Toji's heart jolted at Du Busi's words.
He had never imagined that his Martial Soul was exactly the same as Du Busi's.
No wonder Du Busi placed such importance on him and had even come personally to recruit him.
"Although my Body Martial Soul is the same as yours, I have no Soul Power."
It was precisely because he had no Soul Power that Toji had suffered the contempt of Soul Masters all along the way.
"While you were unconscious, I examined your Martial Soul."
Du Busi did not seem bothered.
"When you were six, the one who helped you awaken your Martial Soul was a disciple of my Body Sect."
"He used a Soul Power testing crystal and saw with his own eyes that you had the talent of Innate Full Soul Power."
"Yes, but it all disappeared." Toji gave a self-mocking smile.
At first, he had thought it was the old grandpa trope. Otherwise, there was simply no explaining why his Soul Power had vanished for no reason.
But he had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood and crawled out alive. A full five years had passed, and there had not been the slightest sign of an old grandpa inside him.
His suspended heart finally died.
"Then guess where your Soul Power went?" Seeing this mature, steady child show a rare sign of cracking, Du Busi decided to keep him in suspense.
But the more Du Busi wanted something, the less Toji would let him have his way.
The expression that had just shown a flicker of emotion returned to normal.
Du Busi said, "Aren't you curious?"
"Curious or not, whether you tell me is up to you, Your Majesty," Toji said.
"You brat, you're no fun at all." Du Busi pursed his lips. "I discovered that your physical body is extremely strong. Even your internal organs are much tougher than those of an ordinary Soul King."
"So, for your body to grow stronger, it naturally needs a great deal of energy to sustain the consumption of such a powerful body."
"It was Soul Power that nourished your entire body, increasing its strength and giving you room to grow."
"To put it as simply as possible..." Du Busi raised a hand and stroked his chin. "You grew stronger, but the price you paid was your Soul Power."
"The disappearance of your Soul Power gave you the ultimate physical strength in return. That means your cultivation method is completely different from that of an ordinary Soul Master. Even though our Martial Souls are the same, you cannot follow the path I took."
"The more you temper your body, the stronger your cultivation will become. It's equivalent to a Soul Master's meditation, while your meditation is training your body, fighting between life and death, and breaking through your physical limits."
"Do you know what that means?"
Toji listened intently without answering, waiting for him to continue.
"It means that your Body Martial Soul, like mine, contains the characteristics of every Body Martial Soul under heaven."
Du Busi let out a hearty laugh.
"Other people's Body Martial Souls are things like their brains or eyes, while ours are ourselves, our entire selves, encompassing every important part, such as other people's brains and eyes."
"Once you cultivate to the very peak, it will mean that you have tempered every part of your body and mind to the absolute extreme. You will be invincible under heaven!"
"By then, no one will be able to match your physical strength. Even Soul Power will be unable to break through your defenses. Not even your most vulnerable parts, such as your brain and internal organs, will be things they can shatter."
"After attaining the cultivation of a Level 99 Limit Douluo, you will even have what it takes to challenge the foremost of the ten great Ferocious Beasts, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King!"
Du Busi grew more excited the more he spoke.
"But my cultivation process will be difficult," Toji finally replied.
"That only proves your Martial Soul is extremely powerful. Cultivating it is naturally difficult, because the process itself involves challenging your physical limits at every moment." Du Busi smiled. "Let me ask you: is cultivating a Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute easy?"
"So the potential of your Martial Soul is on the same level as a Martial Soul with an Ultimate Attribute. If you make good use of it, it might even be stronger."
Du Busi looked at Toji, a hint of emotion in his voice. "Body Martial Souls are rare to begin with, and 'Self' is the finest among them. Your Martial Soul is exactly the same as mine, which means you have the same potential I do, and may even surpass me."
"It would be very difficult for you to find your own way along this path. But with my help and guidance, none of this will be a problem."
With that, Du Busi tossed Toji a crystal.
"This little thing can measure your cultivation. Ordinary crystal balls can only measure Soul Power Level, but I had this one custom-made for you. I modified its functions so you can use it to test your Martial Soul cultivation level, up to Level 98."
"Give it a try."
Toji's breathing grew a little heavier, and he placed his hand on it.
Soon, a number appeared on the crystal ball.
Level 39.
It was close to his own guess, one step away from the cultivation of a Soul Ancestor.
"Fourteen years old and Level 39. For a Soul Master, that would barely count as outstanding," Du Busi said. "But your cultivation method is special, so you can't be judged by conventional theory."
"You're giving it to me?" Toji was taken aback.
"Of course." Du Busi looked up at the sky, standing with his hands behind his back. "But shouldn't you change the way you address me?"
Without hesitation, Toji stepped out of the hot spring, came before Du Busi, and knelt to pay his respects.
"Your disciple, Toji, pays his respects to Teacher."
Du Busi looked down at Toji kneeling before him. Once Toji had finished paying his respects, Du Busi reached out and helped him up, his tone softening somewhat:
"Get up. From this day forward, you are my, Du Busi's, personal disciple."
Toji stood up:
"Teacher, your disciple will not let you down."
Du Busi nodded and patted Toji on the shoulder:
"Toji, your path is different from that of ordinary people, and cultivating will be exceptionally difficult. But I believe that with your perseverance and talent, you will surely carve out your own path as a powerhouse."
"Your disciple understands."
Du Busi silently turned around, presenting his back to him.
"So could you put some clothes on? It feels pretty strange having you naked in front of me."
"..."
Seven days later.
News of the competition proposed personally by the Body Sect's sect master had spread throughout the entire Body Sect.
Nearly every Body Sect disciple under twenty years old and below Level 60 was eager to take down Toji, the freak with no Soul Power.
"The seven days are up. Are you ready?"
Du Busi sat cross-legged in the hot spring room, looking at Toji, who had absorbed every last bit of energy from an entire hot spring pool.
His injuries had healed, and his body had returned to its former peak.
"I'm ready." Without joy or sorrow, Toji slowly stood up and prepared to walk outside.
Du Busi was also very pleased with Toji's state of mind. The little fellow had grown up in difficult circumstances, which had forged a mentality that only a powerhouse would possess. His emotions did not fluctuate much, either.
With outstanding talent and a strong state of mind, this boy would surely surpass an old man like him in the future.
Toji, who was about to leave, seemed to remember something. He abruptly turned back to face Du Busi.
Du Busi thought he was going to say something inspiring, but Toji said:
"By the way, Teacher, none of my Soul Tools have Milk Bottles to replenish their Soul Power. Sorry for the trouble, but could you help me charge them with Soul Power?"
Du Busi said, "..."
Apart from the fact that he loved using Soul Tools, which he really did not like.