Mysterious Martial Soul

It turns out that the strange power overflowing from the acupoints can not only stimulate the Martial Soul but also cause it to grow across levels!

The growth of a Martial Soul is generally directly linked to breakthroughs in cultivation realms. Only by breaking through barriers and entering a new major realm can the Martial Soul have a chance to grow.

In other words, for a Martial Soul to break through, one must advance from the Postnatal to the Innate Realm, or from the Innate to the Human Position.

Minor progress, such as advancing from the First Heaven of the Innate Realm to the Second Heaven, cannot cause any change in the Martial Soul.

Only when breaking through from one realm to another, during that period of breakthrough, is it possible for the Martial Soul to gain an increase or undergo a change.

This is not absolute!

It's not that the Martial Soul grows immediately every time a Martial Artist breaks through a realm. Sometimes, the Martial Soul's growth requires crossing two or even three realms!

For example, Shi Yan's "Petrifying Martial Soul" has four stages of growth.

If a young man of the Shi Family possesses the "Petrifying Martial Soul," within about ten days after birth, while still an infant, his skin will turn grayish-white at some point. This is the first stage.

If this young man diligently studies martial arts and is fortunate enough to break through to the Human Position realm, the "Petrifying Martial Soul" will change again, turning dark brown. This is the second stage.

If he can break through to the Earth Position realm, the "Petrifying Martial Soul" will turn yellowish-green. This is the third stage.

Should he be an exceptionally gifted prodigy capable of breaking through to the Heaven Position realm, the "Petrifying Martial Soul" will turn purplish-red. This is the fourth stage!

The Shi Family's "Petrifying Martial Soul" has a total of four stages. Only after breaking through two realms will the Martial Soul undergo a qualitative change and strengthen significantly, causing a massive change in muscle color.

Each time the "Petrifying Martial Soul" changes and enters a new stage, the physical body's defense power doubles!

The "Petrifying Martial Soul" in the first stage can generally only resist the force of punches and kicks, plus a small amount of Essence impact.

But by the second stage, when the muscles turn dark brown, the physical body's defense power will have increased several times over. It can not only resist more ferocious Essence impacts but also withstand ordinary sharp weapon attacks!

The third stage, with the "Petrifying Martial Soul" turning yellowish-green, doubles the defense power again! It becomes nearly impervious to blades and spears. The body's agility not only doesn't decrease but also increases significantly, making it extremely formidable!

By the fourth stage, when the body petrifies and turns purplish-red, the physical body's defense power can be described as terrifying. It is not only impervious to blades and spears, but also to water and fire. It can even resist many strange secret techniques, the body becomes immensely strong, and the body becomes more agile.

These four stages are all achieved through the advancement of cultivation realms. If a Shi Family member with the "Petrifying Martial Soul" is in the Postnatal or Innate Realm, their "Petrifying Martial Soul" will forever remain in the first stage. Without breaking through to the Human Position realm, the "Petrifying Martial Soul" will absolutely not change.

On the Divine Grace Continent, various other Martial Souls are the same. The vast majority can only advance with the improvement of cultivation realms. Only a very small number of God Grade elixirs can alter the heavenly rules of special Martial Souls, allowing them to advance across levels.

Such elixirs exist only in legends on the Divine Grace Continent. Martial Artists from the Blazing Fire Empire, Divine Grace Empire, and Merchant Alliance have only heard of such deeds but have never seen them with their own eyes.

Even the three Great Medicine Kings of Medicine King Valley in the Blazing Fire Empire are only Spirit Grade Alchemists, far from reaching the realm of refining God Grade elixirs.

However, the strange power overflowing from the acupoints in Shi Yan's body seems to have broken this rule!

That strange power can not only stimulate the Martial Soul but can actually cause it to advance across levels!

The dark brown color his arm turned after petrifying clearly belongs to Shi Family experts who have broken through to the Human Position realm.

This is unmistakably the second stage of petrification!

What does the ability to stimulate and advance the Martial Soul, along with this strange power, signify?

It signifies that he has the opportunity to enter the fourth stage of petrification without needing to break through to the Heaven Position realm!

Impervious to blades and spears, resistant to water and fire, the body not only won't become stiff but will become more agile, capable of resisting all sorts of strange secret techniques, and gaining immense divine power...

Upon recalling the wonders of petrification reaching the fourth stage, Shi Yan realized he had struck gold.

This ability is clearly a type of Martial Soul. This Martial Soul can not only purify the Essence of the deceased from his body's acupoints but can also go berserk during combat, inflicting negative emotions on enemies, making it mysterious and unfathomable.

This mysterious Martial Soul can acquire Essence from death. After the Essence is converted by the acupoints, it becomes vibrant, strange power that can stimulate and advance the Martial Soul, and enhance Essence...

