· Body, Soul Power, Soul Tool

"Xiao Ming, you have Innate Full Soul Power, but you mustn't slack off because of it. For you, awakening your Martial Soul is merely the beginning."

Chen Li stroked Chen Ming's head and carefully explained the arrangements for his training.

"After thousands of years of exploration, our Dragon Elephant Sect has compiled detailed records on soul skills. The first three rings are essentially fixed. For the Diamond Mammoth, they are Defense Enhancement, Strength Enhancement, and Heavy Pressure. For the White Armored Earth Dragon, they are Defense Enhancement, Strength Enhancement, and Berserk. The derived Dragon Elephant Martial Soul and Vajra Dragon Elephant Martial Soul both originated from these foundations."

"For you, the ideal First Soul Ring would undoubtedly come from a top-tier Soul Beast like the Diamond Mammoth. However, this type of Soul Beast exists only on Douluo Continent, and the finest Diamond Mammoths live solely within the Star Dou Great Forest beside Shrek. So don't rush. Once I find professional Soul Masters to gather information in the Star Dou Great Forest, we'll set out to obtain your First Soul Ring."

"For the next few months, train first and temper your body thoroughly."

"If someone awakened with Innate Full Soul Power and was taught nothing before being sent straight off to obtain a soul ring, that would be the true way to ruin such talent. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Chen Ming asked obediently.

Chen Li smiled and gave him a detailed answer.

"There are many reasons."

"First is the body. Through thousands of years of research by generations of our Dragon Elephant Sect, we have gained a deep understanding of how soul power stimulates the body."

"Soul power is a force that can nourish and stimulate the body. That is why a Soul Master's growth rate is no different from an ordinary person's before awakening their Martial Soul, yet clearly surpasses that of ordinary people afterward."

"The period immediately after awakening soul power is when its stimulation of the body is at its strongest and most apparent, especially for Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters of the Power Attack Type like us. In the days ahead, your physical constitution will improve dramatically. This is precisely the best time to take medicinal supplements."

"Before awakening your Martial Soul, many nourishing herbs could not be given to you in large quantities. Those medicines require soul power to refine their effects. Without soul power, at best their effects cannot be absorbed; at worst, they can backfire and severely damage the body."

"Now that you have Innate Full Soul Power, you can also begin taking potent medicines like Whale Rubber in appropriate amounts. Temper your body properly, and in a few months, the age limit of the soul ring you can absorb will be at least Thirty Percent higher than it is now."

"The second reason is soul power itself." Chen Li raised a hand, and a ball of light appeared in his palm.

"Xiao Ming, you can sense soul power, but do you know how to mobilize it? Which meridians should it travel through? How much can your own meridians withstand? How should you adjust and resolve unstable soul power? How should soul power cover your body? And how should it be circulated within your body?"

"I... I read about it in books," Chen Ming replied hesitantly.

"What does reading about it in books count for? I've seen plenty of blueprints for Level 9 Soul Tools too, but am I not still only a Level 8 Soul Master? Some things cannot be learned just by looking. If you want to truly master them, you have to get your hands on them and try for yourself." Great Elder Chen Ping interjected, stating the true reason behind it.

"Soul power is like your hands and feet—except even more nimble than hands and feet. Just as children gradually learn how to walk, how to use their limbs, and how to control tools with those limbs as time passes, a Soul Master does not master control of soul power overnight. They adapt to it bit by bit in their everyday lives."

"Even a Soul Master with Innate Level 9 Soul Power needs at least two or three months to reach Level 10. During that time, daily meditation and the use of soul power are enough for them to gradually grow accustomed to this new limb. Soul Masters with lower innate levels spend even more time, so their adaptation becomes more natural."

"Control over soul power may not seem that important, like some advanced elective course. But in truth, it is only because they have already developed basic control through cultivation and daily life without realizing it. They know how strong their 'hands and feet' are and how to use them."

"If one obtained a soul ring directly without that ability, people really could die because they could not tame the violent soul power within the soul ring. Recklessly making a child who has never adapted to soul power, and does not know how to circulate or stabilize it, obtain a soul ring is no different from murder."

"You must understand: interrupting cultivation during ordinary training and forcibly interrupting the absorption of a soul ring are entirely different in terms of consequences. In the former case, some rest and recovery are enough. In the latter, even if the two of us Titled Douluo intervened to stop it, there would still be a chance of death."

"There really have been cases in history where wild-born individuals with Innate Full Soul Power encountered incompetent fools and were taken directly to obtain a soul ring. Their bodies and soul power could clearly endure the ring, yet they did not know how to circulate their soul power and ended up choking themselves to death on a hundred-year soul ring."

"During the time before we find a suitable soul ring, the Sect Master and I will teach you how to temper your body and control your own soul power. At the same time, according to the traditions of our Dragon Elephant Sect, you must also learn about Soul Tools."

"You may not know how to make Soul Tools, but you must know how to use them."

As he spoke, Great Elder Chen Ping swept a hand across his waist. Accompanied by a faint fluctuation of soul power, a set of equipment appeared in his hands.

"Many people believe Soul Tools are external aids, and that using them diminishes a Soul Master's purity. But that is wrong. Why are Soul Bones randomly dropped by Soul Beasts not considered external aids, while Soul Tools specifically crafted by Soul Masters for a particular purpose are?"

"Soul Tools are tools—tools controlled by the hand that is soul power. They are tools meant to strengthen a Soul Master and compensate for their shortcomings. Blindly relying on Soul Tools may prevent one from becoming strong, but using Soul Tools does not mean one will necessarily become weak. A true powerhouse can become even stronger by using Soul Tools suited to them."

"Our Dragon Elephant Sect excels at close-range offense and defense, but we possess a major weakness at long range. In the past, our ancestors would specifically obtain a soul ring for this, acquiring a large-scale, long-range group attack soul skill similar to a meteor shower to compensate for it."

"That could indeed make up for the weakness, but it also wasted a soul ring slot that could have been used to strengthen one's advantages."

"But now, we no longer need to waste a precious soul ring slot. We can use Soul Tools as a substitute, replacing a soul ring slot meant to cover our weaknesses with a soul ring truly suited to ourselves."

"Take this first. It's a Level 4 Storage Soul Tool, the Vajra Belt. It can adjust to different waist sizes. Besides its storage function, it can also release a small shield, though under normal circumstances it is used to protect one's vital area in place of a groin guard."

"I don't know what's going on these days, but the lower limit for young Soul Masters is getting lower and lower. Every move targets the lower body. Be careful when you go out in the future—don't end up with some irreversible injury..."

As Chen Ping spoke, he stuffed a golden belt into Chen Ming's hands, then taught him how to put it on.