Cultivation

After returning from the Martial Hall, Chen Xiaojun sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and regulated his breathing. He gathered his concentration, circulated his Soul Power, slowly breathed in through his nose, then gently breathed out through his mouth. His inhalations were long and unbroken, his exhalations light and subtle, forming a beautiful cycle.

Chen Xiaojun immersed himself in the Impartial Sword Qi Art Grandpa had taught him: "Secretly and continuously regulate the breath; one hard and one soft, simmer within the cauldron. Close the eyes, observe the heart, and guard the life within; stillness and non-action are the root. Leave the Soul Nest, descend to Huiyin, follow the great dragon, and let the qi surge from top to bottom. Reach the crown of Yang, pass through the heavenly brow, cross the throat, descend the nine-story tower, and enter the middle origin. Let the qi strengthen Yang, fortify the organs, drive out evil qi, and leave the true nature clear and bright... (P.S. I made this up myself, so please don't roast me.)"

"The 'one hard and one soft' means Soul Power and spirit. The 'cauldron' is the body. The 'life within' should be the Martial Soul. 'Stillness and non-action are the root' must refer to one's nature, keeping one's mind on one's original heart.

"The 'Soul Nest' is the lower Dantian; the great dragon is the spine. Huiyin and the crown of Yang are the Yin acupoint 'Sea Bottom'-the Huiyin acupoint-and the Yang acupoint 'Spirit Terrace'-the Baihui acupoint. The heavenly brow is the Upper Soul Nest, the upper Dantian. The middle origin is the 'Middle Soul Nest,' the middle Dantian. The organs broadly refer to the five viscera and six bowels.

"This involves the 'three gates and nine apertures' spoken of in Taoism. It's basically much the same as the Ren and Du meridians from my Previous Life. Primordial Soul Power starts from the Lower Soul Nest, passes through the gaps opened up during awakening, and circulates through the meridians and organs. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is drawn in through the Yin and Yang apertures, then combines with the five viscera and six bowels, as well as the spine and head, before finally returning to the Lower Soul Nest. It leaves the mind clear and the body refreshed.

"This is still the initial stage of the circulation route, the Small Circulation. Only after breaking through to Soul King will one circulate the Great Circulation. This Meditation Method uses Soul Power as its core and works with breathing to nourish the body and spirit. It truly lives up to its reputation as a Top Tier Meditation Method.

"Grandpa said that generally speaking, other Meditation Methods-for example, the common Meditation Method. Hmm, let's call it the Common Meditation Method. It's a low-level Meditation Method, the most basic one on the continent, and every faction has it. Even the lowest-level schools teach this.

"The Common Meditation Method draws Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi (Soul Power) directly in through the limbs, where it's absorbed by the Primordial Soul Power flowing out of the Lower Soul Nest.

"Since the meridians it uses are simple, and it absorbs from all four limbs, its cultivation speed isn't too slow. It's just a little crude.

"The intermediate Meditation Method is slightly more complicated. It involves some of the smaller meridians along the Main Lineage running from the limbs to the Soul Nest.

"The meridians nourished by low- and intermediate-level Meditation Methods are limited, and the refinement is insufficient. What's more, in battle, Soul Power is mainly released through the limbs, so one can't release and absorb Soul Power at the same time. The ability to sustain Soul Power is poor.

"Starting with high-level Meditation Methods, they no longer draw Soul Power in simply through the limbs, but involve other meridians. They allow one to release and absorb Soul Power at the same time, but they still only move Soul Power around.

"Only Top Tier Meditation Methods make use of other acupoints. They not only provide a greater total amount of Soul Power and higher quality, but also each have their own distinct functions. They're all closely guarded secrets.

"The Chen Clan's method involves the organs and works with breathing, nourishing both the body and spirit to some extent.

"Drawing from the two Yin and Yang apertures above and below, the total amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi absorbed per unit of time is slightly lower than with some Top Tier Meditation Methods that prioritize speed and efficiency. But it's steady and gentle, and of course, better than Meditation Methods such as those for Turtle Martial Souls.

"There are many meridian nodes around the acupoints. Or rather, the places where many meridian nodes gather are the acupoints.

"With so many nodes mixed together, you don't know which one is the acupoint. That's why people on Douluo Continent have hidden acupoints that they must sense for themselves, including their own Soul Nests. Soul Nests are the most special kind of acupoint."

