Douluo Continent: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly and continued to flip through the documents. His brows quickly relaxed again: "That lone wolf soul master is named Su Yuntao. He is the son of the Spirit Hall Master of Notting City. He and his father were just passing through Star City. The three of them were preparing to go to the Spirit Hall of Heaven Dou City."

"Who is the remaining person?" Gu Rong asked casually.

"It's said that he's the child adopted by the Lord of the Spirit Hall, nothing special."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rong stopped paying attention to the adopted child. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he asked, "What about this Su Yuntao? He seems to be a genius. Should we..." As he spoke, he raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture.

The further Ning Fengzhi flipped through the documents, the less he cared about Su Yuntao. Finally, he casually put the documents aside: "It's not important. He's just a second-level soul ring after a thousand years. How far he can go ultimately depends on his innate soul power. I checked, and his innate soul power is only level three. Even with a second-level soul ring after a thousand years, his soul ring configuration will be at most one yellow and three purple. It's unrealistic for him to absorb a fourth soul ring, a ten-thousand-year soul ring. At most, he'll reach the level of a Soul King or Soul Emperor in this lifetime. He won't have any impact on the overall situation of the three upper sects and the Spirit Hall. There's no need to offend a former Spirit Hall Master—even if he's just a Soul Sect Master, in a sense, he's still the foundation and face of the Spirit Hall."

While the Soul Masters of Douluo Continent may lack theoretical knowledge, they are not unintelligent. Since the second Soul Ring can absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring, can the fourth Soul Ring attempt to absorb a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring?

Theoretically, a ten-thousand-year soul ring requires a soul master to reach at least the level of a quasi-soul king to absorb it. At that time, the standard soul ring configuration is two yellow and two purple. If someone can achieve the second ring of a ten-thousand-year soul ring, they will have a configuration of one yellow and two purple during the Soul Master period. This configuration is only one yellow soul ring away from the standard configuration of an ordinary Soul Master, so it is not impossible for them to try to break through to the fourth ten-thousand-year soul ring.

However, the cultivation speed of Soul Masters is ultimately limited, Tang Shan's theory has not been around for very long, and forcibly breaking through to the fourth ring of the ten-thousand-year barrier requires a huge amount of resources. If we really want to cultivate such geniuses, we must select those with the best aptitude. Therefore, at present, no one has really tried to break through that ten-thousand-year barrier.

However, attempting the fourth ring of the ten-thousand-year cycle and the second ring of the thousand-year cycle requires a prerequisite. Before the effects of whale glue were discovered, every soul master who could achieve the second ring of the thousand-year cycle must have poured in a massive amount of resources. It is impossible to say that they would use pills or methods that consume potential to try it.

"That's true. A mere Soul Emperor can't cause any trouble. With only level three innate soul power, without his father's support, he'd be a Great Soul Master at best, and at most, he'd be destined to help others awaken their Martial Souls. He's not a threat at all. Surely he can't awaken a Soul Master with talent comparable to the Angel Family, can he? Even if he's achieved the second ring of the millennium by chance, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has no shortage of such geniuses."

Gu Rong immediately lost interest, then suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "By the way, Feng Zhi, your son absorbed a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone a few years ago, and with the help of many rare and precious materials to enhance his physique, didn't he also reach the second ring of the thousand-year cycle? How was the effect? ​​Did the increase change? I was in seclusion at that time and didn't ask him in detail."

Hearing Gu Rong's question, Ning Fengzhi showed a hint of relief: "The amplification of the soul skill has not changed. It is the same as the original amplification soul skill of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. It still increases the amplification by 10% per level. However, the soul power consumption has been significantly reduced, and it can maintain the amplification time for a longer period of time."

"That's good. Improved battery life will make my role and position in the team more stable."

“That’s right, so I plan to send him to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It’s a good social occasion, and Qinghe can help out and do me a favor. Qinghe is humble and polite, and is a strong contender for the future crown prince and even the throne.” Ning Fengzhi’s voice was gentle, but his words were full of plans for the Heaven Dou Empire. I wonder what his expression will be when he learns the true identity of the “future crown prince”.

"Then Su Yuntao is going to win."

Gu Rong paid no attention to Ning Fengzhi's schemes against the Heaven Dou Empire. As a Title Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he only needed to do two things: protect those who should be protected and kill those who should be killed. His gaze fell back to the Soul Arena below, and he easily predicted the outcome.

