Better to Smash the Ships Than Let Tang San Set Sail!

No one knew how long it took, but Tang San and his group finally carved a bloody path through and charged out of Vast Sea City's north gate.

Ma Hongjun's face was covered in blood, Dai Mubai had taken a claw to the groin, and Zhu Zhuqing's hair bun had come undone. They looked as miserable as if they had crawled out of a mass grave.

They ran several miles in one breath. The shouts of battle behind them gradually faded, but their pursuers still had not given up and continued searching the surrounding area.

At last, they had a brief moment to catch their breath.

Tang San's face was livid. He had never imagined that he, a dignified Tang Sect disciple and future Sea God, would be chased down and beaten by a bunch of Sea Soul Masters. Every one of them had earned a death sentence.

Before they could even catch their breath, a calm yet booming voice rang out from Vast Sea City.

"They're all landlubbers. They'll definitely need ships to go to sea and reach Sea God Island. Hurry and destroy every ship!"

The speaker was an old man with a goatee, standing atop an overturned carriage. His sharp eyes were like those of an old fox. Sweeping his gaze around, his voice drowned out all the surrounding clamor.

"Ships can be rebuilt, and docks can be restored. But if they make it to sea and reach Sea God Island, and Tang San truly becomes the Sea God—then it'll be too late for everything. We attacked him today. Do you think he'll spare us once he becomes the Sea God?"

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then seemed to suddenly wake up and turned toward the harbor in unison.

"That's right! Better to smash the ships than let Tang San set sail!"

"Brothers! Grab your weapons!"

"Fuck them up! Those with strength, go after them! Those without it, go smash the ships!"

They had chosen to take large ships merely for convenience, not because they were incapable of going to sea on their own.

The boatmen at the harbor were decisive. They drew axes and began chopping apart the ships' keels.

Tang San stood in the distance, watching helplessly as plumes of thick smoke rose from the harbor. More than a dozen large seaworthy ships were smashed apart, their sails set ablaze, and the flames reddened half the sea. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his flesh.

"Damn it! You all have earned a death sentence!"

Just then, another group of people caught up to them. With no other choice, they wanted to jump into the sea, but then remembered that they were Sea Soul Masters and turned to keep running.

Sea God Poseidon had clearly noticed the scene, but he did nothing. He merely prayed inwardly that this guy would definitely inherit the position of Sea God.

Sixty years of making life difficult for him—now that would be worth watching.

Above the Heavenly Screen, Yin Hongye suddenly turned to Mu Hongchen. "Prepare a quiet room for me. I'm going to condense my third Soul Core. Preferably one that can withstand lightning strikes."

Confusion flashed through Mu Hongchen's eyes. His movements paused as he looked up, a trace of surprise appearing in his gaze.

"You've reached the limit?"

"I reached Rank 99 first. Now I'm preparing to condense a Soul Core." Yin Hongye spoke casually. "Don't forget, even ten thousand years ago, dual Soul Cores were enough to enter the ranks of a Limit Douluo. I'm preparing to condense my third Soul Core."

Mu Hongchen was silent for a moment. "All right. I'll ask Vast Sea Douluo to arrange it for you. He'll definitely be thrilled to hear that you're entering seclusion."

"Tch. Who knows, even going into seclusion might cause trouble. Every time I condense a Soul Core, I get struck by lightning. Every time, I have to split the rolling Heavenly River with a single sword strike." Yin Hongye was speechless. He was only condensing a killing-attribute Soul Core, so why was it so difficult?

Should I be shouting some slogan? 'Soul-bound dreams stir wind and clouds, stars round and earth square, altar of the three realms...'

At that moment, Qian Renxue suddenly asked, "How does one condense a Soul Core?"

Hearing this, Yin Hongye turned and glanced at her.

"I nearly forgot. You also raised your Soul Power first before condensing a Soul Core."

He knew that Qian Renxue's era had no Soul Cores, and that this was the necessary path to becoming a Limit Douluo.

Upon hearing the words "Limit Douluo," Golden Crocodile Douluo had already picked up a small notebook. He had wanted to become a Limit Douluo for far more than a year or two.

Meanwhile, twenty thousand years in the past, every Titled-level powerhouse—and even those with the potential to become Titled Douluo—was listening.

Only Tang San was still being hunted. He had already been chased for a hundred miles, and the number of pursuers was growing! The other side had entered full mobilization mode.

