The Young Sect Master Had Been Crushed into a Pile of Mush

Seeing the two secret manuals on the table, Lu Chen felt his breathing catch.

Especially the Innate Secret Art.

This was a supreme secret art dedicated to cultivating the physical body.

When cultivated to the extreme, it could achieve the Immaculate Golden Body, granting a physique comparable to a god's.

Anyone who reached that realm would inevitably become a Quasi-God in the future!

This was precisely one of the manuals Lu Chen desired most.

In the original Douluo III, Legend of the Dragon King,

A Ruheng had cultivated his Heart Body Martial Soul to its limit and could withstand the late-stage Tang Wulin head-on.

And Lu Chen was not only a perfect body martial soul, but also possessed an Immortal Body.

If he cultivated this secret art to its peak, his achievements would surely be even more terrifying.

Perhaps he could contend with a third-rank god using nothing but his physical body!

The only problem was that this secret art seemed extremely difficult to cultivate.

It required him to constantly undergo Deep-Sea Body Tempering or endure the stimulation and pressure of other extreme environments.

"Wipe that drool off the corner of your mouth."

Seeing that Lu Chen's saliva was practically about to drip onto the table, Du Bushi laughed and scolded him.

"Uh..."

Lu Chen hurriedly swallowed.

It could not be helped. The attraction these two secret manuals held for him was simply too great.

They directly concerned his future path to godhood.

"I already told you about the general situation of our Body Martial Souls before you came to the sect."

Du Bushi handed the Body Secret Art to Lu Chen. "This is the foundation of our sect.

It contains detailed explanations of the [Body Meditation Method] and [Martial Soul's Second Awakening].

It can maximize the development of your whole-body martial soul and allow it to evolve once more."

Lu Chen picked up the manual and flipped through it, not particularly concerned with the Body Meditation Method.

Though its effects were stronger than ordinary meditation methods, it was far inferior to his own cultivation method.

However, the contents concerning the Martial Soul's Second Awakening left him astonished.

A Martial Soul's Second Awakening was, simply put, allowing one's martial soul to evolve once again.

In fact, many martial souls possessed the potential to evolve.

For instance, Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon later evolved into the Radiant Holy Dragon.

But the evolution of ordinary martial souls required all kinds of opportunities, sometimes even the aid of immortal herbs.

The requirements were incredibly harsh.

A Body Martial Soul, however, was inherently part of one's body, making a second awakening comparatively easier.

A Soul Master's cultivation was itself a process of developing the physical body.

If one tempered the martial soul's corresponding body part with spiritual medicine, then supplemented it with secret arts, it could indeed promote evolution.

This Body Secret Art was the complete process for a Martial Soul's Second Awakening, compiled after generations of Body Sect masters continuously revised and refined it.

"However, a second awakening is still too early for you right now, and I'll need time to prepare the materials."

Du Bushi sounded somewhat helpless.

Every sect disciple's second awakening required the assistance of a large quantity of rare medicinal herbs.

Those spiritual medicines were extremely expensive, which was why he always liked getting things for free.

Then, he handed the Innate Secret Art to Lu Chen.

"This is the sect's most core secret. Usually, only the sect master may cultivate it.

Once mastered, even a Limit Douluo might not be your match.

But although this secret art is powerful, it is extremely difficult to cultivate and fraught with danger. Ordinary people simply cannot endure it.

I had originally already given up on it."

At this point, Du Bushi suddenly looked at Lu Chen, his gaze blazing.

"But your appearance has allowed me to see hope again.

With that terrifying recovery ability of yours, reaching mastery will still be difficult, but I am confident I can raise your physical strength to another level.

The process may be rather painful. Are you willing to give it a try?"

"I am."

Lu Chen answered crisply, without the slightest hesitation.

Pain? Pain was what he feared least.

Although the Immortal Body could not eliminate pain,

during nearly four years in One-Punch World, he had experienced death countless times.

He had long since become immune to that kind of pain.

