Chapter 12: Body Martial Soul, Problems with the Cultivation Technique
As the first light of dawn broke, soft halos of light scattered across the continent, waking people from their slumber.
The commoners of the Douluo Continent had already begun their day's labor.
Inside the Awakening Room of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall, specifically used for Awakening Spirits, three figures—two large and one small—had been standing for some time.
"Dad, why do we have to wait until we're six years old to awaken our Spirits?"
Tang Shan asked curiously while watching his father personally set up the Spirit Awakening Formation.
"It's not clear. Even tracing back through history, the specific reason remains unknown. Some people tried to awaken their Spirits before the age of six, but all of them failed. Some even suffered irreversible damage to their bodies."
Su Haichao answered Tang Shan's question while sketching the Six-Pointed Star Formation.
"In short, the rule of Awakening Spirits at age six seems to have originated from the Spirit Hall. Basically, there have been no cases of failure for those who awaken after six. So, this rule has been followed to this day."
As he finished speaking, the final stroke was completed.
Looking at the Six-Pointed Star Formation before him, Tang Shan was curious, wondering if this Formation had any connection to the spirit tools of the neighboring continent.
"Little brother, come here. Big brother will awaken your Spirit for you."
Su Yuntao rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation. Although Su Haichao had already taught him the method of Awakening Spirits because he wanted him to take over the responsibilities of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall, this was still his first time practicing it, and the subject was his own brother. How could he not be nervous and excited?
"Yuntao, relax. Even if it fails, it won't have any impact. If you succeed this time, then you will be the Spirit Master responsible for Awakening Spirits in the villages under Nuoding City's jurisdiction this year."
Su Yuntao took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions. Tang Shan had already stepped into the Six-Pointed Star Formation.
Taking six pitch-black stones from his father and placing them at the six corners of the star, Su Yuntao shouted in a low voice, "Lone Wolf, possess me!"
Sharp claws glinting with a cold light popped out from his fingers. The pupils of his eyes turned eerie green, his muscles bulged, and a powerful aura erupted, spreading in all directions. A bright yellow spirit ring emerged from beneath his feet, slowly rising and rhythmically moving up and down.
Facing the drastically transformed Su Yuntao, Tang Shan remained unfazed. He had seen his brother's Spirit possession many times and was not affected by the fierce aura of the Lone Wolf at all.
"Little brother, feel your body carefully and draw out that stimulated power."
As he spoke, Su Yuntao poured streams of spirit power into the Awakening Formation beneath his feet, and specks of golden light flooded into Tang Shan's body.
A warm current! The first thing Tang Shan felt was a warm current.
The warmth started from the soles of his feet and quickly spread throughout his entire body.
Subconsciously, he closed his eyes slightly, carefully experiencing this wonderful state.
Outside, both Su Yuntao, who was performing the Awakening, and Su Haichao, who stood aside with his arms crossed, couldn't help but gape.
Dense golden light specks continuously surged out from the Awakening Formation and then into Tang Shan's body.
According to the records of the Spirit Hall, the grander the Awakening scene, the better the quality of the Spirit, even if it didn't necessarily mean higher Innate Soul Power.
Given the scale of Tang Shan's Spirit Awakening, could it be that he was Awakening a top-tier Spirit?
After the warm current spread through his body, it seemed to activate a switch inside him. Following a special instinct, Tang Shan's mind moved slightly.
Immediately, strands of heat were drawn out from every part of his body. Although it was just a tiny bit from each place, because it came from his whole body, the droplets formed a stream, quickly gathering into a special energy that began to circulate automatically within him.
As the warmth of the Awakening receded, the power from his Spirit surged. Accompanied by the crisp popping of bones, Tang Shan's entire frame grew significantly larger.
A vigorous sense of power flooded his heart from his whole body. His mind became clear, his thoughts racing like lightning.
A phantom appeared behind Tang Shan and then crashed into his body.
Clenching his fists, the abundant power made Tang Shan feel better than ever. However, the information his Spirit's instinct gave him caused a bitter smile to appear on his face.
He finally understood why he was already 1.4 meters tall at only six years old, and he finally knew the root of his physical fitness, which had become increasingly absurd even before his Spirit awakened.
He had awakened a Body Martial Soul, a Body Martial Soul of his entire body, including his brain. It could be said that among the original Douluo novels he knew, this was definitely one of the top-tier Spirits.
However, this was the douluo one era, not the douluo two era. Forget the Body Sect, even the Tang Sect didn't exist yet. Where was he supposed to find a cultivation method for a Body Martial Soul?
The good news was that he had awakened the meta answer. Whether it was the Second Awakening, the Triple Golden Awakening, or the Divine Rank Physical Body known as the Flawless Golden Body, everything told Tang Shan that his future was promising.
The bad news was that none of this had anything to do with Tang Shan in the douluo one era.
It was the meta answer, but the version was wrong. The meta answer for the douluo one era was twin spirits, Spirit Bone armor, God Trial... it could be anything else, but definitely not a Body Martial Soul.
"Little brother, what is your Spirit?"
Seeing that no tool appeared and his body showed no beast-like characteristics other than growing taller, Su Yuntao had a bad premonition.
Recalling the phantom that crashed into his brother's body—which wasn't just similar but identical to him—Su Yuntao's bad feeling grew stronger.
