Flame Splitting Wave Ruler

Of them all, Ah Yin felt the most upon returning to Star Dou.

A few months ago, she would never have believed, no matter how hard she thought about it, that she, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, would learn from a human.

Pang Dun cupped his fists. "Senior, do you need this humble one to accompany you and attend to your daily needs?"

Jiang Nian waved a hand. "No need. If the Pang Family has urgent business, you may return. There's no telling how long it will be before we come out this time."

"This humble one obeys."

Pang Dun knew that Jiang Nian, a Titled Douluo, never put on a show. Letting him leave was for his own good.

Only after Pang Dun left did Jiang Nian speak. "Xue'er, your Second Soul Ring still needs to be fire-element. There aren't many fire-element Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest, so let's get your junior sister Ah Yin her Seventh Soul Ring first."

Qian Renxue nodded obediently. "Mm, Xue'er will listen to Master."

Ah Yin, however, hesitated. "Master... why don't we find Xue'er a tenth-level Soul Ring first? I know the Star Dou Forest well, so it won't be any trouble!"

Ah Yin had always worn her thoughts on her face, and Jiang Nian understood her misgivings at a glance.

"What? Does hunting Soul Beasts weigh on your mind?"

Ah Yin nodded honestly. After all, her true form was also that of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. She really found it hard to bring herself to kill her own kind.

Jiang Nian said, "If you can't bring yourself to do it, why did you choose to take human form and cultivate anew in the first place?"

After hearing that, Ah Yin reflected on the question herself.

She had taken human form to advance further, to escape the fate of the hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation. But ultimately, she wanted to live.

The Soul Master World was cruel, and so was the world of Soul Beasts. The law of the jungle was the most fundamental law.

At that thought, Ah Yin's gaze grew firmer. "Master, I understand. What kind of Soul Beast should I use for my Seventh Soul Ring?"

"Good. Your Seventh Soul Ring needs the purest life force, preferably from a Soul Beast over fifty thousand years old. That will help your Blue Silver Emperor true form undergo a further transformation."

The template for Ah Yin's Martial Soul was the "World Tree." Life was the most important thing to the World Tree. As for the "knowledge" and "wisdom" spread by the World Tree, Soul Rings could not make up for those.

All Jiang Nian could do was use Soul Rings to speed up Ah Yin's evolution.

Besides, the cultivation technique Ah Yin practiced was also related to life. It could continually increase her vitality, which would be a considerable help to her cultivation.

Jiang Nian looked at Ah Yin. "You're a hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor. You must have met some other plant Soul Beasts while you were growing up. Isn't there anyone you want dead?"

"Anyone I want dead?" Ah Yin fell into thought. Finally, she looked at Jiang Nian with a determined gaze. "Master, you know I don't hold grudges at all."

"I only remember that there's a swamp east of the Star Dou Great Forest, with a forty-thousand-year-old Thorn Ghost Grass growing in it. Relying on how fast he grew, he blocked me from absorbing sunlight for twenty-one days and four hours straight while I was sleeping."

"Thirty-one kilometers and six hundred meters below the Thorn Ghost Grass, there's a clump of sixty-thousand-year-old Ghost Vine Dragon Serpent Trees. That guy is very strong among plant Soul Beasts. When I was ninety thousand years old, he chased me around and beat me up!"

"And west of the Star Dou Great Forest, there's..."

Jiang Nian's face twitched. "Stop, stop! You call that not holding grudges?"

Ah Yin nodded. "That's right. Just like how I never remember Master making me run from the Star Dou Forest to Suotuo City. Ah Yin doesn't remember any of it!"

Damn!

Jiang Nian coughed. "I did that for your own good. Come on, let's go to the Ghost Vine Dragon Serpent Tree."

"Master is the best!" Ah Yin clenched her fists excitedly. "Hurry, let's go! Ah Yin can't wait to see that guy!"

And she said she didn't hold grudges... Watching how readily Ah Yin found her way, Jiang Nian even suspected that if this girl ever became stronger than him, she might actually do something like pulling out his oxygen tube.

Jiang Nian had no intention of simply walking to their destination. Since they had come out to cultivate, how could they focus solely on Soul Rings?

He glanced at his two disciples.

Although Qian Renxue had started practicing a Dou Qi cultivation technique earlier, the Flame Mantra was a growth-type technique. Her Dou Qi cultivation had only just reached the point where she could condense a Dou Qi Vortex and become a Dou Zhe.

