Martial Soul Aptitude

Ling Yi could not fathom why the "Basic Meditation Method" chose the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian—the Shao Chong Acupoint—as its starting point.

One had to know that a single right hand alone contained the Hand Three Yang and Hand Three Yin—a total of six meridians!

The thumb contained the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.

The index finger contained the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.

The middle finger contained the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian.

The ring finger contained the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian.

The little finger contained both the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian and the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian.

Logically speaking, each of these meridians could serve as a route for meditation, visualization, and circulating Soul Power.

As he pondered, Ling Yi split his attention in two, using Mental Strength as a guide to drive the Soul Power within his body through the route of the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian.

Nearly an hour later, his cultivation efficiency began to decline. Still unable to figure it out, Ling Yi helplessly gathered his focus and drew the Soul Power in his body—now roughly five percent stronger—back into his Dantian, ending his cultivation.

At the same time, he shook his head slightly. In the end, there are simply too few known variables to understand the underlying principles~

Thinking of the lack of variables, Ling Yi was reminded of the Scything Form and Axing Form in the Farmer Three Forms, which had yet to be fully refined. The main reason was likewise that there were too few people for him to observe in daily life, leaving him unable to obtain more data on how different bodily movements corresponded to the human body's physical responses.

He got out of bed and looked toward the wooden rack beside it. A row of flowerpots sat there, each planted with several stalks of Blue Silver Grass.

Walking over, he raised a hand and gently brushed the Grass Leaf of several plants. Feeling the faint yet vigorous vitality contained within them, his somewhat chaotic thoughts eased slightly.

Outside the window, the sharp, grating cries of cicadas rang out tirelessly, as though they would never cease, reminding Ling Yi just how scorching it was outdoors.

Judging by the time, Grandpa Ling Changqing and his father, Ling Xiaoshan, should have already cut plenty of lush, juicy fodder grass and be on their way back, shouldn't they?

Ling Yi thought so.

Feeling the faint tightness in the meridians within his body, as well as the slight abnormal sensation when he had just drawn his Soul Power back into his Dantian, Ling Yi turned his thoughts back to the hour or so of cultivation he had just completed and began to summarize it.

After about an hour, the Soul Power continuously circulating through the meridians included not only my own Soul Power, but also those particles from the outside world—or rather... spiritual energy!

Ling Yi began to pace slowly around the room, easing the stiffness in his limbs and the stagnation of his blood and qi caused by sitting cross-legged for so long.

At the same time, his eyes swept over the Blue Silver Grass on the wooden racks around the room. Occasionally, he looked through the open window toward Old Forest in the distance, gazing at the lush, verdant forest canopy.

As he watched, the Mental Strength consumed by splitting his attention earlier and maintaining prolonged concentration during cultivation gradually recovered.

Yan Bin previously said that Soul Power cultivation could not last too long each time. Depending on a person's talent, the amount of time they could cultivate in a day varied. If they exceeded that limit, not only would their efficiency become extremely low, but carelessness could also damage the body...

Now it seems that, aside from declining concentration and the gradually increasing consumption of Mental Strength, the body's meridians are also washed by external spiritual energy. That means cultivation has to stop before Mental Strength loses control and the meridians are damaged!

I imagine Soul Masters with high Innate Soul Power and powerful Martial Soul Aptitude must have tougher meridians, better control of Soul Power through Mental Strength, and greater amounts of Soul Power capable of enveloping more external spiritual energy...

More spiritual energy absorbed, longer cultivation time, higher cultivation efficiency—naturally, their cultivation speed would be worlds apart!

Although he had yet to witness another Soul Master's cultivation, Ling Yi felt that this deduction should hold water within the setting of Douluo Continent.

Speaking of which, in the Timeline of the original story, Tang San cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the supreme internal cultivation method of the Tang Sect from his previous life's martial arts world~ Ling Yi folded one arm across his chest and propped his chin with the other hand, beginning to recall the novel he had read in his previous life.

"I remember that not long after he became Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Yu Xiaogang gave him a book that he supposedly compiled himself, containing Soul Power circulation routes and techniques for meditating and cultivating Soul Power..."

Tang San had privately remarked at the time that although the Soul Power circulation route Yu Xiaogang gave him was not as good as the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the Mysterious Heaven Skill was the accumulated experience of countless generations of Tang Sect ancestors, while Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang was only one person.

