Stellar Martial Arts and the Soul Tool System (4)

Stellar Martial Arts and the Soul Tool System (4)

Turning water into fire...

Turning soil into gold...

Turning wood into gemstones...

Grab a handful of dirt from the ground, and with Soul Power, turn it into whatever metal material you needed. One person alone could become wealthier than an entire nation...

"How could that merely make someone wealthier than a nation?" Ning Rongrong's glazed eyes trembled slightly, and the suppressed shock within them was faintly visible. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is wealthy enough to rival a nation because Soul Masters like me, who possess the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit, all have the ability to appraise treasures. It is a special ability granted to us by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit. But even with that ability, we still have to obey the law of conservation on the material level. In other words, we can only identify treasures that already exist. We cannot create treasures out of thin air. Dirt will always be dirt in our appraisal, and it can never become precious gold!"

"That is why Alchemy is considered a secret art, a secret art recognized by all Soul Tool Masters..." Qin Ming spread his hands and added what Ning Rongrong had left unsaid. "Moreover, there are many rare metals and gemstones that Soul Tool Masters cannot buy. Even if they can buy them, Soul Tool Masters who have mastered Alchemy can create metals and gemstones that do not exist in this world. The more than seven hundred metals and gemstones in Blue Tyrant Academy with unique serial numbers were created that way. So sometimes, even if you have the blueprints, you still cannot make a Soul Tool without those uniquely numbered raw materials."

Ning Rongrong's expression changed slightly.

The plan had failed before it had even begun.

Blueprints were important, but raw materials were even more important.

More than seven hundred raw materials with unique properties.

Was Blue Tyrant Academy trying to make things impossible?

Ning Rongrong could think of this problem, and Yu Xiaogang naturally could as well. But unlike the "narrow-minded" Ning Rongrong, Yu Xiaogang immediately set his sights on Alchemy itself. Such a great Self-Created Soul Skill should be reviewed and annotated by a Grandmaster like him!

And unlike the "narrow-minded" Ning Rongrong.

And unlike the "ambitious" Yu Xiaogang.

Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, Flender, and the others failed to realize the most important value of Alchemy. Especially Flender, that miserly iron rooster—when he heard that a Soul Tool Master who had learned Alchemy could grab a handful of dirt from the ground and turn it into gold, his eyes gleamed with an eerie light. His focus was entirely on money. The diversity of humanity was vividly displayed by the Shrek group at that moment.

"How much money would that be..." Ma Hongjun murmured dreamily before adding, "How would you even spend that much money..."

Flender's face darkened.

He slapped Ma Hongjun on the head irritably.

There were better ways to embarrass himself.

Everyone was greedy, but no one said it aloud.

So no one was embarrassed.

Did he not understand that when out in the world, even if he did not know something, he had to pretend he did so others would not look down on him?

Still, Ma Hongjun was his disciple. He had already embarrassed himself, but Flender could not just slap him to death. Flender could only push up his stiff black-rimmed glasses and pick up the topic Qin Ming had not finished. "And that Stellar Martial Arts system that stands alongside Soul Guidance Technology—Qin Ming, how much do you know about Stellar Martial Arts?"

That was right!

There was still Stellar Martial Arts!

Qin Ming was not the only one who realized it. Ning Rongrong and the others, who had just been too shocked by Soul Guidance Technology and Alchemy to compose themselves, also came to their senses. In tacit agreement, they turned their eyes toward Qin Ming, waiting for his explanation.

However, Qin Ming did not know much about Stellar Martial Arts.

He spread his hands and said with a bitter smile, "Stellar Martial Arts and Soul Guidance Technology are two completely opposite systems. Soul Guidance Technology focuses on Soul Tools, external objects, while Stellar Martial Arts focuses on the body itself. According to the common view within Blue Tyrant Academy, Stellar Martial Arts has a higher ceiling than Soul Guidance Technology. However, the qualifications and price for redeeming Stellar Martial Arts are not something ordinary students can bear. Stellar Martial Arts has three sections: the first, middle, and final sections. The final section has not yet been created, and the middle section is only in the hands of its compiler, Ye Qingcang. Only the first section has been released, and it has seven chapters. The first chapter is open to all students and costs no credits. The second chapter is also open to all students, but it costs credits. The third chapter is not open to all students. To redeem it, one must not only pay a high number of credits but also become a Human Ranking student. The fourth chapter is the same as the third, except the qualification is raised to the Earth Ranking. The fifth chapter corresponds to the Heaven Ranking. Though the sixth and seventh chapters do not correspond to any ranking, the redeemer must meet three conditions: they must have redeemed the fifth chapter, have at least one thousand merit points or honor points, and pay sufficient credits."