He could even feel a trace of excitement from it.

"Haha, good! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Du Bushi was extremely satisfied. "Rest today. Take the two manuals back and study them. Your formal training begins tomorrow."

"Yes, Master."

Lu Chen picked up the manuals and turned to leave.

"Young Sect Master!"

The sect disciples he encountered along the way all respectfully saluted him.

The feeling was like being transported into a pure fantasy sect, somewhat out of place with the style of the Douluo Continent.

Especially when he saw everyone still training with the most primitive stone weights, Lu Chen frowned slightly.

"The Body Sect has fallen behind the times.

Soul tool training has already become widespread in the Sun Moon Empire, yet this place is still lifting iron.

If they don't reform, they'll inevitably repeat the tragedy of the original story in the future."

That was not the result Lu Chen wanted.

Any development had to keep up with the times. Once abandoned by them, the outcome would certainly be miserable.

"Soul tool technology must be put on the agenda.

But how could he persuade that old fossil who rejected soul tools?"

After turning through several forest paths, Lu Chen arrived at his courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, only about twenty square meters, with a small house standing in its center.

Du Bushi had arranged it specifically for him.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and entered the house, discovering that the door to the room on the left was slightly ajar.

When he stepped closer, he saw Tang Ya sitting cross-legged on the bed, cultivating with her eyes closed.

"This girl is really working that hard?"

Lu Chen was taken aback. He did not disturb her and instead turned into the room on the right.

He began cultivating as well.

Early the next morning, beside the medicinal pool behind the Body Sect's mountain.

Mist mingled with the dense scent of herbs, forming an impenetrable gray miasma.

Du Bushi stood with his hands behind his back atop a protruding piece of basalt.

An old man stood beside him.

His upper body was unusually long, while his legs were very short, giving him extremely strange proportions.

"Master!"

Lu Chen respectfully bowed, then curiously looked toward the old man beside him.

Du Bushi nodded and introduced him.

"This is Sixth Elder Guan Yi. His Body Martial Soul is the Spine Martial Soul, and he is a ninety-fourth-rank Titled Douluo."

"Ninety-fourth rank?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. This was a major figure just one step away from becoming a Super Douluo!

He hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Sixth Elder!"

Guan Yi nodded and smiled. "No need for such ceremony, Young Sect Master."

At that moment, Du Bushi's expression turned solemn.

"The Innate Secret Art emphasizes the word 'innate.'

Ordinary people cultivate through gradual progress, but the Innate Secret Art follows a path that defies heaven.

It relies on shattering and rebuilding under extreme pressure, removing the impurities of mortal flesh from the body.

Are you ready?"

Lu Chen said nothing and merely nodded heavily.

"Sixth Elder, begin!"

As soon as Du Bushi spoke, rings of soul rings abruptly lit up beneath Guan Yi's feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and five black.

The standard soul ring configuration of a Titled Douluo.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Gravity Domain!"

In an instant, terrifying gravity crashed down upon Lu Chen's head.

The surrounding rocks instantly shattered, turning into countless stones that scattered across the ground.

Lu Chen's knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground at once.

Every bone in his body crackled sharply.

At the same time, an overwhelming aura crushed down upon him.

His mind buzzed, and his consciousness seemed ready to dissipate.

"So this is the strength of a Titled Douluo?"

Lu Chen was horrified.

Before Guan Yi, he felt like an ant that could be crushed to death at any time.

"Sixth Elder, there's no need to hold back! His constitution is special. Even if every bone in his body is shattered, he won't die."

Seeing that Guan Yi had used only ten percent of his strength, Du Bushi frowned and reminded him.

"Understood!"

With the sect master's order, Guan Yi immediately stopped holding back.

Crack!

The next instant, Lu Chen spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed face-first onto the ground.

His body twisted and deformed.

Other than his head, every part of him instantly turned into a pile of mangled flesh.

Lu Chen: Huh?