Crack!
The Spirit Resonance Turtle crushed the head of the large white carp, producing a clear sound of bone breaking.
However, after the carp died, no soul ring appeared. Clearly, it hadn't become a soul beast—just an ordinary white carp. Compared to the one that Zhou Qing and Tang San had eaten earlier, this one was only about twenty centimeters long.
Yet, the Spirit Resonance Turtle itself was over two meters in length!
"I found information on the Spirit Resonance Turtle in a soul beast encyclopedia I had someone buy for me. It's a relatively numerous species among turtle-type soul beasts. The age of a Spirit Resonance Turtle can be determined by the number of ring-like markings on its shell," Zhou Qing explained, pointing at the two dark green lines circling the turtle's back.
"This one has two rings, which means its cultivation is between two hundred and three hundred years, but definitely under three hundred."
"But usually, no one chooses a hundred-year Spirit Resonance Turtle as a soul ring. Even turtle-type martial soul users rarely pick this soul beast."
Tang San asked, puzzled, "Why? Is it because the Spirit Resonance Turtle doesn't provide soul skills to soul masters?"
In this world, most of a soul master's skills come from soul beasts. If a soul ring didn't provide a soul skill, naturally no one would want it.
"What are you thinking? Aside from some extremely unique martial souls or rare soul beasts, nearly all soul rings grant soul skills," Zhou Qing said confidently. "The reason hundred-year Spirit Resonance Turtles are unpopular is because the soul skill they offer is quite… useless. It's called: Sleep."
Sleep?
Tang San was speechless. That could be considered a soul skill? As long as someone isn't an insomniac, anyone can sleep, right?
Zhou Qing continued, "Apparently, the sleep skill lets the soul master instantly fall asleep—but it only works on oneself."
Tang San scratched his head, utterly baffled.
He already knew about the various types of soul masters: Power Attack, Agility Attack, Control, Defense, Healing, Support, and Food-type. After reading the soul master tournament books from Zhou Qing's home, he understood these categories were designed for a competition structure similar to a martial arts tournament.
Technically, the sleep skill could fall under the Support category—but it neither helps teammates fight nor enhances one's combat capabilities. All it does is help the soul master sleep better.
What's the point of that!?
If it could help others sleep, it might be useful—perhaps aiding teammates to rest better before battles. But if it only works on the user?
"But I suspect the skill only works on oneself because it's actually meant to improve spiritual power," Zhou Qing added. "Sleep may seem simple, but it's critical. I've observed the people in the village: those who sleep well are vibrant the next day, those who don't are sluggish."
"I came across the term 'spiritual power' in books related to soul master cultivation. It's said that only Soul Douluo at rank 80 and above can sense spiritual power, and only titled Douluo at rank 90 can begin basic cultivation of it."
"I'm not sure how true that is, but I don't believe only Soul Douluo can possess spiritual power. I think we simply can't sense it when our strength is too low."
At this, Tang San was deeply impressed!
He knew the importance of spiritual power. His Purple Demon Eye was a method of cultivating it, and it worked synergistically with Mysterious Heaven Skill! Even internal strength users at low levels required spiritual power to control the flow of energy within their bodies—it all needed focus and intent.
But he hadn't expected a mere four-year-old like Zhou Qing to deduce the importance of spiritual power from scattered references in books.
From this perspective, the soul skill "Sleep" granted by the hundred-year Spirit Resonance Turtle might indeed subtly enhance spiritual power over time. So why wasn't it a preferred soul beast?
Tang San recalled the materials in Zhou Qing's house and the crude meridian diagram in the Wuhun Hall's Beginner Meditation Technique and came to a realization.
In this world, soul masters generally only start perceiving spiritual power's role in soul power circulation at the Soul Douluo level. The belief that only titled Douluo can train spiritual power was so widespread, it shaped common understanding.
Furthermore, the "Sleep" skill from a hundred-year Spirit Resonance Turtle may not have an obvious or powerful effect. And realistically, who among soul masters would use a sleep skill on themselves every night, consistently, over many years? Without persistent use, any benefit to spiritual power would naturally be negligible.
Tang San recalled a sleep-based method he'd heard of in his past life—Wudang's "Hibernating Dragon Meditation," created by Zhang Sanfeng. That technique purified internal energy and strengthened spiritual force through sleep.
Wasn't the Spirit Resonance Turtle's soul skill doing the same?
But in this world, soul masters focused on combat. Even support abilities had to serve battle directly. They never considered other types of support—like assisting spiritual cultivation.
Still…
What impressed Tang San most wasn't the turtle—it was Zhou Qing. A four-year-old who had already seen through a hidden aspect of this world, even one Tang San himself nearly overlooked.
Truly remarkable.
"When a Spirit Resonance Turtle reaches the thousand-year level, more soul masters start to seek it—not just turtle-type martial soul users. Even some plant-type soul masters use it as their third or fourth soul ring," Zhou Qing continued.
"Is it because the thousand-year version offers a soul skill that clearly enhances spiritual power?" Tang San asked instinctively, but quickly dismissed the idea.
If it did, the belief that only titled Douluo could train spiritual power wouldn't be so prevalent.
"No," Zhou Qing shook his head. He looked toward the Spirit Resonance Turtle that was nibbling delicately on the white carp's flesh, then pointed to the aquatic grass growing on its shell.
"When a Spirit Resonance Turtle reaches the thousand-year level, the process of evolving to ten thousand years is extremely painful."
"At that point, its shell will crack open at the top. The turtle will then seek out a plant seed to embed in the opening, and over the next ten thousand years, it nurtures the plant until it fully integrates with its shell and body."
"In doing so, the ten-thousand-year Spirit Resonance Turtle no longer needs to worry about food. It only needs water and, occasionally, special minerals from the soil. As long as the sun shines, the plant on its back can continuously provide it with energy."
"This is a symbiotic relationship! And that plant growing on its backbover time also transforms into a soul beast, with cultivation synchronized with the turtle's..."