Chapter 40: The First Stage of Spirit Cultivation, Incomplete Beast Soul True Body
Su Yuntao was clearly still somewhat confused by Tang Shan's theory, but Tang Shan did not rush to explain; he simply released his Spirit directly.
His body expanded rapidly, and muscles containing explosive power bulged on his surface, their lines full of explosive force.
"Big brother, I will first help you try to enter that state from earlier, and later I will explain my theory to you in detail."
Su Yuntao's expression turned solemn as he immediately activated his Lone Wolf Martial Soul Possession. Two spirit rings suddenly flickered beneath his feet, and he used his full strength right from the start.
Ever since Tang Shan obtained his first spirit ring, Su Yuntao could no longer see through the other's true strength. If he could enter that special state again, he might be able to catch a glimpse of it.
Taking a sudden stride forward with his thigh, boosted by spirit power, Tang Shan's figure instantly closed the distance to Su Yuntao, striking out with a palm. Simultaneously, his only purple spirit ring lit up; his palm expanded rapidly and turned a blue-black color, with muscles and bones Binding upon it like a Dragon, his force deep and heavy.
Bang!
Su Yuntao forcibly took Tang Shan's blow, his body retreating repeatedly as his legs continuously pushed against the ground to barely neutralize the massive Qian Jun force coming from his arms. But as soon as one move ended, another arrived; before he could steady himself, a fist containing Qian Jun force smashed toward his head like a giant hammer.
An unparalleled sense of oppression swept through his entire body, and the continuous onslaught made him feel as if he were stuck in an endless swamp, unable to break free. Su Yuntao hastily ducked and rolled; Tang Shan's fist brushed past him and struck the air, causing the air to explode with a loud bang as if it were overwhelmed.
Su Yuntao, having stood up again, barely managed a counterattack, his ten sharp claws stabbing toward Tang Shan's heart from behind.
Rip!
The crisp sound of fabric tearing rang out as Tang Shan's upper garment was split open. Knotted, tight muscles bulged out like a layer of solid armor, protecting his back. Although Su Yuntao's sharp claws accurately hit the target, it felt like touching highly elastic rubber, leaving only a few shallow scratches.
Subconsciously, Su Yuntao's figure retreated violently. Just as he had retreated a short distance, a massive palm swept past the tip of his nose. The fan-like palm brought a gust of wild wind, and Su Yuntao instinctively closed his eyes.
Feeling the slight tingling sensation from his back, Tang Shan nodded with satisfaction. Relying on his Seeing God level body control ability not only allowed his physical fitness to improve rapidly recently, but the effect when truly utilized was even more exaggerated. His skin, stretched to the limit, became incredibly tough; after stretching his tendons and bones, his defense reached its Peak. Combined with the addition of spirit power to further boost the strength of his bodily tissues, even with Su Yuntao's dual-buffing Spirit Abilities active, he still could not break through his defense.
Turning to look at Su Yuntao, who was gathering strength in the distance, Tang Shan's arms suddenly expanded. His five fingers were as thick as carrots, and his arms were as stout as a normal person's thighs.
"Big brother, be careful."
Tang Shan gave a warning as his Seeing God level control fully unfolded. His figure surged forward, and both hands struck toward Su Yuntao. Despite his palms being massive, under his exquisite power control, they did not kick up a gale like before, but were instead placid—this was even more terrifying, meaning every shred of power was under ultimate control without a bit leaking out.
A terrifying sense of crisis suddenly rose in Su Yuntao's heart. Even though he knew Tang Shan would surely control his strength, dark clouds inexplicably gathered in his mind, as if a Death Omen Star were flickering above his head. Stimulated by the fatal crisis, he finally grasped that special feeling again.
His Spirit fused further with his body, and various combat instincts branded in his Bloodline over the ages merged perfectly with his subconscious, maintaining a dynamic equilibrium: one part of his consciousness was responsible for leading the battle, one part maintained basic bodily activities, while Su Yuntao's main consciousness focused on decision-making, accurately making the most correct judgments.
"Jump, use the force to dodge."
Making a decision subconsciously, Su Yuntao placed one hand on Tang Shan's incoming palm. Before Tang Shan could react, he used the force to flip and leap, narrowly dodging the blow. At this moment, Su Yuntao's temperament had undergone a World-shaking change, possessing both the cruel bloodthirstiness of a Lone Wolf and an ultimate cold serenity, like the eternal heavens. Perhaps stimulated by hunting instincts, his mind became increasingly calm and focused instead.
Tang Shan did not continue the attack, but merely observed Su Yuntao's current state: his body was slightly leaned forward, his eyes glowed with an eerie green light, and sharp claws protruded from his fingers. On the surface, nothing seemed unusual, yet he exuded an unsettling aura, as if locked onto by some top predator.
"Big brother, how does it feel? Do you need to maintain a certain level of pressure to stay in this state?"
Although Su Yuntao's combat experience was growing rapidly, his consciousness was not affected in the slightest. He responded clearly, "There is no need to deliberately focus on maintaining it, but this state is extremely taxing on physical strength, spirit power, and mental force. I estimate I can't support it for long."
"What about the circulation of spirit power? Are there any obstacles?" Tang Shan had not forgotten what Su Yuntao mentioned earlier—that spirit power would automatically circulate within his body when entering the special state.
Su Yuntao closed his eyes to focus and feel for a moment, then opened them again to give the answer: "The circulation has no obstacles. In fact, it's smoother than ever before, as if spirit power was meant to flow this way. It's far more exquisite than the Meditation Method I learned at the Spirit Hall."