Sea Soul Masters and the Sea God of the land were irreconcilable enemies.

Yin Hongye had already begun explaining the history of Soul Core development. "Soul Cores appeared ten thousand years ago, perhaps even earlier. In any case, they only emerged a thousand years after the Sea God ascended. The exact time can no longer be traced."

Qian Renxue nodded and listened carefully without speaking. Yin Hongye continued, "Once a Soul Master's Soul Power reaches the Titled Douluo level, it transforms from its original liquid state into a solid state. After completing that solidification, one reaches the Rank 90 bottleneck. Only by obtaining the ninth Soul Ring can one become a Titled Douluo. For the overwhelming majority of Soul Masters, this bottleneck is extremely difficult to overcome. That is also an important reason why there were many Soul Douluo twenty thousand years ago, but very few Titled Douluo."

"The stronger the Martial Soul, the greater the Soul Master's total Soul Power during cultivation. This is because the Martial Soul itself can store a portion of Soul Power. The stronger the Martial Soul, the more Soul Power it can store."

Qian Renxue was not particularly surprised by this. She herself possessed cultivation above the Soul Sage level and understood this matter to some extent.

This was basic common knowledge for Soul Masters above the Soul Sage level.

Outside the Heavenly Screen, Yu Xiaogang asked in confusion, "A Martial Soul itself can store a portion of Soul Power? Why didn't I know that?"

"It's true." Flender directly stopped Yu Xiaogang from continuing, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "You're not a Soul Sage, so of course you don't know."

Yu Xiaogang shut his mouth, but inwardly he still thought that if he were a Soul Sage, he would surely understand such things perfectly.

But why had no one mentioned this in the records of Spirit Hall or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?

Was there really any need to hide something like this?

He continued listening. Once again, this was something beyond his reach.

"Under normal circumstances, one only needs to condense a Soul Core after becoming a Titled Douluo. But the cultivation methods of this era are more refined, so Soul Cores can be condensed as early as the Soul Sage stage."

"When Soul Power is compressed from liquid into solid, it settles within the Soul Master's dantian. That is a Soul Core. As a Soul Core continuously rotates, it absorbs external Soul Power through the Soul Master and supplies it for the Soul Master's use. Whether in combat strength or recovery ability, it is far more powerful than before. That is why people say becoming Titled is a single step to the heavens."

Yin Hongye explained in great detail. "However, after Soul Power solidifies, further improvement becomes far more difficult than when it was liquid or gaseous. One can only break down the solid Soul Power into particles, then control one's Soul Power to drive those particles into motion in a gaseous or liquid state."

"Using solid Soul Power like that? Isn't that method of cultivation extremely dangerous?" Golden Crocodile Douluo could not help saying as his gaze turned toward the Grand Priest.

Qian Daoliu was equally puzzled. After calculating it out, he realized that the slightest error in this cultivation method would result in death or severe injury.

"Don't worry. A Soul Master's spiritual power must be strong enough to control those solid particles and make them additionally take on a gaseous or liquid state. Therefore, even Soul Sages in this era possess very high spiritual power."

"Thus, a Soul Sage must condense the first Soul Core, a Titled Douluo condenses the second Soul Core, and a Limit Douluo must condense the third Soul Core. Limit Douluo also have a prerequisite: the Spiritual Domain Realm. Its most notable characteristic is the ability to clearly discern the elements in one's surroundings."

He raised his hand, and two black holes condensed in his palm—one blood-red, the other like blazing fire. "These Soul Cores are like two black holes within the body. They attract each other during condensation, so from the second Soul Core onward, condensing a Soul Core becomes extraordinarily difficult."

"However, humans have three locations where Soul Cores can be opened: the brow, the chest, and the dantian."

"Creating a second Soul Core through same-position resonance is relatively much safer, because the first Soul Core remains the primary one. During the formation of the second Soul Core, it rotates according to the first Soul Core's frequency, so there will not be too many problems between them."

As he spoke, Yin Hongye condensed another mass of energy in his palm. In an instant, it was torn apart by the two black holes in his hand.

Qian Renxue stared blankly for a moment, then understood what she needed to do. She too needed to condense a Soul Core. Only then could she become stronger.

"But there is a second method, where risk and reward coexist."

Yin Hongye was naturally referring to Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Cores. That was also the kind of Soul Core she had condensed.