Top-Tier Martial Souls Come with Divine Cultivation Manuals

Mentioning Tang Hao, Zhou Qing asked Tang San, "Grandpa Jack directly gave you the village's spot without discussing it with your father. Shouldn't you go back and tell him?"

"That's worth thinking about."

Tang San's tone sank.

Ever since the Forge Workshop had been established near Zhou Qing's house, the time Tang San spent at home had plummeted. Every day was packed full, and his relationship with Tang Hao had grown increasingly distant.

By now, Tang San was even the one bringing Tang Hao his three daily meals.

He could already imagine that if he left Holy Soul Village later to study at Nuoding City's junior Soul Master Academy, Tang Hao might stop him—because no one would bring him food!

Tang San believed Tang Hao was absolutely capable of doing such a thing!

But Tang San did not want to bring that up right now. Instead, he dragged Zhou Qing to the Forge Workshop, shut the doors, drew the curtains, and acted all secretive.

"What are you trying to do?"

Zhou Qing looked terrified. He hugged his shoulders and pressed his legs tightly together. "I'm a guy! And you're only six! Do you have to be this desperate?"

Tang San's face darkened, and his eye twitched. "Aren't you six too? Why are your thoughts so filthy?"

"Can you blame me? The guys in the village who are six or seven years older than us are already married, and the girls are already married off. At the very least, they're old enough to be talking about marriage." Zhou Qing was speaking the truth, but he stopped fooling around and asked seriously, "What do you want to do? Let me make this clear first: the Back Door is off limits, so is the mouth. Hands are fine, though I might deliberately crush yours."

As he listened to Zhou Qing's description, veins bulged on Tang San's forehead. "I'm not joking! Also, aren't you being a little too lewd?"

"Ahem, I was just lightening the mood. Don't mind it. You made such a big show of this, so you must have made some major discovery. I had to ease the tension in my heart." Zhou Qing straightened his back, raised both hands high, and spoke righteously. "Now I'm ready."

Tang San took a deep breath and calmed the surging emotions in his heart before raising his left hand.

A flash of black light appeared, and a small black hammer materialized. Tang San gripped it in his hand, but it seemed so heavy that his arm had to lower.

"You have two Martial Souls, and the other one is a hammer." Zhou Qing's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was deeply gratified. At least at this moment, Tang San had completely opened himself up to him.

"You're not surprised that I have two Martial Souls?"

Tang San put away the Clear Sky Hammer and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Summoning the Clear Sky Hammer consumed a considerable amount of his Soul Power. It truly was worthy of being a top-tier Tool Martial Soul.

"What's there to be surprised about?" Zhou Qing asked strangely. "Other than special Body Martial Souls like mine and certain unusual circumstances, everyone else's Martial Souls are inherited from their parents. You simply inherited both your father's and mother's Martial Souls at once."

"Body Martial Soul?" Tang San was hearing that term for the first time.

"I coined it. After all, my Martial Soul is my heart... Hmm, that doesn't seem entirely accurate. My Martial Soul should be the Blood Circulation System, including the heart. That term is more appropriate."

That was also Zhou Qing's current conclusion. His Martial Soul was not merely a heart, but an entire Blood Circulation System. When his Martial Soul awakened and completed possession, it perfectly overlapped and fused with his body's original blood circulation system—

At that instant!

He could clearly feel the beating of his heart, the expansion and contraction of his blood vessels, and the flow of his blood. He had even indirectly sensed the rhythm of every cell in his body!

Although that level of perception was extremely vague and even felt like an illusion, Zhou Qing was certain that with such a complete Blood Circulation System, his Martial Soul was already a rare top-tier Martial Soul even without undergoing any so-called second or third awakening.

And with the diagrams of meridians and acupoints for cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill that Tang San had given him, along with his scientific way of thinking from his previous life, wouldn't creating Self-Created Soul Skills in the future be effortless?

"Never mind that for now. Are my two Martial Souls really as simple as inheriting my parents' Martial Souls at the same time?" Tang San interrupted Zhou Qing's speculation and asked about his own situation.

"What else could it be?"

Zhou Qing countered, "Are you saying one of your Martial Souls appeared out of thin air?"

"It's possible. You said both of your parents had Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls, yet your Martial Soul is a heart... a Blood Circulation System." Tang San pointed out that Zhou Qing himself was an example.

"How is that the same?"

