Chapter 32: Weaknesses of Stat-Boosting Spirit Abilities, Difficulty and Tiers of Self-Created Spirit Skills
"That's because they haven't undergone systematic training."
Tang Shan pointed at himself.
"Big Brother, I've been training you for nearly four or five years. With all those years of training, if you couldn't even crush a Spirit Grandmaster in victory, then all that suffering would have been for nothing."
Su Yuntao pondered this, and it seemed to make sense, but he couldn't help but think back to that Spirit Grandmaster's'stationary output,' still filled with confusion.
"But why didn't that person know how to move? He just stood there casting Spirit Abilities."
Hearing Su Yuntao's question, the corner of Tang Shan's mouth twitched slightly.
"Big Brother, the one you met was likely an exception. Don't be fooled by his winning streak; I suspect it was entirely due to the overall coordination of his own Spirit Abilities that he achieved such results."
"To put it another way, winning continuously actually deprives one of the chance to discover their own problems. Only failure at the same level can reveal one's shortcomings so they can be corrected."
"No wonder."
Su Yuntao finally understood Tang Shan's point, but a doubt immediately surfaced.
"Then do you think I have those weaknesses too?"
Tang Shan snapped his fingers.
"You likely do, but not many. Big Brother, both of your Spirit Abilities are of the stat-boosting type. To defeat an opponent, you rely heavily on technique and maneuvers. In this regard, you are already much more outstanding than them."
"That's right. Yuntao, there weren't many major issues with your overall battle this time; it's just a lack of combat experience. Your strikes weren't decisive or clean enough."
Su Haichao strongly agreed with Tang Shan's assessment, while also pointing out Su Yuntao's fatal weakness.
"Yuntao, you have another very obvious weakness you haven't noticed: you lack burst-type Spirit Abilities. If you truly encounter a control system Spirit Master, you'll be at a severe disadvantage, perhaps even having no ability to resist at all."
"Then how should I solve it?"
Hearing this, Su Yuntao immediately realized his own problem. His two stat-boosting skills could indeed enhance his normal strength, but if he ran into a control system Spirit Master, there was a high probability he wouldn't have much room to fight back.
"There are two methods."
Tang Shan held up two fingers.
"Big Brother, you already planned to travel the continent. Whether you can ultimately solve it depends on what you gain during your travels."
Su Yuntao was curious: "What do you mean by that?"
"One method is very simple: choose an attack-type Spirit Ability for your third spirit ring. The problem of insufficient burst will naturally be resolved."
"The second method is to continue stacking stat-boosting skills for your third spirit ring, taking the concept of stacking spirit ring values to the extreme. As for the burst shortcoming, aren't you going to travel the continent and participate in Spirit fights? Just use that time to figure out a Self-Created Soul Skill."
"Me? Figure out a Self-Created Soul Skill?"
Su Yuntao looked incredulous, pointing at his own face.
"I'm a Spirit Master with an Innate Soul Power of level three. Isn't it a bit unrealistic for me to figure out a Self-Created Soul Skill?"
Tang Shan curled his lip. "Developing a Self-Created Soul Skill has no absolute connection to Innate Soul Power. Why would it be impossible?"
As he spoke, Tang Shan even offered him a line of thought.
"Look at our old man's second Spirit Ability; isn't that a great template? When you're free after your battles these next few days, you can go ask him for advice. You might gain something from it."
Su Haichao had been listening to the two of them discuss cultivation plans and hadn't expected he could be of help.
Meeting Su Yuntao's eager gaze, he helplessly spread his hands.
"Fine, I'll demonstrate the second Spirit Ability for you in our spare time."
By now, the three of them were almost out of the Great Spirit Arena, and the stone tablet they had seen before came into view again.
The old man was still leaning against the stone tablet, but now there was a chubby little boy about three years old beside him.
One could tell at a glance the child and the old man were grandfather and grandson; both were simultaneously holding large chicken legs and eating ravenously, their movements identical.
Recalling his own previous absurd behavior, Tang Shan's mouth twitched slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he still stepped toward the old man.
"Old gentleman, is this your grandson?"
Hearing the question, the old man looked up and recognized the child who had called him 'Senior' earlier. Though a bit puzzled, he nodded in confirmation.
"That's right, this little brat is my grandson. This little guy is quite unusual; he's been a big eater since he was small. Now his appetite is almost catching up to mine. My guess is he'll definitely have spirit power after his Spirit Awakening and become the first Spirit Master in our family."
Tang Shan was now completely speechless; it seemed this old man really was just an ordinary person.
However, the old man's grandson did indeed make him pay a bit more attention.
Tang Shan exchanged a look with Su Haichao and Su Yuntao, made a gesture for them to wait a moment, and continued talking to the old man.
"Then, old man, if I may ask, what is your Spirit?"
"It's just an ordinary bull, nothing to hide."
The old man seemed to sense Tang Shan's attitude, and a hint of hope appeared in his eyes.
"Young man, do you think this kid of mine really has a chance to become a Spirit Master? Look at his appetite; it's already not small. I eat three big bowls of rice and over a dozen chicken legs every day, and this boy isn't one bit behind me. He's definitely special."
"There's a high probability he does."
Tang Shan, having essentially confirmed his suspicion, reached out and patted the little Fatty's head. "Little friend, what's your name?"
Before the child could speak, the old man answered for him: "This boy is called Xuan Ji—the 'Ji' for hunger. I figured since he's such a big eater, he shouldn't go hungry when he grows up."
The old man was clearly very satisfied with the name he'd given, and even reached up to stroke his beard.
Tang Shan smiled and nodded. "A good name."
After a few more pleasantries with the old man, the three of them set off again.
