The Body Sect's Invitation (Revised)

Four powerful figures in black robes bearing the imperial insignia of the Heaven Dou Empire descended from the sky.

Their leader, Sun Menghan, a disciple of the Body Sect, was the first to act. His legs trod the air as seven soul rings rose and circled him—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—a configuration surpassing the optimal standard. Every one of them lit up.

Not only that, a bronze radiance also shone behind Sun Menghan. It took the shape of a pair of enormous legs, its bronze light almost tangible. Its imposing, weighty aura felt like Mount Tai bearing down from above.

This bronze silhouette was none other than the Body Sect's means of standing unrivaled among their peers: the second awakening of a body martial soul!

Compared with ordinary martial souls, body martial souls were uniquely blessed.

First, soul masters with body martial souls possessed far greater control over their martial souls than ordinary soul masters did. After all, people naturally had strong control over their own limbs.

Second, because their martial souls were parts of their own bodies, those particular body parts could endure far more than the rest. As a result, soul masters with body martial souls could withstand soul rings of greater ages.

Yet neither of those advantages was the most terrifying. The truly fearsome aspect of body martial souls was their ability to undergo a second awakening.

What was a second awakening? It was the evolution of a martial soul.

Once an ordinary soul master awakened their martial soul at the age of six, it would remain unchanged for the rest of their life unless they encountered an extraordinary stroke of fortune.

Body martial souls were different. Every soul master with a body martial soul could awaken it a second time!

This second awakening was a sublimation, comparable to a lesser dragon evolving into a true dragon! It was a qualitative transformation.

Across the entire continent, only the Body Sect possessed the ability to induce this second evolution, and only body martial souls could undergo it so universally.

That was why, despite having few disciples, the Body Sect had always stood at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent.

And because its members were so few, the Body Sect fiercely protected its own, even to the point of being utterly unreasonable.

The Body Sect divided the second awakening of body martial souls into four levels.

After completing a second awakening, when a body martial soul's owner used its evolved abilities, a silhouette of light formed from their martial soul would appear behind them.

The color of that silhouette was the key to identifying the effects of their second awakening.

Black with a metallic sheen signified a black iron-level second awakening. After awakening, the martial soul's combat power would increase by roughly thirty percent or more.

A bronze sheen signified a bronze-level second awakening, which increased the martial soul's combat power by around sixty percent.

Above that was the silver-level second awakening, exceedingly rare even within the Body Sect.

A second awakening of this level generally appeared only in vital body parts, such as the torso, brain, skin, or heart.

Once a silver-level second awakening was complete, using the martial soul could double one's combat power. Some could even raise their combat strength by an entire rank before reaching the Titled Douluo realm.

An enhancement of that magnitude was terrifying indeed.

Even that was not the highest level. The strongest and rarest second awakening of a body martial soul was the gold level.

Its explosive power was so terrifying that it could unleash combat strength at three hundred percent.

As a Body Sect disciple, Sun Menghan had achieved a bronze-level second awakening, allowing him to increase his combat strength by sixty percent.

With his body martial soul's second awakening, he could even contend with a Soul Douluo for a limited time.

After activating his second awakening, Sun Menghan stood suspended in midair. He stamped both legs down fiercely toward the soul beasts surrounding Chen An.

The bronze leg silhouettes behind him blazed with light. Those two bronze legs swelled in the wind, growing to a terrifying size of over thirty meters long and five meters wide.

The bronze leg silhouettes carried tremendous soul power. Before they even struck the soul beasts, the powerful pressure of their descent had already crushed the ground around them into leg-shaped depressions.

Most soul beasts in the Mixed Zone were between a thousand and ten thousand years old. Very few had cultivation exceeding twenty thousand years.

As a soul master with a bronze-level second awakening, Sun Menghan was strong enough to fight soul beasts with around fifty thousand years of cultivation.

How could these soul beasts resist such overwhelming strength? The ferocious, gigantic bronze leg silhouettes promptly kicked them into heaps of mangled flesh.

Besides Sun Menghan, Zhang Feng, Song Yu, and the third man also joined the battle to rescue Chen An.

