Chapter 7: Pushing the Limits of Physical Training, three treatises on martial souls
Getting together is one thing, but training still needs to be done.
"Big brother, do you remember the Push-ups I taught you before? This time, I'm going to teach you a few more positions."
Watching Su Yuntao get into a Push-up position, Tang San crouched down and patted one of his arms supporting him on the ground.
"Tuck this hand away; you can put it behind your back or in front of you. Rely mainly on the other hand to support yourself and do the Push-up. The key points are the same as before: keep your back and thighs in a straight line, and slow down the speed to ensure full stimulation of the muscles."
Su Yuntao's expression contorted as he placed one hand behind his back, bent the other as much as possible, and slowly performed a One-handed push-up.
Seeing that there were no major issues with the movement, Tang San continued to teach the training methods.
From simple Push-ups, he moved on to teaching One-handed push-ups, Diamond push-ups, and Archer push-ups.
Every movement was an immense test of physical fitness.
Seeing that although it was a bit forced, he basically completed them normally, Tang San nodded in satisfaction.
It seems my guess was correct. After absorbing a spirit ring, physical fitness takes a massive leap. The load of these movements shouldn't be much of a problem for an average Spirit Master; it's mainly that this part of their power hasn't been developed before.
However, there are also drawbacks. These movements at most support the training of a Spirit Grandmaster. I'm afraid that after breaking through to a Spirit Elder, they will basically have little effect.
As for big brother, he absorbed a spirit ring that exceeds those of ordinary Spirit Masters. Even without using Whale Glue, I'm afraid that by the time big brother naturally reaches level twenty, the effect of this training will be next to nothing.
Unfortunately, in my past life, I only occasionally scrolled past these kinds of workout videos. Truly, one regrets having so little knowledge when it's time to use it.
Discarding his cluttered thoughts, Tang San continued to teach other training methods: Single-leg squats, Planks, Dragon Flags... regardless of whether there were better or more optimal ways later, he would at least teach big brother what he currently mastered.
"This is the Burpee. Big brother, you can see it as a combination of frog jumps, squats, and Push-ups. This movement must be done in one go, without any pauses in between."
"Huff... huff..."
Beads of sweat as large as soy beans glistened exceptionally under the bright sun in the sky. Su Yuntao sat paralyzed on the ground, breathing rapidly.
Tang San stood by his side and patted his big brother's shoulder.
"Big brother, very good. You just need to adapt for a few more days, and you won't be this tired. After all, your physical fitness after the Breakthrough is right there."
After resting for a while longer and taking the water Tang San handed over to drink in small sips, Su Yuntao couldn't help but ask with a raspy voice.
"Little brother, where did you learn these movements? How can they have such a noticeable effect on physical training?"
"I found them in the library of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall. I forget which book it was."
Tang San lied without blinking, showing no self-awareness of his deception.
"Don't look at how outstanding the effects are now; it's mainly because you've never undergone this kind of training before, big brother. Once you adapt for a while, the effects will rapidly diminish. I'm afraid that by the time you reach Spirit Grandmaster, this training won't be effective anymore, and I don't have any more advanced methods here."
"Little brother, there's nothing after this?"
To be honest, upon hearing this news, Su Yuntao felt a bit of regret. Training was painful, but that feeling of sweating profusely and sensing constant improvement was exceptionally exhilarating. If Tang San knew his thoughts, he would certainly understand that this was Su Yuntao's brain secreting a large amount of dopamine, bringing him long-lasting pleasure.
"You two boys, come back for dinner."
Hearing Su Haichao's shout from inside the attic, Su Yuntao tried to struggle to his feet but stumbled.
Fortunately, Tang San reacted quickly, stepping forward to give him a hand.
Finally steadying himself, Su Yuntao wiped the hot sweat from his forehead again and let out a long breath... "You kid, were you just fished out of the water?"
Seeing Su Yuntao soaked through and moving with difficulty, Su Haichao, who was bringing plates out of the kitchen, was somewhat shocked.
He knew his younger son's training methods were quite good, but he hadn't expected the effects to be so obvious even though Su Yuntao had already broken through to become a Spirit Master.
"Dad, do you want to practice with me?"
A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Su Yuntao's mouth, but Tang San immediately punctured his fantasy.
"Dad is a Spirit Elder. Even if he trains with you, it won't have any effect; he might not even break a sweat. Big brother, you should just enjoy it yourself."
Su Yuntao, feeling stifled, wanted to take it out on his little brother, but Tang San was sharp and had already run to the dining table by the time he finished speaking.
"Big brother, go rest for a bit first and come eat in a while. It'll be good for your body."
...Moonlight spilled through the window onto the desk, where a Soul tool lamp injected with spirit power emitted a soft glow.
A small figure leaned over the desk, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes moving his pen.
Tang San was writing the Spirit theory to be submitted to Spirit Hall. At first, he was a bit worried; after all, he hadn't written any papers in his past life, so being asked to write now truly gave him a feeling of not knowing where to start. But soon, he had an idea. What gave him inspiration was a certain Grandmaster's 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls'.
