Chapter 20: Mastering the Body Secret Method in One Month? Long Aotian: If Junior Brother is Human, I'll Eat My Hat!
Meanwhile, far from the imperial capital's political maneuvering.
Liu Yuan remained completely oblivious to the Heavenly Soul Emperor's desperate attempts to court his favor. He simply did not care.
From the exact moment Du Busi handed him the Body Secret Method, his entire focus had narrowed to a single, razor-sharp point: mastering this miraculous cultivation technique.
Only after officially initiating the circulation routes detailed in the manual did Liu Yuan truly comprehend the terrifying foundation of the Body Sect. This was no ordinary meditation technique. It was a model shift for anyone possessing a Body Martial Soul.
Traditional cultivation methods scattered across the Douluo Continent relied on a standard formula: draw in the ambient heaven and earth soul energy, filter it through the meridians, and convert it into personal soul power.
The Body Secret Method shattered that convention. Instead of looking outward, it turned violently inward. It demanded the practitioner forcefully stimulate their own physical flesh, bones, and Soul Origin through excruciatingly precise qi circulation routes. It was a method designed to detonate the human body's latent potential from the inside out.
"So this is how a Body Martial Soul is meant to be forged..." Liu Yuan murmured.
He sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the quiet room within Tingtao Pavilion. A blistering heat radiated from his core, turning his skin a faint, flushed red. Sweat beaded on his forehead, instantly evaporating into faint wisps of steam.
The rate of his progression was staggering.
By constantly igniting his Origin, his soul power level did not just climb—it surged. More, the mental force housed within his Double Pupils grew increasingly dense. The dual irises in his eyes spun slowly, glowing with a heavy, almost physical weight. The sheer, intoxicating sensation of his own cells strengthening by the second pulled him into a state of absolute hyper-focus.
He refused to break the rhythm. Without even opening his eyes, he compressed his soul power into a narrow thread of sound, sending a voice transmission to a disciple guarding the courtyard outside.
He was entering formal, closed-door seclusion. He would not take a single step out of this room until he reached the Entry Stage of the Body Secret Method.
With that declaration, the heavy stone doors sealed shut.
The very next morning, the grand envoy dispatched by the Heavenly Soul Emperor arrived at the towering gates of the Body Sect. They brought a gilded imperial decree and a procession of heavy, jewel-encrusted chests meant to secure the loyalty of the sect's newest prodigy.
For any other sect, an imperial envoy carrying the Emperor's personal decree would demand the highest level of ceremony. The sect master would kneel, and the recipient would bow in gratitude.
Du Busi, however, operated by his own rules.
The Level 98 Super Douluo had been keeping a silent, watchful eye over Tingtao Pavilion. He knew perfectly well that his young, monstrous disciple had sunk into a state of deep, deep-level cultivation. Liu Yuan was standing right at the precipice of a breakthrough.
Naturally, the old man stepped forward to handle the political theater.
Standing at the sect gates, towering over the heavily armored imperial guards, Du Busi did not even bother to bow. He looked down at the envoy with eyes like deep, emerald pools.
"I acknowledge the Emperor's goodwill," Du Busi's voice rumbled, carrying the heavy, suffocating pressure of a Super Douluo. "However, my disciple is currently in deep seclusion. Even if the sky itself collapses, he will not be disturbed."
The envoy swallowed hard, his knees trembling under the sheer weight of Du Busi's aura. No one dared to argue.
Displaying the absolute dominance and fiercely protective nature of the Body Sect's master, Du Busi casually snatched the imperial decree from the envoy's hands. He ordered his men to haul the chests of treasures into the sect's vaults on Liu Yuan's behalf, then unceremoniously waved the imperial procession away like a swarm of annoying flies.
Inside the quiet room, time lost all meaning. The dull, repetitive, yet intensely fulfilling cycle of cultivation ground on, and an entire month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
On a crisp afternoon, having finished his administrative duties, Du Busi strolled toward Long Aotian's private training grounds. He kept his hands clasped loosely behind his back, intending to inspect his chief disciple's progress.
Hearing the heavy footsteps, Long Aotian immediately halted his movements. He exhaled a long breath of white mist and bowed deeply.
After a month of brutal, bone-breaking training, Long Aotian's aura had fundamentally shifted. The sharp, aggressive edge of his youth had been tempered into something restrained and heavy. A faint, indestructible bronze luster flowed just beneath the surface of his skin, hinting at the terrifying physical power coiled within his muscles.
"Not bad, Aotian," Du Busi noted, his eyes scanning the young man with open approval. "Judging by the density of your aura, you have taken another step forward?"
"Reporting to Master," Long Aotian replied, his tone steady and calm. "I broke through the bottleneck two days ago. I am now at Level 44."
A wide grin split Du Busi's weathered face, and he stroked his beard in immense satisfaction.
Level 44 at the age of fifteen. Such a terrifying cultivation speed was practically unheard of across the entire Douluo Continent.
