"Solving these problems of yours could be simple, or it could be difficult."
Zeng Tian considered for a moment, then said, "The simplest way is naturally to practice more. Use the skills enough times, and your proficiency will rise on its own. That would take a while, though. I'd estimate at least a month or two before you start seeing results."
If Zeng Tian were the one practicing, he would see results in three or four days at most. But he was unsure how quickly the Auspicious Beast would improve, so he gave a conservative estimate.
Yet the Auspicious Beast's answer caught Zeng Tian off guard.
"Huh? Only a month or two? That's not long at all."
The Auspicious Beast's eyes lit up at his words, and she was delighted.
She had been prepared to practice for years, even decades. She had never expected Zeng Tian to say she could see results in just two months.
After all, she had previously struggled to make any significant improvement even over several decades. A mere month or two was an incredible bargain.
Watching the Auspicious Beast suddenly brighten up, Zeng Tian immediately realized his mistake.
I was careless. I forgot how long soul beasts live.
He had only been born a little over four months ago, so to him, a month or two was already a conservative estimate. But this Miss Auspicious Beast before him had lived for at least several thousand years, perhaps even over ten thousand.
To her, a month or two might be like a day or two to him, passing in the blink of an eye.
Soon, however, another question arose in Zeng Tian's mind. If soul beasts lived so long, why were their combat techniques still such a complete mess?
After all, soul beasts routinely lived for ten thousand years. If they spent all that time refining their techniques, humans could never catch up, even riding at full gallop.
Webnovels always said that people had limited energy, that they should not greedily pursue everything, and that it was best to specialize in a single path.
Fundamentally, that was because human lifespans were limited. Unless someone was a peerless prodigy, they could not cultivate multiple paths within their brief life. Only by specializing in one could they reach its pinnacle.
But with a sufficiently long lifespan, even someone with dull aptitude could achieve something.
And soul beasts lived so long that, no matter how poor their comprehension, their accomplishments should not be meager.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly, Miss Auspicious Beast changed the subject and asked curiously, "Zeng Tian, you said that was the simple way. What's the difficult way, then?"
"The difficult way is to study how skills work together. That requires a fairly high level of comprehension, though. If yours isn't good enough, it could take even longer than the first method."
Zeng Tian answered.
Afterward, Zeng Tian asked the Auspicious Beast, "So, which training method are you going to use?"
"I want them all!"
The Auspicious Beast declared without hesitation.
Then golden light shone in the Auspicious Beast's eyes, blazing with fighting spirit.
"Not only that, I'm going to learn your skills and become even stronger than you."
Hearing the Auspicious Beast's spirited words, Zeng Tian smiled faintly. "Then I'll be waiting for the day you surpass me."
That was what he said, but in truth, it was practically impossible for the Auspicious Beast to surpass him.
However slowly he improved, his pace would still be faster than a soul beast's.
With the help of the ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, he was confident he could reach level 90 within ten years, perhaps even sooner.
He had not even reached level 40 yet, but his combat strength already rivaled that of an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast. If he reached level 90, even a level 99 Limit Douluo might not be his match.
After declaring her resolve to Zeng Tian, the Auspicious Beast ran off to one side and began training her Golden Dragon Fist using the method he had described.
Seeing this, Zeng Tian also began practicing his newly learned move, Scary Face.
This was Zeng Tian's habit. Whenever he learned a new move, he would put it through intensive training, only stopping once he could use it properly in combat.
That was also why Zeng Tian's Dragon Breath and Dragon Tail had lv9 proficiency despite rarely seeing use.
Besides, Scary Face was far from a useless skill.
Scary Face drastically reduced an opponent's speed. Against fast opponents, it was nothing short of a killing blow.
Although Zeng Tian was fast, his speed depended on Flame Charge, which took time to stack.
Against an opponent who was naturally fast, he would be forced onto the defensive before Flame Charge had built up. Scary Face neatly solved that problem.
Scary Face is certainly strong, but it only reduces speed, so its uses are limited. If only I could fuse it with Growl.
Zeng Tian thought to himself as he practiced.
Scary Face and Growl were both moves that inflicted negative effects. If he could fuse them into a move that reduced both an opponent's attack and speed, it would absolutely become one of his regularly used moves.
Putting thought into action, Zeng Tian began consciously using Growl at the same time as Scary Face.
The days passed. Aside from the essential moves he had to practice almost every day, Zeng Tian devoted all his remaining time to Scary Face and its fusion with Growl.
Naturally, his initial attempts failed. Perhaps because his mastery of Scary Face was insufficient, he could not circulate the energy of both moves simultaneously without them clashing.
But as Zeng Tian kept trying and his proficiency with Scary Face steadily improved, the conflict between the two began to diminish.
"ROAR!!!"
In the clearing, Zeng Tian let out a furious roar. Rings of transparent sound waves appeared around him and rapidly spread outward.
The next instant, almost every soul beast within several miles trembled upon hearing that furious roar. Those younger than ten thousand years even collapsed straight to the ground, their bodies powerless.
Sensing the effect of his roar, Zeng Tian was deeply satisfied. All these days of hard training paid off. Growl finally broke through to lv10.
lv10 was the highest tier the panel assigned to a move. It meant Zeng Tian had fully mastered it and trained it to its limit. Not only could he unleash it instantly, he could even alter its form to a certain extent.
Most importantly, once a move reached lv10, its execution became extremely difficult to interrupt, making it much easier to fuse with other moves.
Although I've only trained Scary Face to lv4, which isn't very high, with lv10 Growl as a foundation, this fusion should succeed.
Suddenly, Zeng Tian's face darkened, his expression becoming utterly terrifying.
A peculiar Pressure began to spread, radiating outward with Zeng Tian at its center.
At the same time, Zeng Tian opened his mouth slightly and released a Dragon's Roar.
Waves of transparent sound spread outward. After a brief clash, they underwent a marvelous chemical reaction with the Pressure emanating from Zeng Tian.
The Pressure seemed to merge into the transparent sound waves, subtly changing their color and giving them a faint purple tinge.