A Continent in Turmoil, a Sudden Upheaval

The next day, Tang Shan had Su Haichao submit his completed "Sixth Theory of Martial Souls" to Spirit Hall.

After passing through several hands, the theory first reached the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe.

He was a handsome boy of only nine or ten, but the regal bearing he had inherited from the imperial family was already unmistakable. The dragon embroidered on his clothes proclaimed his noble status. His golden hair fell naturally around his shoulders, and a faint smile always rested on his face, making people warm to him at first sight.

"Young Master, the new 'Sixth Theory of Martial Souls' has just come out. I brought it here as soon as I got it from Salas."

Seeing the man bowing respectfully before him, "Heaven Dou Crown Prince" Xue Qinghe hurried forward and helped him up.

"Uncle She, how many times have I told you? There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Xiao Xue."

"Proper etiquette must be observed."

She Long remained stubborn and showed no intention of changing how he addressed him.

The golden-haired boy shook his head helplessly, took a bone from his waist, and handed it to the helper his grandfather had sent.

"Uncle She, this Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone came from a twenty-thousand-year Grim Poison Jiao. Please absorb it. With its help, breaking through to Titled Douluo shouldn't be much of a problem for you."

"Thank you for the gift, Young Master."

She Long did not refuse. He respectfully accepted the Soul Bone from the golden-haired boy with both hands.

"I pledge my life to you, Young Master."

She Long swore in a low voice, then vanished into the darkness of the room.

"Uncle Pufferfish, don't worry. I've already sent people to find a suitable Soul Bone for you too."

The golden-haired boy made the promise solemnly to the seemingly empty room.

"Please don't trouble yourself too much over me, Young Master. Your plan must come first. Once She Long becomes a Titled Douluo, he'll be enough to keep you safe for now. There's no need to take up any more of the Worshippers' time."

Xue Qinghe smiled faintly at the second voice emerging from the darkness.

"Don't worry about it, Uncle Pufferfish. The grandfathers are concerned for me too. They were afraid one Titled Douluo might not be enough, so they sent both of you, already close to that level, to assist me. Finding Soul Bones to help you break through was also part of the Worship Hall's arrangements."

With that, Xue Qinghe returned to his seat and carefully read the theory.

"The Blue Silver Emperor. Interesting. So even Blue Silver Grass can become a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Come to think of it, isn't the woman traveling with the Clear Sky Twin Stars an Innate Full Soul Power Blue Silver Grass? Could her Martial Soul be the legendary Blue Silver Emperor?"

The new theory gave Xue Qinghe plenty to consider. As for suspecting Ah Yin of having undergone Soul Beast Transformation, that was a stretch. By that logic, every Beast Martial Soul wielder with full innate Soul Power could be suspected of the same thing.

Layers of mountains rose one behind another, massive and imposing. Their towering peaks resembled sleeping giants, still and solemn.

At the gates of the Clear Sky Sect, the greatest sect under heaven, a middle-aged man took one last look at the bustling streets below before turning and walking inside without hesitation.

"Brother Hao, take good care of our third sister. Don't worry about the sect. Your big brother will hold it together for you. One day, the Clear Sky Sect will stand tall on the Douluo Continent."

His words drifted away on the wind and faded to nothing. The burly middle-aged man disappeared into the depths of Clear Sky Hall.

"Your Holiness, we may have found a Soul Master who is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form."

An enormous angel relief covered the entire wall. Beneath it stood a broad chair, as though the angel had bestowed supreme authority upon its occupant. Golden hair hung loose to his shoulders, and an inscrutable light flickered in his deep-set eyes.

"Tell me where you found this person."

"One of our elders happened to encounter Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Twin Stars while traveling. A woman with him carried a faint trace of a Soul Beast's aura."

"If I recall correctly, that woman's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. Tell me how Blue Silver Grass could cultivate for a hundred thousand years."

"Well..."

The subordinate kneeling below was clearly stumped and hesitated.

At that moment, a Sacred Hall Knight entered the Papal Hall respectfully. "Your Holiness, Grandmaster's 'Sixth Theory of Martial Souls' has been released. Word just came from Heaven Dou City."

As he spoke, a letter bearing a miniature angel seal appeared in his hands. He held it out respectfully with both hands.

The envelope rose into the air and floated toward the golden-haired man seated in the Papal Hall.

No one noticed the flash of warmth in the usually impassive Pope's eyes when he saw the letter.

He opened it and read carefully. A smile appeared on his face and steadily widened.

"Hahaha! Heaven is on my side! The Blue Silver Emperor—that's what she is! I'm taking this Soul Beast."

His laughter rang through the Papal Hall. Brilliant golden light burst from his body, bathing the sky above in a sacred glow.

"Elders, come with me."

Enormous angel wings seemed to envelop the entire hall. Beneath the Angel Statue stood a figure who appeared to merge with the majestic, sacred sculpture.

Sensing the commotion in the Papal Hall, Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes, emerging from the strange state in which he had been immersed.

"Qian Jun, go see what the Pope is doing."

