The Body That Transcends the Self, True Self

The next morning.

After a dreamless night, Zhao Xuanzhen finished washing up, changed into clean, fresh clothes, and opened his door—only to nearly slam headfirst into a pair of pecs bigger than his head.

Looking up at the two burly, bearded men who completely blocked the doorway, Zhao Xuanzhen teased, "Why are the tops of your heads pointy?"

"Yours is pointy! And we came over so early too!"

The Bai sisters retorted in unison. With a pop like bursting balloons, they returned to their original lovely appearances.

"Heavenly Phoenix Douluo is back. She's waiting for you."

Bai Zhicen spoke Annoyedly, reaching into her storage space and producing a cup of milk as though performing a magic trick. Bai Haoze activated her Light Unicorn Martial Soul to warm it before handing it to Zhao Xuanzhen.

Taking the steaming milk, Zhao Xuanzhen gulped it down. It came from Thousand-Year snow-mountain yaks—rich in nutrients, thick and fragrant—and he could not help but speak emotionally.

Starting out at the Spirit Pagoda... did they know what kind of life he had lived over the past six years? It was simply...

A heavenly life!

His teacher favored him, his allowance had seven figures, and two saintly older sisters with the loyalty of devoted dogs cared for him and met his every need anytime, anywhere!

He was so happy here that he had forgotten all about home!

"Let's go. Don't keep Teacher waiting."

Times had changed, and the Douluo Continent was no longer the era of Tang San twenty thousand years ago, when Spirit Hall deacons traveled the world to help Soul Masters awaken their Martial Souls. Nor was it Huo Yuhao's era ten thousand years ago, when even Martial Soul Awakening was difficult.

Today, free Martial Soul Awakening sites had been built throughout the continent. As one of the great superpowers, the Spirit Pagoda naturally had its own dedicated awakening facility.

The three took the high-level elevator straight to the awakening room on the ninth floor of the Spirit Pagoda.

When the elevator doors opened and Zhao Xuanzhen stepped onto the ninth floor, he discovered that the entire awakening room had been cleared out. Not a single Spirit Pagoda member was in sight. The hall was still as water, crystal chandeliers refracted a warm white glow, and the marble floor shone like a mirror.

There was no doubt that the place had been reserved today. No outsiders were allowed in.

Some influential benefactor had taken a liking to Zhao Xuanzhen and provided him with a spacious, quiet environment.

"Xuanzhen."

A voice suddenly called out. A figure emerged from the depths of the awakening room, sunlight streaming in from beside her. Her beautiful, picture-perfect features and exquisite, curvaceous figure were haloed in a captivating glow that made it difficult to look away.

Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, light and silky. Her ruby-like phoenix eyes carried a chill like Hanshuang, while her slender willow-leaf brows softened that coldness with a touch of tenderness.

"Greetings, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo."

The moment the Bai sisters saw the woman, reverence filled their eyes. They bowed respectfully. There was no other reason: her status and strength were both things they could only look up to.

The Spirit Pagoda's Vice Tower Master, a Four-word Armor Master, Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu.

"Teacher."

Zhao Xuanzhen quickly walked over. Leng Yaozhu bent down, cupped his face in one hand, and kneaded it to her heart's content as she smiled. "Your Martial Soul is about to awaken. Are you nervous?"

"There's no need to be nervous. Martial Soul Awakening cannot determine a Soul Master's long life. There are too many treasures on the Douluo Continent that can make up for innate deficiencies.

To quote a famous saying: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not look down on a poor young man."

Zhao Xuanzhen let Leng Yaozhu enjoy the springy feel of his cheeks, making the Bai sisters look on enviously. Yesterday, neither of them had even been allowed to pat his head. In the end, a teacher's status carried more weight.

"You're quite carefree for someone so young." Leng Yaozhu withdrew her hand, her gaze gentle. "Still, Teacher hopes you inherit your mother's Spirit Phoenix Martial Soul. It is a rare phoenix bloodline with a Spirit Attribute, and I can pass on my abilities to you to the fullest extent."

