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However, the changes didn't stop there.
As his Internal Energy circulated, Shi Quan felt his entire body warm up, a sensation he had never experienced during his previous Cultivation. Wherever the Yin and Yang Internal Energy flowed, his entire body, down to his Bloodline, seemed to be cheering.
"This feeling... is my Martial Spirit resonating?"
Shi Quan suddenly opened his eyes, only then realizing the source of everything.
It was already the middle of the night, and everyone else in the dormitory was already lost in their dreams.
A faint blue light emanated from Shi Quan's hand, and the Blue Silver Grass appeared in his hand, gently swaying.
At first glance, the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand seemed no different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the branches and leaves of Shi Quan's Blue Silver Grass were slightly wider and thicker than normal Blue Silver Grass, and the veins on the blue leaves were not a normal blue, but contained faint black threads deep within.
"The Blue Silver Grass's attributes have changed!"
Shi Quan's eyes widened, his throat felt a bit dry. After carefully observing and sensing it again to confirm, his eyes were filled with deep astonishment.
The attributes of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit had indeed changed, and in two ways.
Life and Devour!
Two conflicting attributes, though not yet obvious, had bizarrely appeared on his Blue Silver Grass.
"It's because of the Internal Energy."
Soon, Shi Quan discovered the source of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit's transformation: it was precisely due to the Yin and Yang Internal Energy within his body.
The Yin and Yang attributes of the Internal Energy seemed capable of stimulating the Martial Spirit's inherent attributes.
Shi Quan wasn't sure if his perception was accurate, as the event happened too suddenly for him to fully react.
If the Yang attribute corresponded to the Blue Silver Grass's Life attribute, then the Yin attribute corresponded to the Blue Silver Grass's Devouring attribute.
Besides the Blue Silver Grass, would his other two Martial Spirits also activate their special attributes like the Blue Silver Grass?
Was the Martial Spirit's change temporary or permanent?
A series of questions surfaced in Shi Quan's mind.
"Calm down!"
Shi Quan took a few deep breaths, controlling his restless emotions.
He couldn't rashly test it in the dormitory, and the same went for the Blue Silver Grass. He could only wait until tomorrow to test it in the academy's back mountain.
"Cultivate first."
Clearing the Miscellaneous from his mind, the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill once again circulated within his body, and that warm feeling swept over him again.
"Such a special feeling."
This feeling was like being immersed in a hot spring, giving a comfortable and relaxed sensation that made Shi Quan completely empty his mind.
An entire night passed.
This night was absolutely the most comfortable night of Cultivation he had ever experienced.
Morning exercises continued as usual. Due to the changes in his Internal Energy, today's martial arts Cultivation was much smoother than in previous days.
After class, Shi Quan didn't even return to the dormitory. He hastily grabbed his books, went to the cafeteria for a quick meal, and then rushed towards the academy's back mountain.
Upon arriving at the back mountain, he looked around to ensure no one was present. Only then did Shi Quan raise his right hand, and blue light condensed into the Blue Silver Grass.
The Blue Silver Grass was still the same as last night, but for some reason, Shi Quan felt that its attributes seemed to have become even more pronounced.
"Go!"
Shi Quan raised his hand and waved, and the Blue Silver Grass in his hand extended with the wind, wrapping halfway around a distant tree before returning to his hand.
"My control has become several times easier," Shi Quan's eyes lit up. He slowly pulled with his right hand, and the Blue Silver Grass quickly straightened. As the force continued to increase, the Blue Silver Grass eventually couldn't bear it and broke.
"Its toughness is stronger than before, and it indeed has a devouring ability, though it's a bit weak." Shi Quan approached the tree trunk and lightly touched the spot where the Blue Silver Grass had bound it. The mark was very faint, almost imperceptible, but at least it proved the existence of the devouring ability.
"Earth."
With a grip of his right hand, the Blue Silver Grass dissipated, and a faint yellow light emerged from Shi Quan's left hand.
As the lump of Earth entered his hand, Shi Quan's first sensation was its weight. Compared to before, the quality of the Earth was noticeably higher, heavy yet somewhat damp and soft.
Unlike the Blue Silver Grass, Shi Quan couldn't sense distinct attributes from the Earth Martial Spirit. He only felt that the Earth Martial Spirit was more substantial than before. He couldn't pinpoint the specific changes, but one thing was certain: the Earth Martial Spirit was also affected by the Internal Energy.
"Spirit!"
With a grip of his left hand, the Earth disappeared from Shi Quan's hand. A faint glow flashed in his eyes, and the Spirit Martial Spirit immediately attached itself to his body.
