Death… And Me

Chapter 572 - Soul Power

Roan then looked at Frandin before asking.

ʼIs there a way to measure oneʼs Soul Power?ʼ

Frandin immediately nodded as he replied.

ʼOf course! Do you remember those Celestial Lands Iʼve talked about? One of the entrance tests there is the measurement of Soul Power according to oneʼs age.ʼ

Roan narrowed his eyes.

ʼAge? Not cultivation?ʼ

Frandin nodded.

ʼExactly. Truth be told, cultivation level has no influence on our Zasfin Raceʼs Soul Power whatsoever. Thatʼs why oneʼs talent in Soul Power is based on how strong it is at a certain age.ʼ

Roan didnʼt expect that.

ʼIn that case, how do you train your Soul Power? You canʼt be telling me that oneʼs Soul Power is decided by birth with no chance of ever-increasing it, right?ʼ

Frandin nodded as he answered.

ʼIndeed. It is possible to improve oneʼs Soul Power. In fact, I did train my soul power several times during our travels, didnʼt I?ʼ

ʼYou did?ʼ

Roan pondered for a bit and finally understood.

ʼOh, I see. You are talking about the times when you used your Soul Power during battle.ʼ

Frandin confirmed.

ʼCorrect. The more you use your Soul Power, the stronger it gets. Of course, it isnʼt so simple as basically discharging your Soul Power. You need the right conditions for that. For example, those battles you had me go through, where I almost died several times, were perfect triggers to increase my Soul Power. My Soul Power had never improved so much before.ʼ

Of course, Frandin would prefer to not have to go through those experiences again. After all, what if he died? His Soul Power would be useless in that case. Still, something told him that Roan wonʼt let him off the hook any time soon.

ʼI understand. Itʼs pretty much like cultivation. We use battles to help stabilize the energy in our foundation after a breakthrough and keep the foundation sturdy during cultivation. The harder the conditions during fights, the bigger the extracted potential of each individual. Soul Power is very similar in this aspect.ʼ

Frandin agreed with Roan.

ʼThatʼs basically it. Thatʼs why oneʼs Soul Power is measured by how strong it is at a certain age. It shows how much effort each Zasfin has put into training before trying to join a Celestial Land.ʼ

Roan then asked something else.

ʼThe way you are saying it, it seems like even someone without background and an ordinary bloodline purity can make his or her way through.ʼ

Frandin nodded once more.

ʼThatʼs true. However, I wonʼt lie to you here. The purer your bloodline is, the more potential you can extract from those attempts to increase your Soul Power. In the end, talent is a big deal in our world. Thatʼs why you rarely ever see ordinary Zasfins becoming anything in their lives. Thatʼs because they have to put twice the effort to get half the result. Donʼt underestimate the bloodlinesʼ powers.ʼ

Roan didnʼt mind that.

ʼThe world has never been fair, and it wouldnʼt start now. First of all, fairness is something that intelligent lifeforms like us invented. Such a word doesnʼt exist in nature.ʼ

Frandin couldnʼt agree more with Roanʼs words.

ʼIndeed.ʼ

Roan then asked something else.

ʼNow then. Is it possible to measure Soul Power in this city, or is it only possible in the Celestial Lands?ʼ

Frandin shook his head.

ʼDonʼt worry. It can be measured almost anywhere. Only very small cities might not have a Soul Measurement Crystal. Itʼs something that you can buy at any Treasures Hall. Perhaps only small settlements like tribes wouldnʼt have those for sale. However, itʼs probably quite expensive, costing around 100 Rank Two Spirit Stones.ʼ

Roanʼs interest was piqued.

ʼSoul Measurement Crystal? Is it similar to the Cultivation and Elemental Affinity Orbs?ʼ

Frandin looked back at Roan, puzzled.

ʼDo you call them Orbs? Well, we call them Crystals. Oh, well. It doesnʼt matter. The Crystals used to measure onesʼ Talent and Elemental Affinity are very similar. Itʼs just that it will calculate your Soul Power in numbers instead of colors.ʼ

Roan was quite satisfied by that. He definitely preferred to have some numbers to work with instead of colors.

ʼAre all Zasfins born with the same Soul Power?ʼ

ʼNo. This is another point where bloodline purity talks. Someone born within an Imperial Family would have a Soul Power several times stronger than a commoner. The commoner would need to train like thereʼs no tomorrow just to catch up to the Soul Power of newborn Imperial Babies. Itʼs not weird to find a fully grown adult Zasfin with a weaker Soul Power than them.ʼ

Roan nodded.

ʼFrom what youʼre telling me, it seems like other than battling, oneʼs Soul Power also increases as they age.ʼ

Frandin confirmed.

