Soul Land: Full Body Martial Soul

Soon, everyone had completed Yu Xiaogang's first punishment task, which involved carrying heavy stones back and forth between Shrek Academy and Soto City for ten complete laps.

After everyone finished the grueling exercise, all the students except Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong collapsed exhausted on the ground. Even Tang San, who possessed the best physical fitness among the group, was completely drained.

Ning Rongrong had been carried by Yang Xiong for the final few laps, so her physical condition was relatively better compared to the others, and she managed to avoid collapsing from exhaustion.

As for Yang Xiong, with his exceptional physical conditioning, this kind of weight-bearing endurance running was nothing particularly challenging. He was still a considerable distance away from reaching his actual physical limits.

Several of the male students had to be carried back to their dormitory with the assistance of Zhao Wuji and other faculty members. Bathtubs filled with medicinal bath materials had already been prepared in advance, along with hot water that could be added at any time as needed. The female students were escorted away by several village women who would help them with their recovery.

However, the dormitory arrangements were relatively crowded, and Zhao Wuji along with the other male teachers were admittedly rough around the edges. It was obvious that these tough men were not naturally suited for taking care of exhausted students with any particular gentleness or finesse. Yu Xiaogang personally took responsibility for carrying Tang San to ensure his prize student received proper care.

Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Oscar originally shared the same dormitory room. Watching his roommates being helped into their bathtubs like lifeless mud, Yang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head at the sight.

This Yu Xiaogang was certainly ruthless enough in his training methods. This particular type of weight-bearing endurance training could indeed push people to their absolute physical limits, even to the point of extreme exhaustion and potential collapse.

Yang Xiong didn't hesitate either. He began removing his clothes and directly entered the bathtub that had been specifically prepared for him.

The liquid filling the entire bathtub had a slightly greenish tint, which was clearly the medicinal bath material that Yu Xiaogang had mentioned. The formula appeared to be reasonably well-designed, though it didn't contain any particularly precious or rare medicinal herbs.

There was a small but significant incident during this preparation period. When Yang Xiong removed his clothes and prepared to enter the bathtub, he needed to ensure cleanliness by removing his equipment. In addition to the Hundred Herb Pouch and wrist guard storage soul tool that he always kept close to his body, he also had to remove the weights that he wore constantly.

These five individual weights were far from light. The lightest piece, a wrist guard, weighed a full ten pounds. The breastplate alone weighed an impressive sixty pounds. When he dropped them onto the ground, they caused the entire floor to tremble with a substantial impact.

Both Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang stared at Yang Xiong with surprised and somewhat shocked expressions. Zhao Wuji, being more naturally sensitive to matters of physical strength due to his own powerful build, was particularly astounded. Yang Xiong had been seeking combat guidance from Zhao Wuji recently, so the two had become relatively familiar with each other's capabilities.

Zhao Wuji picked up several of the discarded weights and examined them carefully with obvious curiosity. "Yang Xiong, what exactly are these things you've been wearing on your body? I estimate they add up to more than one hundred pounds in total weight."

Yang Xiong displayed a casual smile on his face. "These are just the training weights I wear during my daily routine. I've become completely accustomed to them over time. Normally, I don't remove them except when I need to take a bath or sleep."

"However, these were all specially crafted for my specific needs," he continued. "They're designed somewhat like flexible soft armor, and they don't interfere with my usual activities or movements in any significant way."

At this moment, Yang Xiong indeed felt relatively comfortable and relaxed. After exercising his body intensively and then taking a properly prepared medicinal bath, he could enhance his body's natural absorption of the medicinal properties. This combination could improve his physical fitness and recovery abilities to a considerable extent.

Yu Xiaogang, standing nearby, looked somewhat serious and concerned. "Yang Xiong, when exactly did you start wearing these training weights? Are you certain your body can handle this kind of constant stress without injury?"

Yang Xiong replied matter-of-factly, "They don't place any harmful burden on my body. I started wearing weights shortly after becoming a Spirit Master, though they were much lighter at the beginning. The weight only gradually reached its current level after I advanced to Spirit Grand Master."

Both teachers looked at each other with expressions of complete dismay upon hearing this revelation. According to Yang Xiong's current explanation, this meant that he had been carrying these hundred pounds of additional weights during his entire battle with Tang San earlier, and even during the weight-bearing punishment run that followed. It was important to note that even the stones specifically assigned to Tang San and Dai Mubai during the running exercise were only a few dozen pounds each. This would mean that Yang Xiong had essentially carried nearly three hundred pounds of total weight while running, and he had still been able to persevere and complete the task. This seemed completely impossible for any ordinary Spirit Grand Master to accomplish.

