Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

He acted immediately, and he wouldn't let anyone sit on a soft bed, hold his son, or even let him into the house.

The soul power entered the lamb's body and slowly searched for its meridians.

-----------------

"You're Tang San from the Royal Fighting Team 2? You want to join the Soul Guidance Department?"

The office that Tiandou Royal Academy arranged for Huan Hongchen was nothing special. When she first arrived, she only had students' files. The large brown bookshelf behind her was almost empty, unlike a teacher who had been there for a long time and would usually have some personal items on display.

Tang San, maintaining proper etiquette, bowed to Huan Hongchen and said, "Yes, Teacher Hongchen."

"Tang San, born with full soul power, his martial soul is Blue Silver Grass, possibly a twin martial soul?"

Looking at the information in his hand, Huan Hongchen roughly knew who had written these notes. However, Tang San was not so calm; his fingers subconsciously pressed down on his hidden weapon.

There was no time for him to think. Huan Hongchen glanced at Tang San briefly, then launched into a barrage of questions: "Oh ho, you're quite wary at such a young age. Your surname is Tang, and your second spirit is the Clear Sky Hammer? If that's true, is your first spirit really just ordinary Blue Silver Grass?"

Recalling the martial spirit theory that Qian Shui had taught her and her disciples during their travels around Douluo Star, as well as the distribution of power on Douluo Continent, Huan Hongchen roughly guessed Tang San's situation.

"Teacher Hongchen, what's wrong...?"

The teacher-looking Huan Hongchen smiled slyly, "Oh? You guessed right? Looking at your palms, those hidden weapons were made by you too, weren't they?"

"Yes…"

"Don't be so surprised. Theoretical knowledge isn't that difficult to learn, especially when it comes to martial spirit theory, which is mostly based on experience. In other words, the more information you acquire, the more you understand, and the clearer things become."

Especially for us Soul Masters, this is as essential as eating and drinking; it's something we absolutely must do.

Recording and deducing are originally essential tasks for Soul Masters. When they encountered Qian Shui and were impacted by scientific methodology, classification, statistics, and probability were introduced.

By simply making assumptions and using his rich life experience to lure Tang San into a trap, he was easily tricked.

“Some of your hidden weapons are circulating in the market. I’ve seen them and they’re quite good. But don’t get too excited yet. From the perspective of soul tools, some of them are very ingeniously designed and can also give me some creative inspiration. But some people say they’re too complicated.”

"Teacher Hongchen, I don't quite understand."

If it were Qian Shui, he would probably tell him that every weapon has its physical limits. No matter how strong the mechanism is, it can't compare to other kinetic weapons. Even if good materials can improve this limit, can't other weapons do the same?

"It's very simple. The cost is too high. Although it's made of the same iron essence, the forging process is extremely time-consuming. Time is also a cost. This problem also exists in the manufacturing of soul tools and must be avoided as much as possible."

Some preliminary production lines have been established under Qian Shui's guidance, with Huan Hongchen at the helm. This is another kind of knowledge that Qian Shui instilled in her—the theory of cost.

Most people on Earth prefer high-risk, high-reward strategies, like those in sports or online card games. But deep down, they are all driven by the desire to achieve high returns with low costs, much like the Industrial Revolution.

No matter how you do it by hand, you can never beat a machine, even if you can put together the details at the beginning.

However, when the precision is increased to a certain level, it can no longer be compared with industrial products produced on a large scale.

Tang San's hidden weapons were likely doomed to the same fate, but when these were put on an assembly line for testing, Huan Hongchen realized that Qian Shui was right.

It's too complicated. Less power is enough; the rest can be achieved through sheer quantity.

As for Soul Master combat? Defensive Soul Tools are more interesting to watch. There are many ways to kill, though. Moreover, Qian Shui once sent her images of some weapons whose principles she had no idea about in order to dispel her idea.

Without understanding the principles, it's impossible to manufacture, which made Huan Hongchen want to strangle that half-baked so-called peerless expert. When she asked him for details, he just shook his head and said he didn't understand.

