Three days after the joint exam, Wang Linchi was courted by Yan Ming King. The latter didn't mention anything about resources or power but wanted Wang Linchi to join his ranks.
Wang Linchi tactfully declined, claiming he possessed no combat power and wasn't suitable for Yan Ming King's Ming King battle team. This clearly caused some dissatisfaction, but in the end, the other party said nothing and left.
From this, Wang Linchi understood that this attempt had ended up a washout and that this channel was now useless.
He realized that mooching off the protagonist wasn't that easy. He either had to become a lackey or a benefactor figure.
Regardless of the option, neither was a good thing. If he became a lackey, he would just work for the protagonist. He might get a rare piece of advice, but everything else was up to him—the Ming King battle team didn't provide any resources or opportunities for growth. They had resources, but those were for Yan Ming King's female confidantes.
On the other hand, becoming a benefactor figure required selfless dedication, allowing the protagonist to practice bloodsucking. If he were lucky, he might get some help when the protagonist became successful, but if not, he would simply lose relevance and end up as the protagonist's housekeeper.
As for the joint exam, Wang Linchi found it rather amusing.
Initially, everyone was questioning Yan Ming King. Then Quanchang Academy and Fuan Academy steadily defeated Qinghe Academy, with the latter offering no resistance whatsoever. Wang Linchi was rather stunned. They all had equal talent, resources, and education, yet they were still getting thoroughly beaten.
It was like feeding resources to a dog—purely for the sake of creating contrast, a deliberate downplay before the eventual triumphant reveal.
Then the protagonist, Yan Ming King, made his spectacular entrance. He put on a show, stunning everyone. Initially, nobody believed him, but now, everyone was dumbfounded by his ability.
Wang Linchi was puzzled at how these people could change their minds so easily. He figured they would doubt, deny, and suspect it was just luck the next time. At any rate, he was sure he had figured out their pattern.
But speaking of which, why did Yan Ming King try to recruit me?
Could the Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling be of great use to him? That shouldn't be the case, considering its serious side effects.
Logically speaking, Wang Linchi couldn't understand why Yan Ming King would want him.
The Ming King battle team was indeed a significant force, but it relied solely on the Protagonist's Aura to maintain itself. There was virtually no management system in place. The protagonist would simply do something, and his lackeys would over-interpret his actions, which usually ended in unintentional success.
So, it resembled more of a loose gathering than an organization. Of course, this was true for Battle-type Awakeners, not for Wang Linchi.
What did their fighting and killing have to do with him?
So, will they target me?
Possibly!
The moment Wang Linchi framed the hypothesis, he knew—Yan Ming King might not do anything, but his lackeys might.
These lackeys were all talented individuals from influential backgrounds. After being defeated by Yan Ming King's sheer display of power and influenced by his various auras, they had become loyal followers who loved to read too much into things.
Who knows what they might come up with?
Thankfully, I already submitted the second-generation Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling three days ago. The results should be out today.
With this contribution on record, these lackeys should exercise some restraint if they want to deal with me... hopefully.
Wang Linchi didn't regret his actions. If he hadn't traded the first-generation Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling to Yan Ming King, he wouldn't have obtained the Book Mountain and Sea Soul Forging Method and wouldn't have reached 20 points of spiritual power. Consequently, he wouldn't have been able to quickly develop the second-generation Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling and the Soul Seed Evolution Project.
It was like eating steamed buns. When you're full after the fifth one, you can't say eating the previous four was pointless and that you could have just eaten the fifth.
Without the Soul Forging Method, he would essentially be at a standstill.
Whatever, I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it.
Next up are the various competitions. Yan Ming King will likely take his lackeys around to participate in matches to win resources. I pity those lackeys, though.
Such competitions were mostly aimed at obtaining valuable resources. However, there was typically only one of each such resource, so it was obvious who would end up with it. Not only would the lackeys fail to obtain resources, but their cultivation would also be delayed.
Not everyone was like the protagonist, able to grow stronger through battle and achieve breakthroughs on the verge of defeat. They needed to accumulate experience and grow slowly.
Soon, Wang Linchi was engrossed in his studies. He had finished all the books at his home and was currently going through the books of Qinghe Academy.
Dajing's research on Soul Resemblance and Soul Kind seems to have reached its limit, Wang Linchi mused as he put down a book. To him, the content of these books felt entirely repetitive.
It felt like they were repeating the same things over and over again. Some parts were illogical, even arbitrarily quoting completely unrelated literary classics for justification, none of which were of any practical use.
Among all the techniques, only Soul Skills, which could directly enhance combat power, were the most developed. However, they were also the most confidential and monopolized. He couldn't even get his hands on slightly more advanced books; the ones he obtained from the academy only covered the most rudimentary content.
Luckily, the fundamental principles remained the same. The essence of Soul Skills was Mental Interference with Soul Resemblance; Soul Kind wasn't even involved.
It was like martial arts techniques. Their core was energy, such as Inner Strength and True Qi. Without the enhancement of such energy, even the best techniques were just an empty framework.
Perhaps the Court possesses research that I can't access. But if I can't access it, it's of no use to me,
It seems that once I finish the academy books, I'll have to rely on my own research.
Wang Linchi had never considered relying on others. In this environment, where might was valued over knowledge, scholarship meant little if you couldn't fight.
True worth was acknowledged only when one was both learned and powerful.
My recent cultivation progress seems to be slowing down. Am I reaching a bottleneck? Wang Linchi wondered as he assessed his situation.
He suspected that after his spiritual power reached 25 points, his Book Mountain and Sea Soul Forging Method would no longer allow him to advance.
It wasn't because of his aptitude, but rather due to environmental limitations.
In other words, his body couldn't contain more spiritual power.
Battle-type Awakener students could enhance their physical strength through various resources and Soul Skills.
If the human body was a cup and spiritual power was the water inside, the amount of water it could hold depended on the size of the cup.
Others could continuously enlarge their cups, but Wang Linchi couldn't. Therefore, once his cup was full, he naturally couldn't pour any more water in.
I'll have to figure out a way to obtain resources despite this strict monopoly and control. At this moment, Wang Linchi keenly felt the Dajing Dynasty's malice and suppression towards non-combat Awakeners.
The reason behind this was, naturally, to centralize resources.