After receiving Tang San's promise, Wang Sheng devoted nearly all his time to cultivating his soul power.No matter how tedious meditation was, he persisted.
Unlike the lofty, floating-in-the-air kind of cultivation often described in the novels Tang San had read in his past life, the reality of meditation cultivation was profoundly boring.
To put it simply, meditation meant closing one's eyes and focusing on the martial soul within. It was essentially a form of self-hypnosis, a way to concentrate all attention inward, allowing the martial soul to operate and absorb the energy of heaven and earth.
In the world of soul masters, the greater the innate soul power, the better one's cultivation talent.But based on his own observations and practice, Tang San realized something deeper:
Innate soul power wasn't just raw energy—it reflected how efficiently one's martial soul responded to their spiritual power.
From level one to level ten, the higher the innate soul power, the faster the martial soul would respond to one's intent.Take the act of releasing and retracting a martial soul: for those without innate soul power, it was sluggish and clunky. But for those who had it, even if only a little, the martial soul would respond almost naturally.
While a skilled soul master could eventually release and retract their martial soul instantly, at the moment of awakening, there was still a significant gap between soul masters with and without innate soul power.
In other words, innate soul power wasn't just a number—it represented the affinity between soul and martial soul.
Just like villagers hoping their children would awaken powerful martial souls—they always wished for something grand, not hoes, pots, or pans.But the more obsessed they were with unrealistic fantasies, the weaker their connection to ordinary martial souls became.
This idea also applied to the top-tier martial souls.
After all, the Clear Sky Hammer, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon were some of the most powerful known.Yet even among clans with the same martial soul, awakened under similar conditions, the innate soul power still varied greatly.
Was it just a matter of "martial soul quality"? Clearly not.
When bloodline, environment, and even daily cultivation were nearly identical, the only explanation was this:
There existed a kind of fit—a resonance between a person's martial soul and their personality… perhaps even their soul.
Tang San didn't come to this conclusion lightly. After all, the entire soul master system on the Douluo Continent resembled a massive online game.In the God Realm, candidates were tested for "affinity" with divine thrones. If it reached 100%, they could inherit a god's position.
Wasn't the martial soul, for someone like Tang San—who had read Douluo Dalu in his past life—almost like a small-scale version of that divine affinity?
Of course, this was just a personal theory. He couldn't publish it.
If he dared to write the word affinity, Bibi Dong herself might send someone to investigate—maybe even come in person.To see whether he had inherited some divine legacy… or uncovered a forbidden truth.
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed, and Tang San completed his first major soul master research paper. Its central focus was on the idea of positional awareness for soul masters:
As we all know, soul masters are categorized into seven types based on the traits of their martial souls:
Power Attack
Agility Attack
Control
Defense
Healing
Auxiliary
*Food
However, this classification is overly simplistic.
For instance, take the Power Attack system.
Some of them had long-range energy-based skills, capable of area attacks or focused ranged strikes. Others had no ranged skills at all, relying solely on brute force through fists and weapons.
Therefore, even the Power Attack system should be subdivided into:
Close-range attackers
Mid-range attackers
Long-range attackers
Each serves a different purpose in combat.With more precise classifications, teams could build smarter formations and deploy martial souls more effectively.
The Agility Attack system, too, had two distinct types:
Those with attack capabilities tied to their martial soul.
Those with no direct offensive skills, focusing entirely on speed.
Especially the second type—although often looked down upon in standard dueling rules—they had devastating potential.
Speed is power.If one moves fast enough that enemies can't see or react, then even a small poisoned dagger could become lethal. These soul masters were natural-born assassins—ideal for solo combat.
However, Tang San cautioned:
If such a soul master belongs to a clan with many members, they should avoid assassinations. It risks retaliation and potentially the destruction of their entire family.
But such soul masters also had value in reconnaissance.If their speed rendered them invisible to enemies, they'd be perfect for information gathering. Sadly, no one seemed to have realized this potential yet.
As for the Control system, Tang San divided it into types as well:
Physical control
Energy-based control
Attribute-based control
Each method had its own conditions, scope, and ideal targets.
He also proposed a controversial idea:The Healing and Food systems should be absorbed into the Auxiliary category.
Why distinguish between them? If their primary function was support, wasn't that what "auxiliary" meant?
A food-type soul master could make meals that restored injuries. Were they food or healing?If healing martial souls could manipulate the body—accelerating wound recovery—then could they not also manipulate cellular activity to accelerate aging?
In that case, would they be control-type, or even attack-type soul masters?
Tang San reflected on his own Blue Silver Grass. While it offered healing, it also injected vitality drawn from nature. That wasn't something ordinary healing-type martial souls could do.
Most consumed their own soul power. He borrowed from the world.
By the end, he had written nearly 200,000 words—a whole book.He incorporated extensive case studies from past soul master tournaments, citing which round, which match, and the tactical impact of soul master positioning.
He also pulled examples from autobiographies collected by the Spirit Hall, cross-referencing how soul master self-perception affected team synergy.
Finally, he bound the dozens of handwritten pages into a thick, organized volume and handed it to Master Ma Xiunuo.
Ma Xiunuo's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Little Tang… isn't this a bit much?"
He flipped through the first few pages, stunned."When the old master published his 'Ten Theories on Martial Soul Cultivation,' it was barely a thousand words. You wrote… a book."
Tang San smiled."I'm not the 'master.' I don't make baseless claims. I just presented my point of view and added corroborating evidence—all from books you can find in the Spirit Hall archives or public libraries. I've marked every source. People can check them."
Ma Xiunuo looked puzzled."Isn't this… a little too thorough?"
Tang San shook his head."This is the bare minimum level of respect we owe the researchers who came before us."
"I want to be recognized, yes—but not by erasing their work. The data they gathered deserves to be known. I didn't create this knowledge—I merely analyzed, categorized, and explained it in a way that helps soul masters better understand their role."
Ma Xiunuo was moved.In that moment, he felt that his judgment had been correct all along. Tang San… was worth a hundred—no, a thousand times more than Yu Xiaogang.
That so-called master had taken common knowledge and packaged it into "ten theories," adding a few vague, unproven claims and passing it off as innovation.
But Tang San?
Even though he humbly claimed to be just a summarizer, just one glance at the first page told Ma Xiunuo that this work had real value.
A more detailed breakdown of soul master categories—backed by actual matches and real-world data.
It was useful, verifiable, and immediately applicable.
The concept of martial soul affinity was only a theory now…But for Tang San, it was a seed planted—a foreshadowing of what was to come.