Qian Renxue could not yet master the many truly wondrous aspects of the "Battle Through the Heavens" world.

Ah Yin, on the other hand, practiced a Heaven Tier cultivation technique and had already become a Dou Shi in just a few months.

It was just that, during their previous cultivation, there had been too many outsiders around, making it difficult for Jiang Nian to instruct them about Dou Qi.

Now that it was just the three of them, master and disciples, it was the perfect time to teach his two disciples how to use Dou Qi.

On the first night, Jiang Nian first had Ah Yin use Blue Silver Grass and trees to build a temporary shelter.

Only by the campfire did Jiang Nian speak. "You two have been following me for some time now. Until now, I've been helping you strengthen your bodies and practice the Soul Master approach. Today, I'll teach you something different."

"Something different? Is there something besides Soul Master cultivation?"

"Of course, and it's stronger than your Soul Master approach."

As he spoke, Jiang Nian raised his hand. Dou Qi gathered in his palm and formed armor that covered his body.

Qian Renxue and Ah Yin watched intently and noticed that the power gave off no Soul Power fluctuations at all.

"Both of you, circulate your cultivation techniques. This time, don't deliberately sense Soul Power. Instead, distinguish the other active power present when your techniques are circulating."

Qian Renxue and Ah Yin followed Jiang Nian's instructions and began to meditate.

A moment later, the two women opened their eyes almost at the same time.

A Dou Qi Vortex floated above Qian Renxue's palm, while Ah Yin looked as though she had donned a gauze garment.

Jiang Nian nodded approvingly. "Very good, both of you. This Qi is Dou Qi, the true cultivation Qi of the techniques I taught you."

Qian Renxue asked in puzzlement, "Teacher, what's special about this Qi?"

"Of course there's something special." Jiang Nian prompted them, "Why don't you both try using this Qi to perform Eight Extremes Collapse?"

The two women exchanged a glance, then each found an ancient tree as thick as a bucket.

Ah Yin held nothing back and struck with her palm at full force. To her surprise, the tree gave a sharp crack and slowly toppled.

Qian Renxue did the same on the other side. Although she did not knock the ancient tree down, visible cracks appeared at its base.

The two women stared at the sight, wide-eyed and incredulous.

Eight Extremes Collapse had already been powerful enough, but when driven by Dou Qi, its power had more than doubled.

Seeing his disciples so shocked they were speechless, Jiang Nian smiled. "All right, next I'll arrange your cultivation."

"Ah Yin, you'll control the Dou Qi Gauze Garment every day. Once you can cover your entire body with precision, you'll have mastered it."

"Xue'er, your Dou Qi level isn't high enough yet to condense a gauze garment, but I have an exclusive Dou Technique for you later."

As he spoke, Jiang Nian took the Heavy Xuan Ruler out of his Storage Ring, then used a secret method to shrink it to a size Qian Renxue could wield.

"Until then, Xue'er, carry this ruler on your back while you cultivate."

Qian Renxue took the ruler and was nearly dragged down by it. "Teacher, it's so heavy."

"It's supposed to be heavy. Once it no longer feels heavy to you, I'll teach you a Dou Technique."

"Is it the Dou Technique you used to turn the whole sky white with one strike of your ruler in Suotuo City?"

"Yes. That move is called 'Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.' It's a Dou Technique exclusive to the fire attribute."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Qian Renxue dropped the Heavy Xuan Ruler and threw herself into Jiang Nian's arms.

"All right, hurry and get something to eat for Bibi Dong. We agreed to bring her along and have you take care of her."

"Mm, Master is the best!"

After Qian Renxue went into the shelter, Ah Yin pouted. "Master is playing favorites again!"

She had barely finished speaking when Jiang Nian tossed her a Dou Technique manual.

Ah Yin caught the manual, delight appearing on her face.

"What? I'm not playing favorites anymore?" Jiang Nian gave her an exasperated tap. "You and Xue'er follow completely different paths, so naturally the Dou Techniques you practice are different too. This 'Withered Tree Meets Spring' is a Low Earth Tier Dou Technique. Used defensively, it's a superior healing method; used offensively, it can use Dou Qi to make trees grow inside an opponent's body and kill them."

"Hmph~ I suppose Master has a conscience after all."

Bonk!

"Ow! Master, stop knocking me on the head! I'm already stupid enough!"

"Show some respect. Get back to cultivation!"