Dou Er.
"Grandfather, you were looking for me?"
Su Ming was surprised to find an unfamiliar burly middle-aged man in the room, and looked at his grandfather, Su Can, in confusion.
The middle-aged man sized Su Ming up and gave his assessment.
"Not bad."
Su Can said to Su Ming, "Didn't you want to join the Body Sect? I found you an elder from the Body Sect."
Su Ming's eyes widened.
"Grandfather, you really agreed to let me join the Body Sect?"
The Body Sect was an outside force within the Sun Moon Empire. If discovered, it would be hunted down.
Su Can gave a bitter smile. "It can't be helped. The Empire's situation isn't very good right now, and our Su Family needs to make plans early."
Although the struggle among the princes was still fierce, after Xu Tianran's lower body became paralyzed, the two princes most likely to seize his position as Crown Prince died suddenly one after another. The situation had gradually become clear.
Anyone who still thought the situation was uncertain was simply too deeply involved, still gambling.
Xu Tianran clearly had a powerful hidden force, and that force was very likely made up of Evil Soul Masters.
Su Can also wanted to find backing for the Su Family. But other than Xu Tianran, the other princes clearly had no hope left, and he could not lead the Su Family into Xu Tianran's fire pit.
Cooperating with Evil Soul Masters was no different from seeking a tiger's hide.
As it happened, Su Ming's Martial Soul could perhaps be classified as part of the Main Body, albeit a rather special one. Thus, Su Can had paid considerable attention to the matter these past two years, using smuggling channels between the Sun Moon Empire and the Douluo Three Kingdoms to contact people from the Body Sect.
The Body Sect was simply too secretive in its dealings. It had taken him a full two and a half years before he finally managed to speak with them.
The Body Sect was also very interested in the Su Ming Su Can had described.
A Soul Power Martial Soul might not count as part of the Main Body when compared to an ordinary person's body. But what if it were compared to a Soul Master? Soul Power was also part of a Soul Master, so if one's Martial Soul was Soul Power, then it counted as part of the Soul Master as well.
The Body Sect had never encountered such a Body Martial Soul before, so it sent an elder at the Titled Douluo level to verify it.
Lei Zhen looked at Su Ming and said, "Let me feel your Soul Power."
Su Ming did not hesitate and released his Soul Power.
A sharp glint flashed through Lei Zhen's eyes.
He stared at Su Ming's Soul Power, his pupils contracting.
"Your Soul Power Quality is incredibly high!"
Could a Soul Master truly possess quality like this?
That was right, a Soul Master.
Su Ming was still a Soul Master!
During the Dou Er era, Su Ming had Innate Full Soul Power and a solid foundation, yet he was the most exhausted of the three Su Mings. He had to study and cultivate Soul Tools. What he studied was the Su Family's Soul Tool inheritance, a complete curriculum covering everything a Soul Engineer needed to learn, essentially encompassing the four major secondary professions of the Dou San era. Even Soul Engineers in the Dou Er era generally had to learn how to forge iron themselves. On top of that, he had to conduct in-depth research into Mecha Manufacturer knowledge. Thus, even though it had been over two and a half years since his Martial Soul awakened, he had yet to become a Soul Grandmaster.
His Soul Power Quality was simply too high. While Soul Power of Soul Masters at the same level was still as thin as water, his had already become as viscous as mercury, almost solidified!
This was also one reason his cultivation speed had been affected.
"With your condition, if your Soul Power Quality keeps improving, it really will solidify," Lei Zhen said.
Su Ming gave a bitter smile. "Yes. That's why I haven't obtained my Second Soul Ring. I feel that if it keeps improving, my Soul Power will directly turn solid."
Was solidification a good thing?
It seemed like the proper direction for cultivation, but in the Soul Master World, when Soul Power approached a solid state, the best choice was to condense a Soul Core. Highly compressed liquid Soul Power, rotating at high speed, would replace solid Soul Power. Not only was its density greater than that of a solid, but it was also more conducive to a Soul Master's control over Soul Power.