Listening to Huan Hongchen's rambling yet highly professional analysis, Tang San became even more determined. Moreover, he wanted to know exactly what the 'Haotian Sect' and the 'Haotian Hammer' were.

"Teacher Hongchen, can I trust you?"

"Trust me? That's an interesting question, as if you have some huge secret."

"No, my martial spirit might be related to my background, so..."

"The number one sect in the world, the Clear Sky Sect, and the number one weapon spirit in the world, the Clear Sky Hammer, don't you know?"

His pupils dilated, and his memories seemed to be pulled to a certain place. Tang San seemed to remember the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament ten years ago.

Yu Xiaogang kept his second martial soul a closely guarded secret and never told him about it.

Tang San initially trusted Yu Xiaogang completely, always believing that Yu Xiaogang must have his reasons for not speaking. Over time, he overlooked the issue and failed to realize that his second spirit was the Clear Sky Hammer.

Now, he not only thought of the two Soul Kings of the Clear Sky Sect who had been defeated by Qian Shui, but also remembered what Yu Xiaogang had once told him: 'If one day you encounter someone far beyond your reach, never act impulsively.'

Once the number one sect in the world, it was suppressed by the Spirit Hall and forced to live in seclusion. The stories surrounding this event are legendary, but in short, the two sides are enemies.

Qian Shui is a figure from the Spirit Hall, and he is the one who is far beyond his reach!

Tang San thought to himself that perhaps he and this young Title Douluo were not destined to be together. They had missed each other countless times, longing to meet but unable to. Now, however, he realized that perhaps he and this young man were enemies.

Sitting at his workstation, Huan Hongchen was flipping through documents, muttering to himself, "Haotian Hammer, Haotian Hammer, I have to say that this martial soul is made by a master craftsman. Young man, perhaps you are indeed suited for soul tools!"

It is also suitable for certain specific functional departments of the empire, such as the National Machinery Administration Department or the Agricultural Machinery Division of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Especially this Ministry of Agriculture, look at you, it's Blue Silver Grass, a plant-based martial spirit.

These departments are newly established and severely lack personnel. The Crown Prince established this Soul Guidance Department and the special training program for professionals to address the empire's talent shortage. "If you join, you might just become a high-ranking official in the future!"

Hearing this, Tang San was overjoyed. He didn't care about the high-ranking official position. "Teacher Hongchen is willing to accept me as a student?"

After considering Tang San's current status, Huan Hongchen was unwilling to make a decision privately. "Actually, after talking for so long, I can't decide anything. You are from the Royal Fighting Team 2. You have to ask the Crown Princess. She has to agree."

Tang San recalled his previous conversation with Yin Jin and asked with increasing confusion, "Why? Minister Yin said the same thing. Could you tell me the reason?"

"It's nothing, they are the bosses and our employees, that's all."

……

The next day, when Qian Shui faced Tang San's request to leave the team, she agreed without hesitation, since his teammates didn't like him much anyway.

Thinking that everyone needs a place to shine, Tang San, setting aside his strange worldview, is just a mechanical geek. Becoming a fitter wouldn't be bad, and becoming a senior technician to contribute to the country is also an option.

As for what Huan Hongchen and Yin Jin meant, Qian Shui could roughly guess. They simply felt that Tang San had a great talent for martial souls and was a rare talent. They didn't want to waste it and pushed it onto them, so they wanted Qian Shui to persuade him again so that they could pass the blame to their superiors.

Unfortunately, this is Tang San, someone Qian Shui would subconsciously target. Just thinking about the little angel lying in this guy's arms makes it impossible for him to resist.

"What are you looking at? Those who need to cultivate their souls, cultivate your souls! Those who need to cultivate their bodies, cultivate your bodies! Those who need to cultivate their spirits, cultivate your spirits!"

Qian Shui was already in a bad mood after being kicked out of the house, but fortunately, the little angel switched back with him during the day. It was unclear whether this was to protect him from Xue Di, but the body that had committed the crime was confiscated.

