This unnamed technique seemed to be called the Great Sage Scripture. A few thoughts flashed through his mind, and he looked at Luo Xiaoshi.
That kid really seemed to have the potential to become that monkey.
A Stone Monkey Martial Soul, and still so young—he had the potential. It was just that his personality needed a little cultivation.
With that thought, Chen An resolved to guide Luo Xiaoshi down that path.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, the Nine Nether Profound Technique—now that he thought about it, it seemed to be a cultivation method created by the master of the Underworld.
He just didn't know which Underworld it was from. At the very least, he could be sure that in Douluo, this thing was overpowered, even in its scaled-down version.
After all, even the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record could be considered top-tier. How could these two things not crush it?
"Hey, why hasn't this kid woken up yet?"
After bringing the two of them out, Chen An had carried Luo Xiaoshi back to the dormitory. But an hour had passed, and he still showed no signs of waking.
"Oh, right. This kid's body's been run down pretty badly."
Chen An slapped his forehead as he remembered Luo Xiaoshi's condition.
After examining him carefully, he finally relaxed. There was nothing seriously wrong; his body was just a little weak.
He clicked his tongue. So young, and already this weak? That wouldn't do. But he could fix it.
With a sly grin, he looked at Luo Xiaoshi in a decidedly mischievous way. Of course, it wasn't that kind of expression—he simply wanted to mess with him.
"You're in for a treat, kid. A specially made Ten-Complete Tonic Soup. Heh, heh."
He'd specially concocted this stuff for the people of Douluo. There was nothing special about it; it was just incredibly bitter, the kind of bitter that could kill you.
He sprang into action. If the kid woke up, he'd have to coax him into drinking it. It would be much easier to make him drink it while he was still out cold.
On the way, Zhu Zhuqing saw Chen An bustling about and looked confused.
"What's Master up to?"
She wondered, but didn't go to investigate. Her thoughts were on the cultivation technique. For the first time, she felt what it meant that there was always someone better, and a higher heaven beyond the heavens.
This technique was far superior to the one her family had passed down. She'd only just tried circulating it, yet she already felt more alert, as if a leaf that had obscured her vision had been swept away.
Even the beliefs that had sheltered her heart were beginning to waver.
Before long, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the dormitory area.
"Ah!!"
Ahem.
"???"
Startled, Zhu Zhuqing looked outside, then suspiciously toward the other building.
Then she heard Chen An burst into laughter. A smile crept onto her face. It seemed her beloved Master had succeeded in his little prank.
She turned back and continued circulating the technique. Now she was determined to wrestle it into submission and complete a full cycle.
As for her junior brother, she could only mourn for him for half a second. There was no way she'd get involved—not in this lifetime. He'd just have to obediently cultivate if he wanted to get by.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Over the past few weeks, aside from giving Luo Xiaoshi specially made supplements every so often, Chen An had kept everything else as usual.
Not only had Zhu Zhuqing gotten on track, but Luo Xiaoshi had too. He'd officially begun cultivating.
"Greetings, Master."
By now, they could both circulate their respective techniques, though they were still stumbling a little.
After thinking it over, Chen An decided that simply raising their levels wasn't the right path. He needed to teach them something else, lest they focus only on leveling up without any real combat experience.
"What level are you two now?"
Cultivation techniques had their most noticeable effect at the beginning, so they also made the biggest difference to their level advancement then.
The two children lit up with excitement and delight at Chen An's question.
"I'm level 26."
"I'm level 16."
Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi answered in turn.
Luo Xiaoshi had improved the most, naturally. His foundation had been poor to begin with, so that was understandable.
"Not bad. Looks like you've both made good progress."
The two of them nodded, and Chen An continued.
"Today's lesson is combat."
"Zhuqing, what do you think of specialized Soul Masters? Soul Masters like you, for example."
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment, then shook her head. She knew Chen An meant Soul Masters like Agility Attack and Power Attack types.
But she truly didn't know how to answer.
She looked at Chen An in confusion, waiting to hear his answer.
"Have you ever thought about what an Agility Attack type should do if they can't break through their opponent's defense? Or what a Power Attack type should do if they can't land a hit?"
After Chen An laid out his view, both Luo Xiaoshi and Zhu Zhuqing fell into thought.
"When you're poor, focus on a single path. When you're strong and well-resourced, develop in every direction.
"You're both talented, and you have me backing you up. Sticking to just one path would be a waste."
Hearing that, Luo Xiaoshi immediately asked, "Then, Teacher, how exactly should we cultivate?"
He didn't really understand what Chen An had just said, nor did he particularly want to.
He'd already accepted Chen An as his teacher, and had settled on one thing in his heart: Whatever Teacher says, I'll do.
"Good question, Little Stone. Your Martial Soul is the Stone Monkey, and you've seen the figure in that inheritance. So your goal is to become more like him.
"His greatest strength is that he can do everything. I picked out the Five-Tiger Eight-Trigram Staff and the Arhat Golden Body Art for you from the Technique Pavilion. Start by cultivating according to those."
Chen An's plan for Luo Xiaoshi was to build his physical strength through Soul Rings and learn combat techniques on his own.
Watching Chen An casually toss two manuals to Luo Xiaoshi, Zhu Zhuqing understood.
Their teacher had already planned out their paths. There was nothing to question. Gaining three levels in just a few weeks was proof enough.
"Teacher, I want some too."
"Of course, of course."
Seeing how readily Zhu Zhuqing had caught on, Chen An was delighted. He'd thought this lesson would be a hassle.
"Here's the Shadow Flow Profound Meaning, and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw. They're especially suited to you."
Smiling, Chen An took out another set of manuals. They were the Master of Shadow Flow's skill set. He'd checked, and they barely met Douluo's requirements, so they could be used.
As for the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, that was purely to give Zhu Zhuqing stronger close-range counterattacks. It could also work in tandem with her first and second Soul Skills.
That would let her achieve the same effect as the original Steel-Shattering Divine Claw—killing two birds with one stone.
Once she mastered the Shadow Flow Profound Meaning, she could even save herself the fourth and fifth Soul Skills from the original storyline: Shadow Clone and Shadow Link.
Later, he'd get Zhuqing a Golden Body-type and a teleportation-type Soul Skill. Then she'd take off.
"Okay, Master."
They were at the training grounds behind the mountain, so Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi began practicing right there.
Seeing how quickly they got into the rhythm, Chen An felt his decision had been a good one. Physical training was just what they needed at this stage.
The innate techniques they'd been given were suited to abilities like Dharma Forms. It was like asking a child who'd only learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to study calculus the very next chapter.
As they practiced, Chen An spoke up.
"Little Stone, hold back your level for now and shore up the foundation you neglected before. After that, I'll personally take you to get a Soul Ring."
Luo Xiaoshi nodded to show he understood. He was cultivating much faster than before, and level twenty no longer seemed as distant as it once had.
But he knew it was because he'd been so weak before. It was like filling a cup and a bucket from a tap running at full flow—you couldn't compare how long it took.
After the two children had learned most of the moves, they tried running through them from start to finish. But their movements were awkward; they captured neither the essence nor the form.
Chen An laughed. Martial arts weren't so easy to master.
"You're not quite there yet. I'll demonstrate it once first."
He loved showing off in front of people, and that was no different when he was around his disciples.
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