From that day on, Chen Xiaojun added the use of Soul Power to his daily training routine: the basic sword techniques, the Sword-Drawing Technique, Sword Palm (the introductory section for Sword Finger), and the first three Sword Step forms. He did this even during his morning runs and physical training. He also added the Impartial Sword Qi Art, Sword Shadow Form, and Sword Eye to his regimen.

As for Peerless Sword Finger, the later Sword Step forms, the Sword-Controlling Art, the Seven Kill Qi-Concealing Technique, and the other inherited techniques, those would only be taught after he became a Soul Elder.

Before long, Chen Xiaojun's body was a little stronger than before, and his fighting strength had improved by leaps and bounds. The chubby little boy who sparred with him got to experience the loving embrace one-sidedly every day, and once it started, it never stopped.

Chen Xiaojun's Sword Palm not only stirred up the wind, and his swordsmanship was sharp, he also sent Sword God Pearls flying at him from time to time. Even though his Martial Soul was still in the form of pearls and not yet a Divine Sword, pearls could still hit people-especially pearls imbued with Sword Qi. And there were plenty of them: ten.

During this time, the little chubby boy always looked gloomy. His family could only comfort him, telling him that all he had to do was awaken his Martial Soul in a few months and gain Soul Power.

Martial Hall, Zhejiang Studio

In his one-on-one elite lessons, Chen Cong's gentle voice carried through the room: "Everyone's Martial Soul has different attributes. This is reflected in the different colors of each person's Soul Power.

"So Soul Masters generally look for attributes that match or are close to those of their Martial Souls. Other attributes, apart from conflicting ones, aren't impossible to absorb, but they take twice the effort for half the result. The effects aren't very good, and the resulting Soul Skills are much weaker than average. Conversely, their power can increase considerably.

"Of course, compared with weapon-type Martial Souls, Beast Martial Souls and plant-type Martial Souls have an additional option: absorbing Soul Beasts of the same species as their Martial Souls. This greatly reduces the rejection.

"Soul Beast attributes include Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Wood, Wind, Lightning, Metal, Strength, Poison, Light, Darkness, Life, Death, Netherworld, Shadow, Undead, Divinity, Evil, Gemstone, Purification, Starlight, spirit, Devouring, and so on.

"Our Seven-Kill Sword Martial Soul mainly has Metal, Water, and spirit attributes. But it has one advantage: it's highly compatible with other attributes. It can absorb Soul Beasts of nearly any attribute, even those with the most opposed Fire Attribute. The results are just not as good as with other attributes.

"And you, if your ten swords are each different, you can absorb nearly every attribute.

"According to research by our seventeenth-generation ancestor, Chen Qianhua, a Martial Soul can absorb Soul Skills of other attributes without easily changing its own attributes. But 'not easily' doesn't mean impossible. The times when its attributes are most easily changed are when the First Soul Ring and Seventh Soul Ring are granted.

"But your Martial Soul is special. The Divine Swords carried by each Soul Ring are different, or perhaps each of them considers it their First Soul Ring. Whether you can-or need to-add an extra attribute is something you must consider carefully.

"Based on their functions and forms, Soul Skills can be classified as close-range attack, long-range attack, Area Attack, rapid attack, flight, defense, control, Magic Domain (a simplified version of a domain), lock-on, range, Clone, Divine Light, control removal, Enhancement, negative-effect removal, recovery, Teleportation, healing, Illusion Technique, spirit, intangibility, growth, and so on.

"Powerful Soul Skills combine several functions. When building a Soul Skill system for your Martial Soul, consider how to combine these functions for each Soul Skill."

Besides cultivating, Chen Xiaojun went to the Martial Hall every day to listen to Second Granduncle Chen Cong's lessons on Soul Master knowledge and theory.

During this time, Chen Cong explained Soul Beast species, how to identify their age, Innate Skills, common skills granted after a Soul Beast's death, and, most importantly, rare Soul Beasts and that book, Chen Study of Targeted Soul Skills.

He was clearly preparing Chen Xiaojun with the knowledge he would need to choose his first few Soul Skills.

Chen Xiaojun had nearly worn out these books, along with several others he'd found, including Illustrated Guide to Rare Soul Beasts and On Superior Soul Beasts.

Not only that, he also asked several elders for guidance.

Every night, he spent his Mental Power sensing and communicating with the Divine Sword Pearls, nourishing their spirit. Chen Xiaojun still hadn't fully opened his Lower Soul Nest, so he could only activate his Martial Soul and interact with it using Soul Power. He could only use this "clumsy method."