While Yang Xiong settled comfortably into the medicinal bath and began organizing his thoughts, he spoke up again. "Master, Teacher Zhao, in a few days when the new dormitory construction is completed, please just help me prepare regular hot water for bathing. I have already prepared my own specialized medicinal materials."

Yu Xiaogang responded with some pride, "Yang Xiong, the medicinal bath materials I've prepared are quite precious and valuable. The formula is excellent and very suitable for your current stage of cultivation and development."

Yang Xiong nodded respectfully. "Thank you for your consideration, Master, but my body has some special requirements. I have been taking customized medicinal baths for a very long time. These ordinary medicinal materials no longer provide significant benefits for my particular needs. My teacher has already prepared the specialized medicinal materials for my medicinal baths well in advance."

Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to nod in acceptance upon hearing this explanation.

After Yang Xiong conversed with Yu Xiaogang and Zhao Wuji for a while longer, he began to meditate alone in peaceful solitude.

Today's intense battle with Tang San had made him realize that he had been somewhat too confident and taken things for granted in his previous approach. He had always believed that by relying on his precognitive abilities and knowledge from his previous life, he could create top-tier techniques and become essentially invincible.

However, today's battle had shown him that Tang San was obviously holding back significantly. At the very least, Tang San hadn't seemed like he was fighting with desperate determination. Not only had he refrained from using his external soul bone, but he had also avoided using any hidden weapons. This performance probably represented only about sixty percent of his true combat capabilities.

Of course, Yang Xiong had also been reserved in his approach. He estimated that he had only utilized approximately fifty percent of his full strength, and he hadn't even activated any of his soul ring abilities during the entire confrontation.

However, Tang San's natural ability to control the flow and rhythm of battle was far beyond Yang Xiong's original expectations. The Tang Sect's unique skills and techniques had basically overwhelmed Yang Xiong's self-created attack methods. At least in terms of pure hand-to-hand combat and martial arts techniques, he had been thoroughly outclassed.

In addition, there was another important realization: his use of the Tai Chi Meditation Method and Tai Chi martial arts that he had developed still had a considerable gap when compared to Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique. This didn't even take into account Tang San's other specialized Tang Sect unique skills.

However, this battle had also provided tremendous benefits and learning opportunities. Through his direct confrontation with the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique, his understanding of Tai Chi principles had deepened significantly. Perhaps he could gradually improve and refine his meditation methods through continued practice and study.

At this moment, although Yang Xiong felt physically exhausted from the day's activities, he still began to cultivate according to his Yin-Yang Meditation Method. Some of the previous bottlenecks and obstacles in his understanding gradually became clearer to him. His soul power began circulating rapidly throughout his entire body, and the different energy streams seemed to be gradually merging and harmonizing. Especially after this enlightening battle, Yang Xiong had begun to gradually comprehend the true deeper meaning and essence of Tai Chi philosophy.

Observing Yang Xiong's focused meditation state, both Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang fell into respectful silence. They occasionally added hot water to the bathtubs containing Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Oscar to maintain optimal temperatures. Shao Xin primarily took care of Oscar's needs, as he was also a rare food-type Spirit Sage who was responsible for cooking meals for everyone at the academy.

Both Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin were experienced Spirit Sages, so they could quickly sense and recognize that Yang Xiong had entered a deep meditative state. What was particularly remarkable was that the soul power present in the surrounding air was actually flowing rapidly into Yang Xiong's body at an accelerated rate.

However, what they failed to notice was that the water in Yang Xiong's originally calm medicinal bath had actually begun to flow slowly in circular patterns, eventually forming a distinct vortex around his body.

A full two hours later, the three teachers who had been present had already departed for other duties. The beneficial effects of the medicinal herbs in the bath had been completely absorbed and utilized. The original green color of the medicinal liquid had become noticeably lighter, even taking on a slightly blackish tint that indicated the impurities being drawn from the body.

Tang San and Oscar were still snoring loudly while leaning against their respective bathtubs, completely unconscious from exhaustion.

Yang Xiong cleaned both his body and his training weights thoroughly, then left the dormitory alone. After all the intense activities of the day, and especially since he hadn't even eaten lunch due to the punishment training, he now planned to visit the cafeteria to find something substantial to eat.

During this recovery period, Yu Xiaogang sought out Flender to discuss and evaluate the students' overall performance and potential.

Flender spoke with obvious pride and satisfaction. "How about it, Xiaogang? My students are all genuine monsters in terms of talent, aren't they? They shouldn't bring any disgrace to your reputation or teaching methods."

