Inside the Mountain and River State Diagram,
Li Zha first ran through the Fire-Tipped Spear's entire spear art from beginning to end, then worked through the parts he found obscure, move by move.
Lift, cleave, thrust, sweep...
Li Zha repeated them over and over, seemingly tireless.
And soon,
His movements became smoother and more practiced, already beginning to resemble the proper forms.
Perhaps it was because of his [Lotus Body], but Li Zha felt he was progressing remarkably quickly as he learned this spear art.
Four hours passed,
And he could already perform the entire sequence of linked moves smoothly.
His spear strikes were swift and powerful,
With a hint of the momentum described in the ancient text as "a silver dragon surging across the sea" and "a monstrous python turning over."
Beyond that,
Li Zha also quickly discovered the Fire-Tipped Spear's different uses.
"Break!"
Li Zha thrust the Fire-Tipped Spear forward and twisted his rear hand. A great swath of Samadhi True Fire immediately erupted from the spearhead, reaching a full five meters beyond its tip!
Combined with a sweeping strike, Li Zha could even cover everything within seven or eight meters of himself in an instant.
That already qualified him as a mid-to-long-range Soul Master.
"Split!"
Li Zha twisted the shaft again, and the Fire-Tipped Spear in his hands actually split into two, leaving him holding one in each hand.
Even Li Zha himself had not anticipated this transformation. In actual combat, turning one spear into two would certainly catch an enemy off guard.
"Reverse!"
Li Zha leaned back, then hurled it with all his strength. The Fire-Tipped Spear flew from his hand like an arrow loosed from its bow.
A jet of Samadhi True Fire actually erupted from the spear's butt, accelerating it like a rocket. Its speed soared, and it slammed into a distant tree with a boom.
"Return!"
Li Zha beckoned, and the Blazing Dragon Spirit immediately emerged from the Fire-Tipped Spear. Carrying the shaft in its jaws, it flew back and returned the spear to Li Zha's hand.
The Dragon God probably would have stamped his feet and cursed if he had seen this.
In Li Zha's hands, the Blazing Dragon Spirit was practically a dog playing Frisbee with a human child. It behaved just like one.
The key was that the Blazing Dragon Spirit happily retrieved Li Zha's spear, occasionally shouting things like "Master, you're so strong!" and "Great throw, Master!" to give him plenty of emotional encouragement.
Well,
It was even more devoted than a dog,
Since dogs could not talk.
"You did well!"
Li Zha patted the Blazing Dragon Spirit's head in encouragement.
With this Soul Spirit helping retrieve his spear, Li Zha felt he could turn into Ma Chao in battle and skewer his enemies to death.
The Blazing Dragon Spirit narrowed its eyes in delight. "It's only what this humble servant should do!"
At first, it had been unable to enter this place. Li Zha had pulled it inside.
However, that was only because it was already a soul entity and had formed a contract with Li Zha. He had tried bringing in other objects or living creatures, but none of them worked.
And after entering this place,
The Blazing Dragon Spirit became even more obedient toward Li Zha.
A place that formed a world of its own, complete with such a miraculous lotus pond and pagoda.
At first, the Blazing Dragon Spirit had mistaken it for the legendary Divine Realm.
Later, Li Zha told it that was not the case,
And the Blazing Dragon Spirit instead began to suspect that its master had obtained some god's inheritance and activated something like a divine trial ahead of time.
As for that,
Li Zha did not deny it.
After all, explaining something like the Immortal Court would take far too much effort. Thinking of it as a divine trial better suited the constitution of these Douluo babies.
After receiving Li Zha's confirmation, the Blazing Dragon Spirit fawned over him even more enthusiastically.
A divine trial!
It had heard,
That Sea God Tang San twenty thousand years ago and Spirit Ice Douluo ten thousand years ago had both undergone divine trials before ultimately becoming gods!
And now its own master was someone who could undergo divine trials just like them!
Back when it had been a Soul Beast, the Blazing Dragon Spirit would only have considered Li Zha a great enemy of Soul Beasts.
Now that it was a Soul Spirit, the Blazing Dragon Spirit suddenly thought this was wonderful!
Its first lesson after signing a contract with Li Zha and reaching safe shores,
Was to forget its roots!
The Blazing Dragon Spirit became even more convinced that if it followed its master, it would at least become a divine beast in the future!
This was what they called making the right choice mattered more than hard work!
"Time flows here at the same rate as outside. If I practice a little longer, dawn will come. I need to head back."
Li Zha had no intention of telling Leng Yaozhu about this place.
Mainly because telling her would serve no purpose beyond showing off. Leng Yaozhu could not enter this place, nor could she help him learn Nezha's secret arts.