ʼCorrect. Even if a Zasfin never goes to battle, his or her Soul Power will still increase as time passes. Of course, it will never compare to someone who trained their Soul Power.ʼ

Roan had to admit that it made sense. Soul Power was the same as normal body growth for the Zasfins. Oneʼs body got stronger as one grows, then so would Soul Power. When a person exercises, they would get a stronger body. The same logic applied for Soul Power.

ʼAlright. In that case, what would be considered the average bloodline power between ordinary Zasfins?ʼ

Frandin pondered for a bit before answering.

ʼIʼm not entirely sure since Iʼve never cared about it too much. However, my father once told me that my Soul Power was seven times stronger than an ordinary Zasfin baby when I was born. He told me that my total number was 73, so I guess an ordinary Zasfinʼs Soul Power is measured around 10 or so points.ʼ

ʼThatʼs good enough to work with. Now, you said you have a Rank Two Bloodline Mark, right? How much does it increase your Soul Power?ʼ

Frandin immediately replied.

ʼIt increases my Soul Power by 20%. Donʼt look down on this number, though. 20% makes a huge difference the higher your Soul Power becomes.ʼ

Of course, Roan agreed with Frandin. It was the same as their Spiritual Energy Absorption Upgrade. It only increases 5% at each level. However, it made a massive difference the longer time passed.

ʼAlright. I already memorized the contents of the alchemy books. Letʼs go out and buy a Soul Measurement Crystal.ʼ

Frandin couldnʼt help but ask.

ʼWhy do you want it? Could it be you want to know how much Iʼve improved since we started to travel?ʼ

Roan glanced at Frandin and remembered something.

ʼNow that you said that, Iʼm quite curious. How much Soul Power did you have before Rean captured you?ʼ

Frandin then showed a prideful expression before saying.

ʼHehehe! Lo and behold, I had a total of 236 points!ʼ

Roan narrowed his eyes.

ʼIs it a lot?ʼ

Frandinʼs mouth twitched when he heard that question.

ʼOh, right! You donʼt know the standards of Soul Power in our world. Iʼm only 23 years old and already have 236. Thatʼs a lot for someone of my age. For example, I was in 8th place back in Danve City between those at the age of 23. With my Bloodline Mark, I can even reach 283!ʼ

Roan nodded, not looking surprised at all.

ʼSo be it. Letʼs go out and find that Crystal.ʼ

Frandin couldnʼt help but ask.

ʼYou still didnʼt tell me what you want to do with the Soul Measurement Crystal.ʼ

ʼIsnʼt that obvious? I want to measure my own Soul Power.ʼ

Frandin was taken aback.

ʼYour Soul Power? But humans donʼt have Soul Power.ʼ

Roan glanced at him before asking.

ʼHave you ever seen a human testing their Soul Power?ʼ

ʼThis...ʼ

Frandin had to admit that he had never seen that before.

ʼEven if you have Soul Power, it will be useless if you canʼt use it, no?ʼ

Roan nodded.

ʼI know. However, I do have a theory as to why humans canʼt use Soul Power. First, letʼs see if humans have any Soul Power whatsoever, then I can continue from there.ʼ

Roan was obviously very interested in Soul Power. After all, it could literally increase everyoneʼs combat abilities. He already checked Frandinʼs power during their travel. Frandin was in the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. His cultivation technique paled in comparison to Calina, Malaka, Qia, or Agisʼ techniques. Last but not least, his own combat ability and techniques are terrible.

Usually, Frandin definitely shouldnʼt be able to fight anyone with higher cultivation. However, with his Soul Power alone, he could fight a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator and at least stay alive against an Initial Stage Three Demon Beast. Thatʼs how much Soul Power had helped him.

Frandin shrugged his shoulders and thought it to be a meaningless effort. Still, that was not his problem, so he simply followed Roan.

On their way out, Safran called Frandin, asking if he could meet Frandinʼs master. Obviously, Frandin had to refuse the idea, much to Safranʼs disappointment. Safran then had someone following Frandin and Roan to see if he could find something. However, if this kind of thing didnʼt work with Rean, then let alone Roan. In just a few minutes, Roan and Frandin disappeared without a trace.

Roanʼs Spiritual Energy bending skill might not be as perfect as Reanʼs. Still, he can totally make up for it with his own experience.

Around an hour later, Frandin and Roan returned to the workshop where Rean was working. However, they didnʼt enter the forgery. Instead, they took another free room to not bother Reanʼs training.

Frandin then took out the Soul Measurement Crystal that Roan had him buy.

”Well, then. Tell me how to test my Soul Power.”