"What is he trying to accomplish?" Ning Rongrong looked utterly confused. Looking at Ye Qingcang, who always maintained an even distance ahead of them, she was completely baffled. "Is this Stellar Martial Arts really that valuable?"

"Very valuable!"

"Extremely valuable!"

"Unbelievably valuable!"

Qin Ming rarely answered with such absolute certainty. Seeing the puzzled expressions on Flender, Zhao Wuji, Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and the others, he took a deep breath and suppressed the trembling sensation that rose from his heart whenever Stellar Martial Arts was mentioned. Then he said solemnly:

"Chapter One—Force Integration, commonly known as Foundation Establishment."

"Blue Tyrant Academy's research shows that humans without special training, including Soul Masters, can at most exert thirty to forty percent of their maximum strength and speed. In other words, if a punch of ours carries thirty kilograms of force, then our actual maximum strength may be one hundred kilograms."

"Thirty kilograms and one hundred kilograms."

"The difference between them is absolute."

"The first chapter of the Stellar Martial Arts first section is about excavating one's own potential, gaining one hundred percent control over one's maximum strength and speed. Soul Masters with Beast Spirits benefit the most from this chapter. During the academic exchange between the Royal Fight Team under my leadership and Blue Tyrant Academy, I met a student whose spirit was an Icefield Bear. He was only thirteen at the time, with Soul Power level seventeen and ranked fortieth on the Human Ranking. With his spirit possessed, his strength could reach around five thousand three hundred kilograms. He could easily lift a five-ton boulder. Even Shi Mo and Shi Mo, those two defensive-type Soul Elders, could not withstand his full-force charge. If his resistance had not been mediocre—first being numbed by Tian Heng's lightning and then poisoned unconscious by Yanzi—the members of the Royal Fight Team would probably have been slapped out of the arena one after another."

"No technique, just overwhelming brute force."

The Shrek group all sucked in a cold breath.

Around five thousand three hundred kilograms of strength.

With one slap, apart from Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who could endure it with their physical constitutions, the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils would either die on the spot or be left barely alive. Even Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu, the two Soul Masters with Beast Spirits, would not escape the fate of being slapped into meat patties.

As for thinking that being faster than him meant you could dodge?

That was far too simple!

Did they know about the Eight Ox Crossbow?

Its standard draw weight was twelve dan.

One dan was roughly ninety-seven kilograms.

That was less than one thousand two hundred kilograms in total.

Yet its effective range could reach one thousand five hundred meters.

Within six hundred meters, even heavy armor could not save someone from death.

With five thousand three hundred kilograms of thrust, even accounting for the limits of his own body, his speed and destructive power in a full charge would be no weaker than an Eight Ox Crossbow bolt. If he had not been unable to turn while charging and could only move in a straight line, the Royal Fight Team's backline would have been flattened long ago.

And that only ranked him fortieth on the Human Ranking.

What kind of monsters were the thirty-nine people ahead of him?

"Chapter Two—Flesh and Blood, which could be called the Martial Warrior stage."

"Blood flows through every part of our bodies."

"When the heart begins to beat, blood travels throughout the body under the force of that pumping, over and over again, endlessly."

"The second chapter of the Stellar Martial Arts first section starts with blood and muscles. I do not know the specific principles, but I know it has three realms: minor achievement, major achievement, and perfection, corresponding to three kinds of extraordinary effects."

"The extraordinary effect of minor achievement is blood."

"Blood Like Mercury Silver—when blood becomes as thick as mercury, one's lifespan will increase accordingly. According to Blue Tyrant Academy's statistical surveys, students who cultivated this extraordinary effect all gained three to five years of lifespan."

"The extraordinary effect of major achievement is muscle."

"Divine Workmanship—you can perfectly control every muscle in your body. Your muscles will also find the most suitable positions according to the proportions of your bones, automatically making subtle adjustments to your appearance. Every part of your body will become a weapon capable of exerting force at any time. You will appear nearly perfect, returning to the form most suited to you and fully unleashing your potential."

"The extraordinary effect of perfection is flesh and blood."

"It is also the sublimation of the two extraordinary effects above."

"Flesh Furnace—it improves resistance to all negative factors and greatly enhances resistance to cold. Even in thin clothing, walking through ice and snow, you will not feel cold. It can replenish previous expenditure at any time, like a blazing furnace. Add any combustible material to it, and the furnace will swiftly consume it, turning it into nourishment for itself. Any injury that only damages flesh and blood can rapidly heal with sufficient nutritional support."

