Han Tianyi soon accepted reality and changed his approach.
After all, he had already prepared himself somewhat when Leng Yaozhu sought him out half a month earlier.
Moreover, after carefully considering the Body Sect's current circumstances, he believed that if it wanted to rise again, the academy path would be far easier than the sect path.
As for why he was trying to bring Su Xun into the Body Sect now...
First, if he could recruit him, he certainly should.
Second, Su Xun's martial soul had far exceeded his expectations.
But things had not gone as he wished, so he could only settle for the next best thing.
These thoughts flitted through Han Tianyi's mind. He took a deep breath and said:
"Body martial souls are relatively pure. Cases like yours, where a body martial soul intertwines with other 'attributes,' are rare."
"However, as specialists in body martial souls, the Body Sect has naturally conducted targeted research on this over its history of more than ten thousand years."
"The desire of the eyes is also known as lust for form."
"But according to the research of our Body Sect's predecessors, lust for form is not merely carnal desire directed at beauty."
"Rather, it is a craving for all the 'sensory forms' the eyes can see."
"The appearances of men and women, treasures of the world, blue, yellow, scarlet, white, red, purple, pale blue, green-all manner of wondrous colors and forms fall within its scope."
"From what I can see now, your eye root also possesses the ability to see through falsehood."
"Come, show me the specific abilities of your eye root."
"Only then will I know where to begin teaching you."
At those words, Su Xun felt his admiration for Han Tianyi deepen.
Every craft had its specialists. In this regard, Han Tianyi was indeed far stronger than Leng Yaozhu.
When it came to fighting in their true bodies, close-quarters combat, and the like, however, Han Tianyi naturally could not compare to Leng Yaozhu.
Each had their own strengths.
Nor was the eye root all Su Xun possessed.
Thus, although Su Xun felt a little wistful, his emotions did not fluctuate much.
After taking a deep breath, Su Xun willed his power into motion. Multicolored illusory light shone in his eyes, while a purple Soul Ring rose beside him.
Han Tianyi glanced at it, his expression unruffled.
The next moment, having lowered all his mental defenses against Su Xun, he met Su Xun's eyes.
Instantly, Han Tianyi felt as though Su Xun had peered into everything he was thinking.
Then the world before him began to change.
It was no longer the island in the middle of the lake that he had constructed with spiritual power. Instead, amid towering mountain ranges, a bluestone path wound up a "mountain reaching into the heavens."
Then, atop the mountain, an immense gateway came into view. On its plaque, the name "Body Sect" stood in bold, powerful gilded characters.
Han Tianyi drew a deep breath, almost unable to stop himself from sinking into it.
But ultimately, his spiritual power had reached the peak of the Spirit Domain Realm. Even though he had deliberately lowered all his mental defenses against Su Xun and allowed that power to guide him...
There was still no way he could become lost in an illusion woven by a mere One-Ring Soul Master.
With a thought, he broke free.
Yet the regret in his heart only deepened.
His fighting style focused on projecting the illusory into reality, forcibly condensing all manner of soul beasts with spiritual power to fight.
Su Xun's development of his eye root was already quite comprehensive.
The versatility of abilities such as seeing through illusion and reality needed no elaboration.
Its only shortcoming was that the illusions constructed by tracing the desires deep within the heart remained nothing more than illusions, without the slightest offensive power.
But did that not align perfectly with the direction of his own cultivation?
I'm done for. It looks like someone's about to catch a white wolf without spending a thing!
That was what Han Tianyi was thinking at that moment.
Then he could not help cursing inwardly: Well played, Leng Yaozhu. You, you, you... fine, you win!
"Senior?"
Watching his expression keep shifting as though he were performing a face-changing act, Su Xun could not help calling out.
Han Tianyi came back to himself. Looking at Su Xun, he nodded calmly and offered his assessment:
"Your talent is passable."
Then he coughed and said:
"With your talent, perhaps you can learn a scrap or two of my skills. Listen carefully now."
"My cultivation method is called... Mirror Flowers and Moon on Water."
"The path of combat it pursues is to turn illusion into reality."
"For example..."
With a thought from Han Tianyi, surging ripples suddenly spread across the lake surrounding the island.
Then, from those "shallows," an enormous whale actually leaped into the air.
Its oppressive aura swept outward, making Su Xun's breath catch.
The next moment, the enormous whale lunged at him. Beneath that terrifying pressure, he could not even move.
Just as he was about to become a snack in the whale's mouth, a spear appeared at the critical moment and pierced straight through it.
With a wet squelch, scalding blood splashed onto Su Xun's skin, burning him.
Then the blood vanished again.
Yet the burns on his skin remained very real.
Even though he had long known what Han Tianyi's offensive techniques were like, knowing and seeing them with his own eyes were entirely different things.
At that moment, Su Xun was utterly stunned, his face revealing nothing but genuine emotion.
Watching his reaction, Han Tianyi also wore a satisfied smile.
Only after Su Xun recovered did he speak:
"In truth, this cultivation method of mine comes, first, from my own martial soul and soul skills."
"Second, it comes from thought concretization, an ability unique to those whose spiritual power has reached a profound realm."
"Only by combining the two can I achieve the effect you just saw."
"In other words, you must at least reach the level of thought concretization before the power of Mirror Flowers and Moon on Water can undergo a qualitative leap."
Su Xun gave him a look that said, You've got to be kidding me.
Han Tianyi smiled faintly.
"Generally speaking, thought concretization is regarded as the hallmark of a Limit Douluo."
"In reality, however, that is because cultivating spiritual power is so difficult. Under normal circumstances, only experts at that level have spiritual power capable of reaching such a realm."
"But for you and me, that naturally isn't the case."
"Besides, since I said I would teach you, I naturally have my own special methods."
"Allowing you to achieve thought concretization ahead of time is, of course, impossible."
"But by working with the power of your martial soul, it is still possible to give these desire-born illusions constructed through your eye root a measure of offensive power."
"And that is also the core of cultivating Mirror Flowers and Moon on Water."
Having finished, Han Tianyi raised his eyebrows at Su Xun.
"Well? Do you want to learn?"
Su Xun hurriedly nodded.
Han Tianyi immediately smiled, though to Su Xun, that smile looked rather unsettling.
Then he heard Han Tianyi cackle like an elder of the Spirit Hall:
"Then let us move on to the first part of your special training: tempering your mental resilience."
"Tsk, tempering mental resilience is a good thing. For one, it improves your spiritual power. For another, it increases how much you can bear with the same amount of spiritual power."
"In other words, once you've made progress, you'll be able to bear more and stronger soul spirits at the same level of spiritual power cultivation."
Han Tianyi coaxed him patiently, and Su Xun's heart stirred as he listened.
Barring any surprises, he would need to absorb a full six soul spirits from his first ring through his sixth. This tempering of mental resilience was yet another perfect fit for him!
Before you continue