"Teacher, Teacher, the Spirit Phoenix is indeed powerful, but it demands too much skill to use. Do you have any recommendations for a Martial Soul that's simpler and stronger?"

"Yes." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Your father's Silver Giant. Pair it with ancient martial arts fist techniques—simple and powerful."

The Leng family was one of the Spirit Pagoda's Ruling Families. Their inherited Martial Soul was Tianfeng, and they were also known as the Phoenix family.

Zhao Xuanzhen's mother, Ye Ling, came from the collateral Spirit Phoenix lineage. Fifteen years ago, she was recommended by the Spirit Pagoda to enlist in the military and guard an important strategic location, where she met and fell in love with Zhao Xuanzhen's father, Zhao Liuyun.

On the day Zhao Xuanzhen was born, the evil creatures being held at the legion's strategic location suddenly rioted. The scale was said to be the greatest in a hundred years. The couple unfortunately died, leaving behind only their infant son, Zhao Xuanzhen.

After the war ended, the legion won a bitter victory. A high-ranking officer had originally proposed adopting Zhao Xuanzhen, but Leng Yaozhu intervened.

The two Leng family beauties, once renowned across the continent for both their prestige and beauty, remained alone. The Leng family's main branch had no heirs and was on the verge of dying out, making the collateral branches all the more important. Thus, Leng Yaozhu took Zhao Xuanzhen away and accepted him as her disciple, hoping that one day he would become the family leader after her.

Six years had passed. At last, it was time to scratch off the lottery ticket. Thank you for participating, or hidden grand prize—the answer was about to be revealed.

"Xuanzhen, Teacher will help you awaken your Martial Soul. Da Bai Xiao Bai, come along too."

Leng Yaozhu rose and walked inward, carrying herself with gentle grace and mature elegance, every inch of her brimming with feminine charm. Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai sisters closely followed behind.

At the center of the awakening room, Zhao Xuanzhen stood still. Leng Yaozhu extended a slender jade finger and slowly infused Soul Power into the surroundings.

The awakening method was extremely simple. Even a Soul Grandmaster could perform it without the slightest danger, much less Heavenly Phoenix Douluo herself.

Throughout the process, Leng Yaozhu kept her eyes fixed on Zhao Xuanzhen, while Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen locked their attention tightly onto him. They were both his teacher and older sisters, having watched him grow from a child into a youth bit by bit. They feared something might happen to him.

The Martial Soul Awakening began. Zhao Xuanzhen felt a warm aura continuously seep into him as a power gradually awakened inside his body, evolving from faint ripples into violent boiling.

Drawn by that warm aura, it felt as though something had shattered. All the energy surged through his entire body!

In an instant, black-and-white mist billowed forth. The entire ninth floor of the Spirit Pagoda shone brilliantly, like a mysterious dream.

Zhao Xuanzhen stood quietly where he was, his eyes tightly shut. Invisible power flowed around him, and a mysterious black-and-white halo enveloped his body.

Mist filled the air, and the three women seemed to drift amid black-and-white clouds. The person who had just been right before their eyes suddenly seemed to float beyond the clouds, distant and unreachable.

The Bai sisters' composure was far inferior to Leng Yaozhu's. Their mouths fell open involuntarily as Bai Haoze muttered, "Xuanzhen's Martial Soul Awakening is making a much bigger commotion than ours did!"

Bai Zhicen felt the same way. The sisters possessed top-tier Unicorn Martial Souls, yet when they were six, their awakenings had merely displayed a few unusual signs.

Judging by the idea that the greater the awakening's spectacle, the fiercer the Martial Soul...

Their past concerns...

Had all been unnecessary!

Leng Yaozhu's phoenix eyes shone just as brilliantly. She had prepared Profound Water Pills, whale glue, Shark Pearls, and a series of supplements in advance. She had even prepared herself to pay a huge price to trade with the Tang Sect for an immortal herb. Yet not needing them was naturally ideal. Every teacher hoped their disciple's talent would be as great as possible!

