Chapter 23: The Completion of the Spiral Sphere
Yang Xiong continued his daily rigorous training, but the time spent in the library had decreased significantly, as most of the useful books had already been read over the years.
His routine mainly consisted of body refinement, meditation, extreme weight-bearing exercises, research on his self-created soul skills, basic combat training with the wooden dummy and sandbags, all of which filled up his day.
The most time-consuming activities were meditation and extreme weight-bearing exercises. He spent every evening meditating, while mornings were dedicated to basic combat training. The wooden dummy and sandbags helped him train his punches and kicks, as well as improve his reaction speed and resilience to impacts.
Since absorbing his second soul ring, Yang Xiong had increased the weight he carried daily. He now carried 60 kilograms of weight at all times, never removing it, no matter the situation.
His afternoon training was mostly focused on the development of his self-created soul skills, which included the Spiral Sphere and another soul skill.
Body refinement still involved using the ice, fire, and poison methods, but as his strength grew, the herbs used became more potent, and the pain intensified. However, these methods only made his body more resilient.
Six months after absorbing his second soul ring, Yang Xiong's soul power increased by one more level, reaching level 24.
This afternoon, Yang Xiong focused on gathering a high concentration of soul power in his palm, continuously feeding his soul power into it. The energy in his palm began to rotate rapidly, resembling a small hurricane.
With full concentration on controlling this small whirlwind of energy, Yang Xiong successfully shaped it into a light blue sphere. Excited, he slammed the sphere into the ground. The earth immediately cracked, creating a crater about one meter in diameter.
Yang Xiong couldn't help but exclaim in joy: "It's done! I've finally succeeded! My Spiral Sphere will surely become one of the most terrifying soul skills in the soul master world."
After several days of practice, Yang Xiong was now able to quickly form the Spiral Sphere for combat. Unfortunately, his soul power level was still too low, and even with all his soul power, he could only form the Spiral Sphere three times, though this was thanks to his use of Distraction Control to reduce energy consumption.
Despite his limited soul power, the Spiral Sphere's power was already considerable, comparable to a soul master's third soul skill. With increased strength and soul power, it was only a matter of time before it could reach the power of a ten-thousand-year soul skill.
Over the years, Yang Xiong had developed two self-created soul skills. In addition to the Spiral Sphere, he had also developed a skill based on his first soul skill, the Xuanming Shift, which he had modified into a new skill: Instant Transmission.
Compared to the Xuanming Shift, Instant Transmission consumed less energy and didn't require the use of soul ring energy, making it usable in almost any situation. This was an application of his Body Martial Soul's space attribute.
With both Instant Transmission and the Spiral Sphere, Yang Xiong was confident that he could fight any opponent below the Soul King rank. Even if he couldn't win, he could easily escape.
Now, Yang Xiong was eleven and a half years old, just a few months away from turning twelve. He planned to venture out on his own for some solo training and to gain more combat experience, especially against soul beasts. After all, a soul master had to fight to survive.
Moreover, the entire Douluo Continent was about to become more active, and Yang Xiong needed to quickly improve his strength, especially since there were some opportunities he didn't want to miss. He had already planned his next steps.
However, there was still one major question lingering: should he hand over his self-created soul skill, the Spiral Sphere, to the sect?
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul had two major flaws: one was that it only had seven layers, meaning it could never reach the Soul Douluo level; the other was that, as an auxiliary Martial Soul, it lacked offensive power, making it weaker compared to other souls.
The Spiral Sphere, in some ways, could fill this gap, allowing the soul masters with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to have offensive capabilities, turning them into battle-support soul masters.
Personally, Yang Xiong had spent several years of hard work developing the Spiral Sphere. It was truly his self-created soul skill, so it was hard for him to let it go.
But since birth, Yang Xiong had lived in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. As an inner disciple, he had enjoyed many of the sect's resources, and at least the sect had provided him with a stable environment to grow in.
Though these things might seem simple and common, if he were from a normal soul master family, he would not have been able to obtain even the first two exceptional soul rings. Moreover, he had never had experience with making money or independent survival. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had essentially become his home.
Especially since Yang Xiong knew that in about seven years, the Spirit Hall would launch a soul hunting operation, and both the sect and his parents would face great danger. Even their current lives could be ruined.
All these years, Yang Xiong had been practicing alone. Although he didn't interact much with others, he could feel the sect's investment in him. For instance, when he wanted his second soul ring, Teacher Lin Gong didn't hesitate to help him and clearly had received instructions from the sect.
Yang Xiong even felt that the sect had been paying special attention to him. For example, the extreme body refining herbs from the "Path of Defense" had been provided directly by his parents. They didn't seem to have bought them, and it was likely that a high-ranking figure in the sect knew about his practice and provided them.
Having lived in the sect for over ten years, Yang Xiong felt a sense of belonging. He had rarely encountered any troubles and certainly no real problems. Perhaps this was the true strength of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—it made every soul master feel at home.
Especially now, as Yang Xiong would need several high-quality soul rings in the future, particularly after his fifth soul ring. Those soul beasts were beyond his ability to defeat, and even his parents couldn't handle them. The only solution would be to rely on the sect's strength.
Yang Xiong had even tested his parents. They seemed to treat the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as their home and were willing to sacrifice for the sect, showing no intention of leaving. In fact, they even scolded Yang Xiong for ever thinking about leaving the sect.
In the end, Yang Xiong sighed and said, "Fine, I'll do this for the safety of my parents. I hope Ning Fengzhi won't let me down."
The truth was, Yang Xiong knew that sooner or later, he would have to use the Spiral Sphere outside. At that point, the sect would inevitably ask questions. It was better to proactively offer it now, perhaps gaining more benefits.
As his father had once said, in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, they didn't fear showing off as long as they were doing well. The problem was when one was invisible and unnoticed.
This wasn't about choosing sides. In the Douluo world, being born in a sect came with various constraints, but also many benefits. To put it bluntly, as an inner disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, even in Heaven Dou City, few would dare to provoke him casually. Even Soul Saints with higher soul power wouldn't dare to touch Yang Xiong. This was the power and foundation of the sect.
(END CHAPTER)
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