Chapter 26: Two Martial Souls, Different Treatment
"Tempering the physical body is a foundational form of training that any close-combat-type soul master must undergo."
"Your current physical strength is still far from meeting my standards."
Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Fan Chen, who was sitting on the ground in front of him, panting heavily, his tone stern and uncompromising.
"Rest for half an hour. After half an hour, continue training."
After leaving these words behind, Golden Crocodile Douluo turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
If he stayed even a moment longer, he wouldn't be able to keep up the act.
Fan Chen's physical strength had already far exceeded Golden Crocodile Douluo's expectations.
He simply couldn't imagine that a six-year-old child could possess such terrifying physical resilience.
Especially when wearing the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor—even without activating any soul skills, Fan Chen could withstand attacks at the level of a four-ring Soul Ancestor and still retain combat capability.
And Fan Chen's own physical body was also far stronger than what someone his age should normally be capable of.
This wasn't a matter of brute force resistance.
Rather, whenever he was attacked, a layer of force similar to rippling water would automatically form around his body, directly dispersing part of the incoming power.
In other words, as long as the incoming attack didn't exceed the limit of what his body could bear, the force that landed on him would be significantly weakened.
Golden Crocodile Douluo had tested it himself.
The reduction in force was roughly around twenty to thirty percent.
As for how he tested it…
Well, that didn't need to be elaborated on.
Thirty percent of the force was resisted by the demon armor, and when the remaining power reached the physical body, another twenty to thirty percent was neutralized.
The damage was effectively halved.
If any opponent of the same level encountered Fan Chen, it would be nothing short of a nightmare.
"Smile, smile—look at you, grinning like an idiot."
Xiong Kuohai looked at Golden Crocodile Douluo with undisguised disdain, his lips twitching in contempt.
As a fellow attack-type beast martial soul, Titled Douluo, he naturally knew exactly what Golden Crocodile Douluo was smiling about.
When it came to Fan Chen's physical body, Xiong Kuohai was probably the most knowledgeable person aside from Golden Crocodile Douluo himself.
And precisely because he knew so much… It hurts.
Because this genius belonged to someone else—not him.
What was worse, Golden Crocodile Douluo kept flaunting it in front of him.
And he couldn't even beat the guy.
Which made it even more unbearable.
"My disciple is outstanding. What's wrong with a master smiling a little? I'm happy to do it."
"Tch. If I were Fan Chen and you trained me like this every day, I'd turn around and defect straight to my side."
Xiong Kuohai knew Golden Crocodile Douluo's training methods all too well.
That was also the reason why, for so many years, Golden Crocodile Douluo had barely taken in any disciples.
Firstly, his range of activity was limited. He mostly stayed within Spirit City, which meant he came into contact with very few geniuses—those who met his standards were extremely rare.
Secondly, there was the issue of his training intensity.
Most people simply couldn't endure his style of training.
Because the very first step was tempering the physical body.
A strong body was the most fundamental requirement for both combat and survival—something every soul master needed to strengthen.
But Golden Crocodile Douluo's method of strengthening was excessively brutal.
He used the most primitive approach: combat strikes as the foundation.
This method was ancient but extremely effective.
Its only downside was that the trainee would suffer immensely.
After all, from the outside, it looked no different from pure, unfiltered beatings.
But only insiders understood that there were huge differences between one "hit" and another.
How much force to use, where to strike, how many times to strike—
Golden Crocodile Douluo had to precisely control every aspect.
A single misjudgment could result in serious injury.
Golden Crocodile Douluo had taken in disciples before, but many had retreated at this very stage, unable to endure it.
At present, the only one who could fully meet his requirements was Fan Chen.
"It's broad daylight, and you're already dreaming. You should face reality instead of living in fantasies."
Golden Crocodile Douluo patted Xiong Kuohai on the shoulder with earnest sincerity, then burst out laughing without restraint.
The laughter boomed like thunder, startling Fan Chen, who was resting, so badly that he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What's Master up to again? Don't tell me he's come up with some new scheme to mess with me…"
Fan Chen sat where he was, looking in the direction the laughter came from, his face instantly falling.
"You brat, talking about your master behind his back again?"
Guang Ling walked over and sat down beside Fan Chen, looking at him with a gentle smile as he handed over a bottle of pills.
These past few days, while Fan Chen trained with Golden Crocodile Douluo, Guang Ling often came by to take a look.
From time to time, he would even take on the role of delivering pills.
He really liked this sunny, lively little fellow named Fan Chen.
No matter what he encountered, it always seemed to him as if it were never a real problem.
In a city where cultivation and strength were the core pursuits, Fan Chen's existence felt like an anomaly—bringing a touch of vitality to an otherwise lifeless place.
"Can't help it. He's always messing with me."
Fan Chen complained as he took the pill bottle Guang Ling handed him.
He then skillfully poured out the pills and stuffed them into his mouth.
The pills melted instantly upon entering, and a warm current immediately flowed through his limbs and bones.
The bruises and minor injuries caused by training just moments ago rapidly faded away.
His soul power also recovered at an astonishing pace.
Exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Fan Chen was once again fully revived.
"You really are an indestructible little monster."
Guang Ling shook his head with a smile.
"But where's Xiao Bai? Didn't you summon him?"
As Fan Chen's other martial soul, Xiao Bai was far too special an existence.
Compared to the Reverse-Edge Demon Armor on Fan Chen, Guang Ling was actually even more curious about Xiao Bai.
"Xiao Bai? It ran off to play. It should be with Xiao Xue right now."
Fan Chen sensed Xiao Bai's location.
At this moment, Xiao Bai was curled up in Qian Renxue's arms, yawning lazily, looking completely relaxed and comfortable.
The contrast with Fan Chen's situation here was stark.
Originally, Xiao Bai had been following him.
But because Xiao Bai didn't really have much combat capability—and because Fan Chen's current training didn't require his assistance—Fan Chen simply let it roam freely.
Xiao Bai never strayed too far from him anyway.
Most of the time, it could be found either where food was available or over by Qian Renxue's side, randomly "refreshing" between the two.
Besides, if Fan Chen wanted to find it, all it took was a single thought to lock onto its location.
"That little guy seems quite attached to Xiao Xue."
"That's because she feeds him. Feed him a few more times, and he'll stick to you, too."
Did Fan Chen really not understand Xiao Bai?
A pure foodie.
Seriously, was he really Bai Ze and not Taotie or Pixiu? Why did he love eating so much?
Every day, it was either eating or on the way to find something to eat.
Fan Chen was now seriously suspecting that Xiao Bai had some kind of spatial dimension hidden in its stomach.
"I'll give it a try next time. As long as it doesn't run away, that's fine."
"It won't run when it sees you—but if you're standing next to the Master or Grandpa Xiong, it will definitely run away."
After all, the pressure coming off those two was far too intense—both were ruthless veterans who specialized in body cultivation.
There was no need to even talk about Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Back when he first started training Fan Chen, Xiao Bai had been present.
Xiao Bai was terrified that Golden Crocodile Douluo would seize it and train it alongside Fan Chen.
Every time it saw Golden Crocodile Douluo, it would immediately flee far away—just like a mouse spotting a cat.
As for Xiong Kuohai, he hadn't really done anything too excessive.
It was just that once—when he picked Xiao Bai up, he failed to control his strength and inadvertently put Xiao Bai in a dangerous situation.
Xiao Bai even bit him in response.
From that day on, it never allowed Xiong Kuohai to touch it again.
"Those two rough old men are like that. Don't mind it too much—just focus on cultivating properly."
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End of Chapter