On the vast arena, sharp sword energy slashed towards Su Yuntao with a whooshing sound, while on the other side, a dense net of blade energy wove together, enveloping his entire body. Facing the coordinated attack from both sides, Su Yuntao remained calm. His two amplification spirit rings had already lit up, enhancing his strength, speed, and other physical attributes in every way.

In his mind, images of wolf-like soul beasts' pouncing trajectories and dodging postures kept replaying. Those figures seemed to merge into his body, or as if his consciousness had become a member of the wolf pack. His original coping methods were subconsciously optimized, and his soul power circulated in his body along a mysterious trajectory, causing his body to undergo indescribable changes.

Crouching low and darting out, Su Yuntao seemed to transform into a lone wolf, deftly finding a way out from the gaps in the attacks. Once out of the pincer movement, he charged forward with explosive speed, his legs moving in rapid succession, like a hunting wolf. Sharp claws extended from his fingertips as he dodged the longsword slashing down from Dao Long, casually ripping out five deep, bone-revealing gashes into his opponent's chest. He then slammed the man off the stage with a palm strike, and without looking back, leaped away to evade the pursuing sword energy.

The contestant "Sword Qi" had two spirit rings, one white and one yellow, rhythmically moving under his feet. Seeing that Su Yuntao easily dodged his first spirit skill and that his teammates had already been defeated, he knew that the situation was hopeless, but he was still unwilling to give up. His second spirit ring suddenly lit up: "Charged Slash!"

The soul power within "Sword Qi" surged into his martial soul as the yellow soul ring flashed, and he swung his longsword down with all his might. Whoosh! A sword aura half a zhang wide poured out, carrying unparalleled sharpness and speed, heading straight for Su Yuntao.

After unleashing this attack, the Sword Martial Soul Master's soul power was completely exhausted, and he could not even maintain his martial soul. He could only hope that this attack would turn the tide.

However, things didn't go as planned. Faced with this obviously powerful attack, Su Yuntao relied on the terrifying instincts he had developed while in a strange state to dodge to the side the instant the sword energy left the blade. The deadly sword energy just barely passed in front of him. If he had been even a fraction slower, he would have taken the hit squarely.

"I surrender!" The opponent stopped struggling and raised his hand to admit defeat.

Su Yuntao stopped and withdrew his martial spirit. The next moment, he staggered and almost fell. A wave of soreness surged through his limbs and bones. His soul power was exhausted, and waves of fatigue washed over him.

"I declare that the winner of this Soul Battle is Lone Wolf!" After announcing the result, the host rushed forward to help Su Yuntao up—this was the cash cow of the Great Soul Battle Arena, and they couldn't afford any accidents. What if Lone Wolf stopped participating in Soul Battles in the future? How would they make a fortune then?

As for the contestants on stage who also exhausted their soul power, they were simply depleted of soul power; they didn't have broken legs and couldn't walk on their own, so their teammates offstage would naturally go up to help them.

"Let's go back to the sect." Ning Fengzhi stood up after reading the battle spirit.

"okay!"

Space shattered before the ancient banyan tree. He enveloped Ning Fengzhi with his soul power, transformed himself into a bone dragon, and carried him into the spatial rift.

"Uncle Gu, why did that Soul Master's combat power suddenly increase dramatically at the end?"

"I didn't see it clearly, but it must be a characteristic of his own martial soul. Look at his fighting style later on, it's just like a wolf."

Their conversation vanished completely as the spatial passage disappeared.

……

After cultivating his soul power for nearly half an hour, Su Yuntao slowly emerged from his meditative state. By this time, his soul power had recovered to about 70-80%, but his physical strength had not yet been fully replenished. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Tang Shan looking at him with a strange gaze, a look he had never seen before.

"Tangshan, what are you looking at?" Su Yuntao was startled and jumped back two or three meters.

"N-nothing, big brother, what was wrong with you just now? Tell me about it." Tang Shan's eyes were filled with undisguised fervor.

"So that's what it is." Su Yuntao breathed a sigh of relief, then said irritably, "I'll tell you about it when we get back. Now, let's go collect the gold soul coins from the Soul Battle victory."

"Okay, okay." Tang Shan was extremely compliant with Su Yuntao's request at this moment, his mind preoccupied with the special state the other party had displayed during the battle.

A keen sense of perception, a terrifying ability to anticipate crises, and a combat experience that shouldn't be described as growth, but rather a surge, a rapid increase, a dramatic increase.

