Douluo: Martial Soul Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave

At Zhao Father's reminder, Second Grandfather shifted his attention from Heibai to Zhao Mu.

Zhao Mu had his eyes tightly shut. His body trembled from time to time, while arcs of electricity spilled across his skin.

A massive burst of static electricity?

"This is the aura of Thunder-Striking Bamboo..."

"This little bear ate Thunder-Striking Bamboo, so Mu'er can indeed benefit as well."

Seeing Zhao Mu's condition, Zhao Father could not help but worry. "Second Uncle, Mu'er will be all right, won't he?"

Second Grandfather said, "Don't worry. Mu'er will be fine. It was his Martial Soul that ate the Thunder-Striking Bamboo, not him!"

"A Martial Soul is originally part of a soul master. So even if Mu'er's Martial Soul is an independent lifeform, there is still an unbreakable connection between it and Mu'er."

"So... if Mu'er ate Thunder-Striking Bamboo, would his Martial Soul receive the corresponding energy as well?"

Hearing Second Grandfather's deduction, Zhao Father could not help interjecting, "Second Uncle, Mu'er's little body can't handle something as violent as Thunder-Striking Bamboo."

Second Grandfather waved a hand. "Mu'er's constitution naturally cannot compare to his Martial Soul's, so he obviously cannot eat Thunder-Striking Bamboo raw. However, there are foods made with Thunder-Striking Bamboo as an ingredient. They also contain quite a bit of its energy, but that energy is much gentler than the bamboo's original energy."

Perhaps because the Thunder-Striking Bamboo Heibai had eaten this time was inferior to the last batch, Zhao Mu did not absorb the transferred energy for long before he finished.

After Zhao Mu stopped absorbing it, Second Grandfather brought over food made from Thunder-Striking Bamboo.

After learning of Second Grandfather's hypothesis, Zhao Mu was more than willing to learn more about his Martial Soul. He ate some of the food made from Thunder-Striking Bamboo.

As soon as he finished eating, he ran over to ask Heibai.

"Heibai, did you gain some extra energy in your body just now?"

Heibai tilted his head, then nodded honestly.

Sure enough!

The hypothesis was correct!

Whether Zhao Mu or Heibai took in energy, the other would improve as well.

So if one person and one beast took in energy at the same time, did that mean they could absorb two portions of energy?

Of course, energy did not necessarily have to come from eating. Besides external intake, energy could also be generated internally, such as through cultivation!

Cultivation could generate energy too, and Soul Power on the Douluo Continent was one manifestation of energy.

Didn't Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill in the original story also convert into Soul Power?

So that meant if Zhao Mu and Heibai both cultivated, they could gain two portions of cultivation results. Indirectly, that meant Zhao Mu's own cultivation speed could double?!

Ideals were plump, but reality was bony.

If Zhao Mu and Heibai both cultivated, then theoretically they should be able to attain double cultivation speed by sharing their cultivation results. But the real issue was...

Zhao Mu looked at Heibai rolling around on the ground. Did this guy look like a diligent Iron-Eating Beast?

Heibai seemed to notice Zhao Mu's gaze and immediately made his stance clear.

Cultivation was impossible!

Eating could still be considered!

Cultivation was impossible; stuffing his face came first!

Awoo awoo awoo~

The little fellow even had a sudden idea and, thinking himself clever, began discussing a division of labor with Zhao Mu.

He would be responsible for eating, while Zhao Mu would be responsible for cultivating and training his body.

He even reminded Zhao Mu to eat less.

When Zhao Mu had eaten just now, not only had energy been transferred into Heibai's body, but Heibai had even felt a slight sense of fullness.

In other words, the eating of one person and one beast was connected as well. If Zhao Mu ate more, Heibai would have to eat less. If Zhao Mu ate until stuffed, then what the hell would Heibai have left to eat?

Awoo awoo awoo~

He absolutely could not let this guy affect his appetite!

Since one person and one beast were connected, Zhao Mu naturally noticed this too.

"You want me to eat less?"

"That's not impossible!"

Zhao Mu smiled at Heibai on the ground.

But seeing the wicked smile spread across Zhao Mu's face, Heibai had a bad feeling.

He knew his own soul master well. Zhao Mu was definitely no good!

Nothing nice was going to come out of his mouth.

