The so-called "soul techniques" of Sacrum were Visualizations. In Sacrum, the soul was the core of the will. It dictated everything from comprehension strength to will power and disposition. Due to this sort of design, the "soul techniques" of Sacrum took advantage of this, branching out with this core understanding as its core.
In fact, it was precisely because of this that Mental Realm Masters had once been banned by Leonel's Tatsuya Clan. The ability to pressure another with your will and force them to do your bidding was a strength of the Mental Realm Masters and thus a key cog in "soul techniques" for a very long time.
Still, aside from those that used the soul for such nefarious means, the rest of Sacrum's soul techniques relied on Visualization. In the same way, Visualizations could be considered to be projections of the will. These wills took form and provided powerful effects.
Of course, this was the more complex side of Visualizations, a side that went beyond just the comprehension and formation of Fundamental Runes into a novel and new form. However, what was the case 100% of the time was that the soul was a fragile construct that needed to be protected.
No matter what form soul techniques took in Sacrum, they always treated the soul like a fragile porcelain glass. It was only when Ryu formed an Indestructible Soul that he dared to use his soul in a similar way to the methods these techniques described.
Because of his Indestructible Soul, Ryu was able to project his soul out and use it to cast techniques he would usually only be able to rely on his meridians for. Of course, this wasn't solely because of his Indestructible Soul, it was his Indestructible Soul that allowed him to dare to do so, but it was his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline that gave him the method of doing so.
However, these techniques… Not only did they allow someone without a special soul like Ryu's to dare, it also gave them the method to do so!
There were all sorts of such techniques here. The simplest of them were designed to jar the mind for split seconds, forcing an enemy into a state of lull at a critical juncture in battle to gain the upper hand. The most complex of them could even care illusions and force the mind of an enemy into a maze they had to either break or make their way out of.
Of course, these more complex techniques were more involved and as such required more effort on the user. In addition, it wasn't as easy to take advantage of the situation as it was in the former, simpler case due to how much concentration it took. These stronger techniques were thus only used as a final means or while with the support of a group or team.
As for the simpler techniques, if there were offensive versions, there were, of course, defensive versions. Such an attack could be either greatly weakened or stopped entirely depending on the defense that was used and the talent of the soul cultivator.
Between his Perfect Blackbody and <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>, Ryu didn't feel he needed to worry about the defenses of his soul, at least not at this juncture. But its attacks…
Ryu felt that this was the category he should choose from. How could he neglect his powerful soul? Since there were such techniques here, he would definitely have to learn one of them. And, since he was going to learn one of them, he might as well choose the most powerful one he was allowed to trade for.
Unfortunately, Ryu didn't know enough about Soul Techniques to make a decision about which to choose. He could vaguely tell which ones were the most powerful, and he assumed that these were the ones that required what the introductions called "Soul Runes". But he was still in the dark.
Realizing this, he decided that he would go to the library ahead of time and then return to this place after he had gotten his fill.
However, when Ryu went to speak with the elder heading these matters currently, he learned that he would only have one free entry into this place. Even if he had another free technique to pick, he would still have to pay to enter. Although Ryu didn't lack money, he didn't like wasting it like this and he was already beginning to feel a slight pinch.
Still, Ryu decided that it was better to treat his future more seriously as opposed to randomly choosing a technique he believed was powerful. So, he handed the elder the introduction jade for <Refinement Sutra>.
The elder rose an eyebrow when he saw this, giving Ryu another look. He stared for longer than he usually would, probably because he realized that Ryu was blind. But, in the end, he shook his head. If he advised every disciple walking in and out of here, his tongue would have fallen from his mouth long ago. He didn't have the time nor the patience, so he let them all do as they pleased.
Maybe if this elder realized that Ryu's status was a bit special, he would have deemed to say a little more. After all, the fact that Ryu had been allowed in at such an odd time meant that someone very high up had vouched for him. But, this lazy elder couldn't even bother to advise disciples, so how could he bother to remember all their names and faces? To him, Ryu's existence was just as new to him as any one of the other Inner Disciples. He simply didn't care.
At the same time, though, Ryu was glad he didn't need to listen to any nagging. He wouldn't have listened in the first place, so things were easier like this. Even Ailsa found it difficult to change his decisions, much less some elder he had only just met.
Ryu nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the complete jade and walking out.
What he didn't expect was for another entourage of people to be outside waiting for him.