Zhou Qing was speechless. "I have a feeling that Body Martial Souls are the Martial Souls humans were meant to have. All those Tool Martial Souls, Beast Martial Souls, and the like are impure things."

Tang San's face darkened. This had escalated from a personal attack on someone else's Martial Soul to a soul-body attack!

"I'm joking. Let's get to the point."

Zhou Qing became serious. "From the perspective of inheritance, Twin Martial Souls really are as simple as simultaneously inheriting both parents' Martial Souls. But in reality, possessing two Martial Souls at the same time is quite difficult."

"Difficult?"

After the Soul Guidance Crystal appeared, Tang San had spent more than half his time replicating the Soul Tool Core Formation engraved upon it. He had barely opened the new books about Martial Souls at Zhou Qing's house lately.

After all, a person's energy was limited. It was impossible to attend to everything.

For example, Zhou Qing had completely handed Soul Tool research over to Tang San. He was only responsible for recording the basics and occasionally offering some imaginative ideas from a modern person's perspective.

"Martial Souls have differences in quality, just as they differ in the amount of Innate Soul Power they possess. I suspect that the level of Innate Soul Power represents the quality of a Martial Soul."

Zhou Qing said calmly, "High-quality Martial Souls cultivate quickly, while low-quality Martial Souls cultivate slowly...

Based on the basic Meditation Method published by Spirit Hall and the cultivation method of the Mysterious Heaven Skill you provided, a Martial Soul is essentially an innate martial arts manual that comes with a person at birth. The so-called Meditation Method is the process of drawing closer to one's Martial Soul and learning that manual from it.

A Martial Soul itself also grows while acquiring Soul Rings, and it may even mutate. As a result, that martial arts manual may also undergo changes in its details.

In other words, according to this theory of mine, any Martial Soul capable of cultivation can reach the realm of a Titled Douluo, even if it only has Level One Innate Soul Power, provided there is enough time—meaning a human lifespan of roughly a thousand or ten thousand years—and provided that its future Soul Rings are extremely compatible with the Martial Soul and do not create conflicts. The reason such people cannot reach that realm may be because, during the Martial Soul's growth, they obtained Soul Rings that did not match it, like a Plant Martial Soul choosing Soul Rings from animal Soul Beasts.

There may not be any obvious effects in the short term, but in the long run, if the Martial Soul does not possess Innate Full Soul Power, or if one does not have a cultivation method like our Mysterious Heaven Skill, the changes that occur during the Martial Soul's growth may gradually cause the path of Soul Power circulation in the human body to veer into dangerous extremes."

"Still, this theory has quite a few flaws, and I haven't found a single example yet. It may be overturned in the future."

But from this perspective, Tang San's choice in the original story to focus on the Mysterious Heaven Skill had been an absolutely correct path.

Otherwise, if he had chosen Soul Rings according to Yu Xiaogang's teachings, Tang San would probably have been finished.

Tang San nodded repeatedly as he listened, astonished by the way cultivation methods and Martial Souls were integrated in this world. But then he thought of something and asked in confusion, "Didn't you go off topic? What does this have to do with me having Twin Martial Souls?"

"It does have something to do with it."

Zhou Qing said, "According to my theory, Soul Masters generally possess only one Martial Soul because different Martial Souls provide Soul Masters with different cultivation methods. Although there is some overlap—the most basic initial Soul Power circulation follows the Ren and Du Meridians in a cycle—the detailed differences between different cultivation methods can cause major problems."

Tang San understood. It was like cultivating two internal-energy martial arts manuals at the same time. If one failed to balance them properly, it would be easy to explode and die.

Then Zhou Qing continued, "Continuing from my perspective, the human instinct is to seek Evolution and strength. Therefore, a strong Martial Soul will overpower a weak one. In other words, a Martial Soul containing a more complex Soul Power circulation route will cover up a Martial Soul with a simpler circulation route, manifesting dominantly and becoming visible."

"So under what circumstances can two Martial Souls manifest at the same time?"

Without waiting for Tang San to answer, Zhou Qing gave the answer himself. "Only one: when the potential Soul Power circulation routes conveyed to the Soul Master by the two Martial Souls are evenly matched."

