Body Martial Soul

Lin Feng said, "Oh, him? I'll take him. Go back and tell your Beast Fighting Arena supervisor that the Lin Family will send someone later to pay the ransom and retrieve his contract of pledged loyalty. You may leave."

The guard captain froze. He had not expected someone to buy such a monster. That meant they did not need to drag him back after all. It was not worth offending Lin Manor over a mere slave, and Lin Feng had just said someone would pay the ransom. Given how the Lin Family handled things, the Beast Fighting Arena would not suffer any losses.

The guard captain said, "Yes, sir. I'll return and report this to the supervisor right away. I won't disturb you any longer, Young Lord. I'll take my leave."

Lin Feng took Lin An and the newly accepted Lin Jian, closed up shop, and returned to Lin Manor. Lin An then took Lin Jian to wash up and change clothes before sending Han Ping to the Beast Fighting Arena.

After making the arrangements, Lin Feng went to find his parents and told them about what had happened that day, including Ning Fengzhi and Lin Jian.

Hua Jieyu said, "There's no need to worry about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Sword Douluo probably wanted to see whether your Innate Full Soul Power Sword Martial Soul could make you his disciple. From what I know of him, their coming so early was probably not Ning Fengzhi's idea, but Sword Douluo's. With his personality, he never waits when he wants to do something. Tell us about that child. You said you had a guess. What is it?"

Lin Feng said, "I don't think that child is a monster. My guess is that his arms are his Martial Soul. When Mother taught me before, she said that a very small number of people in this world awaken Martial Souls that are part of their own bodies. But because none of them ever got far on the path of cultivation, no one knows how to cultivate a Martial Soul formed from part of one's own body.

"That child said he only began mutating after eating a wild fruit. I think it was a Spiritual Fruit. After he ate it, the Spiritual Qi flowed into his arms. It might originally have helped him awaken his Martial Soul directly, but on one hand, he was too young and his body was not ready for Martial Soul Awakening. On the other hand, the wild fruit probably did not contain enough Spiritual Qi. That was why he ended up like this—his Martial Soul Awakening was incomplete, causing a mutation. I think that once he formally awakens his Martial Soul, his arms will return to normal."

Lin Lan said, "So you took this child in because you want to train him?"

Lin Feng said, "Yes. No one has figured out how to cultivate a body part as a Martial Soul, but that is not a problem for our family. We do not need to know how to cultivate this Martial Soul. As long as he can obtain soul rings and cultivate normally, that will be enough. And strong arms are better suited for martial arts. I believe that if his arms truly are his Martial Soul, then the power of his palm and fist techniques will probably surpass even mine among those of the same rank.

"Besides, I used the Soul Shifting Great Method on him and discovered that his Spiritual Power is extremely resilient. He is most likely the kind of person who can endure tremendous hardship in cultivation. Someone like that has a high chance of becoming strong. Even if his arms are not his Martial Soul, I can still train him. He wanted to trade his loyalty for a chance to take revenge, and we have the ability to train him. Taking him in is no loss."

Lin Lan said, "Fine. As long as you have thought it through."

Lin Feng said, "Father, let him rest well today. Tomorrow, help him awaken his Martial Soul. After that, Uncle Han and I will take him to deal with those traffickers first. We said before that after returning from the Star Dou Great Forest, we would take on some bounties. We can start with those traffickers. As for the Beast Fighting Arena, we can ask him later whether he wants to deal with them himself once he becomes strong enough, or whether he wants us to help him."

Lin Lan said, "All right. I'll help him awaken his Martial Soul after breakfast tomorrow."

Lin Feng said, "Father, Mother, there is one more thing I need your help with. I want to establish an Advanced Spirit Master Academy."

Hua Jieyu asked, "What do you want to do that for?"

Lin Feng said, "This is what I'm thinking. Father and Mother are both Spirit Saints now, but your actual combat strength is far greater than that. The continent looks peaceful at the moment, but undercurrents have been stirring these past few years. One of the Upper Three Sects was forced into seclusion, while Spirit Hall has become overwhelmingly powerful and is recruiting Spirit Masters everywhere. Who knows what they are plotting? The two great empires are locked in opposition. They have not gone to war only because Spirit Hall stands between them. But if war truly breaks out, given the Heaven Dou Empire's strength, it will sooner or later be destroyed by Star Luo. No one can say when chaos will come in the future. Before troubled times arrive, we need enough strength to protect ourselves. Establishing an academy is the best way to build our own power without easily drawing the attention of the various factions.