It would also leave him at risk of someone coveting it.
Li Zha put away the Fire-Tipped Spear and turned his attention to spells such as [Illusion Technique] and [Invisibility Talisman].
[Illusion Technique] was a spell that could transform himself, other people, or objects.
It was similar to Brother Monkey's Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations.
If he mastered it, it would be a tremendous help to Li Zha, whether for hiding or escaping with his life.
Li Zha read through it several times,
Then formed hand seals toward a stone and recited the incantation:
"Heaven and earth are boundless, lend me the power of the cosmos! Swiftly, in accordance with the decree-transform!"
The stone did not budge.
"Swiftly, in accordance with the decree-transform!"
The stone remained still.
"Transform!"
Li Zha glared at it and tried to transform it for ages, but the stone showed no response whatsoever. Clearly, he had not even grasped the basics.
"Young Master, your perseverance is truly outstanding!"
After thinking for ages, the sycophantic Blazing Dragon Spirit could only force out that line of praise.
"Ah, there's no response at all."
Li Zha sighed.
Compared with his talent for spear arts,
Li Zha felt his aptitude for spells was rather moving-in all the wrong ways.
"Nothing for it, nothing for it. A warrior isn't good at scholarly arts."
Beside him, the Blazing Dragon Spirit read the ancient spellbook's description of [Illusion Technique], and an unusual gleam flashed through its dragon eyes.
Why did it feel like this thing wasn't all that difficult?
"Forget it. There'll be plenty of time later. Little Fire, let's go. It's time to leave."
With a thought, Li Zha returned to reality, his consciousness returning to his original body as well.
"Hey, the Mountain and River State Diagram really is miraculous. I trained all night, singing and jumping around, and my body isn't tired at all!"
Li Zha sprang to his feet with a kip-up.
After obtaining Taiyi's inheritance, Li Zha felt even more confident.
Once up, he quickly dressed and washed.
Big Bai, Bai Haoze, wore a nightdress that carelessly exposed great swaths of snowy skin. Carrying breakfast, he entered the room while sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"Little Brother Li Zha, you exhausted your Soul Power fighting in the Spirit Ascension Platform yesterday. Why are you still getting up so early today?"
"Her Excellency Heavenly Phoenix said you could rest for these next two days."
Bai Haoze yawned.
Li Zha picked up a medium-well snow beef steak and stuffed it into his mouth. "Don't worry, Sister Big Bai. I've already had enough sleep."
"All right, then. Once you finish breakfast, I'll take you to the Mimicry Training Ground and teach you a meditation method."
"Okay!"
After finishing his food,
Li Zha followed Bai Haoze toward the Mimicry Training Ground.
Once Soul Masters awakened their Martial Souls, their daily cultivation relied on meditation methods.
Naturally, Li Zha had looked into them himself, so he knew some basic meditation methods during his earlier battles and could use them to recover Soul Power.
Of course,
What Bai Haoze would teach him certainly would not be a basic method, but an advanced meditation method reserved for the Spirit Pagoda's core disciples.
Upon entering the Mimicry Training Ground,
Li Zha found that his Mimicry Training Ground was simply a sea of fire.
After Bai Haoze demonstrated it once, Li Zha learned it almost effortlessly.
"Ah, simple cultivation methods like this suit me much better. Things like the Illusion Technique are still way beyond my level."
After spending an entire night studying the Illusion Technique without even grasping the basics,
Li Zha suddenly felt like a genius as he learned the meditation method.
He soon sat down cross-legged,
Drawing in Soul Power from the surrounding space amid the scorching heat.
As he meditated,
Li Zha's True Lotus Body manifested automatically, quickly settling his mind and bringing him into a state of Deep Meditation.
Outside the training ground,
Bai Haoze, who was standing guard, was astonished.
"Deep Meditation on his very first attempt...?"
Bai Haoze remembered that Li Zha's first Soul Ring had been a thousand-year one, allowing him to jump straight to rank fourteen.
And now, seeing Li Zha's cultivation speed,
Curiosity rose in Bai Haoze's heart. "I really wonder how old Little Brother Li Zha will be when he breaks through to Titled Douluo."
He remembered that the rumored fastest person to reach Titled Douluo was Underworld Emperor Ha Luosa, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Two Emperors, who had broken through at nineteen.
That speed had left even the former Sea God Tang San in the dust.
Previously, the Spirit Pagoda had estimated that only Evil Soul Masters could possibly surpass such a speed.
But at this moment,
Bai Haoze had a premonition,
That the next person to break this record might well be Little Brother Li Zha, right before his eyes.
Before you continue