Diamond Skill

"Diamond Skill is a body-tempering technique centered around the physical body. It has nine levels. Through a unique breathing method, it constantly tempers the bones, flesh, and meridians, ultimately allowing the body to attain sainthood."

An introduction to Diamond Skill flashed through Duan Fan's mind, and his eyes grew brighter.

"My First Martial Soul, Fantasy Pen, follows the summoning and creation path. I'm just missing a body-tempering technique like this to make up for my lack of combat power."

"My Second Martial Soul, Soul-Sucking Battle Axe, needs a technique like this too. Once I've trained my body to be strong enough, I'll be able to fight however I want."

"Even without using my Martial Soul, I'll still be invincible if I master Diamond Skill. I'll be able to match a Titled Douluo with nothing but the strength of my body."

"Especially once I reach the ninth level, Indestructible Golden Body. My body will become indestructible, and I'll be able to regenerate from a single drop of blood. It might even be possible to slay a god with the strength of my body!"

The more Duan Fan thought about it, the more excited he became. In the end, he could no longer hold back. He sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating Diamond Skill using its breathing method.

As soon as he drew in his first breath, Duan Fan immediately felt a strange change within his body.

The Soul Power in his body seemed to be pulled along by something, slowly flowing through an unfamiliar route.

His meridians ached and swelled, as if ants were crawling through them.

With each circuit his Soul Power made, a trace seeped into the gaps between his bones and blended into the grain of his muscles.

The process was a little painful, but still within what he could bear.

After his Soul Power had made three circuits, Duan Fan's whole body grew hot, his pores opened, and he felt as if he were soaking in warm water.

Duan Fan could clearly feel his body growing stronger bit by bit, like a soft clod of earth being pounded firm.

What was more, he could feel the Soul Power inside him increasing, and at a rate even a little faster than normal cultivation!

The main reason was that when the Soul Power in Duan Fan's body traveled along its special route, it naturally drew in the Soul Power of the world around him, allowing him to cultivate his Soul Power at the same time.

This was a completely unexpected bonus!

Duan Fan had thought Diamond Skill would need to be cultivated separately. He had already planned to set aside some time every day to temper his body with it.

He hadn't expected Diamond Skill to also cultivate Soul Power, and at a decent speed—at least faster than ordinary meditation.

From now on, I'll just use Diamond Skill to cultivate, Duan Fan thought.

After cultivating for about half an hour, Duan Fan was drenched in sweat. A little grime could be seen on the surface of his skin; it was the impurities being expelled from his body.

Since he still had class that morning, Duan Fan had to stop after his first session of Diamond Skill.

He got out of bed, went to take a shower, and washed up.

Then he changed into a clean school uniform and left the dormitory.

On his way to the classroom, Duan Fan stopped by the cafeteria and ate breakfast.

By the time Duan Fan arrived, all his classmates were already there.

They were all very diligent about getting to class. Duan Fan was the only one who often showed up at the last minute.

After taking his seat, Duan Fan habitually glanced at Wen Xiyue.

His beautiful deskmate was still as cold as ever.

Before long, Li Ruolan arrived for class.

Li Ruolan was an excellent teacher. Her explanations were easy to understand and full of useful information.

Duan Fan always learned a lot from her.

He just didn't like going to class very much.

He preferred cultivation.

Especially since he had just obtained Diamond Skill that morning. All he wanted was for the morning classes to end quickly so he could go cultivate.

Fortunately, theory class was short—only half an hour.

After theory class came practical training.

The dozen or so students in the class filed out of the classroom and entered the Soul Fighting Arena under Li Ruolan's lead.

Duan Fan, who had cultivation on his mind, hurried over to Li Ruolan and asked, "Teacher, can I go first later? I want to get back to cultivating as soon as possible."

Li Ruolan readily agreed. "Sure. It's a good thing to enjoy cultivating."

"From now on, I'll have you go first every time. Once your fight is over, you can go cultivate instead of watching the other students."

Duan Fan quickly thanked her. "Thank you, teacher!"

Why hadn't she arranged it this way sooner?

Having to watch his classmates peck at each other like chickens every time was its own kind of torture.

Duan Fan had asked to go first many times before, and had even left early on plenty of occasions.

Practical training would still be underway, but after his fight, he would simply run off.

Li Ruolan hadn't said anything about it.

She had probably gotten used to it by now.

So today, she had simply come up with a solution once and for all.

Once everyone from Junior Class Ten had arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena, practical training began soon after.

Just as Duan Fan had hoped, Li Ruolan arranged for him to go first.

As for his opponent, it was Li Ruolan herself.

There was no helping it. Li Ruolan was the only one in Junior Class Ten who could spar with Duan Fan.

Even Wen Xiyue, whose Soul Power Level was the same as Duan Fan's, was no match for him. And as their Soul Power Levels rose, the gap between their combat abilities only grew wider.

Li Ruolan had arranged for the two of them to spar before, but the outcome was always the same as in their first fight: Duan Fan thoroughly trounced Wen Xiyue.

Under the watchful eyes of the other students in Junior Class Ten, Duan Fan and Li Ruolan stepped onto the Soul Fighting Platform.

"Duan Fan, Martial Soul: Writing Brush. Soul Power Level: seventeen. Please instruct me, teacher!"

"Li Ruolan, Martial Soul: Iron Sword. Soul Power Level: forty-eight. Let's begin!"

After a polite exchange before the match, Duan Fan and Li Ruolan activated their Martial Souls at the same time.

Duan Fan held Fantasy Pen in his hand, and a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.

Li Ruolan held her sword in one hand. Four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—surrounded her.

The Soul Power radiating from Li Ruolan alone already overwhelmed Duan Fan.

As soon as she activated her Martial Soul, Li Ruolan charged at Duan Fan at great speed, showing no intention of holding back and putting him under immense pressure.

Duan Fan, for his part, wasted no time in using his First Soul Skill, Life from the Brush.

His yellow Soul Ring lit up, and he quickly waved Fantasy Pen in his hand.

Silver lines danced through the air, soon taking the shape of a Dream-Weaving Spider.

As Duan Fan set down his final stroke, the Dream-Weaving Spider changed from a drawing into a real creature. It landed heavily on the ground, as large as a table, and charged straight at Li Ruolan.

A careful observer would have noticed that compared to the Dream-Weaving Spider Duan Fan had drawn when his Soul Power Level was fourteen, the one he had now drawn was clearly bigger.

His drawing speed had also improved.

The Dream-Weaving Spider immediately engaged Li Ruolan in battle. Duan Fan never stopped moving his pen, drawing two more Dream-Weaving Spiders in quick succession.

As soon as they landed, the two Dream-Weaving Spiders immediately used their weaving abilities, spitting out silk and weaving it into Giant Spiders to join the fight.

After receiving support, the first Dream-Weaving Spider Duan Fan had drawn also seized an opening to spit out silk and weave a Giant Spider.