Shi Yan's dark eyes shone like cold stars in the night, gleaming brilliantly.

Sitting there, he remained silent, yet he knew that with this marvelous Martial Soul, as long as he worked hard, he could become the most astonishing and terrifying existence on this wondrous continent!

In the Gloomy Forest, at a bloody scene littered with corpses, a group of people stood with grim expressions, observing something.

"These are people from the Jackal Mercenary Group," Barnard said, walking among the corpses with a solemn expression. "The leader of the Jackal Mercenary Group, like me, is also at the Hundred Tribulations realm... From the looks of it, they've been wiped out."

As soon as he said this, Nether Moon Envoy and Mo Chao Ge both frowned.

Nether Moon Envoy hesitated for a moment, then took out a silver horn and blew it gently.

No sound came from the horn, but a peculiar wave rippled outwards.

Shortly after, two masked men in silver robes quietly emerged from the trees. The masks on their faces depicted fierce, fanged demons, unlike the pale white masks worn by Nether Moon Envoy and his companions.

"Dark Envoys, have you found anything?" Nether Moon Envoy asked coldly.

"Last night, Yao Beasts rampaged, and many Martial Artists and mercenaries were attacked by them. Too many tracks were left nearby, making it difficult for us to distinguish which belong to our target," said a Dark Star Envoy from Dark Nether, his expression respectful.

The "Dark Nether" organization is divided into Dark Envoys and Nether Envoys. Dark Envoys are responsible for tracking and intelligence gathering, while Nether Envoys are responsible for killing. Ranks are divided by Sun, Moon, and Star.

Although Dark Envoys and Nether Envoys have different responsibilities, their hierarchy is strict. Star-ranked Dark Star Envoys must obey Moon-ranked Nether Moon Envoys.

"Is it difficult to find the target?" Nether Moon Envoy, skilled in killing and combat but not tracking, grew increasingly grim as he listened.

"Sir, the area is indeed too vast. There are too many Martial Artists, mercenaries, and Yao Beasts active nearby, making pursuit very difficult. In the past few days, we've been attacked by several mercenaries while tracking, and another Envoy has already been killed."

The reputation of "Dark Nether" is not good. The Martial Artists and mercenaries operating in this area are not easily intimidated. Sometimes, when they are in a bad mood, they might attack members of "Dark Nether" on sight.

In the past two days, Nether Moon Envoy and his group have encountered similar situations. Even after joining forces with the Mo Family's Martial Artists, some people still dared to provoke them, though they hadn't suffered significant losses.

"If we can't find the target, and the Yao Beasts are restless lately, this becomes troublesome..."

Mo Chao Ge pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Searching aimlessly like this isn't working. How about we guard Silent Town? Silent Town is the only path to the Merchant Alliance. Once they emerge from the Gloomy Forest, they'll inevitably head to Silent Town. We can wait for them on the road to Silent Town."

"That's a good idea," Barnard nodded, killing intent blazing in his eyes. "Anyone heading to the Merchant Alliance must pass through Silent Town. Lying in wait is a viable strategy."

"Alright then, we'll cross this area as quickly as possible and wait for them on the road to Silent Town." The Nether Moon Envoy remained silent for a while, unable to come up with a better plan, and could only agree.

The three reached a consensus and didn't linger. They stopped wasting time searching this area for Shi Yan and the others and began to traverse the Gloomy Forest, preparing to ambush them at the edge of the forest and on the road to Silent Town.

For five consecutive days, Shi Yan and the other two moved cautiously within the Gloomy Forest, doing their best to avoid Yao Beasts and mercenary Martial Artists.

At night, they would immediately choose a concealed area to rest, not daring to travel in the dark.

Thanks to their cautious approach, they navigated the journey without major incident, evading many high-level Yao Beasts and human mercenary Martial Artists, their luck proving exceptionally good.

During these days, Shi Yan would cultivate non-stop every night, adapting to the second stage of Petrification, allowing the changes of "Berserk" to gradually cover his entire body.

Di Ya Lan, having been lonely for many years, found herself insatiably craving Shi Yan after their intimacy. She frequently sought him out for pleasure. Under trees, in bushes, by the river – all became witnesses to their passionate encounters.

Mu Yu Die knew she couldn't stop them, so she turned a blind eye, occasionally grumbling indignantly and inwardly cursing the two for their shamelessness.

One night, after a fervent session with Shi Yan under a large tree, Di Ya Lan, who had only been resting for a short while, suddenly leaped up, cheering, "I, I broke through!"

Not far away, from within another ancient tree, Mu Yu Die poked her head out from the leaves, her pretty face filled with astonishment. She stared blankly at the disheveled Di Ya Lan and gasped, covering her mouth, "This, this... this works too?"

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