After explaining the details of the two Stellar Martial Arts chapters he knew, Qin Ming looked at the stirred-up Shrek group. "Forget the later five chapters. Just based on these first two chapters—or even just my superficial description of Stellar Martial Arts—do you think Stellar Martial Arts is valuable?"

"Valuable, of course it is valuable!" Flender was the first to agree with Qin Ming's assessment. "Even if Stellar Martial Arts could not increase someone's strength, as long as it could grant Soul Masters an additional three to five years of lifespan, it would be the most precious Self-Created Soul Skill in the world. If it could not only grant Soul Masters an additional three to five years of lifespan but also enhance their individual strength, then it would be an entirely new system. That is an indisputable fact!"

Flender's statement was entirely correct.

The Soul Master system was distorted.

Below level ninety, all Soul Masters had the same lifespan as ordinary people.

Some Soul Masters who died of old age might not even live as long as the old men at a village entrance.

Only after becoming a Titled Douluo would one's lifespan experience a surge—at level ninety, a Titled Douluo's maximum lifespan directly rose to three hundred years. Beyond that, every additional level increased the maximum lifespan by one hundred years. A level ninety-five Super Douluo could live to eight hundred without illness or disaster, while a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo could live to one thousand two hundred without illness or disaster. Between level eighty-nine and level ninety, the difference was not merely one level of Soul Power, but two hundred years of lifespan!

Stellar Martial Arts could grant Soul Masters an increase of three to five years of lifespan. It seemed insignificant, but how many Soul Masters could ever touch the threshold of level ninety?

Forget touching the threshold of level ninety.

Even the threshold of level eighty remained hopelessly distant.

"I do not know anything beyond that..." Qin Ming shrugged. The eager, knowledge-hungry looks of the Shrek group made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, so he excused himself. "I am not a student of Blue Tyrant Academy, nor am I a teacher there. If you are truly curious, then ask the founder of Stellar Martial Arts and Soul Guidance Technology. He definitely knows what others know, and he definitely knows what others do not know as well..."

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai rolled their eyes in perfect sync.

What kind of terrible suggestion was that?

They had just insulted him. Although he had ignored them and treated them like air, they were now supposed to go beg him for an explanation? Were they asking to be cursed out?

They would not ask!

They would not ask even if it killed them!

Even though they desperately wanted to know, they would not ask!

Tang San could not bring himself to do it either.

Yu Xiaogang was even less likely to do so.

Before getting off the carriage, he had already fallen out with Ye Qingcang badly.

The self-important Yu Xiaogang could not possibly lower his head first.

However, aside from Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai, who each had their own bad history, there were still some bold ones among people like Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Qin Ming, who had not received bad evaluations—or had received no evaluation from Ye Qingcang at all.

"Hey, Ye Qingcang!"

"Can you hear me?"

"Can you tell us about Stellar Martial Arts?"

Ning Rongrong's glazed eyes turned slightly. She cupped her hands around her mouth, took a deep breath, and called out loudly to Ye Qingcang walking ahead.

She only looked like a refined young lady.

Her nickname, Little Witch, had already made her personality clear.

Whether it was the confidence given to her by her family background or the confidence given to her by her exceptional talent, someone who dared point at Flender's nose and curse him was not merely spoiled and willful.

It was just one question.

Others did not dare ask, but she did!

Still, though she said it, she did not hold much hope.

Before this, she had not understood why Ye Qingcang was so arrogant.

Did he not merely have a Crown Prince as a friend?

She was the Crown Prince's junior sister too!

Was he not merely the so-called number one on the Heaven Ranking?

Perhaps he was simply the best among a bunch of mediocrities!

Now, she only wanted to say that if she had created Soul Guidance Technology and Stellar Martial Arts, she would have been even more arrogant than Ye Qingcang at his age!

Others relied on their fathers; I rely on myself!

Others relied on their backgrounds; I rely on talent!

His confidence was something he had earned himself. His seemingly arrogant bearing was only because Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San, Dai Mubai, Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and the others were too narrow in their outlook. Like blind men feeling an elephant, they had never seen the world in his eyes. What right did they have to judge whether he was arrogant?

Now that she had seen only the tip of the iceberg.

She had already been thoroughly convinced.

How could she not understand what his arrogance truly was?

That was not arrogance!

It was confidence!

The confidence of the strong!

The same confidence possessed by her Sword Grandfather, Bone Grandfather, and father!

The confidence of viewing everyone else as nothing more than targets waiting to be claimed!

Someone like that had the right to ignore her!

Contract signed! (ω)