Su Haichao also frowned. Having witnessed the entire process of Tang Shan's Spirit Awakening, he also had an unfortunate guess.
"My Spirit is my own entire body, which is a Body Martial Soul."
Tang Shan's answer was crisp and direct. The disappointment he felt when he first awakened was quickly pushed aside.
So what if it's a Body Martial Soul? If the people of the Douluo Continent can figure out how to Cultivate it, why can't I with my own imagination?
"Little brother, don't be disappointed. Even if it's just a trash Body Martial Soul that's only slightly better than Blue Silver Grass, it won't stop you from cultivating. If all else fails, your big brother will look after you in the future."
Hearing Su Yuntao's comfort, Tang Shan, who had already decided to research it himself, felt even more confident.
You can doubt my research abilities, but you should never doubt the eyes of the "Blind God King." As far as he knew, every Innately Full Spirit Power user that Su Yuntao had called a trash Spirit started as a God King, and some even surpassed that rank.
Feeling the spirit power in his body that could no longer increase through circulation, Tang Shan thought, "Isn't this 'Innately Full Spirit Power trash Spirit' description exactly about me?"
"Shan Zi, come, let's test your spirit power."
Taking the crystal ball Su Haichao handed him, a suction force erupted from it. Tang Shan immediately felt the spirit power in his body being absorbed like water through an open gate.
A brilliant light dyed the blue crystal into a vibrant gold. The light shone on the faces of Su Yuntao and Su Haichao, who once again gaped in surprise.
"In... Innately Full Spirit Power."
Su Yuntao stuttered.
"My son Tang Shan has the potential to become a Titled Douluo."
Su Haichao excitedly slapped Su Yuntao's shoulder. Regardless of whether it was a trash Spirit, with this Innate Soul Power, his cultivation speed would definitely not be weak. Even if his combat power was lacking later on, relying purely on spirit power to fight a Spirit Douluo would be more than enough.
Even a weak Titled Douluo is still a Titled Douluo; don't treat them like they're nothing.
Ignoring his brother's yelps from their father's slap, Tang Shan's lips twitched slightly at Su Haichao's words.
Dad, you really shouldn't say things like that.
After returning home, the three of them sat together.
Su Haichao looked at Tang Shan.
"Shan Zi, what are your plans for the future? How should I write the record for the Spirit Hall?"
"Dad, just report the facts to the Spirit Hall. Even though it's Innately Full Spirit Power, the potential of a Body Martial Soul is limited, so it won't cause much of a stir. As for my future cultivation plans, I need to study my Body Martial Soul more before deciding."
Su Yuntao leaned in toward Tang Shan with a mischievous look. "Little brother, now that your Spirit has awakened, shouldn't you start training? Do you want your big brother to help?"
Tang Shan pushed his brother's face away in annoyance. "Don't worry, when I start training, I'll definitely call you."
After discussing some precautions for cultivation and Su Haichao repeatedly telling him not to rush, Tang Shan finally returned to his room to begin his first cultivation session.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Tang Shan quickly entered a meditative state.
Even though he couldn't Cultivate before his Spirit awakened, he had long since memorized the first half of the process. Calming his mind was something he could do easily.
Next was sensing the Spirit and drawing in the spirit power from the world.
Following a vague sensation, Tang Shan's perspective—or rather, his state—changed. He had never felt his body so clearly and realistically.
The contraction of muscles, the beating of his heart, the movement of his intestines... this was his Spirit: the Body.
At the same time, he easily sensed the spirit power in the world. Truly... Tang Shan didn't know what to say. The spirit power he couldn't sense no matter what before was now easily detected. With a slight movement of his mental force, it could be absorbed into his body. It was as if the world before and after Spirit Awakening were two different places.
Absorbing the world's spirit power, he let it circulate through his Meridians to refine it into his own spirit power.
Streams of spirit power were drawn into his body, following the two Meridians in the basic Meditation Method Su Haichao had given him.
The quantity of spirit power didn't grow, but its quality was improving.
Time passed minute by minute. After about an hour, Tang Shan took the initiative to stop his cultivation.
It wasn't that he lacked the mental force to draw in more external spirit power, but rather that his Meridians had reached their limit. Forcing himself to continue might damage them.
Now Tang Shan roughly understood why a certain "Third Brother" could dominate the Douluo Continent with just a Mysterious Heaven Skill. There was no other way; these basic cultivation methods were too inferior. According to Tang Shan's understanding, it was just a Microcosmic Orbit circulation through the governing and conception vessels. With such a short path, the speed of refining external spirit power could be imagined.
Even if the Spirit Hall had more Advanced Meditation Methods, Tang Shan didn't have much hope for them.
Not cultivating the twelve primary meridians, which are most closely connected to the body, and instead jumping straight to the governing and conception vessels—Tang Shan thought, "I don't understand it, but I am greatly shocked."
In Tang Shan's view, the eight extraordinary meridians (including the governing and conception vessels) weren't uncultivable, but they should at least wait until one's cultivation was established. One shouldn't aim for them right from the start.
According to Tang Shan's understanding, the twelve primary meridians are the foundation, while the eight extraordinary meridians are more like amplifiers. If your foundation is poor, no matter how large an amplifier you build, even if it has some effect, it will only result in half the result for twice the effort.