Between the four of them, twenty-seven soul rings circled their bodies. Terrifying soul power erupted with a roar, sending ripples through the air.

"Third soul skill, Earth's Protection! Fourth soul skill, Gravity! Sixth soul skill, Power of the Earth!"

The third of the four brothers had honest, well-proportioned features and a body like a door slab. His name was Qian Shi, and his martial soul was the Earth Shield. Its defensive power was astonishing, and it also granted him some control over the earth element.

A solid, heavy, seemingly indestructible earthen-yellow shield of light enveloped Chen An.

A black tiger barely three meters from Chen An was forced flat against the ground by terrifying gravity. Its bones and sinews were crushed beneath that mountain-heavy force, blood spilling continuously from its body like a mosquito squashed to death.

Three Soul Saints and one prospective Soul Saint working together were practically a bulldozer.

They beat the soul beasts surrounding Chen An, Qian Renxue, and Zhang Lexuan into a panicked, piss-soaked retreat.

Their attacks also blasted the once-dense forest into a barren clearing, littered with broken trees and soul beast corpses.

Blood flowing from those corpses dyed the ground crimson. The stench of blood filled the air, nauseating anyone who smelled it.

Chen An looked at the earthen-yellow shield protecting him securely and scratched the back of his head.

At first, he had thought that earthen-yellow thing was meant to attack him. Soon, however, he realized the shield was protecting him, and none of the other soul beasts could break through its defenses to hurt him.

Chen An immediately turned his gaze toward the four middle-aged men who had suddenly appeared. One of them had exceptionally long legs, far beyond normal human proportions. Together with the leg-shaped silhouette behind him, it immediately gave Chen An an inkling of what was happening.

This man had to be a Body Sect disciple. Seeing that Chen An also possessed a body martial soul, he had come out to save him.

While understanding dawned on Chen An, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness stared wide-eyed at the four burly men who had descended from the sky.

When he had seen Chen An surrounded by soul beasts, he had already prepared to intervene.

Who could have expected three Soul Saints and one prospective Soul Saint to appear at that very moment and, without a word, give the soul beasts surrounding Chen An a thorough beating?

Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had no idea what was going on, someone had saved Chen An, so he no longer needed to act. He could not have been happier.

He had already become Chen An's Wisdom Soul Ring.

Every time he intervened, he faced severe restrictions and an extraordinarily frightening expenditure of energy, so he avoided acting whenever possible.

After all, he was saving his energy to subdue the Ice Empress far away in the Far North. If he used it up too early, given her temperament, she certainly would not appreciate his painstaking intentions.

"I really am favored by the world! The host I chose gets rescued the moment he runs into danger. I truly am a child of the world! Hahahaha!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm bounced around happily in Chen An's Sea of Consciousness, howling with joy.

In contrast to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's delight within Chen An's Sea of Consciousness,

the atmosphere outside grew tense once the soul beasts had been driven away.

Sun Menghan and his three companions stood facing Zhang Lexuan, Chen An, and Qian Renxue, with only five meters between the two groups.

Sun Menghan stared intently at Chen An nearby. His gaze grew even more fervent when he saw the dark golden claw blades extending from Chen An's right hand.

He had never expected Chen An to possess not only a top-tier body martial soul, but even an external soul bone, second in value only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

And unless he was mistaken, it seemed to be the most precious and powerful palm bone dropped by a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

With such talent and such good fortune, Chen An would surely become one of the continent's supreme powerhouses.

Although the soul beast rampage had prevented their four-man team from hunting a soul beast for their fourth brother, disaster had turned into a blessing: they had encountered the Body Sect's future sect master.

That was right. Sun Menghan was already convinced that if Chen An entered the Body Sect, he would inevitably become its sect master.

As for Long Aotian? What rotten fish and spoiled shrimp was he? How could a mere skin martial soul deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as a true self martial soul?

While Sun Menghan studied Chen An with that burning gaze,

Zhang Lexuan watched the four unexpected arrivals from five meters away, her face grave.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, soul beasts were not the only danger. Humans were every bit as dangerous.

