The Martial Soul Token and the Spoils of Battle

"Dad, what's this token for?"

Su Yuntao took the bronze token from Su Haichao and turned it over curiously in his hands.

"It's a kind of proof of merit. You can exchange it for rewards at Spirit Hall."

Watching the Judgment Squad disappear into the distance, Su Haichao explained.

"Normally, the Judgment Squad deals with most Evil Soul Masters. But sometimes other Soul Masters kill them. If you bring an Evil Soul Master's body to Spirit Hall, you'll receive a token like this once they verify his identity.

"There are three grades, depending on the Evil Soul Master's cultivation. Kill a Soul Elder or anyone below that level, and you get a bronze token. A Soul Ancestor through Soul Emperor earns a silver token. Kill a Soul Saint or Soul Douluo, and you get a gold one.

"They say you can exchange a gold token for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone at Spirit Hall."

Tang Shan took the token from Su Yuntao for a closer look. It was small, about half a foot long and two inches wide, with six lifelike Martial Soul emblems engraved on it.

There were the Clear Sky Hammer, Seven Kill Sword, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, representing the Upper Three Sects; the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Gui Mei, representing Spirit Hall; and the Star Crown, representing the Hidden Sects.

He tossed the token up and caught it, intrigued.

"Dad, do they recarve these tokens every so often?"

Su Haichao nodded. "That's right. The token doesn't stay the same. Its emblems change according to the powerful figures in each major faction."

Just as I thought.

Tang Shan had suspected as much. The Seven Kill Sword might be a hereditary Martial Soul, but the chrysanthemum and Gui Mei representing Spirit Hall could not both have been inherited. Gui Mei in particular had only awakened his Martial Soul after death. If a Martial Soul with such exacting conditions could be passed down through a family, its survival to this day would be a miracle.

That also explained why Spirit Hall's own token bore no Angel Martial Soul. Perhaps they did not care, or perhaps it had appeared on earlier tokens and they could not be bothered to add it back.

And despite all the Super Douluo in the Worship Hall, only the chrysanthemum and Gui Mei were depicted.

"Let's keep moving."

Su Haichao climbed back into the carriage. Su Yuntao told the old driver to continue, while Tang Shan closed his eyes and replayed the entire fight in his mind, looking for ways to improve.

Our coordination was sound. I opened with an all-out attack at close range, then kicked him away to create distance. My brother followed up with his Self-Created Soul Skill at full power, and Dad teleported in to finish him with his second Soul Skill.

Really, his fate was sealed the moment my headbutt landed.

The headbutt and hook kept him under control, while the elbow and knee struck vital points. That final kick both kept him from lashing out in desperation and set up my brother's attack.

Only then did Tang Shan recall the Blood Explosion Technique Qian Lei had mentioned, and a belated chill ran through him. Su Yuntao had attacked from a distance, and Su Haichao could teleport away the moment he sensed danger. The real risk had been Tang Shan's close-quarters fight with the man.

"What's the next city?" Su Haichao asked Su Yuntao, who sat across from him.

Su Yuntao took out the map and studied it. "Heavenlock City. It's small and doesn't have a Great Soul Arena."

He made no effort to hide his disappointment.

"Don't worry. There are plenty more cities ahead. You'll get all the fights you want."

Tang Shan glanced at the cities farther along their route and shook his head helplessly.

"Then we'll resupply in Heavenlock City and move on," Su Haichao decided.

Neither Tang Shan nor Su Yuntao objected.

A sharp wolf claw lunged straight for Tang Shan's face. His expression did not change. He dipped at the waist to evade Su Yuntao's attack, then raised his left leg and struck him precisely in the thigh.

Force flowed naturally through the tip of his foot and into Su Yuntao's thigh, as smoothly as water.

"Awooo—"

Su Yuntao howled in pain. He grabbed his thigh with both hands and sucked in a sharp breath.

Tang Shan smiled. "No matter how talented you are in a fight, it won't help if you can't withstand Hidden Force."

Su Yuntao circulated Soul Power around his thigh for quite a while before the aching slowly eased.

"Shanzi, isn't that Hidden Force of yours a little underhanded?"

Though Tang Shan was only seven, he had grown enough to look like a young teenager. After plenty of exchanges with their fists, he had finally persuaded Su Yuntao to stop calling him "little brother" and use "Shanzi" instead.

"Brother, making someone hurt is the most basic use of Hidden Force. You haven't seen what makes it truly vicious."

Tang Shan clasped his hands behind his back, carrying himself with the imposing poise of a grandmaster—provided one overlooked his still-boyish face.

Su Yuntao rubbed his thigh without thinking, as though the ache still lingered.

"Shanzi, could you strike with Soul Power the way you do with Hidden Force?"