Frustrated, he came up with a new idea: to have the Snow Empress and Ice Empress create a unique northern domain, and to call Zhao Wuji over to add gravity control. Thus, a training ground that surpassed ordinary environments was born.

Based on the idea that resources should not be wasted, the group of people from the Royal Fighting Team who were originally going to make a final push for their soul power were also called over. Let's put pressure on them and break through our limits!

Chapter 229 Night Trial

"What a pity, this kid doesn't realize what he's missing out on!"

"what?"

"Brother Shui, you have to teach him personally! In just half a year, he probably won't be able to catch up in his entire life."

"Mind your own business, everyone has their own ambitions."

"But do we really want to do this?"

"You don't have to come."

"No way! You're already a Title Douluo, why would you need to wear night clothes?"

"Tsk! Enough with the nonsense, it's all about creating an atmosphere! Don't you understand?"

At the end of Douluo Calendar 2644, the new All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament was about to begin. Just as the preliminary rounds of the Tiandou Division were in preparation, Qian Shui seemed to remember something and approached Yin Jin.

The two were dressed in all-black, unadorned clothing, and their face coverings were even designed with ergonomics in mind; the Spirit Hall's underlings all praised them.

"Speaking of which, Brother Shui, what level are you? Give the brothers a clear answer, so we can have a goal."

"You're doing pretty well now, you're already a level 70 Quasi-Soul Saint."

"Sigh, if that kid Yu Tianheng can break through to Soul Emperor before he's 25, I have to work harder!"

On a major road outside Tiandou City, the road, built nearly ten years ago, is already somewhat damaged. The technology was substandard, with a base of crushed stones and rammed earth. This kind of road was probably the best version ten years ago.

If this were today, with the continuous development of new materials, there would certainly be smoother roads. Meanwhile, on a tall, pine-like tree nearby, two dark figures were chatting idly.

"Then keep it up. I'm level 99 now, and I reckon level 100 won't be too far off."

"I go?!"

"Hehe! Don't be confused, I wouldn't lie to you~ That's just how awesome a man is!"

"If you put it that way, it becomes even less believable..."

"Stop talking nonsense, they're here! Are you going to fight them? I'll provide backup!"

"No way! It's all your fault. That guy is a shrewd strategist and a high-level Soul Saint. How am I supposed to fight him? Besides, there are so many girls involved!"

"Tsk! Coward! I was hoping to give you some power so you could beat him up openly!"

"What?! This is amazing?! I'll do it!"

"Okay! I'll handle the girl!"

"Tsk... Brother Shui, does your wife know about this?"

"know."

"what?!"

In the darkness of the distance, three identical carriages arrived one after another, all in a light blue color. The carriages had signs reading "Tianshui" hanging on their eaves, indicating the origin of their owners.

"By the way, why can't we let them into Heaven Dou City?"

"Nonsense, this idiot killed at least three ten-thousand-year-old Ice Jade Scorpions. If he dares to go in, Brother Bing will freeze Tian Dou City!"

"really…"

An invisible aura spread, and the carriage at the back suddenly changed direction, while the carriages in front, and the carriage itself, did not notice anything amiss and simply continued to move slowly into the distance.

"Brother Shui, with your skills and such a high level, why don't you just arrest them directly? Why go through all that trouble..."

"How else can I beat him up! I'll send him to meet his ancestors with one slap, are you satisfied or not?"

"Hiss! That makes sense!"

The people inside the carriage appeared to be a couple. The man had long, dark blue hair and dark blue eyes, and wore a dark blue Soul Master robe. He was handsome, had an excellent temperament, and wore a faint smile on his face.

The woman in his arms had her long hair tied up like a typical young woman. Her style was similar to the man's, except she was dressed in light blue. Her low-cut dress accentuated her mature figure, and her long legs were encased in high, light blue stiletto boots, making her look both voluptuous and slender.

The beautiful woman lay quietly in the man's arms with her eyes closed. The two looked like a harmonious and happy couple, which made someone in the shadows click their tongue.

But for some unknown reason, the carriage stopped, and the man inside opened his squinted eyes, staring ahead with a somewhat solemn expression.

"what happened?"