Cultivation

"Did any soul masters with Innate Full Soul Power emerge during this year's Martial Soul Awakening?"

Xu Tianran stood by the window with his hands behind his back, the blinding light outside forming a stark contrast with the dim interior.

"Young Master, all six-year-old Imperial Members underwent Martial Soul Awakening yesterday. Among them were two talents with level-eight and level-nine Soul Power," the attendant answered with his head lowered.

"Only two?"

Xu Tianran looked toward the Imperial Palace in dissatisfaction.

"How can those trash who only know how to promote peace compare to My Father? Hmph, even the geniuses born from Martial Soul Awakening are becoming fewer every year."

The attendant was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt, not daring to respond, yet inwardly cursed.

Isn't it because you're inhuman? Every year, you arrange accidents to assassinate a batch of geniuses. The remaining ones with level-eight Soul Power are taken in as dogs.

Of course, he only dared to grumble about that in his heart.

Xu Tianran looked at the attendant with a cold expression.

"Investigations have been strict lately. My Father's plan will begin in six years, so stop for a while."

"Oh, and there are too many dogs in the household. Cripple all those above level eight."

The attendant nodded cautiously. "As you command!"

"I never expected that crippled Crown Prince to still be alive. Heh heh."

Xu Xiao sneered disdainfully as he looked at the intelligence in his hand.

"Lord, although he has tamed many geniuses with Innate level-eight Soul Power over the years, he will sooner or later suffer a backlash! It is said that Xu Tianran likes to use filthy methods to torment them for a while before taking them in as dogs."

Xiao He slowly spoke while holding a bamboo scroll.

"If it truly happens as Lord said six years from now, they will surely rebel. This servant believes Xu Tianran's legs were also crippled by the geniuses he tamed during that period."

Xu Xiao put down the intelligence in his hand and began to ponder.

On the day of the rebellion, Xu Tianran's guards would be at their weakest. Those geniuses had once possessed bright futures, yet had ended up like this. It served him right that his legs had been crippled!

He only had these six years left. Although the current emperor appeared to command the five great Soul Mech Legions, he actually only controlled the Taiyue Royal Soul Mech Master Legion!

Xu Tianran's father controlled the Infantry Legion, but over the next six years, he was likely planning to slowly infiltrate the Taiyue Royal Soul Mech Master Legion.

He glanced at the photograph on the table. It showed the attendant who had awakened his Martial Soul yesterday, a member of the Royal Soul Mech Master Legion and also someone Xu Tianran had planted within the imperial family.

"Have Xiang Yu keep an eye on him. If he is sure that man will not make a move against me later, have him return. There is no need to keep following that trash."

Xu Xiao added, "Xiao He, go gather information and see what forces within the empire can be used by me."

"As you command!"

Watching Xiao He's retreating figure, Xu Xiao stood beneath a tree and looked toward Schlke Academy.

He wondered where those Evil Soul Masters were hiding now. Xiang Yu had checked the places where the Holy Cult might have been hiding in the original story yesterday, yet found no traces of Evil Soul Masters.

Sitting cross-legged, Xu Xiao planned to cultivate for a few days before going Soul Hunting for a Soul Ring, while also improving his physique.

Host: Xu Xiao

Identity: Taiyue Empire Imperial Member (upon seizing the throne, Summon Count +1 each year)

Cultivation Method: Yang God Technique (automatically evolved by the system)

Martial Souls: Sun Martial Soul (Extreme Fire!), Double Pupil

Soul Power Cultivation: Level 10 (Innate Full Soul Power; unable to reach level 20 without divine favor)

Summoned Characters: Xiang Yu, Xiao He

Available Summon Count: 0

He had long discovered that the system had optimized his cultivation method. Only now did he have time to cultivate it.

The Yang God Technique guided Soul Power into the Dantian. He imagined a warm flame igniting there and forming a Little Flame.

By taking advantage of periods such as sunrise in the morning and the height of the noon sun, he could absorb Yang Energy from nature and the sun through a special cultivation method.

It was said that once this cultivation method reached its later stages, it could form something in the Dantian comparable in scale to the sun from his previous life!

Xu Xiao felt that even without Soul Rings, merely wielding heat energy comparable to the sun would be enough to burn a god alive!

Xu Xiao had yet to decide on his first Soul Ring. As for the Double Pupils Martial Soul, the system indicated that it would unlock alongside his progress in cultivating the Yang God Technique and could not be fitted with Soul Rings.

That was because his Double Pupil talent was too powerful. Even formidable soul skills were merely routine functions to him.

For example, Huo Yuhao's Mental Detection, mental shock, and the like had all come with his awakening, and they would grow stronger as his cultivation improved.

After awakening, his physique was now just capable of absorbing a Soul Ring more than ten thousand years old!

If he wanted to improve further, he would need Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures containing Extreme Fire energy. He could only have Xiang Yu look for them along the way.

Still, he did not hold much hope. The land of the Taiyue Continent was far too barren.

Within his Dantian, the flame slowly began to grow larger, while the sunlight in the sky seemed to gather toward him in greater quantities.

A vast amount of Yang Energy invisible to ordinary people continuously converged upon Xu Xiao from all directions!

Nourished by the Yang Energy, the Little Flame burned even more fiercely! The massive amount of gathered Yang Energy first enhanced the quality of his Martial Soul.

Once the quality of his Martial Soul reached the limit of Extreme Fire, a second Little Flame slowly began to take shape.

Xu Xiao could sense that his Little Flame needed to condense a total of nine flames before it could enter the next stage!

Then, only through Nine-Nine Return to One could he break through!

Why did this cultivation method feel vaguely familiar?

Xu Xiao felt that even if he gathered every Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure on Douluo Star, it would be impossible to refine a sun like the one from his previous life!

After all, Douluo Star was merely an insignificant speck of dust before the sun. Even the God Realm likely could not compare.

Sensing that his physique had strengthened somewhat due to the formation of the second flame, Xu Xiao decided to wait until he condensed nine flames before going Soul Hunting.

During this cultivation process, his cultivation method would continuously compress and improve the quality of his Soul Power automatically. Only by reaching the pinnacle of quality could he obtain better Soul Rings.

Xu Xiao was full of confidence now. Even though sitting cross-legged for so long was dull, he did not slacken in the slightest.

Over the next few days, some of the original owner's fair-weather friends came to invite him out to sample the flavors of the empire's noblewomen, but he refused them all.

The moment those fellows awakened their Martial Souls, their bodies matured. With their desires left unchecked, combined with Xu Tianran's methods, they had likely already been ruined. Did they want to drag him down with them too?

Still, he could not appear too outstanding when most Imperial Members could not resist temptation.

The Double Pupils Ability activated.

The royal youths who had come to visit, along with their guards, were far beneath him in spiritual realm. He casually found an excuse and brushed them off.

As for whether there were other watchers in the shadows, Xu Xiao was not overly worried with Xiang Yu and Xiao He around.

A thought suddenly came to him. At this point in time, Scum was probably already obsessively spying on Douluo Continent, wasn't he?

Poor Huo Yuhao had likely only just been born, yet he was already being watched by an old monster and had his name entered onto the Dog Training List.

Xu Xiao had found the child rather pitiful when reading the novel in his previous life, especially during the part in Qiankun Valley of Love and Emotion.

If he found a way to deal with Scum later, he would definitely give that pure and spotless Goddess Tang a proper lesson there!

He really wanted to know what expression Scum would make when someone used his own dog-training methods against him.