Before he was confident he could guide his Soul Power into condensing a Soul Core, he truly did not dare break through, afraid that his Soul Power would solidify on its own.
He had actually broken through to Level 20 exactly after cultivating for two and a half years. By now, he had remained at Level 20 for four months.
"Tsk, bottling it up like this isn't a solution. Once you absorb a Soul Ring, the results of your cultivation during this period will manifest. Before you grasp the method of condensing a Soul Core, you absolutely cannot obtain your Second Soul Ring," Lei Zhen said.
Su Ming nodded as well. "Right."
Lei Zhen said, "You passed the assessment."
Neither Su Ming nor Su Can understood what he meant.
What did he mean, passed the assessment?
Lei Zhen explained, "The greatest characteristic of a Body Martial Soul is the unrestricted positive feedback between the Martial Soul and the Soul Master, until it rapidly reaches a certain limit. Only then does the Second Awakening of the Martial Soul occur, allowing one to break free of that limit."
In truth, ordinary Martial Souls also had such a limit, but reaching it might require an extremely high realm, such as... Level 99.
A Body Martial Soul, however, could reach it around Level 60 due to its exceptional feedback mechanism.
"The feedback Su Ming's Soul Power Martial Soul received is obvious. It's only Level 20, yet it is already about to solidify. It is undoubtedly a Body Martial Soul."
Lei Zhen even felt that as long as Su Ming absorbed his Second Soul Ring and successfully condensed a Soul Core, he could undergo a Second Awakening of his Martial Soul and become the earliest Soul Master in Body Sect history to achieve a Second Awakening.
"Congratulations. You are now part of the Body Sect," Lei Zhen said with a smile. "Level 20 is your hurdle. Don't be discouraged because your Soul Power cannot improve. This is a hurdle every Soul Master with a Body Martial Soul must experience. Other Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls experience it around Level 60, while you are beginning to experience it now."
He stepped forward, patted Su Ming on the shoulder, and said seriously, "The sect has plenty of experience with condensing Soul Cores, so you needn't worry about that."
"The Sun Moon Empire is still unfriendly toward us. I must take Su Ming and leave as soon as possible. Our Body Sect has received the Su Family's goodwill, and we also know that we have separated family members within the Sun Moon Realm. We hope the Su Family can continue helping us search for family members with Body Martial Souls," Lei Zhen said respectfully.
"Can't you stay a few more days?" Su Can asked, somewhat reluctant to part.
Lei Zhen shook his head.
Due to issues of trust, he had made ample preparations even for this visit, in case Su Can was setting a trap. If he did not return today, his family stationed at the border would raise havoc in the Sun Moon Empire.
Lei Zhen acted swiftly, taking Su Ming to the border at once. After crossing mountains and ridges, they returned to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Dou Yi.
Savage Beast Mountain Range.
The tiny Dark Gold Bear could not stir up any trouble before Zhu Jiuyang. It was already sprawled on the ground, completely unable to resist.
At that moment, Su Ming kept drawing things resembling arrays around the fallen Dark Gold Bear.
Seeing this, Zhu Jiuyang could not help frowning.
"Xiao Ming, what are you doing?"
Su Ming said, "I learned this from that book. This type of array has a contract effect, allowing my connection with the Soul Ring to become closer. It also has multiple effects such as gathering spiritual energy and gathering souls, greatly increasing the chance of a Soul Bone dropping."
A look of surprise flashed through Zhu Jiuyang's eyes.
Could the system that developed after the Core Arrays within Soul Tools had matured be used this way?
He could not help marveling, "If so, that continent's civilization should have quite a few Soul Bones."
"Teacher, what did you say?" Su Ming turned back in surprise.
"Nothing. Continue drawing it," Zhu Jiuyang said, his expression settling as if he had said nothing at all.