Ordinary Beast Spirits cannot attach themselves before acquiring a spirit ring, but Shi Quan's Spirit Martial Spirit was very special. Even without a spirit ring, it could attach, and after attachment, it was no different from normal. This was why Shi Quan had casually used Spirit to enter the Spirit Understanding state in front of Shi Jian before.
"This feeling!?"
As soon as Spirit attached, Shi Quan immediately felt the subtle changes in the Spirit Martial Spirit. He raised his hand and stretched it towards the large tree in front of him again. Strangely, Shi Quan's fingers actually passed directly through the tree trunk!
Soul Transformation!
More accurately, it should be Ghost Transformation. If the Yang attribute of the Soul represents the consciousness and thoughts of a living person, then the Yin attribute represents the lingering Martial Spirits and obsessions of a person after death.
Previously, Spirit was purely a mental attribute, but now, the Spirit Martial Spirit had added the eerie charm of a ghost to its mental attribute.
However, the awkward part was that the current Spirit Martial Spirit could only transform a small part of his body into a ghost, roughly the size of half a palm.
But Shi Quan had a hunch that the effect brought by the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill's Internal Energy shouldn't be so simple. His Internal Energy had only just transformed, and he still needed time to uncover its mysteries.
With a thought, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit reappeared in his hand. Looking at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, Shi Quan's lips curved into a faint smile, "The current change in the Blue Silver Grass has actually helped me a great deal."
His Innate spirit power was only Rank One to outsiders, but after drinking the Martial Soul Awakening Liquid, his Innate spirit power directly reached Rank Four. After three months of arduous Cultivation at home, his spirit power Broke through Rank Five. With the Legacy True Scripture, due to the conversion between spirit power and Internal Energy, his strength had increased to Rank Six within just one month.
For a Rank One Innate Spirit Master, his rate of strength improvement was terrifying. A Rank One Innate Spirit Master who could Breakthrough to a Spirit Master within six years was already considered good, but he had already reached Rank Six in just one month since the start of school.
According to his current Cultivation speed, with the help of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill, he was confident he could Breakthrough to Rank Ten within a year.
Rapid strength improvement was naturally good, but how could a Rank One Innate Spirit Scholar explain his spirit power skyrocketing by nine Ranks in just one year to the academy and the Spirit Hall?
Shi Quan was already worried about how to handle this issue, but now the change in his Blue Silver Grass Martial Spirit gave him a reason!
However, he still needed to plan this matter carefully.
Every morning, Shi Quan would routinely go to the training ground to Cultivate Muscle and Marrow Cleansing. After morning classes, he would go to the back mountain to Cultivate his other martial arts until he returned to the dormitory in the evening, where he would Cultivate the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill at night.
Each day's Life was exceptionally fulfilling. Each of the six martial arts was exquisite and unparalleled, and Shi Quan could feel his improvement every day.
As for Xiao Wu, after being well-behaved for over a month, she might have learned a countermeasure from Tang San and once again challenged Shi Quan.
Shi Quan knew Xiao Wu's temperament. If he didn't agree, he feared he wouldn't be able to Cultivate in peace for the next period of time, so he reluctantly accepted.
The battle remained the same. Shi Quan's divine skill had just been perfected, and his use of Nine Shadows Shift was more natural and fluid. Even when Xiao Wu used her Martial Spirit and the Blue Silver Grass for restraint, Xiao Wu couldn't get close to Shi Quan at all.
The battle also ended with Xiao Wu's angry roar of frustration.
Xiao Wu was clearly not one to give up easily. Afterward, she would challenge Shi Quan almost every other month.
Shi Quan also grew tired of it. Later, to prevent Xiao Wu from disturbing his Cultivation, Shi Quan found a relatively easy-to-learn and quick-to-master whip technique in the True Scripture called the Bai Mang Whip Technique. He combined it with the dodging of Nine Shadows Shift.
He extended his Blue Silver Grass into a slender grass whip. While dodging, he also gave Xiao Wu some lessons. Although Shi Quan's Blue Silver Grass had not absorbed a spirit ring, the whip technique followed the principle of "the longer the better." Once the Bai Mang Whip Technique was unleashed, it was unpredictable and strange. While whipping wouldn't cause injury, it inevitably caused some pain.
Xiao Wu, who was already itching to give Shi Quan a good beating, became even angrier and stomped her feet when Shi Quan whipped her with the Bai Mang Whip Technique, making her dislike Shi Quan even more.
The work-study students said that Xiao Wu was rarely seen Cultivating normally, but recently, she had been seen Cultivating seriously quite often. They wondered what had stimulated her.
Upon hearing this, Shi Quan felt a headache. His original intention was to make Xiao Wu stop bothering him, but he didn't expect it to backfire, instead stimulating Xiao Wu to work even harder to improve her strength to teach him a lesson.