Zhao Mu then made a demand of Heibai. "As long as you cultivate and train with me, I can eat only a little in the future, or even skip meals altogether and leave all the room in my stomach for you!"

"But... if you refuse to cultivate with me, or if you slack off while cultivating, then forget about eating. Every day while you're sleeping in, I'll eat until I'm stuffed and leave you with no appetite at all!"

Heibai: "..."

Awoo awoo awoo~

"Eating too much is bad for your health. I should help share the burden!"

When dealing with a foodie, one had to start with food. Zhao Mu smiled. "I'm not joking with you. Keep your word. If you don't believe me, you can try it."

Awoo awoo awoo~

"No!"

Faced with Zhao Mu's coercion, Heibai ultimately lowered his unyielding big head once again.

An Iron-Eating Beast would never be a slave. Lowering his head for food was not shameful at all!

Seeing Heibai agree and successfully gaining the upper hand, Zhao Mu did not forget to add, "Since you agreed, starting tomorrow, you'll cultivate and train with me. When I cultivate, you cultivate. When I train, you train too. No slacking off, or else..."

Awoo~

Although Second Grandfather and Zhao Father could not understand Heibai's words, it was not difficult to tell from Zhao Mu and Heibai's exchange that the two had reached an agreement on cultivation.

Zhao Father said, "Mu'er, it would indeed be good for you to strengthen your body through training as well. Your Martial Soul mutated into an independent lifeform, so you can no longer fight through Martial Soul Possession like a Vajra Bear. When the time comes, people will inevitably turn their attention to you. No matter how powerful your Martial Soul is, if something happens to you as the soul master, you will still lose in the end. Your life may even be in danger."

Zhao Father's concerns had also been within Zhao Mu's considerations. That was precisely why Zhao Mu had taken the initiative to cultivate and train.

When facing a powerful beastmaster, the weak beastmaster often became the target of attacks...

Pah, pah, pah!

Wrong.

It was soul masters. When facing a powerful Martial Soul, the weak soul master often became the target of attacks.

The stronger Heibai became, the more Zhao Mu would become the weakness whenever their opponents had no way to deal with Heibai.

After all, if either Heibai or Zhao Mu died, the other would be finished as well.

The same was true for all soul masters. If their Martial Souls were destroyed, they would be crippled even if they did not die.

Therefore, Zhao Mu absolutely needed to strengthen himself.

Moreover, Zhao Mu had a hypothesis. As Heibai continued to grow stronger, the energy transferred over might gradually alter Zhao Mu's physical constitution.

Of course, that was only Zhao Mu's guess, but it had some basis.

Otherwise, how could that useless Yu Xiaogang have survived an arrow from Guangling Douluo of Spirit Hall?

That was a Title Douluo. Forget holding back—it would have been impossible for Yu Xiaogang to survive even if Guangling Douluo had held back enormously.

After Tang San gave Yu Xiaogang the nourishment of Nine-Rank Ganoderma, Luo Sanpao had actually improved somewhat and gotten a little closer to the Golden Sacred Dragon. So perhaps Yu Xiaogang's physical constitution had become tougher?

Or perhaps the plot simply required it, and he had an absurdly lucky life!

No matter what, strengthening his own combat power was the top priority.

Second Grandfather added, "For a soul master, cultivation is naturally of utmost importance. No matter how high one's starting point is, without acquired effort, it is all empty talk. Mu'er has Innate Full Soul Power, and his cultivation speed is already not slow. As long as he is willing to put in the effort, his future achievements will definitely be far from low. Surpassing that fellow Wuji will not be difficult either."

At the mention of Zhao Wuji, Second Grandfather grew gloomy. The family had finally produced a genius, yet he had turned out to be a troublemaker.

"Oh, right. Since your soul beast can eat Thunder-Striking Bamboo, you can come to me for some Thunder-Striking Bamboo as food for your soul beast when you cultivate in the future."

Hearing that he could eat Thunder-Striking Bamboo in the future, Heibai, who had been listless moments ago, immediately perked up.

If he could eat that purple bamboo every day, cultivation was not entirely unacceptable.

Heibai narrowed his eyes and gave Second Grandfather a foolishly adorable smile.

This old man suddenly looked quite pleasing to the eye.

There was light above his head!

Days passed one by one.

Several months had passed since Zhao Mu's Martial Soul Awakening.