First Meditation

Yang Xiong felt somewhat helpless when he heard his father. That was simply how things worked within the sect—there were all sorts of rules governing the upbringing of children, especially those with better talent, who were valued even more highly.

Recently, Yang Xiong had looked through some materials and gained a rough understanding of martial soul awakenings in the world of soul masters. According to the statistics of the soul master world, there were roughly a hundred thousand soul masters in total, with over seventy percent below the rank of Soul King, forming a basic pyramid structure.

Soul Masters, Soul Grand Masters, and Soul Elders accounted for roughly equal proportions. Anyone whose martial soul awakening granted them an Innate Soul Power Level—so long as it was not a pitifully low half-level—could basically cultivate to the Soul Elder realm. It was only a matter of how long it took.

Starting from Soul Ancestors, however, their numbers dropped sharply. With every rank increase, the number of soul masters decreased by several times, and the higher one rose, the more pronounced this disparity became.

For example, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was estimated to have five thousand soul masters, yet only two Titled Douluo. There were likely more than twenty Soul Douluo, while Soul Saints numbered at least over a hundred.

One should not underestimate his father, a Soul King. Though he was an Outer Sect Deacon, he did not have an especially heavy workload within the sect. Unless there was a special assignment, he could rest for about half his time.

A Soul King who went outside could become the lord of a small city, or serve as the leader of an Advanced Soul Master Academy.

Judging by Innate Soul Power Level awakenings, fewer than five people in the entire sect probably reached Level Seven each year. As for those above Level Seven, there might not even be one or two. Of course, that was only the situation in any given year.

At that moment, Yang Lin continued, "Little Xiong, I have some good news for you. Our sect's Young Miss awakened with Innate Soul Power Level Nine. Among all those in the history of the sect with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, she is one of those with the highest Innate Soul Power Level."

Yang Xiong asked in some confusion, "What does that have to do with anything? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda may have powerful support abilities, but it has an innate flaw. Its soul power can only reach Level 79 at most."

Yang Lin sighed. "Yes, that is the greatest limitation of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Otherwise, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's formidable support abilities, we could certainly contend with the Clear Sky Sect."

Yang Xiong...

That afternoon, under his father's guidance, Yang Xiong began his first meditation.

So-called meditation meant emptying one's mind and allowing innate soul power to circulate through the body, thereby absorbing energy of the same attribute from the air.

Meditation Methods throughout Douluo Continent were largely similar. The only differences lay in the circulation paths within the body. Because each person differed in martial soul, physique, and other aspects, they would gradually develop their own method of circulation.

The foundation of it all was innate soul power. The higher one's Innate Soul Power Level, the faster one could circulate it during meditation. The higher the quality of one's martial soul, the broader one's meridians would be. For ordinary soul masters, the Innate Soul Power Level gained upon awakening was generally similar to the quality of their martial soul.

That was also why soul master sects grew ever more prosperous. Not only did they possess complete cultivation systems, they even had the most rigorous methods for training martial souls. Moreover, bloodline inheritance and martial souls were relatively stable.

Compared to other martial souls, a Body Martial Soul had no attribute and could absorb all types of energy from the air. But that was also its flaw. The energy in the air was exceptionally mixed and chaotic, making early-stage cultivation for a Body Martial Soul relatively difficult.

A Body Martial Soul also had a major disadvantage: it could not be summoned like other martial souls.

Whether Tool Martial Souls or Beast Martial Souls, all martial souls on Douluo Continent could be summoned. During meditation, soul masters could gradually synchronize their meditation with their martial soul according to its form. Once a soul master reached Level 99, their body and martial soul could achieve perfect fusion.

But a Body Martial Soul was different. Since it could not be summoned or manifested, early cultivation was extremely difficult. One could only cultivate through constant physical training. One had to know that the cultivation methods of this era were far inferior to those ten thousand years later, especially since there was not a single spiritual cultivation method anywhere on the continent.

After meditating for an entire afternoon, Yang Xiong felt that the soul power within his body had only improved by the slightest trace. The improvement was extremely limited, nothing like what one would expect from a genius with Innate Soul Power Level Six.

At dinner, Yang Lin asked, "Little Xiong, today was your first meditation session. How do you think it went?"

Yang Xiong carefully recalled his meditation that afternoon. "Father, I think the results were poor. My soul power only improved by the slightest bit. Perhaps this is the flaw of having my body as my martial soul."

His mother, Sun Yu, comforted him, "Little Xiong, it was the same for me when I first began meditating. My body and martial soul seemed unable to match perfectly. Once you gradually adapt, it will get a little better."

Yang Xiong smiled. "Mom, starting tomorrow, I plan to place greater emphasis on training my body. During the day, I'll study and exercise as much as possible, and only meditate at night."

Yang Lin asked in confusion, "Although we soul masters must also pay attention to physical strength, soul power is the foundation. Training does have some effect, but it cannot compare to spending more time meditating, especially since your Innate Soul Power Level is already Six."

Yang Xiong said, "Father, I have my own cultivation method. Trust me, I'll adapt quickly. Oh, and I remember our sect provides Medicinal Baths, right? Please help me register to receive one."

Yang Lin was even more puzzled. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect does indeed provide Medicinal Baths for all disciples due to our wealth. However, they are generally only issued after the age of twelve or after one becomes a Soul Grandmaster. Although Medicinal Baths are beneficial to the body and can speed up a soul master's cultivation, a child's body has not fully developed yet. They may have certain side effects and could even affect your future growth."

Yang Xiong quickly said, "Father, my martial soul is rather special, so I want to begin using Medicinal Baths as soon as possible. Perhaps they can stimulate my martial soul's growth."

Though Yang Lin did not quite understand, he ultimately agreed. "Very well. It is good that you have confidence in cultivation and your own plans. The ingredients for Medicinal Baths may be precious, but they are nothing to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is the largest medicinal herb merchant on the entire Douluo Continent."

The family was no longer surprised by Yang Xiong's words. Ever since childhood, Yang Xiong had been exceptionally worry-free, and whatever he did, he always had his own ideas and plans, appearing extremely mature.

Yang Lin seemed to think of something. "Oh, right, Little Xiong. Li Shen's son is already twenty. He worked with the Patrol Team for a while before. I spoke with Li Shen and asked her to have her son take care of your daily life from now on. You'll be going to and from school every day, and six is still too young."

"If you train your body in the future, someone will also be there to keep an eye on you and prevent any problems. I know you do not like being waited on, but sometimes you still need someone by your side to help. At the very least, they can ensure your safety."

Yang Xiong nodded helplessly.

In truth, Yang Xiong's family circumstances were considered quite good throughout Douluo Continent. Both his parents were soul masters and Outer Sect Deacons of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The sect alone paid them substantial annual wages, not to mention the various sect allowances.

Li Shen, meanwhile, was the nanny employed by the family, responsible for washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, and the like. A family of soul masters could hardly be expected to handle such chores themselves. Rather than waste time on trivial matters, they might as well meditate more.