Realm Correspondences Between Douluo and the Primordial World

The Taiqing Lineage's alchemy methods, even merely the basic introductory volume, encompassed everything—from the most basic Rejuvenation Pills, Foundation-Nourishing Pills, and Body-Strengthening Pills, to Dao-Unifying Pills, which were immensely useful even to cultivators at the final of the four mortal realms in the Primordial World's cultivation system, Refining Emptiness into Unity.

There were even First-Transformation Golden Elixirs meant for Earth Immortal cultivators. Taking one would allow someone to become a Heavenly Immortal on the spot.

Of course, such pills could not be refined anywhere in Douluo Continent, nor even in the God Realm.

Based on the Taiqing Lineage's descriptions of the various realms within its alchemy methods, Zhao Ming guessed that the gods of Douluo Continent roughly corresponded to the second of the four mortal realms in the Primordial World cultivation system: Refining Qi into Spirit.

According to the inheritance he had received, Primordial World cultivation was divided into four mortal realms and nine immortal realms.

The four mortal realms were: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Emptiness, and Refining Emptiness into Unity.

The nine immortal realms were: Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Grand Unity Golden Immortal, Grand Luo Golden Immortal, Hunyuan Golden Immortal or Quasi-Saint, and Hunyuan Grand Luo Golden Immortal or Saint.

The nine immortal realms were far too distant for the Douluo Universe. Given the state of the Douluo Universe, breaking through to Refining Spirit into Emptiness would be enough to become invincible.

Divine Officials and Third-Level Gods were at the early stage of Refining Qi into Spirit, Second-Level Gods were at the middle stage, First-Level Gods were at the late stage, God Kings were at the peak, and Supreme God Kings could barely touch the threshold of Refining Spirit into Emptiness.

As for those below gods, they naturally fell within the first of the four mortal realms in the Primordial World cultivation system: Refining Essence into Qi.

Soul Saints barely counted as early Refining Essence into Qi, Soul Douluos were at the middle stage, Title Douluos from Rank 1 to Rank 95 were at the late stage, Title Douluos from Rank 96 to Rank 98 were at the peak, and Rank 99 could barely touch the threshold of Refining Qi into Spirit.

If he could combine this alchemy method with Douluo Continent's medicinal herb system and refine pills suitable for soul masters, the pills' assistance would surely increase his cultivation speed by a great deal.

But the problem was that the Primordial World's alchemy methods used medicinal herbs from the Primordial World, whereas Douluo Continent's medicinal herb system was entirely different.

Which herbs could replace the spirit herbs of the Primordial World? Which herbs had conflicting properties and could not be placed in the same furnace? Which herbs required special processing before they could be used in medicine?

He needed a comprehensive and thorough understanding of Douluo Continent's medicinal herb system before he could solve these problems one by one.

And the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan happened to be one of the forces on Douluo Continent with the most thorough research into medicinal herbs.

If he could receive Ye Renxin's guidance, even if he only learned a few basics, it would be enough to spare Zhao Ming many detours on the path of alchemy.

That was what he truly wanted.

Naturally, he would never tell Ye Lingling any of this.

Zhao Ming had previously probed Snake Lance Douluo for information and confirmed that Douluo Continent did have things like alchemy methods, but they were utterly unsophisticated. At most, they involved extracting medicinal liquids from herbs and kneading them into pills that were easier to store.

A true, systematic pill-making tradition simply did not exist. Once such a technique was leaked, it would certainly cause quite a stir. Before he had sufficient strength to protect himself, he would never reveal it.

While Zhao Ming weighed these matters in his heart, he still wore his obedient, eager-to-learn expression on the surface. He followed beside Ye Lingling and listened carefully as she introduced the Royal Dou Team's training arrangements.

The two passed through a tree-lined path, went around the simulated cultivation grounds, and finally stopped before a three-story white building.

"This is where we soak in medicinal baths every day." Ye Lingling pointed at the building. "The first floor is for medicinal baths, the second floor is the herb storeroom, and the third floor is where I usually prepare medicine.

After training each day, the team members came here for medicinal baths to recover their bodies.

