Chen Dong: Me? Carried to Victory? Him? MVP?

Chen Dong stood there, utterly dumbfounded.

He felt that something was off.

If he remembered correctly, on the way here, he had reminded Chen Ming more than once that as long as Chen Dong caught the sect's eye, he would definitely put in a good word for him and get him admitted too.

After all, his Wolf Lord was a genuine blade-type Martial Soul, and a top-tier one at that.

But now that they had truly entered the Mad Saber Sect and stood before someone who seemed to be one of its experts, everything had turned out differently from what he had expected.

Crap!

I'm the one getting carried!

Chen Ming got the MVP!

"Senior, have you made a mistake? His Martial Soul is a body, while mine is the Wolf Lord Broadsword." Chen Dong could not help reminding him.

Lei Zhen shifted his gaze away from Chen Ming and looked at Chen Dong.

"Wolf Lord?"

A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.

"Summon your Martial Soul and let me see it."

Chen Dong was overjoyed. He immediately summoned the Wolf Lord Broadsword.

Compared to when it had first awakened, the Wolf Lord had not changed much.

Lei Zhen's gaze swept over the Wolf Lord. Then he stepped before Chen Dong and struck down with his palm. Chen Dong instinctively raised his broadsword to block.

Palm and blade collided, yet it was the blade that was forced back.

Chen Dong stumbled back three steps. He drove the broadsword into the ground beside him to steady himself, then looked up at Lei Zhen ahead of him, his face full of shock.

Was this even human?

Had this guy used his Martial Soul just now?

Had he used Soul Power?

Once the shock faded, Chen Dong quickly thought it through and found the reason.

The reason this senior seemed so concerned about Chen Ming's Body Martial Soul was probably that he possessed a Body Martial Soul himself!

Otherwise, it was difficult to explain how the other man had forced back his Wolf Lord Broadsword with nothing but his flesh and blood.

Chen Dong was certain that this senior had not used any Soul Power at all!

Wait, did the Mad Saber Sect get its name wrong?

Chen Dong looked as though his entire worldview had collapsed.

Having been forced back by that palm strike, the Wolf Lord in his hand released a powerful intent. A faint wolf howl seemed to rise as the blood-red mist emitted from the crimson patterns on the broad blade rapidly condensed, faintly forming tiny red bolts of lightning.

Lei Zhen frowned.

"Looks like it is the Wolf Lord I know."

"But the quality of your Wolf Lord Martial Soul is so intact. You should have Innate Full Soul Power, yet it only awakened now."

Lei Zhen sighed.

However, he did not look down on Chen Dong because of this.

To be honest, Martial Souls that appeared weak due to all kinds of special circumstances were as common as grass in the Body Sect.

The vast majority of Body Martial Soul masters struggled to find suitable methods of cultivation. Combined with their generally low Innate Soul Power, they ended up mediocre. Most only joined the Body Sect in their teens or even their twenties, which was why the Body Sect often saw mediocre Soul Masters rise to prominence.

If you seemed somewhat ordinary now, it was not your fault. It was simply the result of your environment.

"You two are both at Rank Ten Soul Power, so it is time to obtain your Soul Rings. I'll take care of some trivial matters first. Tomorrow, I'll take Chen Dong to obtain his Soul Ring. As for Chen Ming—"

As he spoke, Lei Zhen gave Chen Ming a particularly meaningful look.

"Chen Ming, your Martial Soul is a Body Martial Soul. All Body Martial Souls are one family. You should join my Body Sect. Although I spent a great deal of effort establishing the Mad Saber Sect, I am, in truth, still a disciple of the Body Sect."

The Mad Saber Sect had been founded jointly by Lei Zhen and another Soul Sage known as the Wind Thunder Saber. Lei Zhen served as the sect's chief consecrated elder, while the Wind Thunder Saber was the Mad Saber Sect's sect master.

The reason he had joined forces with the other man to establish the Mad Saber Sect here was also for the sake of his cultivation.

Unlike traditional disciples of the Body Sect, he had a deep interest in Blade Techniques while cultivating his body. What set Lei Zhen apart from most Body Sect disciples was that he had done fairly well before joining the Body Sect, because he had found his own path of wielding a blade with his body and had achieved some success in Blade Techniques.