"Originally, I thought all of your Innate Soul Power had been cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill. When I placed my hand on the Crystal Ball before, I felt the Soul Power cultivated by the Mysterious Heaven Skill being drawn in together with the Soul Power within my Martial Soul. I also noticed that some innate Soul Power remained in my Martial Soul, but the Crystal Ball could not absorb any more Soul Power. Since both your Martial Souls are relatively common, I thought your Innate Full Soul Power had been cultivated by yourself rather than naturally provided by your Martial Souls, meaning both were innate trash Martial Souls..."

Tang San's face darkened. But when he had placed his hand on the Crystal Ball, only the Internal Energy cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill had been absorbed. His two Martial Souls had not reacted at all.

Could I have twin trash Martial Souls?

He continued listening.

"...But judging from how this hammer appeared, it's incredibly heavy. Your Soul Power cannot even support it while it manifests outside your body and maintain its form. That proves this Martial Soul must be extremely powerful."

"By the same logic, your Blue Silver Grass should definitely not be ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Even if it looks like it, it should have the potential to grow into something comparable to the hammer in your left hand. Or perhaps it already possesses that potential and is merely disguising itself for now?"

"Only that possibility could result in you having Twin Martial Souls."

Tang San thought quietly for a while before asking, "Is there any proof?"

"It's simple."

Zhou Qing went home—that was, he walked next door—and handed Tang San the basic Meditation Method published by Spirit Hall. "Close your eyes and meditate. Carefully sense your Martial Souls. Don't cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill for now. Feel how Soul Power circulates within the two Martial Souls."

Tang San did as instructed.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill was upright and peaceful. Besides, he was merely sensing it. As long as he did not actively cultivate it, no serious problems would arise.

"Which one should I sense first?"

"The hammer."

After receiving Zhou Qing's answer, Tang San sat cross-legged. Following the instructions in the basic Meditation Method, he closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and connected with the hammer Martial Soul in his left hand.

In an instant, Tang San's Spiritual Power, far beyond that of ordinary people due to his cultivation of the Purple Demon Eye, received a response from the Clear Sky Hammer. Soul Power began to circulate through his body on its own in a manner different from the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Images of the Meridians and acupoints through which the Soul Power flowed clearly emerged in his mind.

This cultivation method was no weaker than the Mysterious Heaven Skill!

Tang San was utterly shocked!

Perhaps because his Spiritual Power was still insufficient, he could not achieve complete inner vision, and his perception was somewhat hazy. Yet Tang San, who understood the various Meridians and acupoints, could already fully analyze the foundations of this cultivation method diagram.

He also understood something: other Soul Masters in this world only began to come into contact with Spiritual Power after reaching the Soul Saint or Soul Douluo realm. Thus, during the early stages of cultivation, they could not accurately sense the complete cultivation route their Martial Souls provided. They needed their cultivation to rise and their Spiritual Power to passively grow before gradually receiving the whole thing.

Although Tang San had only seen the basic Meditation Method so far, he had already made a rather bold guess about the intermediate and advanced versions.

Their Soul Power circulation diagrams should contain more routes and be denser than the basic one. They could not directly allow Soul Masters to cultivate, but merely helped Soul Masters further determine exactly which Meridians were needed for the cultivation methods their Martial Souls gave their bodies during meditative cultivation.

As for those Martial Souls that were not born with Innate Full Soul Power, the Martial Soul would break through stages of growth during cultivation due to the enhancement of Soul Rings. This would cause the cultivation diagrams bestowed upon the Soul Master at every major stage to undergo differing changes in their details. Soul Masters below the Soul Douluo level, who could not yet perceive the function of Spiritual Power, would find it difficult to determine those changes. Thus, Martial Souls with low Innate Soul Power would face countless difficulties on their cultivation paths.

In Zhou Qing's theory, Soul Rings might be the key for Soul Masters with low Innate Soul Power to defy fate. But because knowledge of Soul Master cultivation was not fully open to the public, once a Soul Master with low Innate Soul Power chose the wrong Soul Ring, their future cultivation path would likely be as difficult as the road to Shu.

"How was it?"

Seeing Tang San open his eyes, Zhou Qing asked.

"I sensed the cultivation method the hammer gave me. It's no weaker than the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and it should suit the hammer extremely well." Tang San understood that Martial Souls required Soul Power to be driven. The Internal Energy cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill was upright and peaceful. If he used the hammer Martial Soul with it, he might struggle to perfectly unleash its power.