Within the three women's field of vision, Zhao Xuanzhen's body had been completely suffused by the black-and-white radiance. Light radiated from his entire form. Under the effects of the ancient traditional ritual, his dormant Martial Soul was about to awaken.

Leng Yaozhu had the highest cultivation and stood closest to Zhao Xuanzhen. She saw what seemed to be a black-and-white pattern flash at his brow center, swiftly spreading like a net through his limbs and body, clearly reflecting every vein and channel.

"Not the Spirit Phoenix..."

As the head of the Phoenix family, Leng Yaozhu was incomparably familiar with phoenix Martial Souls. In one second, she determined that this was definitely not the Spirit Phoenix!

"Could it be the Silver Giant?"

While Leng Yaozhu was deep in thought, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly opened his eyes. Soul Power fluctuations erupted with a boom, accompanied by a distinct outwardly spreading spiritual fluctuation!

Three pairs of beautiful eyes immediately swept over Zhao Xuanzhen from top to bottom like searchlights, trying in the First moment to determine exactly what kind of Martial Soul it was.

The Douluo Continent's Martial Souls generally fell into two categories: tool Martial Souls and beast Martial Souls. Without Exception, they caused tremendous changes in Soul Masters. Yet Zhao Xuanzhen had neither gained a weapon nor developed any Soul Beast traits. Only a strand of black hair had quietly turned pale white.

"His hair?"

Bai Haoze blinked.

"A Body Soul..."

Bai Zhicen scratched at the white hair beside her ear.

"It is a Body Soul, but it isn't hair."

Leng Yaozhu spoke quietly, then added, "Or rather, it isn't only hair!"

As if confirming Leng Yaozhu's words, the black-and-white mist radiating from Zhao Xuanzhen condensed behind him. A figure slowly took shape—it was unmistakably an enlarged Zhao Xuanzhen, eyes brilliant as stars, with a Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram rotating steadily beneath his feet!

"Himself!"

The Bai sisters' pupils widened slightly. Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent were inherited through bloodlines, but there was one type that any Soul Master could awaken: a part of the human body, also known as a Body Soul!

Among Body Souls, the more important the body part, the greater the Martial Soul's potential!

The self was undoubtedly the highest-tier Body Soul of all!

"Myself... not bad."

Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled softly as he felt the power surging through his body. To be honest, it was much stronger than he had expected.

The Spirit Phoenix and Silver Giant were both high-grade Martial Souls, certainly, but this was the Dragon King's Legend era.

Facing the ancestors of the two Dragon Kings, beast Martial Souls simply had no way to survive. A Body Soul was completely different. Its strength depended only on Zhao Xuanzhen himself. It feared no caste-like Bloodline Suppression and was truly the Martial Soul best suited for him to integrate the Daoist arts of his previous life!

"Xuanzhen, test your spiritual power and Innate Soul Power."

An irrepressible excitement showed on Leng Yaozhu's face. The Spirit Pagoda Headquarters had a Super Douluo with a Body Soul stationed there, and through her exchanges with him, she had learned quite a few secrets about Body Souls.

She had a feeling that Zhao Xuanzhen's self matched that description!

Taking out an azure crystal ball from her storage Soul Tool, Leng Yaozhu gestured for Zhao Xuanzhen to place his right hand on it. The Next Second, a metal helmet for testing spiritual power descended from the ceiling and covered Zhao Xuanzhen's head.

The moment Zhao Xuanzhen touched the crystal ball, it lit up. Dazzling blue light rapidly Spread Out from a single point, thick blue radiance spilling outward as the entire crystal ball Shone Brightly like a glittering gemstone.

The changes did not stop there. A faint hum rang out, and the helmet flashed with a soft white glow. The three women looked toward the connected Soul Guide Screen, where data began to flicker.

The value started at zero and soared upward, breaking past three digits in the blink of an eye before slowly stabilizing at one hundred and eighty-eight.

"Innate Full Soul Power!"

"Innate Spirit Connection Realm?"

The Bai sisters' expressions could only be described as dumbfounded, their pretty features twisted together in shock.