The Mad Saber Sect had been established to facilitate his cultivation of Blade Techniques.

In fact, his Blade Techniques had become intertwined with the cultivation of his Body Martial Soul. In places saturated with the aura of bladed weapons, he could even achieve effects similar to mimetic cultivation!

That was also why he had founded a blade-focused sect outside the Body Sect.

"I am accepting you not on behalf of the Mad Saber Sect, but on behalf of the Body Sect. Are you willing to return home with me and cultivate in the Body Sect?"

Although Lei Zhen's tone was sincere, it was clear from his words that Chen Ming had no choice but to go.

"I am willing."

Chen Ming did not attempt to refuse.

Since he had chosen a Body Martial Soul in this life, he had naturally intended to cultivate in the Body Sect.

"Good!"

Lei Zhen was delighted. He explained some of the Body Sect's history to Chen Ming and went over many of the precautions involved in cultivating a Body Martial Soul.

Even at Shrek Academy, it was difficult for those with Body Martial Souls to receive proper guidance. In the original story, Huo Yuhao had only learned of his Martial Soul's classification and the existence of Body Martial Souls after his outstanding performance in the freshman tournament. Even then, he knew little about cultivating a Body Martial Soul or its Second Awakening.

Yet Chen Ming had now received Lei Zhen's guidance directly.

Though domineering, he was truly devoted to his family. There was no scheming or intrigue—he simply began teaching him outright.

"Martial Soul Second Awakening? Evolution?"

Chen Dong, listening from the side, was practically drooling.

This Body Martial Soul was seriously that awesome?

It came with an extra Martial Soul evolution out of nowhere?

Chen Dong shot Chen Ming an envious look.

"The acquisition of soul rings for a Body Martial Soul pursues balance, as well as limits," Lei Zhen said. "Balance refers to maintaining balance among the different attributes of the soul beasts providing the soul rings. Limits refer to pushing the limits of what a Soul Master can endure from a soul ring."

"For a Body Martial Soul tied to a specific body part, the soul beast's abilities must not only match that corresponding part, but also satisfy those two principles as much as possible. That is the optimal path of cultivation for a Body Martial Soul."

"As for why..."

Lei Zhen pondered for a moment. Seeing no confusion on Chen Ming's face, he decided to continue.

The boy looked clever, and there was a certain spiritual light shining in his eyes. He should be able to understand.

"A Body Martial Soul is the Martial Soul most closely connected to a Soul Master, and the one that receives the most direct feedback from the body. To a certain extent, it is even less constrained by the age limits of soul rings among the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. Even if the body cannot endure it, as long as the excess is not too outrageous, the Body Martial Soul can rapidly strengthen during the absorption process and increase the body's ability to withstand it."

"In other words, even a soul ring impact that you cannot currently endure can be rapidly adapted to during the absorption process, thanks to the Body Martial Soul growing stronger so quickly."

Many Martial Souls had a chance of surviving such unexpected situations, but the odds were truly too low.

A Body Martial Soul, however, could make it through almost reliably.

The four-hundred-year limit for a first soul ring could be pushed to five hundred years for a Body Martial Soul Master. The second soul ring's limit was a little over seven hundred years, while a Body Martial Soul Master could challenge eight hundred or even nine hundred years.

Of course, that referred to normal physical endurance.

If one's physical constitution was already strong enough to endure a five-hundred-year first soul ring, then the traits of a Body Martial Soul would allow one to challenge a six-hundred-year ring.

And so on.

"Pushing your limits again and again is also laying the foundation for a Martial Soul Second Awakening. A Body Martial Soul's Second Awakening is not a transformation that happens overnight."

"I'll need to take you back to the sect before I can assess your physical condition accurately. Once that is confirmed, the sect elders will take you to obtain your soul rings."

Douluo World, Douluo souls—having crossed over here, I had to go through the proper process and fight the Sea God.

If I'd crossed into Douluo, then naturally I had to follow the routine. But where had my entire God Realm—and that huge Tang San—gone?