Especially these four soul masters before her, each with formidable cultivation and a powerful martial soul.

She would struggle to defeat even one of them, let alone all four.

The man leading them, whose unusually long legs were especially conspicuous, made Zhang Lexuan particularly wary.

As someone from Shrek Academy's inner circle, how could Zhang Lexuan fail to recognize his body martial soul? Moreover, he had to be a Body Sect disciple.

She reached that conclusion because a small number of soul masters with body martial souls on the continent had never joined the Body Sect.

Without the Body Sect's training, however, those soul masters did not know how to induce a second awakening. Thus, whether a soul master with a body martial soul could perform a second awakening was the standard for determining whether they belonged to the Body Sect.

Zhang Lexuan glanced at Chen An beside her, already guessing why these four men had intervened.

She cupped her hands toward Sun Menghan and his companions in thanks. "I am Zhang Lexuan, a disciple of Shrek Academy's Inner Court. Thank you all for your assistance. Shrek Academy will certainly reward you generously."

Her words both expressed her gratitude and invoked the backing behind her.

As the continent's foremost academy, Shrek Academy commanded tremendous respect and fear. Upon hearing that someone was an Inner Court disciple, ninety-nine percent of powerful soul masters would treat them courteously. Even if they did not, they would never dare harm them.

After all, Shrek Academy had very few Inner Court students, and they were its true core members.

Even at its most populous, the Inner Court had only around a hundred students.

Moreover, every Inner Court student possessed exceptional talent and had a chance of breaking through to the Titled Douluo realm.

Each was therefore extremely precious. If even one died, Shrek Academy would pursue the matter to the bitter end.

Just as Zhang Lexuan thought the four men would become wary because of her Shrek Academy background,

Sun Menghan ignored her entirely and spoke only to Chen An. "Child, what's your name? You aren't hurt, are you?"

As he spoke, a warm, kindly smile appeared on his face, with none of the ferocity he had shown when stomping those soul beasts into bloody pulp.

Chen An blinked. "My name is Chen An. I'm not hurt. Thank you for saving me, sir."

Sun Menghan smiled. "Good child, you possess a body martial soul. Have you heard of the Body Sect?"

Although Chen An knew about the Body Sect, he still shook his head.

Sun Menghan immediately began explaining it to him. He described the strength of body martial souls, the Body Sect's ideals, and its belief that all those with body martial souls were one family.

Standing beside Chen An, Qian Renxue listened to the man before them. She knew little about the Body Sect, but she could clearly sense that these four powerful men had most likely saved them because of Chen An.

Qian Renxue thought, Why does every last one of them have their eye on Chen An? They're clearly trying to steal my assistant. Chen An belongs to Spirit Hall. He belongs to me, Qian Renxue!

While Qian Renxue grumbled inwardly,

Sun Menghan extended an invitation to Chen An, asking him to join the Body Sect.

Upon hearing that, Zhang Lexuan immediately stepped in front of Chen An to protect him and told the four men, "Chen An has already joined Shrek Academy. He is a disciple of Shrek Academy!"

Sun Menghan snorted coldly. "Shrek Academy? So what if it's Shrek Academy? Don't you know that all soul masters with body martial souls belong to the Body Sect by default?

"Never mind a little girl like you—even if your teachers came here today, this child would still have to join the Body Sect!"

With that, Sun Menghan drove his legs into motion. His figure flashed, and he appeared beside Chen An at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, almost as though he had teleported.

As Sun Menghan acted, Zhang Feng and the other two moved together, instantly forcing Zhang Lexuan back.

Zhang Lexuan clenched her teeth. As her beautiful eyes watched the four men forcibly seize Chen An, her expression turned utterly grim.

Relations between Shrek Academy and the Body Sect were terrible. With Chen An's talent, if he entered the Body Sect, he would undoubtedly deal Shrek Academy a tremendous blow in the future.

Just as Zhang Lexuan was at a loss over what to do,

a disheveled old man with a wine gourd hanging from his waist and a chicken leg in his hand, which he was gnawing on, appeared before her.