Teaching the Body Refinement Art 2

The girl wore two short blades at her waist, her expression calm.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, my name is Lin Shuang. I am a level twenty-four agility-type Battle Soul Master."

"Speak."

"A Soul Master's strength is not determined by soul power alone. If we do not train speed or combat for an entire month, what will we use to handle missions?"

"Good question."

Su Chen looked at Lin Shuang.

"How long does it take you to run a hundred paces?"

Lin Shuang froze for a moment.

"At full speed, around ten breaths."

"After finishing, how many times can you attack immediately?"

"Seven times."

"What about the eighth?"

"The eighth will be slower."

"Why?"

Lin Shuang frowned.

"I consume too much soul power."

"No."

Su Chen shook his head.

"It is because you only know how to pile soul power into your legs."

"You run fast because your bursts are powerful. But every step is pure expenditure. You do not borrow the force back."

Lin Shuang stared at Su Chen.

"What do you mean?"

"Show me."

Without wasting words, Lin Shuang flashed forward and ran a circle around the training ground.

She was very fast.

But when she stopped, her breathing was clearly uneven.

Su Chen raised a hand and drew a line on the ground.

"Again."

"This time, land on your toes first. Do not slam your heels down. When your soul power sinks, let part of it flow out through the soles of your feet."

"Do not twist your waist or sway your shoulders."

"Run."

Lin Shuang charged out again.

She did not adapt the first time and nearly tripped.

Someone in the crowd could not help laughing.

Lin Shuang's expression darkened.

"What are you laughing at?"

The laughter immediately stopped.

The second lap, then the third.

Lin Shuang's movements gradually changed.

She no longer pursued speed alone.

Every step became steadier, and her breathing slowly calmed.

When she stopped before Su Chen, more than half the suspicion in Lin Shuang's eyes had vanished.

"Running like this uses less soul power."

"How much less?"

"About twenty percent."

"Remember that first."

Su Chen looked at everyone.

"What you are learning today is the Martial God Body Refinement Art."

"Body refinement?"

Zhao Yan gripped his spear shaft.

"Do Soul Masters need to refine their bodies too?"

"Of course Soul Masters need to refine their bodies."

Su Chen's tone remained calm.

"No matter how much soul power you have, what use is it if your body cannot contain it?"

"No matter how strong your soul skills are, what use are they if you are gasping after using them twice?"

"Soul rings can give you strength, but they cannot help you stand firm, take hits for you, or keep you alive when your soul power runs dry."

Everyone fell silent.

Su Chen pointed at Zhao Yan.

"The Ironback Spear trains the shoulders, back, and waist."

Then he pointed at Lin Shuang.

"Short blades train the legs, waist, and breathing."

Finally, he looked at the two support-type Soul Masters.

"Support types train mental strength and control."

"You do not necessarily need to fight better than Battle Soul Masters, but you must ensure that your soul power does not run out, your soul skills do not go awry, and you can run when danger comes."

"The Martial God Body Refinement Art has no fixed moves."

"Everyone's Martial Soul is different, so their training methods are different too."

"But you must all remember four words."

"Steady, precise, flexible, enduring."

Hu Liena stood nearby and repeated them softly.

"Steady, precise, flexible, enduring."

Su Chen nodded.

"Only when you stand steady will your strength not scatter."

"Only when soul power flows precisely will it not be wasted."

"Only a flexible body can adapt when danger comes."

"Only by training for a long time do you earn the right to speak of the future."

The red-robed deacon distributed the prepared booklets.

Five words were written on their covers.

Martial God Body Refinement Art.

There were no complicated formulas inside.

The first part covered stance training and breathing.

The second part covered basic soul power circulation.

The third part was divided by Martial Soul type, listing the mistakes different Soul Masters were prone to making.

A blank page had been left at the end.

One sentence was written on it.

"Practice according to this for three days, then note down any discomfort in your body."

Lin Shuang flipped to the end and read it softly.

"Your Highness the Holy Son, what does this mean?"

"It means you will come find me in three days."

"Tell me wherever you feel discomfort."

"A cultivation method is not something that remains unchanged once it has been written."