If it weren't for the fact that his elder brother's eyes showed no abnormalities, and that after the battle he only appeared exhausted and depleted of his soul power, without any signs of physical backlash, and that the increased combat experience made him seem like a wolf, Tang Shan would have been tempted to suspect that his elder brother had unlocked his genetic potential.

The Gene Lock is a cultivation system in the novel "Infinite Terror". As long as one accepts their own human identity, even if their physical body is mechanical, it can be activated.

The gene lock is divided into five stages. The first stage is characterized by the awakening of the combat instinct in the genes. Even ordinary people or otaku who have never been trained can have actual combat experience comparable to top soldiers after unlocking the first stage gene lock.

Furthermore, unlocking the gene lock also grants keen insight, perception, and crisis awareness.

Recalling Su Yuntao's battle just now, it was found to be roughly the same as the characteristics of a first-order gene lock.

Since the gene lock is closely related to physical potential, how could Tang Shan not be excited? What concerned him even more was whether, if Su Yuntao really unlocked the gene lock, he would be transmigrating into the Douluo Continent, or into an infinite world view that spawned the Douluo Continent? If it was the former, that would be fine, but if it was the latter, Tang Shan could only smile bitterly to himself—he really hadn't read much of the relevant plot and didn't know how the story would unfold.

Coming back to his senses from his jumbled thoughts, Tang Shan recalled the two people he had met at the restaurant earlier that day, and he was already prepared.

Fortunately, the expected situation did not occur. Tang Shan and Su Yuntao successfully obtained the gold soul coins and then returned to the hotel without incident.

Throughout the entire process, there was neither a refined middle-aged man pretending to bump into them by chance, nor a withered old man offering to invite them for tea; everything proceeded smoothly.

PS: It's not a gene lock; it's from Douluo Continent. A reasonable explanation will follow later. It can be seen as a self-created soul skill combining soul skills, martial souls, and bodily instincts. Finally, please favorite, follow, vote, recommend, and comment—I'm asking for everything!

Chapter 39 Speculations on Special States, An Alternative Beast Soul True Form

Upon entering the room, Tang Shan immediately stared intently at Su Yuntao, hoping he would quickly explain why he had fallen into that state.

Su Yuntao pondered briefly, then hesitated, “At that time, I don’t think I did anything else. I just activated two amplification soul skills and recalled the fighting style of wolf-type soul beasts that I had observed. Then I felt as if those wolves had merged into my body. By the way, my soul power circulation route also changed at that time.”

"Even the circulation path of soul power has changed?"

Tang Shan frowned slightly; this situation was indeed rather strange. He had previously thought that no matter how similar that state was to the gene lock, it was ultimately not the real gene lock. However, this method of manipulating the energy within his body made him hesitate again.

No, my brother's martial soul is a lone wolf, and when he fights, he recalls the fighting style of wolf-type soul beasts. The condition for unlocking the gene lock is to accept oneself as a human. Given my brother's state of mind at the time, he should not have met this requirement at all.

Could the problem lie with the soul skill?

The first soul skill is an amplification soul skill, nothing unusual; the second soul skill is also an amplification soul skill, "Bloodlust," which can provide a 10% increase to all attributes, allowing one to maintain absolute calm...

It seems fine, right? Hmm?

While pondering, Tang Shan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and looked up at Su Yuntao: "Big brother, what exactly is the effect of your second soul skill, 'Maintain Absolute Calm'?"

Although Su Yuntao had doubts, he still described in detail his feelings after activating the second soul skill: "After activating the second soul skill, I felt that I could almost completely ignore the pain. It was as if a cold energy was soaking in my mind, and my thinking speed was obviously faster. The various ways to deal with the enemy also became exceptionally clear."

"Is this feeling significantly different from the state you were in just now?"

"The difference is quite significant."

Su Yuntao sat on the bed, slowly organizing his thoughts: "When I'm in a state of absolute calm, it feels like the effect is based on my own body, only without the physical fatigue and distracting thoughts in my mind; but when I was in that state just now, it was like being possessed by a soul beast, with all sorts of hunting and dealing experiences flooding in, but I could still control myself. Like that slap that defeated Daolong just now, I'm sure that if I wanted to, I could have easily ripped his heart out with one slap, but I was able to suppress that instinct."

