Self-Created Soul Skills and the Zhu Clan's Five Scythes!

After reading nearly a thousand theoretical books on soul skills and Martial Souls, Zhu Ziyang gradually summarized three levels of self-created soul skills.

The first level was the expansion and innovation of existing Soul Ring skills. This was the simplest level, something any Soul Master sufficiently proficient in their own soul skills could accomplish. Generally speaking, high-level Soul Masters did not consider this a self-created soul skill.

The second level was development and creation based on the characteristics and abilities of one's Martial Soul. This required a Soul Master to possess an extremely deep understanding and control of their own Martial Soul. Zhu Ziyang was currently at this stage.

The final level was the creation of abilities known as battle techniques, divorced from soul skills and Martial Souls, relying entirely on the training and study of one's own Soul Power, Spiritual Power, or physical strength. Once such a battle technique was created, it could be passed down through generations and endure for eternity as a top-tier inheritance. The most typical example was the Clear Sky Sect's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer! This was undoubtedly the most difficult level. Throughout the history of Douluo Continent, only a handful of people had achieved it. Zhu Ziyang was fortunate that he might one day meet one of them: Dragon God Douluo Mu En!

Zhu Ziyang had a very clear direction for the soul skill he wanted to create: he wanted to create a scythe technique.

To achieve this goal, Zhu Ziyang found over a thousand notes and records left behind by Soul Masters who used long-handled weapons in the library. He then found quite a few military training manuals concerning long-handled weapons. In the end, after combining the basic combat techniques of numerous long-handled weapons, including scythe techniques, spear techniques, lance techniques, staff techniques, cudgel techniques, saber techniques, and halberd techniques, he created eleven scythe moves.

After nearly a year of refinement and polishing, these eleven scythe moves eventually became five scythe forms, which he called the Zhu Clan's Five Scythes.

The first form was called the Two-Form Reversal Style. He swung the War Scythe, making it spin at high speed in his hand to form a circle, then hurled it with all his strength at the moment its rotation reached its peak. It transformed into a boomerang. Along its flight path, the War Scythe generated an attractive force that pulled in and shredded nearby enemies. In Zhu Ziyang's ultimate vision, the Two-Form Reversal would incorporate his Power of Light and Power of Death, forming a Light Death Vortex with overwhelming suction and destructive force.

Unfortunately, Zhu Ziyang could currently only proficiently execute the first layer: the reversal style of throwing out and retrieving the rapidly spinning scythe. He could barely use the second layer, which incorporated the Light Element. As for the third layer, which incorporated the Power of Death, his research and mastery of the Power of Death were still insufficient, so it remained theoretical for now. Integrating both powers at once was even further beyond him.

This was the move he had used to kill the Thousand-Year Blazing Light Mantis.

The second form was called the Nine-Layered Chain Style. This move mainly utilized the blade of the War Scythe, slashing nine times at extremely high speed. Each slash was faster than the last, and each carried greater strength than the last. When all nine slashes were unleashed, they would utterly overwhelm the enemy. In Zhu Ziyang's vision, the ninth slash should be capable of cutting through space. With his current strength, Zhu Ziyang could only unleash four slashes at most.

The third form was called the Half-Moon of Death Style. Zhu Ziyang leaped high into the air, gripped the Radiant Scythe tightly with both hands, and then violently swung the War Scythe through the air, causing its blade to carve out a crescent-shaped blade radiance that descended from above and shattered the enemy. In Zhu Ziyang's vision, this move also needed to fuse the Power of Light and the Power of Death, allowing that crescent blade radiance to truly possess the glow of the moon of death and let enemies wither amid tragic beauty. Zhu Ziyang could now unleash a single crescent blade radiance, with power roughly one to two times that of his First Soul Skill. If he added the Power of Light, it could reach three to four times the power of his First Soul Skill.

The fourth form was called the Four-Directional Union Style. This was a defensive move, mainly using the Radiant Scythe's double-edged scythe blade, Ring Sub-Blade, and spearhead for close-range defensive counterattacks. This move primarily tested Zhu Ziyang's proficiency with the War Scythe. At present, it was the most complete move among his Zhu Clan's Five Scythes.

The fifth and final form was called the One Origin Return Style. Zhu Ziyang envisioned this move as fusing all of the Radiant Scythe's soul skills into one, unleashing an immensely powerful yet unadorned slash. At present, this move remained only in Zhu Ziyang's imagination, because he was still unable to fuse the Power of Light and the Power of Death.

Although the Power of Light and the Power of Death were not as mutually incompatible as ice and fire or light and darkness, they were still utterly unrelated, and there was repulsion between them. Their only common point was probably that both possessed purification abilities, though the purification abilities of the two were vastly different. Zhu Ziyang still had a long road ahead if he wanted to fuse these two powers.

The only thing he could use as a reference now was the Radiant Scythe itself, to see how it perfectly fused the powers of light and death together.

What a long road ahead!

Zhu Ziyang sighed.

Evening.

After practicing for an entire day, Zhu Ziyang prepared to return home.

He headed toward Beihe Village, but suddenly sensed a deep roar coming from behind him. Zhu Ziyang froze, then turned to look. Only then did he realize that the roar had come from deep within the back mountain.

Out of curiosity, Zhu Ziyang decided to take a look.

The back mountain of Beihe Village lay on the outermost fringe of the Northern Mountain Range and bordered the Far North Ice Plain. Every year, Soul Beasts from the outer regions would enter it, so City Lord Hong Zhen would lead people into the mountains each year to drive away these intruding Soul Beasts and prevent them from harming the villagers in nearby settlements. Logically speaking, the Soul Masters of Anyang City had only cleared the back mountain area a month ago. There should not have been another Soul Beast entering so soon!

Zhu Ziyang was deeply puzzled, but to prevent any villagers from being hurt, he still decided to investigate.

He was confident that he could handle any Soul Beast below ten thousand years. Even if he could not defeat a Soul Beast above ten thousand years, escaping would not be a problem.

But how could a Soul Beast with more than ten thousand years of cultivation be willing to come to the back mountain? Whether in terms of resources or environment, the back mountain would not appeal to even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Even Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would probably disdain it. Only some Hundred-Year Soul Beasts liked coming here.

That was why Zhu Ziyang dared to act so boldly.

Soon, following the roar, Zhu Ziyang arrived before a small cave more than a hundred meters away from where he usually cultivated. Because the entrance had been blocked by leaves, Zhu Ziyang had never discovered it.

As he approached the cave entrance, the roar became increasingly clear. He could distinctly hear the intense weakness within it. It was clearly the cry of a severely injured Soul Beast.

Zhu Ziyang immediately made his judgment. This should be a heavily wounded Soul Beast that had fled to the back mountain. Judging by the roar, it should be a Soul Beast around a thousand years old.

He decided to go in and take a look.

He pushed aside the leaves before the entrance, revealing an opening only large enough for a six-year-old child to pass through. For Zhu Ziyang, who stood nearly one meter seventy tall, it was obviously far too small. If he wanted to enter, he could only bend over. Lowering his head, he saw dried bloodstains on the ground at the entrance, stretching all the way into the pitch-black cave.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Ziyang bent down and entered the cave. The entrance was small, and the space inside was also cramped. It did not seem naturally formed, but rather as if it had only recently been dug out. Zhu Ziyang walked three or four meters before the tunnel ended. Further inside was a somewhat larger cavern, yet Zhu Ziyang no longer dared to enter.

More accurately, his legs had already gone weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees. He had only one thought now: run, run quickly!

What had he seen?

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