The royal academy student that Damian had fought was a great fighter and very talented in the use of the fire element, as most would struggle to be able to fight in both close combat and ranged combat, especially as an Internal Cultivator.
Soul Spirits had faster activation times, were more natural to use and could evolve to a point that elemental affinity users couldn't reach, but elemental affinity users were less restricted and more adaptable, depending on their perceptivity, intelligence and control.
While Soul Spirits also do have a dormant spirit within it, which means that there is a possibility of awakening the spirit and boosting one's power or knowledge, but most of the time, that doesn't occur.
Both had disadvantages and advantages, but Damian himself had access to all elemental affinities as well as all Soul Spirits and wasn't held back or restricted in any way when it came to wielding energy.
The only thing that was stopping Damian from reaching his full potential was his mental capability, his control, his perceptivity and his body, which were all already great and were always improving through training and battles.
Elemental affinities are also graded in the same way as Soul Spirits and apart from the Body Augementaion Soul Spirits and the Soul Spirits that were linked to beasts.
The Body Augmentation Soul Spirit wasn't linked to an elemental affinity and was merely an Innate Ability that allows a cultivator to surpass their physical limits for a short while and could only be used by External Cultivators.
Most that had Body Augmentation Soul Spirits, although could dominate cultivators at lower levels, once they reach a certain level, their progress is usually capped and they struggle to keep up with and face those with elemental affinities or Soul Spirits that use them.
That wasn't to say that it was impossible for one to overcome all odds as that was the point of cultivation, to surpass one's limits and continue improving as a whole.
While Soul Spirits that were linked to beasts, such as Ivan's, Damian's Class Representative, were also an exception as they are not linked to elemental affinities, but have the abilities of some sort of beast race.
Most Beast Soul Spirits merely allow one to display a small increase in power and maybe gain some beast-like features, but after seeing what Milo and Ivan were capable of, Damian didn't underestimate Beast Soul Spirits and was interested in them.
Milo's ability wasn't a Soul Spirit and had a lot of mystery behind it, since his energy resonated with that of Damian's despite being different, but Beast Soul Spirits as a whole were very interesting.
It was still unknown exactly how humans and beasts formed that link and how Beast Soul Spirits came to be, but some could grant the user great power and Damian was interested in facing more powerful opponents that use them and also obtaining some of them.
His Changeable Energy along with the Copy Book were merely the start of his journey as a cultivator and Damian could feel that, while Utsusu had also hinted at that being the case.
All he knew was that he had incredible potential and that his energy, body and Soul Spirit seemed to be able to consume, control and wield all types of energy, abilities and everything else.
In the state he was about to enter just as he was about to be hit by the spike, Damian felt like his body and soul was calling out to him to consume everything around him and felt as though everything in the area was bending to his will and submitting to him.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even draw out a tiny amount of that power that seemed to be sealed within him and only able to be unsealed when he was about to die, or when Utsusu unsealed it.
Despite that, once he was capable enough, Damian was sure he would be able to unleash its power.
If his body could handle such power and he could control it, he would be invincible.
Element energies clash and it was almost impossible to harmonise them, which was why it was almost impossible for one person to have two elemental affinities or two Soul Spirits that used different elemental affinities, but Damian with his changeable energy could do so.
He was also thinking about whether it would be possible to use different types of energy on different parts of his body, such as Shadow Energy in his legs to increase his speed, Fire Energy in his arms to increase his striking power and Earth Energy around his chest and abdomen to increase his durability.
Utsusu's one simple question had sent Damian's mind racing and Utsusu, watching Damian's chain of thought and all the ideas that he had come up with, was massively impressed and couldn't help but feel proud of Damian.
After giving his answer to Utsusu, the spirit confirmed that what he had observed and come up with was all correct and praised Damian for his sharp mind.
{I am impressed and I can see that you are eager to start putting everything you have learnt from yesterday's experiences to use, but before then, I have one last piece of advice. I know I have already told you a lot today, but this is important}
{You are a great fighter and your desire to fight and win is always impressive, but you still need to be more careful. Now that you are outside the academy, the risk of dying is real and if the Monkey Beast wasn't there to protect you, you would have died twice. Don't rely on unknown factors and always be prepared for the worst, as although you can be intelligent and calculative at times, you can also be very reckless}
Damian agreed with everything Utsusu was telling him and he felt like a child being scolded and taught by his parents, which amused him as he listened attentively to everything he was told.
{Now get rid of that bad habit of yours where you continue delaying things. I know you are trying to do so many things at once, but you can't keep delaying important things and you should begin with copying that Soul Spirit}