Yu Xiaogang nodded thoughtfully. "These children are all exceptionally gifted. They possess both natural talent and remarkable perseverance. However, the student who surprised me the most is definitely Yang Xiong. His physical fitness and conditioning are far stronger than I had originally imagined. Although his innate soul power level was only rank six, his cultivation speed and progress are not inferior to any of the others."

"What's especially impressive is his combat capability," Yu Xiaogang continued. "Although he is currently only level twenty-seven, I'm confident that no Spirit Master within the Spirit Elder realm would be his match in actual combat."

Flender nodded in agreement. "Among all the students we've enrolled, the most surprising and mysterious one is indeed Yang Xiong. You should also know that Yang Xiong comes from the prestigious Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School background. It appears that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has invested tremendous effort and resources in his development."

Yu Xiaogang said with some puzzlement, "I find myself somewhat confused by this situation. Normally speaking, while Spirit Masters who use their own bodies or parts of their bodies as their martial souls are extremely rare, and even difficult to pass knowledge down through generations, I have still encountered some cultivation records of such Spirit Masters in my research."

"According to historical records," he continued, "the cultivation speed of this particular type of Spirit Master is typically extremely slow, and their potential upper limits are very restricted. I have thoroughly examined all available records, and the highest level achieved seems to have only reached the Spirit Douluo realm. There has never been a Titled Douluo level master of this type, and even Spirit Sage level masters of this category are relatively uncommon. Moreover, this type of Spirit Master faces significant limitations in terms of combat power and available soul skills. It can be said that they are generally weaker than other Spirit Masters of equivalent levels."

Flender responded with his own confusion. "Actually, I'm equally puzzled by this situation. It's generally accepted that this kind of special martial soul makes it extremely difficult to cultivate into a top-tier master. Why would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School be so willing to invest so heavily in Yang Xiong's development? They've even arranged for Lin Gong, a Spirit Douluo, to secretly protect him."

Yu Xiaogang thought carefully for several moments before speaking again. "Flender, I would very much like to study Yang Xiong's martial soul and cultivation methods more closely, but when I brought up this topic with him today, he rejected my request outright. Do you have any suggestions for how I might approach this differently?"

Flender shook his head decisively. "I have no way to help you with this matter. Yang Xiong is the personal disciple of Bone Douluo. We simply cannot afford to easily provoke or antagonize masters of the Titled Douluo level. In addition, Bone Douluo should have already provided Yang Xiong with a complete set of cultivation methods and comprehensive training plans. We have no authority to interfere in these specialized matters."

"This is especially true," Flender continued, "since Sect Master Ning Fengzhi specifically wrote a personal letter to me stating that Yang Xiong should receive normal educational instruction here at our academy. We are explicitly instructed not to interfere with his soul ring acquisition process or his development of self-created soul skills."

Yu Xiaogang expressed his surprise. "How is this even possible? Could it be that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School actually intends to train Yang Xiong as a future protector Douluo for their sect? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School should be well aware that there has never been a truly top-tier master in the Spirit Master world who uses his physical body as a martial soul."

Flender remained silent for a while before responding carefully. "Xiaogang, I understand what you're thinking and what your ultimate purpose might be. Today, Yang Xiong defeated Tang San in direct combat, and he even achieved victory across a major cultivation realm difference. I also observed the entire battle process closely. Both students performed exceptionally well. Please don't overthink this situation."

Yu Xiaogang shook his head firmly. "The situation is fundamentally different from what you're suggesting. Although Tang San lost this particular battle, you should be much clearer about where his true potential actually lies. This temporary victory or defeat doesn't explain or predict anything meaningful, especially considering the significant gap in innate soul power between the two students. The soul power difference between Yang Xiong and Tang San will only become larger and more pronounced in the future, especially when Tang San eventually enters the Titled Douluo realm. At that point, there will be a qualitative and insurmountable difference between their capabilities."

"Moreover," Yu Xiaogang continued his analysis, "today's battle made several things very obvious. Although Tang San's combat power is genuinely impressive, and his control over Blue Silver Grass is remarkably strong, he is ultimately limited by the inherent constraints of his martial soul. His explosive power output is simply too weak compared to other combat styles. If this weren't the case, he would never have lost to Yang Xiong's final decisive move."

Flender looked somewhat puzzled by this direction of conversation. "Xiaogang, what exactly are you trying to say with all of this analysis? What point are you attempting to make?"

Yu Xiaogang remained silent for several moments, clearly organizing his thoughts before speaking again. "Flender, don't you think that Yang Xiong's final self-created soul skill technique is remarkably effective and powerful? The explosive power it demonstrated is tremendously strong, and it could potentially greatly improve the combat capabilities of all our students. This technique might even have the potential to change the fundamental patterns and balance of power in the Spirit Master world in the future."

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