Tang Shan stroked his chin in thought. "I see. Previously, I was worried that applying the combat experience of Spirit Beasts from your Bloodline would cause problems, but now it seems this spirit power circulation route is likely automatically derived by combining your Spirit with your human condition."
Afterward, Tang Shan had Su Yuntao perform a few simple experiments before letting him release that special state. Upon actively exiting the state, the combat experience that had just surged receded like a tide, but it still left some faint traces on his body.
Su Yuntao savored the feeling from just now and soon brought Tang Shan some good news: "Little brother, I just tried again. Although I still can't enter that state actively, it's clearly easier than when I tried before."
"In that case, my hypothesis is most likely correct." Tang Shan also retracted his Spirit, and the two brothers sat together on the rooftop, looking down at Stark City.
"Big brother, what do you think the process of a Spirit Master's Cultivation is like?"
Su Yuntao replied somewhat blankly, "Is there a specific process for Cultivation? Isn't it just raising your spirit power Rank and then absorbing spirit rings to Breakthrough to a new Realm?"
Tang Shan shook his head slightly, recalling what he had seen and heard and the theories he had studied since his Transmigration to this World, slowly stating his understanding: "In my view, the first stage of a Spirit Master's Cultivation is the stage of mutual harmony between oneself and the Spirit."
He pointed to himself as an example. "For someone like me, the goal of this stage is to let the Spirit completely fuse with my body. After that, it's no longer about having a Body Martial Soul, but rather the body itself being the Spirit."
Su Yuntao was thoughtful and followed up, "So you're saying my first stage is also to improve my harmony with my Spirit? Then what is the result of reaching the ultimate harmony?"
Tang Shan smiled and gave the answer: "Naturally, it's the Martial Soul True Body. When a Beast Spirit and the Spirit Master themselves reach ultimate harmony, what result could be more fitting than the Martial Soul True Body where one becomes the Spirit Beast?"
"What about Tool Spirit Masters?" Su Yuntao's mind rapidly absorbed these new theories, and a brand-new World regarding Spirits seemed to be slowly unfolding before his eyes.
"The core for Tool Spirit Masters is to improve the effect of using their Spirit, eventually letting their Soul fuse into the Spirit to become a unique Artifact Spirit. This is the origin of the Tool Martial Soul True Body," Tang Shan explained patiently. "Theoretically, the Cultivation of this first stage normally requires reaching the Spirit Saint Realm to complete, but Body Martial Souls are an exception. Because Body Martial Souls are so closely integrated with the body, the harmony process is far faster than for other Spirit Masters. Therefore, some Body Martial Soul Spirit Masters might be able to completely finish the first stage of Cultivation at the fifth or even fourth ring."
What Tang Shan didn't say much about was that if one couldn't complete this stage of Cultivation, it was basically impossible for a Body Martial Soul to achieve a Second Awakening by squeezing its potential—after all, if the body hadn't completely fused with the Spirit, it wouldn't possess enough pressure resistance and recovery ability.
"The body becoming the Spirit, the Spirit Master becoming the Spirit Beast, and the Soul becoming an Artifact Spirit—these are the core goals of the first stage for the three types of Spirits?" Only now did Su Yuntao realize that there were so many intricacies hidden within Spirit Cultivation.
"Theoretically, yes." Tang Shan added with a bit of frustration, "However, I can't yet determine the development direction for Plant-type Spirits. They seem to be able to develop toward both Beast Spirits and Tool Spirits. One can only say that Plant Spirits are indeed exceptionally special."
"Then how should my special state from just now be explained?" Su Yuntao brought the topic back to the main point.
Tang Shan nodded. "That's why I said it's an alternative Martial Soul True Body. Being able to obtain the hunting instincts and combat experience from the Bloodline of a Spirit Beast—is that not a part of the body entering the Beast Soul True Body state?"
"In other words, after other Beast Spirit Masters reach Spirit Saint and activate their Martial Soul True Body, they will also enter the state I was in just now?" Su Yuntao was quite surprised by Tang Shan's words.
"Not necessarily. The reason I called it an alternative Martial Soul True Body is naturally because of its unique aspects. Even if other Spirit Saints activate their Martial Soul True Body, their combat experience could never grow as rapidly as yours, big brother."
"Why is that?"
"Because they focus on increasing their spirit power daily and learn human fighting styles. The instincts and combat experience hidden in their Bloodline have long since gone silent during the long process of Cultivating to the Spirit Saint level."
Tang Shan stated his final conclusion regarding Su Yuntao's special state. "The special state you were in, big brother, is not something everyone can achieve. It can even be said to be a Treasure Trove unique to Beast Spirits, a gift of combat experience given by the Spirit to the Spirit Master. If someone can discover it, they will surely be able to speed up their harmony with their Spirit, just like Body Martial Soul Spirit Masters."
"It's just that the activation code for this Treasure Trove is too complex, and most Beast Spirit Masters never learn from the Spirit Beasts corresponding to their Spirits, leading almost no one to discover this Treasure Trove. Even if a few lucky ones occasionally enter this state, they are mostly labeled as 'Combat Geniuses,' thus neglecting to delve deeper into its mysteries." Tang Shan shook his head with a bit of regret.
"If my guess is correct, most Beast Spirit Saints on the continent have probably not unlocked this Treasure Trove, which also makes the Martial Soul True Body of Beast Spirit Saints always feel slightly inferior to the Tool Martial Soul True Body. What they lack is precisely this combat experience originating from the Bloodline.
Imagine a Beast Spirit Saint transforming into a Spirit Beast, possessing all the combat instincts of the corresponding Spirit Beast while retaining human wisdom. What kind of terrifying power could they possess then?"
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