The Path of Martial Arts, Soul Douluo Long Fei

After Long Fei left, Chen Xilin had little to do. Aside from cultivating, he spent his time tending flowers, practicing Tai Chi, drinking tea, and admiring the scenery.

Every now and then, he indulged himself by visiting a music hall to listen to some tunes. Of course, he only listened to music. As a qualified martial arts grandmaster, he still had that much self-discipline.

Chen Xilin spent most of his time at the Suotuo Great Soul Arena, watching Spirit Masters fight.

Over time, Chen Xilin witnessed many battles between Spirit Masters. Some were not merely soul battles, but life-and-death fights between Spirit Masters.

The soul battles in the Great Soul Arena were mainly divided into three categories:

Game: Sparring matches between opponents, where killing or dealing cruel blows was forbidden. This was the primary way for Spirit Masters to gain practical combat experience and improve their skills.

Life-and-Death Battle: Used to settle irreconcilable disputes. These battles were far more brutal, with both sides sending out equal numbers of Spirit Masters to fight until one side had completely fallen.

Bet Battle: The Great Soul Arena served as the referee, while both sides sent equal numbers of Spirit Masters into battle. The final victor received everything wagered in the bet. This format was more common among great nobles and clans.

Whenever there was a Life-and-Death Battle, Chen Xilin would certainly go watch. He wanted to see whether the people of Douluo Continent could rise to a higher level when faced with life and death.

As for himself, although he had never fought in a soul battle against a Spirit Master, his combat experience was beyond comparison with that of ordinary Spirit Masters.

Long Fei often took Chen Xilin to fight Spirit Beasts. Spirit Beasts of the same level were stronger, because their size, strength, and resistance to injury all surpassed those of humans.

Of course, weakling Spirit Beasts could be ignored, such as the Ice Silkworms found in the Ice Sealed Forest. That race's combat power could essentially be considered zero.

With the combat experience Chen Xilin had accumulated across two lifetimes, he would have no opponent among those of the same level. Moreover, while in the Blue Tier Futu state, even a twenty-thousand-year Striped Fierce Tiger could not harm him in the slightest.

Chen Xilin had some understanding of Douluo Continent, but this Timeline held far too many unknowns for him.

The Pope was still Qian Xunji. Qian Daoliu had only passed down his position not long ago. The Clear Sky Sect had yet to close itself off, and Chen Xilin did not know whether Tang Chen had already left.

Chen Xilin did not even know when Tang San would be born. Besides, he had no particular feelings toward Tang San. The boy had not even been born yet, nor had he provoked him, so there was no need to target him.

His only thought now was to reach the pinnacle of martial arts. This Douluo Continent could help him rapidly attain the highest level of the Muscle Tendon Classic, the Black Tier Futu.

However, the Black Tier Futu had four levels. Chen Xilin had already experienced the Third Room Battle Mark and the Second Room Battle Mark.

Converted to Douluo Continent's standards, the Third Room Battle Mark was probably already at the Titled Douluo level. Moreover, it was a Titled Douluo with ultimate defense. Titled Douluo of the same level could not break through the Black Tier Futu's defenses.

As for the highest realm, Avici, Chen Xilin had no clue at all. There was still some information regarding the First Room Battle Mark, but Avici... could it be equivalent to the Deities of this world?

Avici truly meant invincibility under heaven. The cultivator's body became one with the universe itself. No matter how powerful the enemy was, they could not compare with the universe and would ultimately be swallowed whole!

That was how the Muscle Tendon Classic described it. As for how powerful it truly was, it was impossible to imagine.

Chen Xilin intended to reach the highest realm of the Muscle Tendon Classic. He wanted to see the scenery at that level as well.

Besides the Muscle Tendon Classic, Chen Xilin had many martial arts he wanted to master completely, such as the Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand he already knew.

Combined with the Dark Holy Dragon's claws in its Dragon Transformation state, this move possessed astonishing power.

Most importantly, Chen Xilin practiced an exceptionally sinister martial art. At least, in Chen Xilin's original world, this martial art had been notoriously vicious.

