Years had passed since he replaced sleep with meditation, which was what most Soul Masters did.
Meditation puts the body into a state of stillness and no-thought, like sleep.
With soul power circulating in it, it cancels any discomfort caused by the body’s posture.
If there was anything, it was patience—sitting like this all night is a little boring and takes getting used to.
On the other hand, Mu Ji Wu was slowly studying controlling his soul power in the pipe.
Sometimes he increased the amount, sometimes decreased it, sometimes circulated it from one place and sometimes another.
Even after half an hour, his soul power ran out, because after all he was only Rank 11.
After he also sat in a meditative posture, he found it easier this time and avoided far more deviations than the first time, though he still made them in some cycles, like when moving from one end to the opposite end, where the internal meridian positions and veins reversed, making him unaware for a second—but that second made all the difference.
This time he completed a full cycle in one hour, fully restored his soul power, and started studying the pipe and fusing his soul power into it again.
After his soul power ran out again, he decided to sleep and let energy recovery take its course this time.