Chapter 41: The Seed of Revolution
"What? You want other soul beasts to become wisdom soul rings too? That… doesn't sound realistic at all."
"What's so unrealistic about it?" Xiao Qiang countered calmly. "As long as Brother Tianmeng can study and replicate the production method of a wisdom soul ring, then with the enhancement from top-tier soul rings and twin martial souls, our path to godhood is almost guaranteed. When that time comes, other soul beasts will naturally want to join us."
"But…"
"No buts, Brother Tianmeng. Believe in yourself," Xiao Qiang said sincerely. "You're the only million-year soul beast on this entire continent. You've already created a new system. All you need to do now is refine it—transform it from a unique exception into a viable path for others. I know you can do it."
He wasn't just flattering Tianmeng. Xiao Qiang genuinely believed Tianmeng had the ability to create another soul like Alex. And more importantly, he needed more souls.
A soul system or multiple wisdom soul rings would grant him immense flexibility and deeper strategic capabilities. If he were to face Tang San in the future, he needed a solid enough foundation to ensure he wouldn't be at a disadvantage from the start.
As for Bai Qingshan, the conventional medicinal route wouldn't be enough to elevate him to a Soul Douluo. His innate soul power was at the extremes of dual polarity, and he had consumed far too many low-grade potions during his early years. Even someone like Empress Orange—once crowned Queen of the Sun Moon Empire—had barely reached the level of a seven-ringed Soul Sage with the best elixirs available.
Comparatively, Bai Qingshan's early foundation was far weaker.
While Xiao Qiang could attempt to refine a Qianyuan Creation Pill in the future, he wasn't a skilled alchemist. The pill was still an elixir, and considering Bai Qingshan's body had already been saturated with inferior drugs, piling more medicine on top could lead to unpredictable consequences. The toxic side effects could easily outweigh the benefits.
But things were different with souls and wisdom soul rings.
Even if Bai Qingshan couldn't yet compete with an eight-ringed Soul Douluo, defeating a six-ring Soul Emperor would be entirely possible. If Xiao Qiang successfully developed the soul system, he could give Bai Qingshan a 100,000-year wisdom soul ring when acquiring his sixth ring. That alone could push Bai Qingshan towards becoming a Title Douluo—or even a Super Douluo. It would also give Tianmeng an outlet for his revenge by repurposing 100,000-year soul beasts that couldn't be absorbed by Xiao Qiang alone.
After all, Xiao Qiang was no Huo Yuhao. He couldn't consume dozens, let alone hundreds, of 100,000-year soul beasts himself. The surplus would naturally be shared, and Bai Qingshan was his first and most trustworthy choice.
Besides, Xiao Qiang wasn't worried about Bai Qingshan's compatibility. In Soul Land II, even a level-70 soul master like Xu Sanshi had fused with a 100,000-year soul ring without much issue. In contrast, Tang San nearly died trying to absorb a 2,000-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider as his first ring, despite being the main character.
Even Xiao Xiao from the second generation managed to absorb a 2,000-year-old Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear at her third ring stage, thanks to having two soul bones.
More impressively, Xu Xiaoyan easily fused with soul spirits over 3,000 years old on her third ring without much burden. Dai Yun'er, who didn't seem to possess soul bones, had a fourth ring that was already over 10,000 years old.
These instances proved that soul spirits were far more accommodating than traditional soul rings.
The reasoning made sense. The rings extracted from slain beasts were filled with resentment. The soul beast died, but its lingering soul within the ring desired revenge, seeking to damage the body of the soul master during fusion.
But a soul with consciousness—like a wisdom soul ring—wanted to live. Even if it bore a grudge, its survival was tied to the soul master's wellbeing. It wouldn't recklessly harm its host but would even help them survive the fusion process. As a result, the tolerable limits for soul rings essentially doubled.
In one of the spirit hunts led by Zhang Lexuan in Soul Land II, a Shrek disciple successfully absorbed a 35,000-year soul ring as their sixth ring.
While Bai Qingshan's foundation was clearly inferior compared to Shrek's elite, Xiao Qiang could compensate with five 10,000-year-level soul bones. By equipping Bai Qingshan with all five and ensuring his first torso bone and second soul ring were refined, a 100,000-year sixth soul ring wouldn't be out of reach.
Furthermore, such a ring would refine Bai Qingshan's body, cleansing the lingering toxins from all the previous low-grade potions. This was a well-established mechanic in Soul Land II and hadn't been contradicted in later canon.
Also, every 100,000-year wisdom soul ring came with multiple abilities, not just one. With just a single such ring, Bai Qingshan had a guaranteed path to Soul Douluo—maybe even Title or Super Douluo.
Xiao Qiang's main goal remained: to protect himself and Bai Qingshan.
If this soul system proved effective—especially in letting users absorb higher-level rings earlier—it would give Xiao Qiang an immense reputation and status. With that status, he could begin to influence the trajectory of war.
Previously, without strength or influence, he could only avoid war, knowing he'd be nothing more than cannon fodder.
But if he had status, he could actively work to delay war—at least until he grew powerful enough to end it entirely.
Whether the war was for unification or conquest meant nothing to him. In a feudal empire, there was no such thing as "just war." It was merely greed at the top—rulers craving the title of eternal emperor.
And through manipulation of public opinion, countless farmers' sons would be recruited—paid four silver soul coins a month—to travel thousands of miles and kill other farmers' sons paid the same. Or worse, die at their hands.
In the end, these nameless souls became nothing more than death tolls in dusty history books. Forgotten like the phrase "people ate each other during the great famine."
Lastly, there were soul beasts to consider. Once soul rings were replaced with wisdom soul rings or soul spirits, the demand for hunting soul beasts would naturally decline. With proper regulation, the senseless slaughter of soul beasts could be drastically reduced.
With Xiao Qiang's help, a monitoring system could be slowly developed. They could gradually test the best way to preserve ecological balance while still advancing human cultivation.
Of course, this was a distant concern. Xiao Qiang was human, and in both lives, he'd always been human. He had no romanticized sympathy for soul beasts—especially low-level ones. To him, they were resources, nothing more. His concern was sustainability, not empathy.
After all, no one felt compassion for the meat on their plate every day. If you did, life would be unbearable.
"No, it's impossible!" Tianmeng cried out, shaking in frustration. "Just thinking about it makes my head explode! Creating something like a wisdom soul ring isn't just hard—it's completely beyond me! Even just extracting a soul from a soul beast is impossible for me, let alone all the complicated steps that follow!"
Xiao Qiang fell silent.
"…So it's impossible to extract the soul?" he murmured, trying to think of a method. After a moment, he frowned. "Yeah, I can't even figure out the first step either…"
"Let's not worry about that for now," he sighed, shaking off the frustration. "Brother Tianmeng, for now—let's just focus on making this soul ring explode."
"…Huh?"