It was an incomparably sinister palm technique. Its palm force was like mountains collapsing and seas overturning, while a surge of extremely cold inner force rushed forward. The opponent would instantly feel cold down to their bones, and a green five-fingered palm print would appear on their body. The cold poison entered the body, making their limbs icy to the touch, as though they had touched a block of ice. Yet one spot on their back would feel as though it were being scorched by burning coals, while everything around it was cold to the bone. Once the cold poison entered the body and flared up, the pain was unbearable, leaving one with only a slim chance of survival.

Its name was the Mysterious Nether Palm. It was one of the martial arts Chen Xilin knew, and its creator was Daoist Baisun.

Back then, Chen Xilin had slapped to death a fellow who had only just begun learning the Mysterious Nether Palm, then luckily acquired this martial art.

Ever since Chen Xilin awakened the Dark Holy Dragon Spirit, he had continued cultivating this palm technique. The Dark Attribute was exceptionally compatible with this martial art.

Most importantly, Douluo Continent surely did not have the Nine Yang Divine Skill. Spirit Hall's Six-winged Angel might be able to dispel the cold poison, while other methods might require a fire-attributed Titled Douluo to personally channel soul power to remove it.

But having a Titled Douluo channel soul power required considerable time and effort, and Chen Xilin's attainments in the Mysterious Nether Palm were extremely high.

After all, he had been highly skilled in this palm technique in his previous life. As for why he had died, that damned Qin Yang knew the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the absolute nemesis of his martial arts.

In his previous life, when Chen Xilin had still been Chen Xuanji, he had only cultivated the Mysterious Nether Palm to the realm of perfection. His other martial arts were merely passable. He had focused exclusively on the Muscle Tendon Classic and the Mysterious Nether Palm—one for protecting his body, the other for self-defense.

Then he had run into someone with the Nine Yang Divine Skill. His luck could not have been worse. Otherwise, he would not have been forced down the path of mutual destruction.

In this life, Chen Xilin had already decided that once he cultivated the Black Tier Futu, anyone who dared provoke him would get a Mysterious Nether Palm in return.

The cold poison of the Mysterious Nether Palm combined with the corrosion of the Dark Attribute—dark cold poison. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Chen Xilin could already imagine how much his enemies would suffer.

Chen Xilin felt that if he put on a black robe, covered his face, used the Dark Mysterious Nether Palm, and then let out a sinister cackle, tsk, tsk... just thinking about it was chilling.

"Cultivate, cultivate. Now is the time to cultivate!" Chen Xilin cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind and resumed his cultivation.

Elsewhere, in the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A massive Dark Earth Dragon King was blasted to the ground by a barrage of soul skills. Dark green vines wrapped around its body, restricting its movements and leaving it unable to dodge.

"Xiao Liu, hurry and finish it. Absorb the spirit ring," a Golden Eagle in the sky said to Long Fei.

The Golden Eagle possessed eight spirit rings: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black.

"Thanks, Second Brother." Long Fei smiled and delivered the final blow to the Dark Earth Dragon King.

A pitch-black spirit ring slowly rose into the air.

"Hah, a Dark Earth Dragon King that's nearly fifty thousand years old. Don't disappoint me."

Long Fei sat down and began absorbing the black spirit ring.

Six people stood guard around Long Fei.

Two were in the sky, while four stood on the ground.

The two in the sky were the Golden Eagle Spirit Douluo and a Gale Falcon Spirit Saint.

The Gale Falcon Spirit Saint possessed seven spirit rings: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

This was the optimal spirit ring configuration, even better than Long Fei's. He was the team's Seventh, and also the one everyone looked after most.

Of course, despite being ranked last, he was actually a genius. The team's rankings were based on age, and because he was the youngest, he was Seventh. If they were ranked by talent, he should have been First.

After all, when he awakened his spirit, his Innate Soul Power had reached Rank Nine! He was not yet forty years old, but he was already a Rank Seventy-Four Spirit Saint.

In another twenty years, he might become a great Titled Douluo, revered by Spirit Masters across the continent!

Among the four on the ground, the Old Man was also the team's leader. His spirit was the Ghost King Vine, and he likewise possessed the optimal spirit ring configuration: two yellow, two purple, and three black.

Everyone else had spirit ring configurations of two yellow, three purple, and two black.

A team of seven, with two Spirit Douluo and five Spirit Saints—this was a force not to be underestimated.