"Shan Zi, was there something special about that family?"
After leaving the Spirit Arena, Su Haichao looked at Tang Shan.
"That family's Spirit has likely begun to undergo atavism. Especially that child; his talent shouldn't be bad in the future."
Tang Shan replied.
"You remember how my Physique exceeded ordinary people's when I was little, right? That little Fatty is similar to how I was back then. It's basically a sure bet he'll awaken spirit power in the future."
"Then should we have him join Spirit Hall?"
Su Yuntao suggested his idea.
"No need."
Tang Shan shook his head.
"His Spirit hasn't awakened yet, so it's hard to say for sure. Besides, there are plenty of geniuses on the continent; missing this one won't matter."
This was indeed Tang Shan's true thought. As for why he paid extra attention to the old man and the child, it was because their Spirit was actually quite similar to the Taotie Douluo's Spirit from the douluo two era.
Tang Shan guessed that this family was likely the ancestors of the future Taotie Douluo. After all, it was a bull Spirit, the surname was Xuan, and they had an extraordinary love for eating chicken legs—the degree of overlap was simply too high.
Back at the inn, after a quick wash, Su Yuntao and Tang Shan sat facing each other.
"Little brother, can I really create a Self-Created Soul Skill?"
Referring back to what Tang Shan said earlier, Su Yuntao still carried a hint of self-doubt.
"Of course... it's not that easy."
Tang Shan first made a small joke, then spoke his thoughts seriously.
"A Self-Created Soul Skill depends on how you understand it, Big Brother. In my view, using spirit power to bolster physical attributes is, in a sense, a Self-Created Soul Skill. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's Heart Separation Control is also essentially a Self-Created Soul Skill."
This was the first time Su Yuntao had heard such a novel theory, and his interest was immediately piqued.
"In my eyes, any ability that doesn't rely on a spirit ring and involves the autonomous use of spirit power, internal blood Qi, or mental force can barely be considered a Self-Created Soul Skill. Otherwise, what would the standard for a Self-Created Soul Skill even be?"
Tang Shan's counter-question sent Su Yuntao into deep thought. Indeed, there didn't seem to be a clear standard for Self-Created Soul Skills on the continent.
Seeing Su Yuntao gradually shake off his lack of confidence, Tang Shan was quite satisfied. He then shared the deep reflections on Self-Created Soul Skills he'd had during his spare time while studying the use of spirit power.
"If we really had to set a standard, Self-Created Soul Skills could be divided into four tiers."
"Being able to mobilize any one of blood Qi, spirit power, or mental force counts as the first tier."
"Being able to mobilize any two of them and combine them perfectly counts as the second tier."
"Being able to mobilize all three and achieve a perfect Fusion counts as the third tier."
At this point, Tang Shan stopped.
Su Yuntao couldn't help but press: "Then what about the fourth tier?"
"I'll tell you once you can reach the third tier."
Tang Shan kept him in suspense and turned to walk back to his own bed.
"Based on this classification, Big Brother, do you still think Self-Created Soul Skills are difficult?"
"What's so hard about it? I've already practiced to the stage of Ming Jin and can mobilize my own blood Qi to a certain extent. According to this, I've already mastered a Self-Created Soul Skill."
Watching Su Yuntao regain his confidence, Tang Shan lay back on the bed with a smile on his face.
Thinking of the theory he had proposed, he spoke to himself in his heart.
With this classification, the cultivation System of the entire Douluo Continent became clear and straightforward.
The core System was the cultivation of spirit power, requiring a spirit ring every ten levels, with a known upper limit of level ninety-nine.
Next, breaking through to Super Douluo seemed to require sensing heaven and earth to achieve the unity of man and nature, a process that could not happen without the involvement of mental force.
Finally, there was physical cultivation. This was originally a niche in Douluo Continent; before the rise of the Body Sect, basically only twin spirits holders would value physical attributes.
It seemed complex, but in essence, it was just the simultaneous cultivation of essence, Qi, and Spirit, with spirit power 'Qi' as the core.
So-called Self-Created Soul Skills were, at their root, just the application of these three energies. For instance, 'Monarch Descending the World' and the 'Three Unrivaled Skills of Hao and Dong' were both combinations of mental force and spirit power, which was why they could erupt with such startling power.
If someone could truly fuse all three energies to create a Spirit Ability, its power would surely be terrifying to the extreme.
The future Body Sect would have profound achievements in the study of blood Qi. He wondered if they had created any Self-Created Soul Skills of the third tier in his theory.
As for the fourth tier of Self-Created Soul Skills, in Tang Shan's view, they were essentially the application of rules.
The Sea God's 'Indefinite Storm' and the Clear Sky Sect's 'Ring Explosion' were examples of this.
The former needed no explanation; it could forcibly immobilize a target.
The latter, even if the exploded ring was just an ordinary hundred-year spirit ring, would provide an extraordinary boost when used by a Titled Douluo. This simply didn't match the strength a hundred-year spirit ring should have, unless there was some profound mystery at the level of rules involved; otherwise, it would be hard to explain.
In the future legend of the dragon king era, several Limit Douluos would advance to Quasi-God status, and every single one of them would do so by comprehending rules and turning them into their own abilities. This showed that the fourth tier of Self-Created Soul Skills did indeed exist.
Thinking of this, another thought occurred to Tang Shan.
Among the three current super Douluos of Douluo Continent, leaving Tang Chen aside for now, the other two were both High Priests of Divinity, possessing the ability to mobilize the Power Of Faith. If they could indirectly control rules through the Power Of Faith, then even without the base stat boosts from soul cores and battle armor, what level of power could they unleash?
Would it be Half-God, or Quasi-God?
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