An old man nodded at the order and vanished from the Worship Hall in a flash.

Before long, he appeared before Qian Daoliu again, wearing an odd expression. After gathering his thoughts, he slowly relayed what he had learned.

"Big Brother, the Pope has gone to hunt a Soul Master suspected of being a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. That's what caused the commotion."

Qian Daoliu gave no response.

"There is one complication, though. You might remember her, Big Brother. She's the girl who follows that brat Tang Hao around. I hear her Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. Strange, isn't it?"

"She's a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect."

Qian Daoliu's brow tightened slightly. Seeing the change in his elder brother's expression, Qian Jun volunteered at once.

"Should I go call the Pope back?"

"No. If they can capture a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, so much the better. Whether the Pope gives her to his disciple or to Xiao Xue is his decision. We don't need to interfere. As for the Clear Sky Sect, that man hasn't made a move in years. I don't know what's going on with him, but harming one or two of his juniors shouldn't be a problem. I never said I wouldn't touch his sect."

Complex emotions surfaced in Qian Daoliu's eyes as he spoke: melancholy, regret, and, buried beneath them, a trace of loneliness.

"Little brother, I've reached level nineteen. You'd better not slack off."

While Tang Shan trained, Su Yuntao lounged comfortably with one leg crossed over the other, watching him hold his arms as though cradling a ball. Tang Shan's fingers were naturally spread, his knees aligned with his toes. He held his head as if supporting a weight, sank his hips back, and moved his body in a steady rhythm.

"What's this supposed to be? It feels a little like the horse stance you taught me, but it's different too."

Tang Shan did not answer. He simply focused on his body: the contractions of his heart, the flow of his blood, the subtle shifts of his feet...

Heat built up inside him, but waves of stimulation rising from his tailbone closed every pore, sealing the energy firmly within his body.

A long while later, Tang Shan breathed out. Su Yuntao stared in surprise, wondering whether his eyes had deceived him: a thin white line seemed to stream from Tang Shan's mouth.

Whoosh!

Every closed pore opened. Sweat and heat poured out, and in moments Tang Shan was drenched.

"Little brother, teach me that."

Su Yuntao's eyes shone. Even if it did nothing else, the sight of heat rising from his body looked impossibly cool.

Tang Shan picked up a nearby towel and carefully wiped himself down, shaking his head.

"Big Brother, master the horse stance first. Your lower body isn't even stable yet, and you want to try Standing Stake? Dream on."

Tang Shan's life had been simple but fulfilling lately. Every day was spent training or cultivating, and he had tried out all the experiments that his lack of Soul Power had prevented him from attempting over the past three years.

For instance, he had tried using Soul Power like chakra, channeling it into the soles of his feet to see whether he could stick to surfaces. The experiment failed spectacularly. It made sense when he thought about it: Soul Power and the chakra from Naruto were two different kinds of supernatural energy. Something easily done with one energy system might be impossible with another.

He also tried projecting Soul Power outside his body like true qi, or condensing it into a weapon. That experiment failed too. Later battles would confirm that Soul Power could be projected, but he could not pin down how to do it. Soul Skills were an exception, and his father's second Soul Skill came to mind. He soon abandoned the idea of researching it, though. It was not because he had nowhere to start. He simply refused to lose sight of what mattered most. Cultivation was the foundation; without sufficient strength, even the most brilliant ideas were castles in the air.

His efforts had not been fruitless, however. While researching ways to strengthen his body, his keen awareness of its workings had seemingly allowed him to recreate the Standing Stake of National Arts from his previous life.

Standing Stake resembled the horse stance, but Tang Shan's training revealed differences between them. To him, the horse stance was a form of exercise, no different in principle from static movements such as planks or standing on one leg. The Standing Stake he had worked out was different. Rather than holding a rigid stance, he made subtle dynamic adjustments, his center of gravity changing yet remaining steady. It trained his lower body while gradually teaching him to understand and control his entire body.

The body shifted with the heavens, while the heart remained still;

Feet rooted in the earth, the crown of the head suspended;

Arms embracing heaven and earth, gaze distant and mind at peace.

These were the key points Tang Shan had summarized for Standing Stake. He had considered teaching it to Su Yuntao, but his elder brother's foundation in the horse stance was not yet strong enough. Standing Stake would be too difficult for him, so Tang Shan could only urge him to practice his horse stance diligently.

Bang!

The sudden sound of a door being pushed open startled both brothers. They looked over and saw a young guard who usually stood at the entrance to Spirit Hall, panting in the doorway.

"Xiao Wang, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Su Yuntao stepped forward, subtly shielding Tang Shan behind him as he asked the question sternly.

"The hall master... the hall master..."

"What happened to my father?"

Su Yuntao took a long stride forward and fixed his eyes on the young man, unable to hide the urgency in his voice.

Tang Shan's heart sank too. He had a bad feeling about this.

"The hall master asked me to bring you both to Spirit Hall."

Having finally caught his breath, Xiao Wang looked puzzled. Why were the two young masters so nervous? He didn't think he had said anything wrong.

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