Tang San had never imagined that the Mysterious Heaven Skill he had longed for in his previous life, which had ultimately led to his death, would leave him with two—no, including the Blue Silver Grass he had not yet sensed, likely three peerless cultivation methods to choose from in this life.

Is Heaven compensating me?

I had nothing in my previous life, alone and without support. In this life, I awakened Martial Souls with peerless cultivation methods, and I even have a good brother who grew up with me!

"Is that so?"

Zhou Qing pondered. In the original story, Tang San had studied under Yu Xiaogang and focused on the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He probably had not even glanced at any Meditation Methods, and most likely had never discovered that the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Emperor came with their own cultivation methods.

The original story had also mentioned that Martial Souls were alive and needed to be communicated with. But given Tang San's circumstances in the original story, he had probably treated his Martial Souls as mere tools.

True communication?

That was simply impossible.

Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that the Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer had not recognized Tang San from the very moment of awakening. As a result, neither the Blue Silver Grass nor the Clear Sky Hammer had provided him with even a trace of Innate Soul Power. It was likely only after Tang San actively used the Internal Energy cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill to activate the two Martial Souls that he established a genuine connection with them on a physical level.

"Have you examined the Blue Silver Grass?"

"I'll try."

Tang San closed his eyes once again.

Immediately, his other Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, appeared in his Mental World. Based on the sensations it transmitted, an image of Meridian circulation formed in his mind on its own, but compared to the hammer from before, it was much hazier.

Although Tang San could sense that it was no weaker than the hammer, the image was indistinct. He could only barely discern the general paths of Soul Power circulation, while the details were impossible to make out.

Without a doubt!

His Blue Silver Grass was definitely of the same quality as the hammer. But why was it so hazy?

Opening his eyes, Tang San told Zhou Qing what he had discovered.

Zhou Qing understood at once. "That shows your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is definitely not ordinary. Its quality matches that of your hammer. As for why it is hazy, it is likely because your Blue Silver Grass has not grown up yet and is still in its developmental stage, or because your Spiritual Power is insufficient."

"Developmental stage?"

Tang San did not understand.

"Compared to Tool Martial Souls, whose specific functions are obvious at a glance, the books at my home about Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters describe how Beast Martial Souls undergo more noticeable changes at different stages of growth depending on their Soul Rings. In other words, more parts of the body undergo Beast Transformation..."

"Isn't Blue Silver Grass a Tool Martial Soul?"

Tang San raised his question before Zhou Qing had finished speaking.

"Plants are living things too, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Among Soul Beasts, there are animals and plants, right?"

"Yes."

Tang San nodded and understood immediately. He suddenly realized, "So Plant Martial Souls cannot be categorized as Tool Martial Souls!"

"Obviously. Just because Plant Martial Souls cannot possess the body like Beast Martial Souls and instead are held in one's hand, does that make them Tool Martial Souls?"

Zhou Qing had countless complaints in his heart about how Douluo Continent categorized Plant Martial Souls as Tool Martial Souls.

Even if Martial Souls could not be completely equated with real-world objects and Soul Beasts, there was still a connection between them. Was it really appropriate to crudely categorize Plant Martial Souls that could not possess the body as Tool Martial Souls?

How many Commoner Soul Masters with Plant Martial Souls had that harmed?

"They really can't be judged that way."

Tang San deeply agreed. He also resolved that in the future, aside from Zhou Qing's advice, he could not fully trust anyone else's knowledge regarding Martial Souls and Soul Beasts—not even that of a Titled Douluo. Otherwise, he might get led into a trap and end up thanking the person afterward, because they themselves did not know there was anything inappropriate about their understanding.

"I have an idea regarding the cultivation of Twin Martial Souls. Do you want to hear it?"

Since Tang San had become one of his own, Zhou Qing could no longer keep secrets from him. Besides, Zhou Qing himself possessed Innate Full Soul Power and would need Tang San's strength in the future.

The God Realm...

As a Transmigrator, his ability to plan ahead had to be high!

"I would be glad to hear it."

Tang San knew that after obtaining the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Zhou Qing had not merely cultivated it. He had asked Tang San in detail about the locations and functions of every Meridian and acupoint in the human body, as well as their connections with one another. Coupled with the ideas that occasionally made even Tang San's eyes light up, perhaps Zhou Qing really could offer constructive advice.

If possible, Tang San, being a perfectionist, did not want to give up any of these three cultivation methods...