Chapter 7: Target and Prospect

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

After Wang Che left and the sun set, Xu Haifeng, along with the others, went to take a look at the second, third and fourth floors.

After everyone moved out, Lin Xi and Professor Yan headed to the sixth floor’s board of directors.

“Miss Xi, your classmate was pretty good,” commented the professor.

“What else can he do?” Lin Xi asked.

“Given the current circumstances, the only way is probably to undo the life contract and wait a few years to pick a new soul pet.”

Professor Yan shook his head as he explained. “When the time comes, the initial soul pets that can be chosen won’t look too good either. Young soul pets have yet to develop intelligence, so they can only choose humans as companions by relying on their innate affinity with soul beasts.

“Over the thousands of years of the existence of life contracts, our human genes have evolved. We have a high affinity with soul pets from birth. Therefore, the first soul pet contract won’t fail. However, if we pull out and try a second time, it will be rather troublesome.

“This is unless you sign a soul beast that has already been born with extremely high intelligence. However, that would be a soul pet choosing its human, not the other way round.

“That kind of soul beast would never choose someone who has yet to awaken his martial soul as a Contract Soul Master.

“The difference in strength between the two would be too great. If a soul beast possessed such great intellect, it would surely weigh its pros and cons as well.”

At this point, Professor Yan smiled and added, “Actually, there’s no need to worry about it, Miss Xi. The green caterpillar’s race has low potential and its lifespan is not high, it’s very weak.

“However, if one nurtured it seriously, one’s martial soul can still be awakened. It’s just that the innate soul power will be left in a state much worse.

“Moreover, its species evolves very quickly. After becoming a Green Nether Butterfly, its combat strength will also be upgraded to a certain level, but its future prospect is very limited.

“You must have asked me to come today because of this student, right?”

Professor Yan seemed to have suddenly thought of something and a strange expression overtook his face.

“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve heard of the idea of raising a green caterpillar to a million years of cultivation. It’s really quite something.

“Also, you asked me to allow him to work at the research facility, but I just met him for the first time. It’s too obvious, he probably knows it’s because of you.

“By doing this…”

Professor Yan glanced at Lin Xi in confusion as he trailed off.

Lin Xi noted, “I didn’t do this with any other intentions. He rejected my suggestion and I was a bit disheartened, but no matter what, he’s still the genius of the school. Now that a green caterpillar, out of all species, has hatched from his soul pet egg… I just want to help as a classmate.”

Professor Yan could not help but beam, and he did not voice his thoughts.

Although he did not know what had happened between them, he knew that she had wanted Wang Che to come to her for help…

That was why he blabbered so much to Wang Che today.

If that classmate had left without saying a word, it meant that there was still some possibility of him turning to Miss Xi for help.

However, when that student left, he had thanked them instead.

This made it clear that Wang Che had grasped the truth.

Therefore, it was basically impossible at this point that he’d come back to her for assistance.

——

After Wang Che left the soul pet base, he headed straight home.

This trip had been worth it.

He got to see many soul pets, grasping the tip of the iceberg of this world.

Wang Che’s memories from his first 18 years of life were mostly ordinary.

There was a limit to what a school could teach, after all, let alone a regular high school.

On top of that, his family background wasn’t any special, so the education he had access to was limited.

This was with the fact that Wang Che had been studying hard enough to get to where he was.

Although there was a network in this world, and technology was more advanced, the knowledge he could find on the Internet was just superficial.

For example, what Professor Yan had said about the mutated evolution of the green caterpillar soul pet and the Linguistic Spirit Tree.

The mutation happened in the Clear Capital War Zone, but the reason for it had not been revealed directly.

It was hard to find any information on the Internet about this incident as well.

Professor Yan did not mention this, but Wang Che could guess; the path of mutation had too great of an impact in politics.

Although the Martial Soul Federation was highly unified, the seven war zones each had their own unique characteristics and strengths.

Naturally, there were fights between them, so it was impossible to announce the complete evolution route directly.

The green caterpillar itself was a very weak, young soul pet.

However, being feeble meant that there were many of them roaming around. They could be found everywhere in the wilderness, and were cheap.

If there was really a new evolution path for it, it would change the potential of the species, and become a powerful soul pet.

What were the implications of this?

There was no way the war zones would reveal it so casually.