Two months passed like this, and Xiao Wu and Tang San's strengths were steadily improving.
In contrast, Shi Quan's spirit power Rank had strangely stagnated. For two months, his Internal Energy had not increased at all, yet Shi Quan showed no panic; instead, he enjoyed it.
Because as he continued to Cultivate, he discovered that his Internal Energy wasn't stopping its growth, but rather, the Internal Energy he had Cultivated over these two months had all gone into nourishing his Martial Spirit.
Shi Quan also gained a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill's power.
His three Martial Spirits, nourished by the Internal Energy, were in a state of Acquired mutation.
The changes brought by the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill's Internal Energy were not temporary but permanent.
Shi Quan originally thought that the Martial Spirit's changes were merely a form of manifestation caused by the Internal Energy, and that as his spirit power Rank became stronger, the Martial Spirit's attribute changes would become more obvious with the infusion of Internal Energy.
But as his Cultivation progressed, he found that this was not the case. The Martial Spirit's changes were not simply a change in manifestation, but a change from the inside out.
Even without using Internal Energy, the summoned Martial Spirit was still in a state of Yin and Yang attribute coexistence.
This was a mutation of the Martial Spirit, and a beneficial one at that. As the Martial Spirit continued to mutate, Shi Quan also surprisingly found that his control over the Martial Spirit became more and more proficient, as if the Martial Spirit was no longer a separate entity, but rather like the Internal Energy within his body, controlling it no longer felt like the previous disconnect.
This series of discoveries also made Shi Quan sigh at the wonder and power of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Divine Skill.
This stagnation of Internal Energy continued for a full six months before his Internal Energy began to recover and increase.
His Martial Spirits had only just completed their initial transformation.
Because he discovered during his Cultivation that although his Internal Energy began to increase, his Martial Spirits were actually still being nourished by his Internal Energy all along. In the future, as his Internal Energy strengthened, the special attributes of his three Martial Spirits would also increase accordingly.
For six months, Shi Quan's spirit power Rank remained at Rank Six, while Xiao Wu and Tang San's spirit power Ranks had already increased to around fourteen or fifteen.
To prevent Xiao Wu from disturbing his Cultivation, Shi Quan's attacks became increasingly heavy. For him to be beaten by Xiao Wu? Impossible, absolutely impossible.
If she sought a beating, Shi Quan was too lazy to hold back. Although there was nearly a ten-Rank difference in spirit power, with the profoundness of the True Scripture's martial arts, this less than ten-Rank gap could be easily bridged. Furthermore, with the continuous flow of the Divine Skill's Internal Energy, he grew stronger with each battle. Even if Xiao Wu's spirit power Rank was higher, she couldn't win against Shi Quan in a war of attrition.
Therefore, in their battles, from beginning to end, Xiao Wu never gained any advantage over Shi Quan.
The books Shi Quan borrowed had already been read within a month of school starting. After returning them, Shi Quan borrowed two more books, and so on. Almost every month, Shi Quan would go to borrow and return books, and each time, the person responsible for his borrowing and returning was Dean Marde.
Additionally, each time he returned books, Marde would briefly test him with a question or two. Through these interactions, he and Dean Marde had quite a bit of communication. In later times, when Shi Quan came to return and borrow books, Dean Marde would prepare two new books for him in advance, which saved Shi Quan a lot of time searching for books.
Nuoding Academy's learning system was based on academic years, with one semester being roughly one year. During this entire process, students were not allowed to go home, but relatives could visit. Li Meili and Shi Jian would visit Shi Quan at the academy approximately every two months. Sometimes, when Shi Jian's business was better, their visits would increase.
Soon, the first academic year was nearing its end.
Shi Quan, who woke up early, uncharacteristically didn't immediately go to the training ground to Cultivate Muscle and Marrow Cleansing. Instead, he started packing.
After the morning classes ended today, it would be vacation, and once class was dismissed, he could just take his things and leave.
Shi Quan didn't have many things to take, not even a change of clothes. He ended up packing a few books, his reading notes, and some other small items. Thinking that the vacation was a full two months, Shi Quan had specifically borrowed two extra books from Dean Marde the last time he returned books.
As the vacation approached, everyone in the class became restless, and most of them had no mind for listening to lectures.
During this academic year at Nuoding Academy, Shi Quan's days were extremely fulfilling, and his gains were naturally immense. Aside from the improvement in his martial arts and Martial Spirits, his Internal Energy had already Broke through Rank Seven, and reaching Rank Eight might only be a matter of a few weeks.
Although the Martial Spirit's mutation had caused his strength to stagnate for six months, Shi Quan was still very satisfied with his current rate of improvement.