'Soul Aid', in strict terms, was exactly what it sounded like. It was using your soul to help.

The more Dyon read, the more excited he became. The only sad part was that this was a nine-part technique, but there were only three here. Still, it was more than enough to have him salivating.

This technique was one of heavy analysis. It essentially burdened the soul by having it analyze all sort of things from pills which fit in line with the theme of this sky castle to techniques!

After finding weaknesses, [Soul Aid] was able to create a shorter path to success. Whether this meant improving the formula the pill was formed from, or improving the technique it analyzed!

Dyon completely ignored this technique's function for pills, but when it came to combat His mind nearly exploded at the possible implications.

According to the note left by the creator, he was tired of those of the soul path being ignored in combat. Although they were valued for their professions, this creator didn't feel that this was enough. In fact, he was correct. Often times, alchemists without backing were bullied into essentially becoming slaves who did nothing but work for the Clans and Sects that took their charge. This was a large part of why Guilds were created in order to protect themselves.

During the first part of his life, the creator labored over trying to find a method to attack with one's soul directly. But in the end, he concluded that it was simply impossible. The mortal soul was too frail. He posited that unless one awoke their nascent soul and transcended, attacking directly with one was simply suicide.

However, he didn't give up. After many more millennia of trials and tribulations, the creator finally refined an entirely new idea. If the soul couldn't be used offensively, why not use it in the role it had always been best at to provide support?

"This technique." Dyon grinned so widely that his lips nearly split apart.

'What is it?' Madeleine asked softly, speaking into Dyon's mind. She had been enjoying laying in Dyon's arms for the past few days. However, she still hadn't recovered much, so she couldn't see properly. That said, even if she could, she wouldn't have been able to keep up with Dyon's reading speed and comprehension.

"It's amazing!" Dyon explained animatedly. "If I use this technique to analyze pills, it's able to lower the requirements for success. Theoretically, it could allow the creation of, say, a comet grade pill, with mere master grade materials. But, this isn't what has me excited. The pills within the [Dao of Array Alchemy] are already the pinnacle of perfection. I believe that this technique only undoes the mistakes made over the years by failed alchemists."

Dyon was correct. One had to remember that Madeleine's blood-related mother was unable to form even a master grade pill by the standards of the [Dao of Array Alchemy] despite being a comet grade alchemist herself. It was clear that the standards of today were too lax.

"What I'm more interested in, and what the creator was also interested in, was using these abilities on martial techniques. What do you think would happen then?" Dyon's eyes shone brightly.

Madeleine's heartbeat slightly quickened. 'The threshold for using otherwise difficult techniques would significantly lower.'

Dyon grinned. "Exactly. Imagine being able to use an attack that your stamina would have normally only support three times, six times. What if it was nine times? Or eighteen times? All because of this technique.

"The stronger your soul, the more so-called 'Lines of Efficiency' you can find. Thus, without even increasing your strength in your energy or body path, you can vastly increase your overall strength by simply relying on your soul!"

Stamina was probably something Dyon was the least worried about. After he awoke from helping Madeleine survive her near death, he found that his inner world had boomed to just under 500 meters. Not only that, but its once harsh conditions had given way to rich, black soil and lush green grass. There were even clear blue skies in the air instead of the bland grey and blackness as well.

Currently, the energy within his meridians was already compressed by almost three times a normal practitioner. This resulted in his energy moving around his body like melted mercury instead of the loose gas most others had.

On top of this nearly three times, his inner world had provided him with an addition five times at a mere ten meters across. But, now, it was five hundred meters across! He had over two hundred times the amount of energy reserves a normal saint had!

Of course, this number would come down when he crossed over into the celestial realm simply because celestial energy was more volatile than saint energy the same was true when comparing enigmatic energy to celestial energy. But, even still, the difference between him and his peers would be like heaven and earth.

So, why was it that Dyon, who should have all the stamina in the world, so excited about a technique that gave him more? It was because that this wasn't just about stamina!

When he saw the words 'Line of Efficiency', he immediately thought of a numerous applications.

What if instead of using it for stamina purposes, he used it for techniques he couldn't use right now? Currently, he was at the 9th will level of his Titan will, so he couldn't use the Second Act of Titan Emperor's Will. But, what if he lowered the requirements for himself?

What if he used this 'Line of Efficiency' to speed up his comprehension of techniques? He was already fast as it is, but he had considerably slowed down as of late. It was difficult, even for him, to reach the One with Self realm of peak common grade techniques. In fact, it would become exponentially more difficult once he started with Earth Grade techniques. But, wouldn't this lower those requirements?

What if he used this technique on weapons instead of pills? Wouldn't he be able to create higher level weapons from weaker materials?

The possibilities were endless!

"Now that I think about it," Dyon mused, "This technique isn't entirely useless to me for pills. If I used it for improving concoction speed instead of improving the pill formula, it could work"

Dyon smiled. He felt that even if this had been the only treasure he received from this, he would have been endlessly satisfied. But, not only had he received this, he had also received the priceless star grade Divine Pulse pills. In addition to all of that, now that he had so many valuable items he could auction off, he didn't need to place the Divine Pulse pills on the line now. It was best if no one ever found out about them.

With that thought, Dyon spent a few weeks to master what amounted to about a third of the technique. He felt that he would soon step into its second of three tiers as well.

'Hopefully I'll find the second and third parts If not, it's not so bad. It still counts as a divine grade technique.'

As expected, it wasn't so easy to lower the requirements of Titan Emperor's Will. He estimated he would have to master the third part to do that. But, with Dyon's speed, he was confident in doing so within half a year, something that would be a pipe dream for anyone else.

Still, at just the peak of the first tier, Dyon was certain of lowering the requirements for any Earth Grade technique by as much as 40%. Even for Heaven Grade techniques, it was about 20%. Knowing this, common grade techniques didn't even need to be spoken of. They were already at 60% or so for peak common grade techniques, even more for lesser grades.

With this, Dyon's speed of reaching the One with Self realm had more than doubled. Plus, his energy consumption in using common grade techniques was almost negligible now.

One a particular day, Dyon's eyes flashed open, a warm soul pressure emitting from him as complex arrays turned within his eyes. He had an odd scholarly air to him that was much different from his usual unrestrained, almost bestial style. But, he was still the same Dyon.

'Small success of the second tier.' Dyon breathed out, picking up the sleeping Madeleine in his arms and finally continuing to the next trial room.