Sovereign Over All Under Heaven and Unity of Heaven and Man

"Memorize the contents of the Mysterious Heaven Skill first. Commit its operating principles and the diagrams of the human body's meridians directly to memory. That shouldn't be difficult for you.

"After you have memorized them, I'll slowly teach you how to use this knowledge."

Uncle Yu had no intention of teaching Lin En as if he were a child. Teaching a genius definitely required flexibility.

Some of Shrek Academy's teachers liked to train students using the same old methods.

For example, they made Beast Martial Soul battle Soul Masters, Tool Martial Soul battle Soul Masters, and even support-type Soul Masters compete in running races from the same starting line. Anyone who failed to complete a hundred laps would be expelled, and so would the last few finishers.

Yu Mu'en had no major objections to an elimination system, but expulsion was going too far. Besides, it was far too unfair. How could Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters and Tool Martial Soul Soul Masters possibly have the same physique?

How could battle Soul Masters and support Soul Masters be trained the same way? Was running some kind of universal cultivation method?

What support Soul Master could endure being put through that? Support-type Soul Masters were already physically weak, yet they were forced to train like battle Soul Masters. Wasn't that practically treating students the way the Sun Moon Empire did?

Unfortunately, although he was regarded as the academy's hope for the next generation, he lacked both strength and seniority before the academy's many older figures. He had little say in anything. The main reason was that he was too weak.

This world ultimately spoke with fists. Physical criticism was more powerful than verbal criticism, and far more convincing.

"Mm, five minutes will do."

Lin En nodded and answered.

With the Little Sage's assistance, he learned extremely quickly. Especially when it came to rote memorization, he merely needed to control his Nervous System and imprint the information into his neurons.

The only reason he needed five minutes was that most of Lin En's mental power was currently being used to modify his brain. Otherwise, a single blink would have been enough.

A top-tier Mental Body Martial Soul truly lived up to its name.

Upon hearing Lin En's response, Yu Mu'en could not help but sigh. Mental-attribute Martial Souls were extremely rare on the continent, while mental-attribute Body Martial Souls were as rare as True Dragon Martial Souls.

There were barely any mental-type Soul Masters in all of Shrek Academy. If the people of the Body Sect learned of Lin En's existence, they would probably go mad and turn the entire Heaven Dou Empire upside down.

In those people's eyes, all Body Martial Soul Soul Masters were family. The Body Sect had plenty of flaws, but no one could deny how fiercely it protected its own.

"Once you fully master the Mysterious Heaven Skill and your meridians have been nourished, I can teach you a Self-Created Soul Skill.

"You might not necessarily be able to learn it, but this path should help you avoid many detours."

Besides the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Yu Mu'en actually wanted to teach Lin En something else. Seeing how perfectly Lin En's mental power blended into his body, that move had practically been made for him.

Lin En was somewhat curious and asked, "What Soul Skill?"

There were very few Self-Created Soul Skills passed down on the Douluo Continent, and they were astonishingly difficult to cultivate.

The most famous was the Clear Sky Sect. Strictly speaking, their Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, ranked in the upper-middle tier among top-grade Martial Souls. But once paired with the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, it was nearly invincible in close combat on land.

Tool Martial Souls were not as affected by bloodline suppression, so the Clear Sky Hammer had always benefited from the advantages of the times.

Lin En's understanding of the Soul Master system was still not deep enough, and the Little Sage's analysis of Soul Power and mental power was also insufficient.

Therefore, neither of them knew why Self-Created Soul Skills were so difficult. Soul Power seemed far less malleable than other high-energy forms of energy.

Uncle Yu chuckled. "Do you remember that golden light surrounding me just now?"

"Did you sense a vast will within it?"

"Was that mental power?" Lin En recalled that vast will. He had not thought much of it at first, assuming it was a characteristic of the other man's Martial Soul.

He had encountered too few Soul Masters and knew very little about the characteristics of this system.

Yu Mu'en nodded, then shook his head.

"You only got half of it right."

"It wasn't pure mental power, but a combination of mental power and Soul Power."

"This was something my great-grandfather once taught me. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a Soul Skill, but a combat technique.

"It was called Sovereign Over All Under Heaven. The true Sovereign Over All Under Heaven fused mental power with physical attacks. My mental power and body were too far apart in strength, making it extremely difficult to practice.

"So I could only find another path and use Soul Power, which could be materialized, in place of physical attacks.

"I got this idea from a Body Sect Soul Master. The Body Sect had a supreme technique called Unity of Heaven and Man, which fused Soul Power and mental power into the body, then resonated with heaven and earth.

"A Soul Master capable of comprehending this combat technique could not possibly achieve less than Rank 95 in the future."

"According to my great-grandfather, the true perfection of Sovereign Over All Under Heaven was to merge physical attacks into one's mind. Wherever your mental power spread, every element would become your fist, and no change could escape your eyes.

"This was also the difference between Sovereign Over All Under Heaven and Unity of Heaven and Man. Unity of Heaven and Man emphasized harmony between man and heaven and earth; it was the kingly path, while Sovereign Over All Under Heaven used one's own will to overwhelm the will of the world. It was the tyrannical path."

"As for which was superior, I couldn't really say. Each had its own merits."

"Your mental power is still too weak. Only when you can spread it five kilometers away will you meet the minimum requirement for cultivating Sovereign Over All Under Heaven.

"I'm explaining the principles of Sovereign Over All Under Heaven so that you understand this path is viable. It can help you avoid many detours.

"Body Martial Souls from the Body Sect generally followed the path of Unity of Heaven and Man. As for where your own path lies, you'll have to find it yourself."

Lin En had some impression of Sovereign Over All Under Heaven and Unity of Heaven and Man. The original work had only described the two combat techniques superficially. He had not expected that digging deeper would reveal so much behind them.

If Lin En truly had to choose between the two paths, he would choose the tyranny of Sovereign Over All Under Heaven, because he did not believe in heaven or earth.

"Uncle, this is your family's secret technique, right? Now that I know so much, if I leave in the future, will your family hunt me down?"

Lin En leaned against the wall, his tone teasing.

Uncle Yu casually rested an arm on his knee and threw back his head with a laugh.

"Haha, you're already thinking about your future after leaving? Your sights are really set far ahead, kid."

"Relax. No one will hunt you down. Our family has been guardians of the light attribute for generations. We might make mistakes, but we rarely commit killings against our conscience.

"If you leave in the future and truly can't make a living outside, go show this move at the gates of Shrek Academy.

"Believe me, it'll definitely get you a decent job."

Lin En smiled. "Looks like your name carries quite some weight outside, Uncle. When the time comes, we'll leave together. I'll be counting on you to protect me."

Uncle Yu scratched his head. "Forget that. My name only works at Shrek Academy. If you mention my name anywhere else, both of us will get beaten up."

"When I was young and hot-blooded, I relied on my family background and strength to offend plenty of people. I also left myself with a whole lot of romantic debts."

Lin En: "..."

"You play Douluo too?"