At this moment, he was training his martial soul control in a wide, deserted clearing.
As a Tool Soul Master, martial soul control is an extremely important skill—it directly impacts a Tool Soul Master's combat power and survivability. After all, Tool Soul Masters generally have weaker physiques than Beast Soul Masters. All their combat methods—including soul skills—are closely related to their martial soul. If one can't even properly control their own martial soul, it's practically suicide.
Zhu Ziyang's goal was to reach the highest level of martial soul control: using his martial soul without showing soul rings, while being able to freely channel soul power through it.
This level is referred to as "supernatural mastery"—also known as man and weapon as one.
Normally, Tool Soul Masters only achieve this level once they reach Soul Sage and obtain their Martial Soul Avatar. But Zhu Ziyang, considering himself a genius, had no intention of waiting that long to master this ability.
There's a huge difference between actively mastering something and passively receiving it.
Once Zhu Ziyang reached supernatural mastery in martial soul control, he would begin developing his own soul skills—that was his true ambition!
While training martial soul control, Zhu Ziyang also studied combat techniques with his battle scythe.
As a polearm, the battle scythe has very obvious advantages and disadvantages. Its strengths lie in its long reach—making it highly effective in open spaces. In wide environments, a scythe can easily hold its own against ten or even a hundred opponents. However, it also has serious weaknesses: it's extremely heavy and demands great strength, making it unsuitable for most people. It's also difficult to wield in confined spaces.
Thus, scythe combat must be highly flexible. The user must maintain optimal range for sweeping attacks but also know how to defend with the back or body of the blade. Since the Radiant Scythe has an edged back, it can also be used offensively. Moreover, the scythe's auxiliary blades can be used in close combat—even to grab opponents. In short, the weapon requires the user to have extremely sharp reflexes and the ability to adapt their fighting style to the situation.
Oh, and scythe techniques are quite elegant—perfect for someone who likes to show off.
Just like that, Zhu Ziyang quickly settled into a routine. During the day, he'd attend combat classes if there were any. If not, he would find a quiet place to train alone. At night, he trained together with Jiang Nannan. His days were full and fulfilling.
This peaceful rhythm continued until something interrupted it over twenty days later—
Jiang Nannan reached level 10.
"No surprise there—Nannan's amazing for reaching level 10 so quickly!" Zhu Ziyang praised sincerely in the dorm room, smiling. "Tomorrow we'll talk to the teacher and apply to leave the academy to hunt a soul ring!"
"Mhm!" Jiang Nannan was excited after breaking through. Her little face was flushed red with joy.
"By the way, Nannan, have you thought about what kind of soul beast you want for your first soul ring?" Zhu Ziyang asked, his smile softening into a look of thoughtful seriousness.
"Not yet," Jiang Nannan answered with a troubled look. "I only know about the most common soul beasts. And I've been so busy studying, I haven't had time to research which one would suit me best."
"I see." Zhu Ziyang's smile widened. "In that case, how about letting your big brother help choose your soul ring?"
"Yes please!" Jiang Nannan clapped her hands excitedly, her expression adorably eager. "You're so knowledgeable, Brother Ziyang—you'll definitely find the best soul beast for me!"
Zhu Ziyang smiled as he began thinking rapidly.
Jiang Nannan's martial soul was the Soft-Boned Rabbit. In many ways, it was extremely ordinary—a basic martial soul, and a basic soul beast.
However, the Soft-Boned Rabbit had a strong historical presence. It was said that the Sea God's wife, the Soft-Bone Douluo, had this very martial soul. Zhu Ziyang had recently been reading about that era. From the records of the Spirit Hall, he had learned something shocking: the Soft-Bone Douluo was actually a 100,000-year-old Soft-Boned Rabbit that had taken human form!
No wonder she was able to become a Titled Douluo with such an ordinary martial soul.
She was the only one in a thousand years to do so!
Because of this, all Soft-Boned Rabbit Soul Masters that came after her became obsessed with copying Xiao Wu's soul ring and soul skill combinations. Zhu Ziyang found this extremely foolish.
These Soul Masters didn't even understand their own martial soul. They blindly copied Xiao Wu's soul skills—forgetting that she was a 100,000-year-old soul beast in human form. Her soul skills were custom-tailored to her after tens of thousands of years. She didn't need to hunt soul beasts or consider martial soul evolution.
But these other Soul Masters were different. They didn't even consider the development path of their martial soul or their personal growth. Generations of imitation led to the discovery of soul ring combinations that mimicked Xiao Wu's techniques—from the first soul skill (Waist Bow) to the fifth (Soft-Bone Lock).
Why only up to the fifth skill? Because the strongest of these imitators only reached Soul King level. Their soul ring choices had no synergy—just blind copying. Their martial souls were ruined in the process. How could they possibly reach a higher realm?
No wonder that, aside from Xiao Wu, there was never another famous Soft-Boned Rabbit Soul Master.
They had it coming.
In fact, this kind of blind imitation was common in the Soul Master world. Take the famous Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and Star Luo White Tiger Soul Masters—they all had standard first three soul rings. Their ancestors had carefully developed these setups over centuries, so it made sense for their descendants to copy them.
But Soft-Boned Rabbit and Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters? They had no such foundation. Copying the Soft-Bone Douluo or the Clear Sky Douluo was just plain stupid.
That's right—Zhu Ziyang was subtly criticizing the Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters of the Tang Sect. He truly thought they were a bunch of ignorant fools.
Tang San, the Clear Sky Douluo, had soul rings for his Blue Silver Grass martial soul that were nothing short of disastrous. Whether it was the ordinary Blue Silver Grass or his evolved Blue Silver Emperor, both were hardy plants. Logically, they should've enhanced vitality.
But Tang San? According to the Tang Sect's own records, his first four soul rings were:
Mandrake Snake
Ghost Vine
Man-Faced Demon Spider
Crypt Demon Spider
Zhu Ziyang was dumbfounded the first time he saw that list. These were supposedly the soul rings of the legendary Clear Sky Douluo? Anyone with sense could see that these soul beasts were completely mismatched with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul. It was basically suicide. That Tang San didn't cripple himself was a testament to the power of the Blue Silver Emperor as a super martial soul.
But while Tang San survived, his followers didn't. Later generations of Tang Sect Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters blindly revered his soul rings as sacred. They copied him without the slightest doubt—and we all know the result: the fall of the Tang Sect.
Zhu Ziyang refused to believe the Tang Sect's records didn't note that Tang San's martial soul was the Blue Silver Emperor. If they hadn't, the record wouldn't exist in his library. The only explanation was that the Tang Sect's Soul Masters chose to ignore that fact.
They deserved everything they got.
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