He nodded slowly, a heavy sigh of pride escaping his lips. "If you maintain this momentum, it will not be long before you can officially attempt the Secondary Awakening of your Martial Soul. Once you cross that threshold, your strength will undergo a qualitative evolution."
The master and disciple conversed for a while longer, discussing martial theories and combat techniques. Inevitably, the topic drifted toward their reclusive neighbor.
Long Aotian cast a worried glance toward the tightly sealed stone doors of Tingtao Pavilion in the distance. "Master... Junior Brother has been locked in there for over a month. There has not been a single sound, nor any fluctuation of soul power. Should we go check on him?"
Du Busi chuckled, waving a large, calloused hand dismissively. "One month is nothing."
"Aotian, do not forget your own history. Even with your exceptional innate talent, it took you five grueling months to barely scrape the threshold of the Entry Stage when you first began the Body Secret Method. Liu Yuan has only been at it for thirty days. What is there to rush?"
Long Aotian offered a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "Master, you misunderstand. I am not doubting Junior Brother's talent. I am worried about cultivation deviation."
He took a step forward, his brow furrowed. "This secret method is absurdly complex and dangerous. He has never encountered anything like it before. Forging ahead blindly behind closed doors is the easiest way to rupture a meridian or damage the Soul Origin."
"When I was at that stage, I ran into countless dead ends. I only survived because I had you standing right beside me, explaining every minor detail and correcting my qi flow. But with Junior Brother locking himself away, even you cannot guide him!"
A flash of warmth appeared in Du Busi's eyes. "You have a good heart, Aotian. You take your role as Senior Brother seriously."
The old man lowered his voice, a sly smirk playing on his lips. "Truth be told, I shared those exact concerns. That boy is far too quiet for his own good. However..."
Du Busi tapped his temple. "I have swept his room with my mental force on multiple occasions. Each time, I found his vitality roaring like a true dragon, and his Spiritual Sea as immovable as a mountain. There is not a single trace of deviation. So, I chose to let him forge his own path."
Hearing his master's absolute confidence, the knot of anxiety in Long Aotian's chest finally loosened.
He smiled, his shoulders relaxing. "Since you have personally verified his condition, Master, then I can rest easy."
"Alright, enough dawdling. I have matters to attend to, and you have training to finish. Do not let your recent breakthrough make you slack off," Du Busi instructed, turning on his heel to leave.
But before the old man could take a single step—
BOOM!
Without a fraction of a second's warning, a violent, tyrannical shockwave of soul power detonated from the direction of Tingtao Pavilion!
The sudden eruption carried a bizarre, low-frequency hum that vibrated right through their bones. The ancient trees surrounding the pavilion thrashed wildly as if caught in a hurricane, and the very air itself grew blistering hot, carrying the distinct scent of scorched ozone.
Both Long Aotian and Du Busi whipped their heads around, staring at Liu Yuan's residence in absolute shock.
They both knew exactly what that specific atmospheric distortion meant. The person inside had not just made a minor breakthrough—they had shattered a major bottleneck.
"What in the world?" Long Aotian muttered, shielding his eyes from the sudden gale. "How did he generate such a massive phenomenon out of nowhere?"
Du Busi's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. A brilliant, emerald-green light flared within his pupils as he instantly projected a needle-thin, overwhelmingly powerful thread of mental force straight into the pavilion to investigate.
A split second later, the calm, unshakeable demeanor of the Level 98 Super Douluo shattered.
Du Busi's jaw dropped. A completely uncharacteristic curse slipped past his lips. "What the hell?!"
"Master? What's wrong?!" Long Aotian asked, his heart leaping into his throat. He summoned his soul power, ready to smash the stone doors down, assuming the worst.
Du Busi's mouth twitched violently. He stared at the pavilion, his voice laced with a heavy, suffocating disbelief. "That little monster... he leveled up again. He just broke through to Level 25. He is a Soul Grandmaster."
But that was not what had stripped the composure from the Body Sect's master.
Du Busi swallowed hard. He raised a trembling finger, pointing toward the epicenter of the scorching heat. "And... unless my senses are completely failing me in my old age, the qi circulation within his body has already formed a perfect, unbroken Great Cycle."
The old man turned to look at his chief disciple, his eyes wide. "This brat... he actually took a single month to push the Body Secret Method to the Entry Stage!"
The relieved smile on Long Aotian's face instantly froze, hardening into a mask of pure, unadulterated shock.
A deathly, suffocating silence descended upon the training grounds, broken only by the rustling of the scorched leaves.
'Are you kidding me?'
Jumping two full soul power levels in a single month was absurd enough.
But reaching the Entry Stage of the Body Secret Method?
It took Long Aotian—the undisputed genius of the Body Sect—five months of blood, sweat, and constant supervision to achieve that exact same milestone.
Long Aotian stared blankly at the stone doors of Tingtao Pavilion, his worldview crumbling into dust.
'Is Junior Brother even human?'
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