"Second, I want to participate in the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Tournament, which is held every five years. But I do not want to join any of Heaven Dou's current Advanced Spirit Master Academies. My goal is the tournament eight years from now, when I am seventeen."

Hua Jieyu said, "Fine. If you want to do it, then do it. Our family's current finances are still a little short of opening an Advanced Spirit Master Academy. I'll have your father properly manage the family businesses, and within two years, we'll multiply our wealth several times over."

Lin Feng said, "Thank you, Mother. There's no rush to establish the academy. We can wait until I deal with Dugu Bo. Once I help him cure his poison, we can recruit him and have him serve as the Vice Dean. With a Titled Douluo overseeing the academy, it will be easier to recruit students and deter those with ill intentions. Still, we can begin looking for some prodigies first. It will be difficult among the nobility, but Prodigy Spirit Masters often emerge from commoner families. We can find ways to win them over in advance."

Hua Jieyu said, "All right. I'll arrange for people to keep an eye out for talented commoners. You just focus on what you need to do."

The next morning after breakfast, Lin Feng did not rush to the medical clinic. He wanted to see a Body Martial Soul awaken. He had never seen what it looked like.

Just as when Lin Feng had awakened his Martial Soul, Lin Jian now stood in the center of the hexagon while Lin Lan released his Martial Soul to help him awaken. The Awakening Stone flashed with light, but instead of flowing into his body around him as it had when Lin Feng awakened, it poured wildly into Lin Jian's arms and hands. His two arms were suddenly enveloped in brilliant energy.

As the light continued to flow in, his arms, which had originally been far longer than those of an ordinary person, gradually shrank back to normal size. The light no longer floated on the surface, but flowed through the blood vessels beneath his skin like blood. His arms became crystal-clear, and the flow of energy inside them was even visible. The muscle lines in his arms instantly became sharp and perfect, as though they had been tempered a thousand times, brimming with explosive power. His skin took on a metallic sheen. Faint, mysterious patterns emerged across its surface, like natural Soul Guidance Arrays. Slowly, the light gradually withdrew and turned inward. Lin Jian's arms returned to normal, but a closer look revealed that their skin was of far better quality, with a faint treasure-like glow flowing beneath it, forming a stark contrast with the rest of his body.

Lin Feng looked at Lin Jian's arms. Sure enough, his first awakening had not reached Silver-level Awakening. He had not read the later Douluo works. Although he had seen some online introductions to the later story, he did not know the specifics. He did not know how to achieve a second awakening of a Body Martial Soul, but he thought it was probably similar to Martial Soul Evolution. In the end, both required energy—either energy of higher quality or an enormous amount of it. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye might be able to satisfy that requirement later.

Meanwhile, Lin Jian watched his arms go from blazing with light to returning to normal. Nothing had appeared in his hands. His anticipation and excitement turned to disappointment, then even despair. He dropped to his knees in Lin Feng's direction. "I'm sorry, Young Lord. Lin Jian failed to awaken a Martial Soul and disappointed you."

Lin Feng hurriedly pulled Lin Jian to his feet. Only then did he remember that this child knew nothing about Martial Soul cultivation. "No, you did awaken a Martial Soul. Your arms and hands are your Martial Soul. Spirit Masters whose Martial Souls are parts of their own bodies are very rare. You simply haven't seen one before."

Lin Jian's eyes went from despair to hope again. "Really? Young Lord, is there really such a Martial Soul?"

Lin Feng nodded. "It's true. There's no reason for me to lie to you, right? All right, trust me. You can cultivate normally. As long as you work hard enough, I will definitely train you into an expert. Go test your Soul Power first."

The test showed that Lin Jian possessed level seven Innate Soul Power. He could be considered a modest talent, and his innate aptitude was at least on par with Zhu Zhuqing's.

After completing Lin Jian's Martial Soul Awakening, Lin Feng took Lin An and Lin Jian to open the medical clinic.