Tang Shan shook his head. "Probably not. I wondered the same thing at first, but Soul Power is energy, while Hidden Force is a way of applying force. They're entirely different things. At my current level, I can't combine them."

That was indeed the case. Tang Shan had tried to bring the two together, but as he had said, Hidden Force was fundamentally a technique, not tangible energy. Getting Soul Power to produce the same effect was no easy task.

"That's a shame."

After that brief lament, Su Yuntao immediately challenged Tang Shan again.

They had passed through several more cities recently, but none were large. Only one had a Great Soul Arena. With little else to do, Su Yuntao dragged Tang Shan into sparring practice almost every day.

Tang Shan never refused, especially after discovering that the Sinew he had expected to spend several more days tempering had been perfected by the fight with the Evil Soul Master. Now he welcomed every chance to fight.

He had been puzzled at first. With his Seeing the Divine level of control guiding his Qi and Blood to temper his body, the process should already have been as fast as possible. How had it suddenly finished?

Only through repeated sparring with Su Yuntao did Tang Shan gradually understand.

For warriors who had truly reached Seeing the Divine, the rush of blood in battle generally offered no benefit. They could already control every bit of their Qi and Blood with precision, and their minds were so steady that they rarely entered such a state.

Tang Shan was different. He was only a "pseudo-Seeing the Divine" warrior, without absolute control over his Qi and Blood. Battle could still set his blood racing and speed its flow. Combined with his existing Seeing the Divine level of control, that naturally made his tempering much faster.

Bang, bang, bang!

Blue-black arms came down like iron pillars from every direction. Su Yuntao had already entered Martial Soul Fusion, sharpening his senses to their limit and improving his control over his strength. Faced with Tang Shan's relentless, pile-driver punches, he reacted as fast as he could, crossing his hands in rapid succession to form one barrier after another.

Each of Tang Shan's punches held tremendous power. After blocking only two or three, Su Yuntao felt his palms go numb.

"Brother, Bright Force isn't just for attacking. You can use it to defend, too."

Seeing Su Yuntao fall clearly on the defensive, Tang Shan could not help calling out a reminder.

Su Yuntao took a deep breath. He channeled Soul Power into his hands and brought forth Bright Force.

His bones and Sinew crackled. He struck back with his palms, meeting Tang Shan head-on.

Only then did the numbness in his hands ease a little.

Ten moves. A hundred—

Each collision consumed enormous stamina, but neither spoke. Grim-faced, they kept their bodies under control as fists and palms flew.

Steam billowed from them both. Their bodies had long since turned red, hinting at the tremendous heat within.

Su Yuntao was the first to reach his limit. His Martial Soul was not a Body Martial Soul. Even as a Soul Grandmaster, the enhancement it gave his body could not match Tang Shan's.

He abruptly retreated and exhaled long and hard. A thin white stream of vapor shot from his mouth. His pores opened, and sweat instantly soaked his clothes.

Seeing Su Yuntao stop and concede, Tang Shan did not rest at once. Instead, he began to move slowly through his punches, gradually calming the surging Qi and Blood inside him.

Only when his skin returned to its normal color did he relax his control over his pores and let the sweat seep out.

Tang Shan sweated far less than Su Yuntao. Losing too much fluid would drain his vitality, weakening his overall condition and noticeably reducing his resistance to illness. He kept his sweating to a minimum, expelling mainly metabolic waste.

They each took water from their Storage Soul Tools for a quick wash, changed into clean clothes, and ran toward the carriage nearby.

"You two finished training?"

Su Haichao sat cross-legged on the ground, absorbed in a book. He looked up as they returned.

"Yeah. That felt great!"

Su Yuntao's face lit up as he recalled trading blows with Tang Shan. His stamina and Soul Power were nearly spent, but he could clearly feel that his understanding of Bright Force had deepened. Nothing felt better.

Tang Shan picked up a skewer of roasting Soul Beast meat, blew on it briefly, and took a big bite. "After the city we reach tomorrow, Heaven Dou City is next, right?" he asked through a mouthful.

Su Haichao nodded. "Tomorrow's Ironwall City. It lives up to its name—a formidable defensive line before Heaven Dou City. Both its economy and military strength rank among the best of the Heaven Dou Empire's cities."

"So it has a Great Soul Arena, right?"

Su Yuntao's eyes blazed. His bones and Sinew gave an audible crack.

Tang Shan felt helpless. Ever since their visit to a Great Soul Arena, something seemed to have awakened in his brother. He had become a full-blown battle maniac, burning with fighting spirit.

P.S. Thank you to Hunyuan Ruyi for the tip! This humble author offers his thanks. Please subscribe, send monthly tickets and recommendation votes, bookmark, comment—anything you can spare.