Sword Douluo did not know how Ning Chuan's first soul skill worked, but he was still deeply shaken.
He knew that Ning Chuan had shattered the soul master world's established understanding.
Yet the surprises Ning Chuan had in store for Sword Douluo were far from over.
He had already decided to pass on the soul power cultivation method, so naturally, the sooner the better.
"Sword Grandpa, after I successfully absorbed my first soul ring, the Creation Exquisite Pagoda gave me a diagram. It seems to show a way of circulating soul power through human acupoints. Sorry for the trouble, but could you take a look?" Ning Chuan said, immediately drawing Sword Douluo out of his silent wonder.
"Let me see it!" Sword Douluo said. He had a feeling that the diagram Ning Chuan mentioned was anything but ordinary.
Ning Chuan nodded and summoned the Creation Exquisite Pagoda once more.
With a thought, he sent a beam of white light from the pagoda's tip, which vanished into the point between Sword Douluo's brows in an instant.
Knowing that Ning Chuan would never harm him, Sword Douluo allowed the white light to enter his spiritual sea of consciousness.
The instant the cultivation method was transmitted to him, he froze in shock.
He sat cross-legged on the ground and tried circulating his soul power along the acupoint pathways shown in the diagram. He soon discovered that this method actually accelerated the gathering of soul power.
With Sword Douluo's talent, gaining a basic grasp of the method's circulation route was not particularly difficult.
After completing one full cycle, he was delighted to discover that the method not only accelerated the gathering of soul power, but also made the resulting soul power purer.
This... this diagram is far too exquisite. If I had used this method from the very beginning of my cultivation, I would probably have become a Limit Douluo long ago. I might even have become a god! Sword Douluo marveled inwardly.
After running through several consecutive cycles, Sword Douluo was certain that this was a special soul power cultivation method-one that had never appeared on the Douluo Continent before.
"Xiao Chuan, you truly are a blessing to the entire soul master world!" Sword Douluo could not help exclaiming.
He then explained to Ning Chuan, "This diagram seems to record a special soul power cultivation method that can greatly increase your cultivation speed. From now on, go ahead and use this method to cultivate!"
"All right!" Ning Chuan replied, feigning delight.
Sword Douluo continued with a warning. "Xiao Chuan, you can cultivate on your own using this method, but you must never reveal it to anyone. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Ning Chuan nodded. "As for passing on this diagram, I'll leave the decision to you, Bone Grandpa, and Father. Sorry for the trouble."
"Good child." Looking at Ning Chuan, Sword Douluo could not help feeling moved.
He reflected that Ning Chuan had always been this sensible, even as a little boy.
When others had considered him a useless cripple, he had never shown the slightest despondency;
now that his talent stood above the rest, he remained steady and humble, without a trace of impatience.
Sword Douluo had previously worried that once he and Bone Douluo were gone, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would have no one reliable left to guard it. Seeing Ning Chuan now, much of the gloom in his heart had already dispersed.
Sword Douluo knew very well that the diagram Ning Chuan had given him could benefit the entire soul master world.
But now was definitely not the time to make it public.
Everyone had selfish desires, and Sword Douluo was no exception;
however, besides considering the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sword Douluo was also looking further into the future.
He knew very well that soul masters were a mixed lot. There were those who held righteousness in their hearts, but there were also the greedy and ruthless.
The greater the number of soul masters, the harder they would be to restrain.
Without someone powerful enough to awe all sides and oversee the entire world to keep them in check, rashly revealing this diagram to the public would bring calamities far outweighing its benefits.
And Sword Douluo believed that Ning Chuan would surely become such a figure in the future.
Ning Chuan had originally intended to pass the Sword Manipulation Technique on to Sword Douluo as well, but seeing that Sword Douluo's surging emotions showed no sign of settling, he shelved the idea for now.
The two rested briefly in the forest before leaving together.
Before leaving, Ning Chuan made a point of finding several young soul beasts to test his first soul skill again.
The results were exactly as the system had described. Those whose soul power levels were lower than his became completely immobilized after being subjected to Suppression Seal, as though they had been sealed away.
Those whose soul power levels matched his became like ordinary animals after being subjected to Suppression Seal, unable to mobilize even a trace of soul power.
Of course, Suppression Seal only suppressed soul power; it did not affect their physical strength.
After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Ning Chuan and Sword Douluo rested for a night in the nearest town outside the forest, then headed straight for Suotuo City early the next morning.
The two had already agreed to visit Ning Rongrong at Shrek Academy. Now Sword Douluo had another reason to go: he intended to consult Yu Xiaogang there about twin martial souls.
Because word of Ning Chuan's martial soul undergoing a malignant mutation had spread, Sword Douluo had no fondness for Yu Xiaogang.
However, Yu Xiaogang did have some genuine expertise in martial soul theory, so Sword Douluo could only set aside his misgivings for the moment and see whether he could learn anything useful from him.
They set out in the morning and reached Suotuo City before noon.
After entering the city, they were just about to ask for Shrek Academy's exact location when they unexpectedly ran into familiar faces.
They were none other than Dragon Duke, Snake Granny, and Meng Yiran, whom they had previously met in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Upon seeing Sword Douluo and Ning Chuan, Dragon Duke immediately approached and warmly invited them to lunch.
Ning Chuan and Sword Douluo had been traveling all morning and were indeed a little hungry, so they did not refuse.
In a private dining room at the hotel, Sword Douluo noticed that Meng Yiran's aura was unsteady and asked curiously, "Miss Meng, have you just been in a fight?"
Dragon Duke explained with a helpless smile, "That's right. Yiran just lost to Tang San again. Counting the two times in the Star Dou Great Forest, this is already her third defeat!"
Clearly, after acquiring her third soul ring, Meng Yiran had come looking to settle the score, only to lose again.
Hearing this, Sword Douluo asked curiously, "Who is this Tang San, to have beaten young Yiran three times in a row?"
Dragon Duke and Snake Granny had already learned Tang San's identity from Zhao Wuji, but they had promised him to keep it secret, so naturally, they would not casually reveal it.
Meng Yiran did not know Tang San's identity. Hearing Sword Douluo ask about him, she answered, "He's Grandmaster's disciple. His martial soul is blue silver grass, and he has innate full soul power. It's strange, really. How could a trash martial soul like blue silver grass give someone innate full soul power? And that Tang San is frighteningly strong. I keep feeling that he didn't use his real trump cards when he fought me this time!"
"Grandmaster's disciple?" Sword Douluo murmured. He had indeed received intelligence some years ago that Yu Xiaogang had taken a disciple, but he had paid it no mind.
"Do you mean Yu Xiaogang?" Sword Douluo asked to confirm.
"That's right!" Dragon Duke nodded.
With Dragon Duke's confirmation, Sword Douluo immediately realized that Tang San's martial soul was certainly not as simple as blue silver grass.
Although Sword Douluo did not know the secrets surrounding twin martial souls, he understood Yu Xiaogang's character very well after investigating him.
He knew perfectly well that, although Yu Xiaogang always spouted the theory that "there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters," deep down, he looked down on soul masters with trash martial souls.
Since Tang San had caught Yu Xiaogang's eye, Sword Douluo had reason to suspect that he certainly possessed something exceptional.
Blue silver grass is a trash martial soul that has never produced innate soul power. Since Tang San has innate full soul power, his blue silver grass most likely underwent some kind of mutation. Or perhaps Tang San has a second martial soul! Sword Douluo pondered inwardly.
As a veteran Titled Douluo with a wealth of experience, he had guessed Tang San's secret in an instant.
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