Leaving aside how Tang San gradually "fell" for Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's "world-shaking wisdom," Ling Yi inferred from this that meditative Soul Power cultivation most likely involved controlling one's own Soul Power and circulating it through the meridians.

It was simply that, compared with the low-martial world where the focus was mainly on Refining Essence into Qi, Douluo Continent—this fantasy world's paving brick—could directly absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy through the convenience of Martial Souls, raising it to the level of a mid-martial world.

"A Yi~ A Yi—!"

Just then, a call suddenly rang out amid the noisy cicada cries outside.

It was Zhang Lei. Hearing the familiar voice and sensing that his body—especially his legs—was no longer stiff, while his mind had also relaxed considerably, Ling Yi called back loudly, "Coming—!"

He crossed the room in two strides, pushed open the door, and entered Ling Changqing's courtyard.

Just then, Zhang Lei pushed open the courtyard gate and came in. Seeing Ling Yi, he hurried over with a grin, grabbed Ling Yi's forearm, and pulled him out of the courtyard at a run.

As they ran, he said, "A Yi, I've collected all the Blue Silver Grass seeds you asked for!"

Before long, they arrived at Zhang Dahe's home. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw a grass-woven Cooling Mat laid flat on the ground, with a heap of dark blue, almost black "sand" piled atop it.

"Look—!"

Arriving before the "sand pile," Zhang Lei spoke brightly to Ling Yi.

"Three thousand seeds! No fewer, only more!"

"Just as you asked, every seed is plump and pure in color. All the shriveled, cracked, and dull-colored ones were removed—!"

Ling Yi surveyed the pile of Blue Silver Grass seeds before him with satisfaction. Raising a hand, he lightly punched Zhang Lei on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Thanks, Lei Ge—"

"Ah, what are you thanking me for?!" Zhang Lei waved his hand and shook his head. "It didn't take much effort. Er Wa, Xiao Niu, Hua Hua, and more than twenty others followed your instructions. We specifically cut Blue Silver Grass, came back and beat out the seeds, sent the Grass Leaf to your Chicken Coop and rabbit hutch, then each picked out around a hundred suitable seeds for you. It only took half the morning—"

"Besides, A'Huang and Meow Meow caught a lot of things this morning. We all ate our fill of meat at noon~"

"Er Wa and the others said that if there's work like this next time, they'll definitely come again—"

Listening to Zhang Lei, Ling Yi nodded. At the same time, he crouched down and plunged a hand into the pile of seeds, enjoying the pleasant sensation of the grains against his palm as he replied lightly, "Tell them not to worry. I'll still need their help later on, and when that time comes, there'll be plenty of meat!"

"Mm-hm~" Zhang Lei crouched down as well. Watching Ling Yi's movements, he asked, "By the way, A Yi, what are you planning to do with these seeds?"

"Come on~"

Ling Yi gathered the scattered seeds together with both hands, then grabbed the four corners of the Cooling Mat on the ground, scooped up the seeds, and lifted it. Tilting his head toward Zhang Lei, he said, "Come to my house first. We'll soak these seeds in the trough we used to soak the ginseng seeds..."

Over the previous three years, from the age of three to Six Years Old, ever since Ling Yi had first discovered ginseng in the Old Forest north of Shan Hai Village, he had often sent A'Huang and Meow Meow out to search for ginseng that had sprouted in the Old Forest after birds swallowed the seeds and excreted them with their droppings.

Once they found it, they did not dig up the ginseng directly. Instead, they picked the ginseng seeds, brought them home, processed them, soaked them to encourage germination, and finally planted them.

Although Ling Yi had had no experience growing ginseng in either his previous life or this one, during the first year, he could plant it in different locations and soils, with varying amounts of water and sunlight. By comparing how well the ginseng grew, he could more or less steer things in the right direction from the second year onward.

After all, this was a world with the extraordinary power known as Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. It was only natural for some seemingly unscientific phenomena to occur.

Ling Yi's goal was to turn the Old Forest north of Shan Hai Village into his first ginseng cultivation base!

Before, they could only drink Ginseng Chicken Soup once every few months. In the future, it would be once a month, once a week, or even once a day!

But for now—

He had better deal with those three thousand "Blue Silver Grass" seeds first.