Snow was really confused. She had discovered that Edward has an incomplete soul, but she was shocked by the nature of his incomplete soul because Edward only had a soul core, and nothing else. A soul has a complex structure. At the center of a soul, lies a deep blue soul core. A soul core is the core of a soul, as it suggests. When a person dies and his soul goes to the cycle of reincarnation, everything changes except the soul core. The soul core remains the same for a person since the very first time his soul comes to existence. The remaining part of the soul changes after every time a person reincarnates. That's why they do not retain any memories of their past lives, nor do they retain the personalities of their past lives.
So, a soul usually consists of many parts. At the center lies the deep blue Soul Core. It has a spherical shape. It is surrounded by the Soul-Spirit, which is also spherical in shape, but lighter blue in color. Surrounding the soul-spirit is the Soul Body, which protects the soul core and soul spirit from harm. the soul body is shapeless, and jelly-like, like cytoplasm in the human cell. Soul Body can be trained, and cultivators can give it any shape to use it as a weapon as well as protect their soul core and soul spirit. Very high levels of cultivation require cultivators to train their Soul Body. The soul body is also blue, but lighter in color compared to the soul core and soul spirit.
Finally, surrounding the soul body is the Soul Force, which is, even more, lighter blue in color. Mid-level and comparatively high-level cultivation requires the ability to use soul force. Soul force is expandable and replenishable. It is the main fuel for the soul body. It can also be directly used for various purposes. The quality and quantity of soul force vary from person to person depending on their bloodline, talent, and cultivation level.
But what shocked Snow was that there was only soul core in Edward's soul, no soul spirit, soul body, or soul force. There have been incomplete souls without soul force, actually, only one in a million people have soul force by birth, and among those who have soul force by birth, one in a billion people have strong enough soul force to directly aid in cultivation. So, it was pretty normal for a mortal like Edward to not have soul force, as it can be cultivated later. But to not even have the Soul Body was nearly impossible. It meant he can never cultivate soul force. This kind of incomplete soul appears in unfortunate people who can never cultivate soul force and as a result, can never reach beyond a certain level of cultivation.
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What was the real problem here was that he didn't have a soul-spirit. How is he even alive? A soul spirit is the base of a person's mind. It's like the brain of the soul body. Without a soul-spirit, a person can not be alive. It is literally impossible.
Wait, no...
It's not impossible. There was one person who was born with only the Soul Core! But he was an exception. Edward can't also be an exception like him, right? If he was, then he was either too lucky or too unlucky.
That person was the First Paragon! The forefather of today's martial arts cultivation! He was an invincible being! He turned his weakness of having born with only the soul core to his strength, as he created his own soul spirit, soul body, and soul force after reaching a very high level of cultivation. He could reach a very high level of cultivation because he was also the forefather of modern-day alchemy. With his alchemy skills and deep understanding of the martial dao, he managed to reach the pinnacle of the cultivation world.
If you compare the soul with a mango, then the soul body would be the fleshy part of that mango, the part people eat. The surrounding bits of the seed would be the soul-spirit, and the seed itself would be the soul core. So, having only the seed means not having the mango to eat at all. But, on the other hand, if one is capable enough, they can sow the seed and nurture it into a mango tree. The First Paragon was capable enough to do that but in the many many years of history of martial cultivation, he was the one and only person to be able to do so. It is likely impossible for someone like Edward to do the same thing.
"Ok, I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know for now about cultivation.", Snow finally made her decision.
Edward became excited after hearing that. He prepared himself mentally, ready to listen, and understand whatever Snow says.
And so, a mere mortal with no specialty or background, with an incomplete soul, took his first step in the world of cultivation.