Standard characters were quickly written down as his thoughts flowed like a spring. It was mainly modifications of some theories in the 'Core Competencies', with only a few being his own research results.
three treatises on martial souls
One: twin spirits. Based on my extensive reading and understanding, the two Spirits of a twin Spirit user must be extremely close or even identical in quality; there is no possibility of one being strong and the other weak. After all, under normal circumstances, a child will only inherit the stronger Spirit from one of the parents, or a mutated Spirit born from a combination of both traits. For twin spirits to be born, besides luck, equal Spirit quality is also one of the necessary conditions.
Furthermore, although the twin spirits discovered so far all possess Innately Full Spirit Power, the author believes that not all twin spirits have Innately Full Spirit Power. This is because the level of Innate Soul Power is determined by the quality of the Spirit, not the quantity. If a person awakens Spirits that are a longsword and a broadsword, both being ordinary iron tools, even if their Innate Soul Power is relatively higher, they might not necessarily achieve Innately Full Spirit Power. Of course, some of the above are verified by the author and some are conjectures. If readers have the opportunity to verify and prove the author's theory wrong, corrections are welcome.
Two: Regarding whether continuing to Cultivate after reaching a Bottleneck is effective. The author has verified that if one continues to Cultivate after reaching a Bottleneck, they can indeed continue to accumulate spirit power. However, the author believes that it is better for an average Spirit Master to Breakthrough as soon as possible after reaching a Bottleneck. After all, even if spirit power can be accumulated, can the Cultivation levels of Spirit Masters in different Realms be equal? This is beyond doubt—they are clearly not equal. Wasting time accumulating spirit power only to have it burst out all at once after a Breakthrough is, in the author's opinion, no different from self-deception. As for why the author specifies average Spirit Masters, this relates to the author's later theories. Everyone, please be patient. Based on the above reasons, it is better for average Spirit Masters to Breakthrough as soon as possible.
Three: On spirit ring Absorption. When a Spirit Master reaches a Bottleneck, they must hunt Spirit Beasts and absorb spirit rings to Breakthrough. The effect of the acquired Spirit Ability is mainly related to three factors: first, the age of the Spirit Beast; second, the species of the Spirit Beast; and third, one's own Spirit. Among these three factors, Spirit species and Spirit Beast species vary, so they will not be detailed here. The author's theory here is mainly related to the age of the absorbed spirit ring.
The vast majority of level ten Spirit Scholars have a spirit ring absorption limit of around four hundred years, with few exceeding that. From this, it can be seen that under normal circumstances, the limit for the first spirit ring is around four hundred years. But this says 'under normal circumstances'; could there be abnormal circumstances?
Naturally, there are. If one undergoes formal, high-intensity physical training after reaching a Bottleneck, the upper limit of the absorbed spirit ring can be increased by nearly a hundred years. This is a result the author has obtained through various verifications. Thus, it can be seen that before absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring and suffering the Soul shock of a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, the age of the spirit ring that can be absorbed is related to the Spirit Master's own physical fitness.
High-intensity physical training seems to waste a year of Cultivation time, but readers can ask themselves: even if you broke through during that year, could you theoretically increase your spirit power by one level? One must know that if a high-age spirit ring is absorbed, spirit power can also be increased, and the lost Cultivation time can easily be made up for.
Therefore, the author suggests that if one's conditions allow and their Innate Soul Power is not at level eight or nine or even Innately Full Spirit Power—meaning they cannot achieve a one-level increase in a few months—it is better to waste a year to pursue a higher-age spirit ring that can significantly increase spirit power after a Breakthrough. If you are a Genius with high Innate Soul Power, then it is better to Breakthrough as soon as possible. After all, rather than wasting time, it is better to reach a higher Realm sooner.
Furthermore, the author has a wild idea: if a person constantly trains their body, when their physical fitness reaches a certain level, could they achieve a millennium second spirit ring or even a millennium first spirit ring... Tang San completed the three lengthy theories in one go. Looking at his research results, he nodded in satisfaction. Some of the knowledge within was valuable, while some was merely a summary and modification of past theories.
For example, the first theory about twin spirits was plagiarized—oh no, it should be said he drew inspiration from a certain future Grandmaster's classic theory and modified it. How can matters between scholars be called plagiarism? Besides, hasn't the Grandmaster's theory not even been published yet?
In the first theory, he affirmed that the qualities of twin spirits must be close or even equal. This theory was mainly used to pad the word count, but padding aside, the information was not fabricated. It wasn't like a certain Grandmaster who, in one breath, said twin Spirit qualities must be equal, and in the next, said your grass couldn't provide Innately Full Spirit Power, so there must be another higher-quality Spirit.
Having his own theory slapped in the face by himself was truly an eye-opener.
The second theory, besides also drawing inspiration from a certain 'Core Competencies', also served as a setup for the third theory.
It could be said that what he truly valued was the third theory. This theory was the real substance, containing his thoughts on the Cultivation of Spirit Masters with insufficient Aptitude. If your natural talent is insufficient, why not obtain a high-age spirit ring? It can improve your own Aptitude to some extent and grant you an absolutely high-quality Spirit Ability. Why not do it?
PS: Thanks to book friends 52HERTZ929 and Da Suda for the recommendation votes! Requesting collections and follows.