Excessive Modesty

"Looks like you've gained some insight, Senior."

Ye Cheng looked at Sword Douluo, whose demeanor had changed considerably, and said with a smile.

"I have to thank you for your guidance yesterday, my friend." Sword Douluo's attitude toward him had clearly changed. Even the way he addressed him was different. Because of Ye Cheng's identity, no matter how approachable he seemed, Sword Douluo had subconsciously always regarded Ye Cheng as a junior.

But after Ye Cheng's guidance yesterday, coupled with sensing his unfathomable strength, Sword Douluo had finally come to see him as an equal in his heart. It was no longer merely for show, and that was why he now called him his friend.

Ye Cheng smiled and said nonchalantly, "I wouldn't dare call it guidance. They were merely some shallow thoughts of mine."

Although Douluo Continent was a world of martial souls,

the Soul Masters of this world relied far too heavily on soul rings. They never thought to develop the effects of their own martial souls, focusing only on the soul skills granted by soul rings. They paid no attention at all to developing their martial souls, and even those who did were far too primitive and crude.

A select few who properly developed their martial souls created techniques that could be used in conjunction with them.

These were called Self-Created Soul Skills by the Soul Master World.

Those geniuses capable of creating Self-Created Soul Skills could utterly crush Soul Masters of the same era. For example, Tang Chen, the founding ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect and the first Clear Sky Douluo, had dominated an era with Self-Created Soul Skills such as the Clear Sky Nine Perfections and the Great Sumeru Hammer.

Yet in truth, these Self-Created Soul Skills were not particularly profound or unfathomable.

They mainly stood out because their peers were so lacking, and because the genius Soul Masters who created them had been incredibly formidable to begin with. That was what made those soul skills seem so overwhelmingly powerful.

The Soul Master system was ultimately far too crude.

Soul Masters from tens of thousands of years later would be better off. By then, the development of Soul Guidance Technology had driven society forward at a rapid pace. People had emerged from ignorance, gradually cast off their dependence on soul rings, and begun exploring the essence of martial souls... Eventually, they could even create soul rings artificially.

They would no longer need to rely on soul beasts.

Only then would the Soul Master system become relatively complete.

But the current Douluo Continent's Soul Master system was still in a severely underdeveloped era. It could not exist without soul beasts; if soul beasts went extinct, Soul Masters would perish alongside them!

At this stage, the Soul Master system was far too rudimentary. Even cultivation could only be done through meditation. There was not even a single systematic cultivation method. It was at a stage where it had only just sprouted, yet had vaguely begun growing crooked.

Thus, Ye Cheng's words yesterday had been like a bolt from the blue to Sword Douluo. They had allowed him to vaguely perceive his own limitations.

He had glimpsed a path he had never imagined.

He had a feeling that he was not far from breaking through to Level 97.

Once Soul Masters reached Level 95, each level of advancement was no longer simply a matter of accumulating Soul Power.

It also required personal enlightenment. Some people remained stuck at the same level for their entire lives.

Without Ye Cheng's words yesterday, Sword Douluo knew that even if he were given another ten years, he might not necessarily be able to break through from Level 96 to Level 97.

For that very reason, after hearing Ye Cheng's words, Sword Douluo could only smile bitterly. "My friend, excessive modesty becomes hypocrisy."

If even a few shallow thoughts could bring him enlightenment, then perhaps the world itself had gone mad.