At first, Ye Wen was somewhat puzzled as to why tool-type martial soul users cultivated slower than beast-type martial soul users.
After all, theoretically speaking, martial souls shouldn't provide any inherent cultivation-enhancing effects.
But it was precisely this question that led Ye Wen to uncover a crucial insight!
Take the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, for example. Ignoring classifications of soul master types, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda should be categorized as a tool-type martial soul.
So why, under the same innate soul power conditions, would a soul master wielding an attack-type tool martial soul surpass someone like Ning Rongrong in cultivation at the same age?
As his research deepened, Ye Wen quickly realized that this involved the very foundation of a soul master's cultivation—namely, meditation techniques and meridians.
There wasn't much to say about meditation techniques; compared to Ye Wen's Xuan Yuan Technique, they were essentially garbage. However, meditation techniques formed the basis of all soul masters on the Douluo Continent. Even though various factions had been optimizing them, their contributions remained limited.
If meditation techniques were likened to a CPU, then all soul masters on the Douluo Continent were roughly the same. What truly mattered next was the motherboard connecting the CPU's operations and the power supply enabling the CPU to run at higher capacities.
The power supply naturally referred to spiritual power. Soul masters with stronger spiritual power could better control and direct their soul power.
However, no matter how strong one's spiritual power was, if the energy transmission lines couldn't handle the load, the energy supplied would simply cause a meltdown.
These transmission lines represented the meridians within a soul master's body.
Through his research, Ye Wen discovered that while both were tool-type martial souls, soul masters with attack-oriented tool martial souls generally had greater physical strength than those with auxiliary tool martial souls.
In a world without internal energy, this might not have mattered much. But in the Douluo Continent, where soul masters used soul power during physical training, their bodies and meridians were subtly strengthened over time.
This meant that the slower cultivation speed of auxiliary soul masters compared to combat-oriented tool soul masters wasn't due to innate factors but rather because auxiliary soul masters, knowing they lacked combat ability, neglected physical training. This, in turn, hindered the strengthening of their meridians and slowed their overall cultivation.
Some might argue that Ning Rongrong ran every day at Shrek Academy—how could she be neglecting physical training?
But anyone with basic knowledge of physiology would know that running indeed exercises the body, but its benefits are limited.
Ye Wen understood clearly that running primarily strengthened the legs and cardiovascular system, while the arms and other parts of the body's meridians received little to no benefit.
Looking at the paper summarizing the relationship between soul master cultivation and physical training, Ye Wen briefly fell silent before deciding to temporarily shelve it.
The Douluo Continent was already chaotic enough. Allowing such theories, which could strengthen other factions, to spread would only complicate matters further. The current cultivation system should remain as it was—at least until he advanced further and could take things to the next level.
However, after formulating this theory, Ye Wen placed greater emphasis on physical training for those around him.
Though Ning Rongrong complained bitterly, she knew Ye Wen had her best interests at heart. After some brief grumbling, she joined the training regimen as well.
Having understood these causal relationships, Ye Wen began consuming the ice-fire solution for body tempering only after thoroughly conditioning his own physique.
As an inheritor of traditional Chinese medicine, Ye Wen knew that if his foundation wasn't solid, even the most potent elixirs would have limited effects.
Medicine could heal and assist, but it couldn't directly elevate someone to a higher level—though it could certainly send someone to their grave.
Combined with the Xuan Yuan Technique, Ye Wen felt alternating sensations of cold and heat, as if trapped in the nine levels of icy and fiery torment. It was extremely uncomfortable.
But when Ye Wen thought about Tang San recklessly swallowing both immortal herbs and jumping into the deadly Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, capable of killing even a Title Douluo, he found his own situation less daunting.
He even inwardly cursed Tang San as a greedy, wasteful brat.
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Only through meticulous study did Ye Wen realize just how vast the soul power and essence contained within the two immortal herbs were.
The claim that ice-fire immortal herbs couldn't help soul masters increase their cultivation was nothing but a lie.
Whether it was the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass or the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the reason they could kill people was that their extreme attributes were intolerable to ordinary soul masters. Take, for instance, the Ice Jade Scorpion soul bone from Peerless Tang Sect.
Before the auction, it was advertised as something anyone could bid on. But when Huo appeared, this extreme soul bone became lethal to any non-extreme ice soul master who absorbed it—because extreme attributes were beyond the reach of ordinary soul masters.
Based on this principle, Ye Wen was certain that these two immortal herbs, which Tang San treated as poisonous weeds, could greatly enhance the cultivation of soul masters with corresponding extreme attributes, making their extreme attributes even purer and more powerful.
In this era, the only ones barely qualified to consume these two immortal herbs were Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix and Shui Bing'er of Tian Shui Academy, who possessed an Ice Phoenix martial soul.
Of course, neither of their Phoenix martial souls had reached the extreme level yet, but in Ye Wen's eyes, they weren't far off.
If the dosage were reduced, these two could use the immortal herbs to transform into soul masters with extreme attributes.
Shui Bing'er aside, Tang San hadn't given the Infernal Delicate Apricot to Ma Hongjun.
As a master of poisons, Tang San surely understood that discussing toxicity without considering dosage was nonsense. Yet, he still didn't give the Infernal Delicate Apricot to Ma Hongjun.
Though the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was decent and resolved Ma Hongjun's evil fire issue, it was clear that Ma Hongjun hadn't transformed into an extreme attribute soul master at the time.
This was likely because Ma Hongjun fell within Tang San's fire immunity range.
Later, after consuming the inner core of the Ten-Headed Fiery Yang Snake given by Tang San, Ma Hongjun's martial soul evolved into the Ten-Headed Fire Phoenix—a true extreme fire martial soul.
Ye Wen wondered why Tang San hadn't taken the straightforward route and instead gone through such a convoluted process.
Thus, Ye Wen boldly speculated that Tang San had already begun playing a long game when he arrived at the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
At that time, Tang San clearly realized that his Blue Silver Grass martial soul was too weak. If he continued as he was, even breaking through to level 40 would leave him as an ordinary soul master with a useless martial soul.
So, just as he had refused mediocrity in his previous life, Tang San made the same choice in the Douluo Continent—he sought to defy fate. Setting aside his companions for now, his priority was to eliminate his own weaknesses first!
And the Ice-Fire Golden Body was Tang San's best option.
However, these two immortal herbs, capable of poisoning even Title Douluos, were far beyond what Tang San could handle. Thus, he turned his attention to the immense and terrifying power of the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
Using the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the overwhelming energy of the immortal herbs.
Tang San gave up on increasing his soul power.
But in return, he gained a body capable of withstanding ten-thousand-year soul rings and immunity to the ice and fire weaknesses of his Blue Silver Grass.
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