The slightest reaction from a Soul Power crystal ball was enough to prove that the tester possessed Soul Power. At this moment, the crystal ball in Zhao Xuanzhen's hand shone with blinding light, so the answer was obvious.

Innate Full Soul Power.

After a human's Martial Soul awakened, the type of Martial Soul was not the only factor determining whether a Soul Master would be powerful. Innate Soul Power was equally vital. Innate Full Soul Power was the highest Soul Power an ordinary Soul Master could possess at birth, giving them every advantage in future cultivation.

Although Innate Full Soul Power was rare, it was not enough to make Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen lose their composure like this. The truly outrageous part was the one hundred and eighty-eight points of spiritual power!

On the present-day Douluo Continent, Soul Spirits had almost replaced Soul Beasts. Powerful Soul Spirits required sufficiently profound spiritual power to communicate with them, so the importance of spiritual power was no less than that of Soul Spirits. There were six major realms in total.

Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Connection Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and the legendary God Origin Realm.

The Spirit Origin Realm represented the beginning of unity and the renewal of all things. At 1–100 points, it was the most basic spiritual level and allowed one to contract with two Ten-Year Soul Spirits or one Hundred-Year Soul Spirit.

The Spirit Connection Realm meant the mind connected to the spirit, thoughts reaching wherever the mind intended. At 100–500 points, it allowed one to contract with two Hundred-Year Soul Spirits or one Thousand-Year Soul Spirit!

Upon reaching the Spirit Connection Realm, one had officially entered the door of spiritual power control, able to wield spiritual power for one's own use. Zhao Xuanzhen's Innate Spirit Connection Realm meant his First Soul Spirit could directly be a Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

"Sis, do you know of any Martial Soul that possesses both Innate Full Soul Power and Innate Spirit Connection Realm spiritual power?"

Bai Zhicen looked like her entire worldview had collapsed. It seemed she had unintentionally made a fool of herself yesterday.

"Me? Never heard of one!"

Bai Haoze shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Hearing the two women's conversation, Zhao Xuanzhen could not help smiling. The guy next door had crossed over with a mutated soul and possessed outrageous alchemy talent. Was it really too much for him to have some impressive spiritual power?

"A perfect self... so Phantom Brain hadn't been merely boasting back then..."

Her crimson eyes stared deeply at Zhao Xuanzhen. Leng Yaozhu's gaze contained satisfaction, contemplation, hesitation, and...

Ambition!

After a long while, the complexity on her face condensed into a single emotion: determination!

"Xuanzhen, your Martial Soul is not yourself."

The moment Leng Yaozhu said this, Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai sisters froze for a moment and looked at her in confusion. She did not keep them guessing and slowly said:

"You should know that the Douluo Continent has an ancient sect that has existed for Ten Thousand Years: the Body Sect.

Every disciple of the Body Sect possesses a Body Soul. They understand Body Souls better than anyone.

Body Souls correspond to many parts of the human body. Just as the Douluo Continent divides traditional Martial Souls into tool Martial Souls and beast Martial Souls, the Body Sect divides Body Souls into two branches: flesh and spirit.

In the Body Sect's definition, the self refers to the entire flesh and blood body, encompassing the limbs, torso, skin, and so on... It is the pinnacle of the flesh branch.

You have all heard of the pinnacle of the spirit branch: the Asura's Eye of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, the founder of our Spirit Pagoda. It is a Spirit Attribute Martial Soul encompassing the eyes and the brain."

"Flesh and spirit..." Zhao Xuanzhen narrowed his eyes. "That sounds So Familiar. It is somewhat like how the Gold Dragon King and Silver Dragon King each possessed half of the Dragon God's power."

"You're right." Leng Yaozhu nodded gently. "For tens of thousands of years, the Body Sect has continuously pursued the perfect form of the Body Soul. It should be like the Dragon God, combining the Gold Dragon King's ultimate physique with the Silver Dragon King's world-shaking wisdom to give birth to the supreme Body Soul.

"Xuanzhen, your self, which possesses a Spirit Attribute, is precisely the God-tier Body Soul the Body Sect has dreamed of...

"True Self!"