My grandfather personally formulated the medicinal bath recipe. It used more than a dozen precious herbs and could quickly repair damaged muscles and meridians. It could also improve physical constitution to a certain degree, though the effect was not particularly obvious."

At her words, a glint of interest flashed through Zhao Ming's eyes. More than a dozen precious herbs that could rapidly repair damaged muscles and meridians while improving physical constitution sounded somewhat similar to a Body-Strengthening Pill.

Of course, their effects definitely could not compare to genuine pills. But in a world like Douluo Continent, which lacked a mature alchemy system, achieving such results with medicinal baths was already enough to demonstrate the Nine-Hearted Begonia Clan's attainments in pharmacology.

"Senior Ye, could I come watch when you prepare medicine?" Zhao Ming asked tentatively, still wearing that curious expression. "I want to learn how to identify herbs and how to process them."

Ye Lingling hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "You can, but you mustn't touch my herbs carelessly. Some are very precious and will lose their medicinal properties if mishandled. Others are toxic by nature, and touching them can be dangerous."

"Don't worry, Senior Ye. I definitely won't touch anything carelessly!" Zhao Ming hurriedly promised. His solemn expression made Ye Lingling smile despite herself.

The two chatted a while longer before Ye Lingling led Zhao Ming back to the training grounds.

By then, Yu Tianheng had recovered. He was sitting on a bench at the edge of the field, resting. When he saw Zhao Ming return, he rose and proactively extended his hand.

"Student Zhao Ming, I underestimated you earlier." Yu Tianheng's tone was open and sincere, without the slightest trace of anger from losing the spar. "You're very strong. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. Welcome to the Royal Dou Team. From now on, we're teammates who will fight side by side."

Zhao Ming was somewhat surprised. In the original work, Yu Tianheng had been portrayed as arrogantly conceited. Combined with his status as a core member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—practically a young clan master—Zhao Ming had not expected him to be so humble.

Following the principle that one should not slap a smiling face, Zhao Ming shook Yu Tianheng's hand and nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Captain. Please guide me well from now on."

In truth, Yu Tianheng was indeed very displeased with Zhao Ming. After all, Zhao Ming had made him lose so much face in front of everyone.

But when he remembered that Zhao Ming was an orphan, he was no longer so angry. Orphans were good! Being an orphan meant he could be recruited.

After their exchange just now, he acknowledged Zhao Ming's talent. So long as Zhao Ming did not die young, he would certainly become a Title Douluo and might even become a Super Douluo above Rank 96.

Someone with such talent was exactly the sort of person Yu Tianheng had to try to recruit into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Once Zhao Ming became a Title Douluo in the future, would it not be wonderful to make him the clan's enforcer?

That was why Yu Tianheng had been so polite to Zhao Ming.

At that moment, Yu Feng came over from the side and grinned as he patted Zhao Ming on the shoulder. "Junior Zhao Ming, you were incredibly fast when you sparred with the captain earlier. We should compare speed someday. I want to see just how fast you really are."

"Me too!" Osler also came over, eagerness gleaming in his leopard-like eyes.

The Shi Mo brothers did not speak, but they too gave Zhao Ming friendly looks.

The twins were introverted and not good with words, but their attitudes already said everything. Zhao Ming had earned their respect through his strength.

Dugu Yan still stood to one side with her arms crossed, a hint of scrutiny in her emerald eyes. Yet she no longer displayed any obvious coldness, merely observing in silence the young man in whom His Highness the Crown Prince had placed such high hopes.

Qin Ming watched this scene and nodded in satisfaction.

A powerful team required not only that every member possess formidable strength, but also that the members build genuine trust and understanding among themselves.

Zhao Ming's arrival not only made up for the Royal Dou Team's shortcomings among power-attack soul masters, but more importantly, his clean and decisive victory had allowed him to begin integrating into the team.

Next came cultivating the coordination between Zhao Ming and the entire team. With an Innate Full Soul Power soul master like Zhao Ming joining them, Qin Ming believed the Royal Dou Team would certainly achieve outstanding results in the Soul Master Tournament two editions from now. They might even win the championship outright.