Liberating Martial Souls

Tai Chi was profound and expansive. Cheng Xiao was merely an ordinary man—how could he possibly derive the true Tai Chi Energy Circulation Method through nothing more than so-called "comparative experiments"?

After spending several years modifying the Meditation Technique Yu Xiaogang had developed, the Tai Chi Energy Circulation Method Cheng Xiao created was merely the limit of what human effort could achieve.

It might work remarkably well in conjunction with Tai Chi techniques, but it was not the most perfect method!

But things were different now!

Selfless and Formless was an exceptionally mysterious state, similar to Buddhist meditation.

In this state, Cheng Xiao cast aside every distracting thought and focused solely on Tai Chi.

Without distracting thoughts interfering, his Soul Power flowed almost instinctively along the most perfect route, completing the incomplete circulation method.

Over the years, Cheng Xiao had never neglected physical training. His already robust body, perfect Tai Chi, and the Whale Rubber's immense medicinal potency directly helped him open the Ren Du Meridians.

This series of changes drastically increased his meridians' capacity for Soul Power. At that moment, his Soul Power directly broke through to Level 18.

"Splash..."

His Soul Power divided into two streams, one hard and one soft, flowing around Cheng Xiao's body along with his fist movements.

Guided by these two entirely different streams of Soul Power, the seawater that barely covered his calves began rotating around Cheng Xiao, forming a wondrous sight.

The Whale Rubber's dense medicinal potency remained immense, nourishing Cheng Xiao's limbs and bones and completely making up for his innate deficiencies. His Spiritual Power also began quietly increasing, and some of the medicinal power even started surging toward his Martial Souls.

Cheng Xiao's innate disadvantage was finally made up for at this moment. From now on, he stood on the same starting line as those with Innate Full Soul Power, like Tang San and Xiao Wu.

However, what Cheng Xiao had not expected was that the growth of his Spiritual Power and physical body had already reached their limits. The remaining medicinal power actually rushed headlong toward his Martial Souls!

The Martial Souls of the two Kings had originally been in an extremely delicate balance. Under the impact of the medicinal power, that balance was instantly shattered. The sphere formed from the Power of Shadow began showing signs of collapse under the assault of the Power of Destruction within and the medicinal power outside.

Boom!

With a muffled blast, Cheng Xiao jolted awake and broke free from the Selfless and Formless state. An indescribable agony erupted from the depths of his soul!

"Ugh... damn it, what's happening?"

Cheng Xiao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His fingers dug fiercely into the seabed sand as violent destructive intent spread through his heart, making him want to destroy everything.

Fine scales began creeping up from his fingertips, and his arm seemed to don a layer of dragon-scale armor, looking particularly sinister.

This was... the Destruction King's power!

"My Martial Soul... has been liberated?"

Fuck! Why did it have to happen now?!

The Destruction King's power was far too violent. Even after strengthening his body for five years, he had never believed he could withstand its power.

According to his plan, he would have to wait until after consuming immortal herbs, reaching the rank of Soul Douluo, and obtaining at least three Soul Bones plus one External Soul Bone before daring to attempt liberating it. He had even secretly planned for the Eight Spider Lances, waiting for that day to arrive.

Yet no matter how carefully he calculated, he had never anticipated that, through a fortunate coincidence, this would happen ahead of schedule!

The dark, cold Power of Shadow poured out wildly, dyeing the surrounding seawater black as ink. Meanwhile, the Power of Destruction continually battered his meridians and consciousness, filling him with a savage urge to destroy, making him want to obliterate everything before his eyes.

"No, I can't let this continue!"

The cracks on the shadow sphere continued widening, and the power of destruction leaked from them in an endless stream.

If the Destruction King were completely liberated, his body would likely be torn apart by that violent power!

"What do I do? What do I do..."

But in his panic, Cheng Xiao simply could not think of any good way to resolve the conflict between his Martial Souls. This situation was simply too rare.

Cheng Xiao did not have someone like Electrolux, an old mentor always at his side who could solve every problem for him. He could only rely on his own wisdom to slowly find a solution.

Time trickled away bit by bit. Cheng Xiao was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead, yet the two forces gave him little time. Before long, his consciousness began to blur.

"Tai Chi divides into yin and yang; hardness and softness complement each other. When yin and yang unite, all things are born..."

Amid his hazy consciousness, an ethereal voice suddenly rang out in the depths of Cheng Xiao's mind. It was the ultimate truth of Tai Chi!

Cheng Xiao abruptly opened his eyes. His already weakening will suddenly became resolute, and his mind cleared.

"Tai Chi is not confined to techniques, nor is it merely a method of circulating energy. It is the transformation of yin and yang—one yin, one yang; one soft, one hard. When the two combine, their changes are endless..."

Cheng Xiao sat cross-legged in the seawater and began directing the two utterly opposing forces raging within his body.

At first, moving the two forces was immensely difficult, as though they were two massive boulders weighing a thousand jin each.

But as Cheng Xiao gritted his teeth and persisted, the two forces gradually began to move. Under his control, beneath the cracked shadow sphere, they began rotating according to the pattern of a Tai Chi diagram, draining away the leaking power.

"Shadow is yin, destruction is yang..."

The faster the Tai Chi diagram rotated, the more swiftly any leaked power was drawn into it, leaving it unable to continue destroying Cheng Xiao's body.

No one knew how long passed before the Tai Chi Formation gradually slowed to a stop. The cracks in the shadow sphere also ceased expanding, and the powers of shadow and destruction once again reached a delicate balance.

"No, that's not right. It's a balance between the yin-yang diagram, the Shadow King, and the Destruction King!"

The balance between shadow and destruction had long since been broken. Unless a third power intervened, it would be impossible for them to form a balanced state again.

And the Tai Chi Formation had become that third party! It served as a buffer zone.

Every so often, the cracks would lengthen slightly, and a small amount of power would occasionally leak out. But the excess power of both sides would be drawn in and absorbed by the Tai Chi Formation, preventing it from leaking out and destroying his body.

"What does this count as? Initial liberation? Half-liberation?" Cheng Xiao muttered as he sensed the state of his Martial Souls.

With a thought, he summoned the yin fish within the Tai Chi Formation. A rolling current of ink-black energy flowed from it, and a black phantom appeared behind him, clad in armor, majestic and silent.

"The Shadow King..."

The changes did not end there. Cheng Xiao withdrew the Shadow King and activated the yang fish of the Tai Chi diagram once more. In an instant, the phantom of a ferocious light dragon appeared behind him, its entire body wreathed in a terrifying aura of destruction.

The moment the light dragon appeared, he felt as though his entire body were being flayed alive. The aura of destruction continuously ravaged the meridians throughout his body.

"The Destruction King..."

Through the yin-yang Tai Chi diagram, he could finally wield the true power of the two Kings, rather than merely condensing the Power of Shadow in his eyes as he had before.

In other words, from this day onward, he could finally be considered a true wielder of Twin Martial Souls!