"People are the same. The training method should change with them."

Lin Shuang raised her head and glanced at Su Chen.

"You will revise it personally?"

"Of course."

"But the thirty of us all have different Martial Souls. Can you manage to revise them all?"

"We will try first."

Su Chen paused.

"How do we try?"

Hu Liena immediately answered.

"By looking at people."

Quite a few people could not hold back their laughter.

Even Lin Shuang's eyes held a hint of amusement.

That day, the Elite Camp did not conduct sparring practice with soul skills.

The thirty of them began with the simplest exercises: standing stances, breathing, and walking.

Some thought it was too slow.

Some trained until their legs ached.

Some felt it was no different from ordinary exercise.

Until evening, Zhao Yan swung his spear once more.

Normally, after completing a set of basic spear techniques, his right shoulder would ache and swell.

Today, when he reached the end, his shoulder was still hot, but it was no longer numb.

Zhao Yan stood where he was and stared at his right hand for a long time.

"This cultivation method really is not meant to torment people."

Lin Shuang sheathed her short blades.

"Obviously."

"If His Highness the Holy Son wanted to torment us, why would he explain so much?"

Zhao Yan coughed.

"I know."

"Then why did you look so unconvinced just now?"

"Weren't you the same?"

Lin Shuang shot him a glance.

"I am convinced now."

Three days later.

The first person to seek Su Chen out was neither Zhao Yan nor Lin Shuang.

It was the support-type youth who had skipped breakfast that morning.

The youth was named Xu An. His Martial Soul was an azure lamp, and his soul power was only level seventeen.

Within the Elite Camp, Xu An had never been particularly noticeable.

Support Soul Masters already found it difficult to stand out, and his azure lamp Martial Soul did not possess much offensive power.

"Your Highness the Holy Son."

"Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Xu An scratched his head.

"It is not discomfort."

"Then what is it?"

"Whenever I meditated before, I would get headaches as soon as my soul power increased."

"Now that I am practicing according to the booklet, my head still hurts a little, but it is not as bad as before."

"And..."

"And what?"

"When I restore other people's soul power, I can keep going a little longer."

Su Chen raised his eyes.

"How much longer?"

"Before, my soul power would be empty after using my soul skill six times in a row."

"Yesterday, I used it eight times and still had a little left."

Hu Liena stood nearby, her eyes lighting up.

"Two more times?"

Xu An nodded.

"Mm."

"I thought it was a coincidence, so I tried again today. It was still eight times."

Su Chen took Xu An's wrist and sent in a thread of spiritual energy.

A moment later, he released his hand.

"It was not a coincidence."

"Your soul power used to be compressed only in your chest. You exerted it too urgently, so a great deal leaked away every time you used a soul skill."

"Slow your breathing from now on. Don't panic and push all your soul power out at once."

Xu An nodded vigorously.

"I'll remember."

"Your Highness, can I keep practicing in the future?"

"Of course."

"If you can't do it well, you can still come ask me."

Xu An pursed his lips, then suddenly bowed solemnly.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Su Chen stepped half a pace aside.

"Don't bow at every little thing."

"Practice properly. Living longer is more important than anything."

A month passed quickly.

The Elite Camp's initial doubts gradually turned into arguments.

Arguments over who would be the first to ask the Holy Son questions that day.

Arguments over which stance was better suited for beast martial souls.

Arguments over whether Zhao Yan's Ironback Spear had really broken through to level twenty-eight because of the Body Refining Art.

Zhao Yan was deeply unconvinced.

"What do you mean, whether it counts?"

"I was about to break through anyway."

Lin Shuang showed no mercy.

"You'd been stuck at level twenty-seven for three months."

"That was accumulation!"

"Fine, three months of accumulation, then you broke through after ten days of His Highness's guidance."

Zhao Yan held it in for a long while.

"Anyway, I broke through."

"Then treat us."

"Why should I?"

"You said it yourself. If you broke through, you'd treat everyone to meat."

Zhao Yan immediately fell silent.

Xu An softly added from the side.

"Brother Zhao, you really did say that."

"How do you all remember?"

"Because you said it very loudly that day."

Laughter rang out across the training ground.