Du Busi argued no further. He lay straight down on the stone bed, pillowed his head on his hands, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He lay quietly for a full half an incense stick's time before turning over and muttering under his breath.
"Forget it. I'll decide tomorrow."
In the stone room on the other side.
Xu Jingyao sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his palms, soles, and crown facing heaven as he focused on regulating his breathing and cultivating.
The Divine Aspect of his Life Ash Body had not manifested outwardly, but the two Origin powers of life and death within him were already circulating on their own, following unique paths through the meridians throughout his body.
The warm, emerald-green Life Force flowed leftward from his dantian, while the chilling, dark-purple Power of Destruction spread to the right.
The two ultimate powers met and intertwined at his chest, blending into a strand of clear, pure, silvery-white Soul Power that slowly nourished his limbs, bones, and meridians.
At the same time, four strands of differently colored energy circulated within his dantian.
Fiery crimson, frostlike cold, golden Immortal Herb Origin, and the pale-purple aura of Delicate Silk Fragrance-the four energy vortices with vastly different attributes slowly orbited the two principal powers of life and death like satellites, stable and balanced.
Although he had no intention of absorbing these things, using them to gather some of the world's primal energy was still a good option.
After all, they were all quite good!
And with his life and elemental powers nurturing them, they might even rise another level!
The Soul Power vortex within his dantian grew increasingly solid and dense, yet a hazy barrier remained, preventing him from breaking through the shackles.
Ordinary people stuck at the Level 49 bottleneck lacked Soul Power and sufficient foundations.
Xu Jingyao alone was the exact opposite. His Soul Power was too abundant and his foundations too deep, already far beyond the requirements for a breakthrough.
Two nascent Soul Cores had already begun to take shape within his dantian, one on the left and one on the right, nurturing and restraining each other.
But the two powers were so extreme and overbearing that neither dared break through first.
If their balance went wrong, his body would inevitably explode in an instant, killing him.
Of course, there was another factor: his level seventy was equivalent to someone else reaching level one hundred and becoming a god.
And his current Level 49 was roughly equivalent to someone else's level seventy, but fighting someone a dozen or so levels above him was no problem for him...
In other words, his current strength was at least equivalent to someone else's Soul Douluo!
Shadow Douluo sat quietly by the doorway, his back against the cold doorframe. His loose gray robes hung down over his legs, his eyes half-closed, his aura as still as a silent night.
His deep foundations as a Soul Douluo were enough to keep him full of vigor even after days without sleep or rest.
The night passed without wind or waves, quiet and peaceful.
The next morning, the sky had barely begun to brighten.
Xu Jingyao finished cultivating and regulated his breathing on schedule. He had just picked up a damp cloth to wipe his face when urgent, forceful knocking came from outside.
Three heavy knocks rang out, brisk and decisive.
The door was then pushed straight open.
Du Busi strode into the room without an outer robe, dressed in neat, close-fitting clothes that fully exposed the powerful, knotted contours of his muscles. His entire body exuded immense strength.
He still had half a coarse-grain wheat cake clenched between his teeth. When he glanced up and saw Xu Jingyao sitting upright, along with the faint silvery-white glow of Soul Power that had yet to disperse around him, his steps abruptly halted.
Xu Jingyao opened his eyes, set down the damp cloth, and rose calmly.
Du Busi swallowed the remaining wheat cake in one mouthful, raised a hand to wipe the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, and spoke bluntly.
"Get up. Come to the training ground with me."
"Now?"
"Right this instant."
Du Busi stepped forward and lifted him straight off the stone bed with one hand, his movement crisp, as though picking up a lightweight young beast.
"Show me everything you've got. Attack as much as you like. Don't hide your skills or hold yourself back."
The training ground was sparsely populated in the early morning. Only a few diligent outer disciples were hard at work practicing their punches against wooden posts in a corner, the thudding impacts rising one after another.
Du Busi casually tossed his outer robe onto the ground, revealing a coarse-cloth short jacket washed almost white beneath it.
He knocked his fists together, his knuckles giving off sharp cracks as his imposing aura instantly spread.
"Come."
He stood in the very center of the training ground, staggered his feet, lowered his center of gravity, and assumed the most rigorous fighting stance.
"You attack first."
Standing opposite him, Xu Jingyao placed the folding fan he carried at the edge of the grounds, took a deep breath, and focused on preparing for battle.
He inwardly grumbled in helpless resignation.
This old bastard hasn't even mentioned suppressing his level. He's probably using Level 98 Soul Power...
With things having reached this point, any further refusal would only seem affected and coy.
Xu Jingyao hesitated no longer and directly released his Martial Soul.
The majestic Life Ash Divine Aspect slowly rose behind him. Emerald-green life and dark-purple destruction intertwined and surged, its aura immense.
He stepped forward and gently pushed out his left hand. A mass of warm, dense green life-light swept up a fierce wind and hurtled straight toward Du Busi's face.
Du Busi neither dodged nor evaded. His left fist, wrapped in heavy, hazy gray Soul Power, met the incoming green light head-on.
The green light exploded against his fist, and fine fragments of life Soul Power spread and coiled along his arm.
Du Busi's expression did not change. He remained completely motionless, wholly unaffected by the power of life.
The next instant, his right fist crashed down with mountainlike pressure.
The fierce, overbearing wind of his punch skimmed past Xu Jingyao's shoulder. Three paces behind him, a solid wooden post was instantly shattered by the force, sending wood chips flying.
Xu Jingyao inwardly clicked his tongue once more.
This old fellow says he's testing my strength, but he's attacking with genuine Titled Douluo pressure, without holding back the slightest bit.
He dared not hold anything back any longer. Gathering the Power of Destruction into his right hand with all his strength, he sent a dense, deep-purple mass of light crashing into Du Busi's heavy punch.
The ultimate powers of life and death collided thunderously, instantly whipping up a ring of gray Soul Power that swept across the training ground in every direction.
The disciples practicing in the corner paled in shock. They stopped one after another and retreated to the wall to watch in fear.
But the gap between their levels was as vast as heaven and earth. Level 49 against Level 98-their foundations, control, and Soul Power tiers were worlds apart.
Du Busi's moves were steady and domineering, his punches building upon one another. In just two or three exchanges, he forced Xu Jingyao to the edge of the training ground.
Mountainlike pressure bore heavily down, making breathing difficult.
As the fourth punch crashed down, Xu Jingyao raised his arm across himself to block it. The tremendous force sent him staggering three steps backward.
His soles plowed two shallow furrows through the hard bluestone ground. His entire arm ached and tingled with numbness, and his blood churned.
Du Busi withdrew his fist and stood still, his expression indifferent and his tone carrying a lightly dismissive scrutiny.
"That's it?"
Those two simple words instantly stirred the pride and defiance in Xu Jingyao's heart.
He gritted his teeth and focused. The Soul Power around him abruptly surged as he forcibly drove his Life Ash Body to operate at full strength.
At the very instant his Soul Power erupted to its limit, his chest suddenly shuddered.
A translucent longsword glittering with brilliant silver light silently rose from his Second Martial Soul, standing beside the Life Ash Divine Aspect behind him as both Martial Souls manifested at once.
Xu Jingyao froze slightly.
He clearly sensed an invisible bond of Soul Power quietly forming between the deepest reaches of his two Martial Souls.
This hidden connection was an entirely new realm he had never touched upon in his previous cultivation.
Almost instinctively, he poured all the Soul Power in his body into that bond.