Strength

After finishing the practical combat session, Yan washed up and changed clothes before heading to the bath chamber for a medicinal soak.

He also silently assessed his current strength.

Putting aside his Soul Grandmaster-level Soul Master cultivation for now, the main thing was his Martial Artist realm.

At the fourth Apprentice stage, his punching force had already exceeded eight thousand kilograms, and his true strength was even greater.

His physical constitution had already surpassed that of an ordinary Soul King.

However, the destructive power produced by a Soul King-level Soul Master—especially a Power Attack Type Soul Master—after summoning their Martial Soul was no less than his. With Soul Skills to complement it, it could even surpass him.

A Power Attack Type Soul King could summon their Martial Soul and, bolstered by Soul Power, shatter ancient trees and destroy massive boulders with ease.

Strength at that level was not even inferior to the impact force of a heavy truck. And with the support of Soul Skills, that destructive power would increase geometrically.

In the end, a Soul Master's physical attributes could not represent their true strength. Although the physique of a fourth-stage Apprentice was ostensibly no weaker than that of a Soul Emperor, if they truly fought, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.

With his current Martial Artist strength, combined with his two enhancement-type Soul Skills, facing a Soul King posed no pressure at all. This had already been proven in the earlier battle.

He remembered that in the original work, Tang San had pulled out the Sea God Trident, which weighed one hundred and eight thousand jin, during the Sea God's seventh trial. Yet his strength had only been at the level of an eighty-fifth-rank Soul Douluo.

One hundred and eight thousand jin converted to roughly fifty-four tons. And at the time, Tang San's body had undergone the trials and training of the Sea God's Divine Trial. Combined with his Soul Power output, his own strength output was probably greater than fifty-four tons.

Such physical attributes had already surpassed the sixth Apprentice stage and were comparable to the seventh Apprentice stage.

This also showed that, in the Douluo I Era, the peak bodily strength of a Soul Douluo was roughly at the seventh Apprentice stage.

Even stronger Title Douluos would only be at the eighth or ninth Apprentice stage. Of course, Poison Douluo was an exception.

As the disgrace among Title Douluos, Poison Douluo's Soul Power Level was only ninety point five.

Moreover, the current Poison Douluo was constrained by the corrosive effects of his own poison, leaving him unable to fully display his strength at all.

Setting aside everything else, Soul Douluo-level Tang San could absolutely crush the current Poison Douluo completely.

That was why Yan was confident that, upon reaching the sixth Apprentice stage, he could exchange blows with Poison Douluo.

If he reached the strength of the seventh Apprentice stage, he could formally step into the power tier of a Title Douluo.

The eighth Apprentice stage would be enough to rival a Super Douluo. If he broke through to the ninth Apprentice stage, Yan would even dare to contend with Qian Daoliu.

Beyond that, whether Planetary Level or Stellar Level, it would be the realm of gods. The only difference would be the rank of the deity.

To be safer, Universe Level strength would be enough to surpass the Five Great God Kings and crush the entire God Realm.

Yet in the world of Swallowed Star, Universe Level merely qualified one to enter the ranks of cosmic powerhouses and rule over a remote starfield.

In less than half an hour, the medicinal liquid in the bath had turned clear. Its medicinal potency had been completely absorbed by Yan.

"The time keeps getting shorter," Yan said with a sigh.

As his physique continuously grew stronger, the medicinal potency contained in these carefully formulated Spirit Hall medicinal baths had become increasingly unable to keep pace with his rate of improvement.

Their effects on him would only grow weaker from here on.

Fortunately, Whale Rubber could still benefit his physique.

Not selfishly hoarding the benefits of Whale Rubber had definitely been one of Yan's wisest decisions.

Although Whale Rubber was nowhere near as outrageously expensive now as it would be ten thousand years later, given Yan's consumption, the accumulated cost over so many years was still an enormous sum.

Even nobles from some kingdoms would likely be unable to sustain such an expense. And even if they had that wealth, they would not have channels like Spirit Hall's to gather so much Whale Rubber in such a short time.

At this stage, apart from Spirit Hall, only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could accomplish this. The Clear Sky Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, despite also being among the Three Upper Sects, could not.

It was precisely because Whale Rubber's effectiveness had greatly diverted Spirit Hall's attention that its higher-ups attributed Yan's powerful physique, to the greatest extent possible, to Whale Rubber and his own talent, preventing any further complications.

After finishing the medicinal bath, Yan dried himself off.

Two years of arduous training had covered his skin in scars of all sizes.

Some had been left behind in actual combat, while others came from Yan's almost perverse physical training. Like badges embedded in his body, these scars recorded his growth.

There was still time, so Yan returned to the Fire Mimicry Training Room and continued cultivating.

After breaking through to Soul Grandmaster, Chrysanthemum Douluo had made a special exception, allowing Yan more time each day to cultivate in the Mimicry Training Room.

The Fire Mimicry Training Room used soul beast bones as its primary material and contained the essence of various fire elements. It was the most suitable place for fire-attributed Soul Masters to cultivate.

Yan used the Fire Mimicry Training Room not only to cultivate his Martial Soul, but also for another important purpose: practicing the secret technique Flame Fall.

Though Flame Fall was a fist technique, its secret art grade was quite high and vaguely touched upon the Law of Fire.

Yan practiced the Flame Fall Fist Technique first to strengthen his combat power and make up for his lack of offensive Soul Skills, and second to comprehend the Law of Fire through the technique.

As a secret art chosen by the Flame Emperor for inclusion in the Yan God Clan Inheritance Treasury, Yan had always held high expectations for and attached great importance to Flame Fall.

Moreover, the Flame Fall Fist Technique's final force multiplier could reach an astonishing fifteen times. At the Apprentice stage, it was absolutely sufficient.

In Yan's view, a Top-tier Mimicry Training Room was meant to construct an environment resembling a Flame Domain as much as possible, eliminating interference from other elements to pursue the ultimate cultivation of the fire element.

Although Douluo I had no concept of ultimate elements, some of its cultivation methods had, by sheer coincidence, advanced toward the path of extremity. They were merely somewhat crude and required further refinement.

As dusk approached, Yan left the Mimicry Training Room, bade Mu Ming farewell, ate dinner, and returned to his dormitory.

He had not been in the dormitory for long when knocking sounded outside the door.

When he opened it, he found Xie Yue.

"Xie Yue?"

Yan paused, then stepped aside. "Come in."

Compared to two years ago, Xie Yue had grown much taller. His handsome face, framed by silver hair and crimson eyes, had shed its childishness and begun to radiate its true charm.

As far as Yan knew, quite a few girls had given Xie Yue love letters over the past two years. In the current Spirit Hall Primary Academy, there were simply too many to count.

"What is it? Do you need something?"

After Xie Yue entered the room, Yan closed the door and invited him to sit down.

"Yeah."

Xie Yue nodded. Looking at Yan, a trace of complicated emotion flickered in his eyes. "I heard you're applying to study at an Advanced Academy?"