Winter came and went; three years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Yun Tian Mountains Range was still blanketed in white snow, layers upon layers, unchanging except for the howling wind and snow in the valleys.
Snap—
In a secret chamber of the Body Sect, Chen Yi gently closed the book Lou Clan's Thirty-Four Inherited Styles, rubbed his eyes, and put it back in place.
Since the sect master ordered him to enter the Body secret grounds for study three years ago, Chen Yi had spent almost every day in the library. It took him nearly a year to finish all the books there, after which he moved his exclusive little stool to the Body secret grounds.
Of course, this attitude of not treating home like home naturally drew strong dissatisfaction from the family head, to the point that Chen Yi's ears were ringing for a while.
However, as the sect's external powerhouses brought back many resources from the ocean, his mother Mu Xi also entered long-term cultivation, greatly reducing Chen Yi's survival pressure.
Notably, two years ago, Elder Yuan Hua, stuck at level 89 for nearly twenty years, finally broke through the level 90 barrier and obtained his ninth soul ring, becoming the Body Sect's third Titled Douluo, titled: "Wisdom Brain."
Yuan Hua's breakthrough plunged the Body Sect into joy, meaning the sect had truly reached the level of the upper three sects in high-end combat power, becoming a top-tier soul master force at the pinnacle of the soul master world.
On the Douluo Continent, having Titled Douluo is just one standard for a force to become top-tier; comprehensive strength is also a measure of a force's power.
Chen Yi later learned that among the seven great sects, not only the upper three had Titled Douluo—the lower four's Wind Sword Sect also had one. But besides that Wind Sword Douluo, Wind Sword Sect had only one low-level Soul Douluo nearing the end of his lifespan, so it couldn't compete with the upper three. In terms of comprehensive strength, it was even weaker than the Holy Dragon Sect, which had five Soul Douluos, with its sect master just half a step from Titled Douluo.
The upper three sects not only had Titled Douluo but also numerous top experts below them. Even the lowest-ranked Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had no fewer than six Soul Douluos—truly astonishing foundations.
Shortly after Yuan Hua's breakthrough, Huang Qiyi, Zhang Tao, and other Body Sect powerhouses successively broke through to Soul Douluo, making their high-end combat power comparable to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Of course, comprehensive strength was still somewhat inferior—after all, that was the richest sect in the world.
It could be said that over these three years, the entire Body Sect showed a thriving scene. At this rate, in no more than twenty years, the Body Sect could completely surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and become the undisputed uncrowned king of sects.
"After Soul Douluo, every step forward consumes potential. Even with Dad's top-tier torso Martial Soul, silver-level second awakening, and whale glue's help, he barely broke through to level 86. And that's called god-like speed by Grandpa Sect Master."
"How did those potential-exhausted old guys from the Clear Sky Sect break through to Titled Douluo?"
This had been Chen Yi's biggest doubt these years. In the original story, the Clear Sky Sect's five elders were all Titled Douluo when they appeared. But from what Chen Yi learned from consulting the Great Elder these years:
Those old things from the Clear Sky Sect were from the same era as the previous sect master Tang Xing, all around ninety years old, their qi and blood long decayed. Without great fortune, they had no hope of advancing further.
So, how did they do it?
No wonder Chen Yi was curious—the Body Sect's strength had rapidly expanded these years, and they would emerge in at most ten years.
After all, the Body Sect was founded on Body Martial Souls; without emerging, they couldn't gather all Body Martial Soul soul masters under them.
At that time, the Clear Sky Sect would be an unavoidable point. Since the Body Sect was emerging to claim the title of world's number one sect, how could the domineering folks of the Clear Sky Sect tolerate it? The two sides would inevitably clash.
As for the Body Sect yielding, Chen Yi hadn't even considered it.
What a joke? The Body Sect was founded on the waste Body Martial Soul, enduring eight hundred years of storms yet standing firm. Their pride was something a nouveau riche like the Clear Sky Sect couldn't match.
"After awakening my Martial Soul, some things can be put on the agenda." Chen Yi thought to himself.
As Chen Yi was plotting in his mind, a slender figure approached. Seeing Chen Yi, a smile appeared on the stiff face.
"Xiao Yi, what book did you read today?"
The newcomer was the Body Sect's Elder, Wisdom Brain Douluo Yuan Hua. Since Chen Yi moved into the Body secret grounds, the old and young had practically made it their home. Chen Yi prepared a little stool for himself, while the Elder directly set up a bed!
"Fourth Grandpa, I just read Lou Clan's Thirty-Four Inherited Styles."
"The Lou family's self-created soul skills? That stuff has no value. It's thousands of years old, many techniques were decent back then but are outdated now. The Lou family's useless descendants never thought to improve it, just sticking to the same old things."
"Rather than reading that, you'd be better off eating a couple more snow ox legs to build up strength for tomorrow's Martial Soul awakening."
Yuan Hua clearly looked down on the Lou family's self-created soul skills, which was understandable—his attainments in self-created soul skills were extremely high. One-fifth of the Body Sect's self-created soul skills were his contributions.
If not for his early obsession with it, his current strength might not be below Chu Shanhe's.
Previously, Chen Yi had only heard about this elder's talent from his parents, without a direct concept.
It wasn't until these two years, when he accidentally thought of some martial arts concepts from his previous life found online and shared them, that this elder reverse-engineered many self-created soul skills fitting Body Martial Souls. Only then did Chen Yi truly understand what "terrifying" meant!
Because of his deep development of Body Martial Souls, after breaking through to Titled Douluo, he reached level 93 in just two years, only half a level behind Hua Shuwen, who had broken through ten years earlier.
According to Chen Yi's guess, this elder's development of his brain Martial Soul was even comparable to the Illusion Brain Douluo Han Tianyi from twenty thousand years later.
"I'm just bored, passing the time!" Chen Yi grinned.
"Hmm, it's almost dinner time. Want to join this old man for a bite? I brought some Demon Soul Great White Shark brain—good stuff!"
"That sounds great, but too bad—Mom started cooking this morning. If I don't eat, I'll be carried to the Martial Soul awakening tomorrow."
Chen Yi spread his hands, showing a regretful expression.
"Then you're out of luck today!" Yuan Hua laughed heartily at this, waving his hand: "Hurry back then, lest little Mu Xi comes here to drag you away."
"How could Mom dare? You're the Body Sect's pillar of heaven, the purple-gold beam holding up the sea!" Hearing Yuan Hua's words, Chen Yi shamelessly flattered him.
"Hahaha! You kid sure knows how to talk." Yuan Hua gently tapped Chen Yi's little head.
"How could I? Ask anyone in the sect—they all admire you from the heart."
"Then hurry back for dinner; this old man won't keep you."
"See you, Fourth Grandpa!"
PS: Bonus chapter at 200 Power Stone