Absolute calmness free from physical distractions, a feeling akin to being possessed by a powerful being, coupled with the elder brother's Lone Wolf Martial Soul...

Tang Shan had a vague idea in his mind, but he couldn't be completely sure yet.

"Big brother, try activating your second spirit ring alone and re-enter that state."

Su Yuntao didn't know what Tang Shan had figured out, but he himself was eager to recreate that state, so he followed the instructions and his spirit possession appeared under his feet, with the purple second spirit ring shimmering slightly.

"Recall the scene of wolf-like spirit beasts pouncing on you, and try to integrate them into your body."

Tangshan gently guided from the side.

Su Yuntao closed his eyes, his mind replaying the scenes he had observed before. But no matter how hard he tried to recall them, he could no longer allow the soul beast to merge into his body, nor could he obtain that unparalleled blessing.

"No, I can't seem to find that feeling."

Su Yuntao opened his eyes, a hint of regret in them.

Tang Shan did not give up, but instead suggested that he try a different approach: "Brother, try again. This time, don't imagine wolf-type spirit beasts. Try to imagine your own spirit, the Lone Wolf, and imagine it surging into your body."

"But I've already possessed a martial spirit. Is it really appropriate to imagine it fusing into my body?"

Su Yuntao looked completely puzzled.

"Big brother, do you really think you've completely merged with your own beast spirit?"

Tang Shan's answer was profound: "You must understand that the changes that the body undergoes after the awakening of a beast spirit are far more complex than simply 'human transformation into a beast.' Some low-level beast spirit masters are suppressed by the spirits of high-level beast spirit masters, which shows that the spirit beast bloodline truly exists, and the human body itself inherently possesses a portion of the spirit beast bloodline."

You haven't witnessed many battles fought by wolf-type spirit beasts. Even if you mastered all the fighting styles you'd seen, it wouldn't have resulted in such a dramatic change. After all, combat experience doesn't appear out of thin air. Therefore, I speculate that the combat experience that surged when you were in that special state was perhaps the fighting instinct inherent in your bloodline as a spirit beast, combined with the Lone Wolf Martial Soul further integrated into your body, plus the perfect separation of your mind and subconscious body at that time, resulting in this outcome.”

"Young man, I don't think I quite understand."

Su Yuntao was overwhelmed by a large amount of information, and even though he tried hard to understand it, he still felt like he was listening to gibberish.

"Don't rush to understand. Just do as I say and see if it works. Then I'll explain it to you slowly."

Tang Shan did not immediately provide an answer, but instead asked him to verify his guess first.

Su Yuntao nodded, closed his eyes, and kept his mind calm even with the martial spirit possessing him. He further imagined the Lone Wolf martial spirit merging into his body.

For a fleeting moment, Su Yuntao's demeanor underwent a subtle change, but quickly returned to normal.

"I think I'm getting a feel for it; this line of thinking should be fine."

Su Yuntao opened his eyes and immediately spoke.

"Then my guess should be pretty close to the truth."

Tang Shan's eyes flickered as he pondered the reasons for these changes.

After some research, he speculated that the early stages of a Soul Master's cultivation, besides increasing Soul Power, were a process of gradually harmonizing with their own Martial Soul. While the Body Martial Soul and Weapon Martial Soul are relatively unaffected by inherent instincts, Plant Martial Souls and Beast Martial Souls possess some degree of instinctive consciousness. Would these have a deeper impact on the Soul Master during the process of harmonizing with them?

And the current situation of the eldest brother is undoubtedly the perfect answer to this question.

After a brief moment of thought, Tang Shan pulled Su Yuntao back up to the pavilion: "Brother, let me first explain to you the reason why you fell into that state before. Then we'll have a spar and see if we can get you back into that state."

Su Yuntao nodded, sat cross-legged on the ground, and listened attentively to Tang Shan's account.

"Let's talk about the subconscious first, brother. Do you really think you fully understand your own conscious mind? That every action you take truly comes from your heart?"

Su Yuntao frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head uncertainly: "Thoughts like hunger and wanting to drink water should be influenced by the so-called subconscious, but the rest probably aren't, right?"

Tang Shan smiled without saying a word, and waved his hand in front of Su Yuntao's eyes.

Instinctively, Su Yuntao closed his eyes.

"Look, brother, you subconsciously closed your eyes. That's the influence of your subconscious."

"That was because you launched a surprise attack. Do it again, this time I'm prepared and I won't blink."

call!