At most, they would leak some information, but all details would be sealed.

If the Clear Capital War Zone had nurtured a large number of Linguistic Spirit Insect Kings, the situation in the seven war zones would be different.

‘It’s impossible to learn more about this world just through the Internet. Professor Yan does indeed know a lot more.’

After Wang Che returned, he searched up many questions on the Internet.

For example, the method that Lin Xi had mentioned to increase a soul pet’s lifespan.

He could only discover one or two of the ways she had listed. As for the rest, it was unavailable, but the information he found was enough for him to resolve a few of his doubts.

He lay on the bed. The entire house was quiet, and he was alone.

His parents had already left for work and wouldn’t usually return for lunch.

He took the green caterpillar out of his pocket and placed it into the nest beside his bed.

The little thing was still sleeping, and threads flowed out of its mouth like human drool…

Wang Che closed his eyes and felt it carefully.

Within his soul, there was a connection between him and this little fellow.

“Martial souls are the foundation of human cultivation in this world. In other words, if one wished to absorb the soul power between heaven and earth, one must have a martial soul. Otherwise, it will not be taken into human bodies.”

Wang Che carried on, muttering to himself. “Soul beasts are different as they don’t have martial souls, but the soul power between heaven and earth can be directly absorbed into their bodies. However, without the ability of a martial soul, it’s very difficult for soul beasts to actively consume power. They can only passively absorb it at a very slow speed.

“This is unless one’s cultivation reaches a certain level, or it possesses an extremely high level of intelligence, which enables them to find a cultivation method suitable for themselves and absorb the soul power between heaven and earth.”

Humans possessed the potential for martial soul power.

Generally, the process of awakening relied on the external stimulation of soul power.

Most humans in the ancient era awakened early.

However, in the current generation, because soul pets were extremely powerful, awakening a martial soul prematurely was equivalent to attaining potent strength.

To underage children, their understanding of the world wasn’t enough for them to grasp the power of martial souls and soul pets.

Hence, the Federation stipulated that it would happen at the age of 18.

At the same time, the delayed awakening could also allow one to raise their innate aptitude through life contracts and soul pets first.

This way, at a certain point, he would not even need the stimulation of soul power from the outside world. The cultivation speed would be faster if he could awaken on his own.

With sufficient preparation, he would reap greater future achievements.

‘Martial soul…’

Wang Che closed his eyes, deep in thought.

Right now, he had no cultivation, no divine sense, and could not directly look into himself.

Wang Che could not sense any hidden power at all.

“The life contract is a kind of rule…” Wang Che mumbled. “It was created by the ancestors to change the laws of this world. This kind of power has already been recognized by the world’s consciousness and the Heavenly Dao… The ones who created this life contract must be a peerless powerhouse who has surpassed this world.”

Retracting his thoughts, Wang Che looked at the green caterpillar that was still spitting silk and slumbering.

“For now, I should try my best to nurture this little guy, deepen the soul contract, and awaken my martial soul,” he whispered.

The life force of a soul beast could not directly affect the innate aptitude of a human.

He could only increase it through the soul contract conversion.

Without a soul pet to sign the life contract, its life force would be useless to him.

Therefore, by deepening the soul contract between the two, the use of the life force given by the caterpillar could be maximized, and his natural aptitude would surge even more, especially if this was done before his martial soul awakened!

The best way of enhancing the soul contract was to raise the soul pet’s cultivation.

Other than that, interacting with it would also influence the depth of the contract, such as playing, feeding, fighting, and so on.

After the Contract Soul Master awakened his martial soul, with the increase in the soul pet’s cultivation and soul rings, the enhancement of a Contract Soul Master would be more comprehensive.

“If I can awaken my martial soul, I can absorb the soul power between heaven and earth. Even if my martial soul is lousy, I will be able to do so just by having one. Then, I can figure out some soul power cultivation techniques.”

Understanding the rules, comprehending the essence, and deducing cultivation techniques.

To the ordinary people of the world, that was naturally a fantasy, but to Wang Che, it was a piece of cake.

“With the soul power in my body and cultivation methods, I can change the creation of spells, martial and movement techniques, divine arts, pill and weapon refinement, array formations, talismans, and much more.”

After affirming his goal, Wang Che glanced at the sleeping green caterpillar.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the little fellow shrunk back and opened its eyes groggily…