In the early morning at the Body Sect, the sky was still sunk in ink. Chen Yi faced the cold wind and practiced a set of fists. Mother and son hurriedly finished breakfast, then headed with his mother Mu Xi to the Qi Blood Soaring Hall.
After many years, he could finally go out and see the world, and the destination was the Star Dou Great Forest, a must-visit for traversers. Just thinking about it made Chen Yi's heart leap with uncontainable excitement.
The mother and son waited in the hall for not long before Sect Master Chu Shanhe arrived with the Great Elder. Both looked at Chen Yi, who wore a felt hat and was wrapped in a cotton jacket, and smiled in unison. Chu Shanhe teased first: "Xiao Yi looks very spirited. Couldn't sleep from excitement last night?"
Chen Yi's face heated up, nodding sheepishly. Today they were going to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul rings—this anticipation left him with no mind for sleep. He had even gotten up extra early, but instead of being listless, he was somewhat radiant.
"Haha, that's normal. Back when this old man first went to the Extreme North Ice Plains to hunt soul rings, I was so excited I didn't sleep all night." The Great Elder didn't mind at all; after all, he was just a child. It was normal to be unable to sleep for such an event—even many adults couldn't manage it.
Amid the laughter, dawn broke, tearing a shallow gold through the black sky curtain. The Great Elder cleared his throat and glanced at the three.
"It's getting late; we should set off!"
Mu Xi stepped forward, carefully smoothing the wrinkles on Chen Yi's cotton jacket, her fingertips carrying reluctant warmth: "In the forest, listen to the elder. Don't be reckless. Mother will wait for you at home."
Chen Yi nodded heavily: "Mm!"
With that, he followed the Great Elder's steps.
Mu Xi watched Chen Yi's back from afar. Chu Shanhe beside her advised: "Xiao Xi, Yuan Hua is also a Title Douluo; protecting Xiao Yi won't be a problem."
Mu Xi glanced again in Chen Yi's direction but didn't answer Chu Shanhe's words. Instead, she asked: "Sect Master, is the Body Sect preparing to emerge?"
Hearing this, Chu Shanhe was stunned for a moment. "Yes, the sect's strength has greatly increased these years; it's time to emerge."
The Body Sect planning to emerge wasn't a secret. After all, the issue with body martial souls was there—if they didn't emerge to gather body martial soul possessors from the Douluo Continent, they'd have to change names in a few years.
But Chu Shanhe's next words stunned Mu Xi.
"However, I plan to delay the emergence."
"Why?" Mu Xi was puzzled by Chu Shanhe's decision. Emerging and standing at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent was the goal of generations of Body Sect predecessors. Now, with it within reach, Chu Shanhe wanted to postpone it—this truly baffled Mu Xi.
Sect Master Chu Shanhe should be the most fervent about the Body Sect emerging; it would etch a glorious page in the sect's history, and in future ancestral worship, he could vie with the founding sect master for the top spot.
Chu Shanhe slowly turned, looking toward the ancestral hall of past sect masters, and said solemnly: "The former Body Sect, though its overall strength couldn't match the Upper Three Sects, didn't fear them in high-end combat power. Do you know why we didn't choose to emerge back then?"
Without waiting for Mu Xi to speak, Chu Shanhe continued: "Because the foundation of body martial souls' rise is the secondary awakening method. Once the Body Sect emerges, this secret will be out in the open. Then, the Upper Three Sects, the two great empires, and even the Spirit Hall will come like sharks smelling blood."
"Even if our sect has three Title Douluos, even if secondary awakening is unparalleled, facing that overwhelming tide of powerhouses, we'd still fall. That's why we didn't choose to emerge."
The secondary awakening method for body martial souls was the Body Sect's foundation, allowing body martial souls to leap from ordinary to top-tier. But this only applied to body martial soul possessors.
But would those great forces believe it? The answer was certainly no. You say it can't? I haven't tried it myself; who knows if you're telling the truth.
Taking a step back, even if your current secondary awakening method doesn't apply to other martial souls, once I get it, I might develop my own secondary awakening theory.
Mu Xi remained silent. She had personally witnessed how powerful body martial souls became after secondary awakening. Now, Chen Zhen was only a mid-level Soul Douluo, but after secondary awakening, he was no weaker than some Title Douluos. This wasn't just potential enhancement; it was a leap in combat power!
The soul master world had always been survival of the fittest. Those seemingly neutral and detached forces—were they truly transcendent? No, they just hadn't encountered interests tempting enough. But the secondary awakening method clearly offered enormous benefits.
Especially the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—they had long been obsessed with breaking the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's limits. Once they learned of a method for martial soul secondary awakening, even if there was only a sliver of possibility, even if it was ethereal, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would pour their full strength to seize that chance.
"But, doesn't the Clear Sky Sect have the ring explosion divine skill? It was understandable when Tang Chen was around, but why hasn't anyone targeted them now?"
The ring explosion technique, the true foundation of the Clear Sky Sect's claim as "the world's number one sect." Back then, Tang Chen had used this divine skill to edge out Qian Daoliu; Tang Hao had used it to fight one against three, defeating three Title Douluos and leaving Qian Xunji mortally wounded.
"Ring explosion technique? Hehe." Hearing Mu Xi's doubt, Chu Shanhe's face showed a trace of mockery, saying coldly: "The Upper Three Sects each have their unique skills: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's dragonification secret technique, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation control, Clear Sky Sect's Clear Sky Nine Absolutes and Great Sumeru Hammer."
"But dragonification requires dragon bloodline, and its combat boost isn't top-tier; as for Heart Separation control, even our Body Sect has something similar, not to mention Spirit Hall."
"And the Great Sumeru Hammer—this technique, I saw Tang Chen use it back then; its power is peerless, worthy of the divine skill name. But, Xiao Xi, do you know? Ring explosion has extremely high demands on the body, far beyond ordinary Title Douluos."
"Back then, Yuan Hua deduced that to avoid backlash from ring explosion, one needs not only over level 90 cultivation but also a full set of soul bones throughout the body, and they must be a complete set of ten-thousand-year-plus power-type soul bones."
"How high is this requirement? You know, even Title Douluos don't all have soul bones, let alone a full set of ten-thousand-year ones."
"If not for this restriction, would the Clear Sky Sect have been scared into hasty seclusion by Spirit Hall?"
Soul masters with a full set of ten-thousand-year-plus soul bones are at least level 96 and up. Powerhouses at that level all have their own trump cards and might not even fancy the Great Sumeru Hammer.