"Circle, dot, spear, cut, pull, flick, parry, bounce, grab, mark, sweep, press, knock, strike."
"The variations in this Eight Trigrams Staff Technique are just too many! Didn't it only have eight directions and eight gates?"
Xiao Lin's muscles were aching from the strain. He realized that this was simply not something a child could practice effectively.
"Could it be that this staff technique is meant for a wooden staff rather than my Horned Dragon Staff?"
Xiao Lin's mind raced, and he felt he had stumbled upon the truth.
First of all, his Horned Dragon Staff could be described as indestructible, so how was he supposed to "bounce" or "flick" it? His Horned Dragon Staff didn't possess the natural elasticity of a wooden pole!
If Xiao Lin had to choose a Soul Ring that added elasticity just to fit a technique, he wouldn't be willing. Setting aside the waste of a skill slot, in a place like the Douluo Continent where "strength flies the brick" (raw power trumps all).
Focusing on such peripheral traits would be putting the cart before the horse. After some thought, Xiao Lin decisively decided to scrap several techniques that didn't suit the Horned Dragon Staff.
After discarding a few staff techniques, he tried practicing again. Sure enough, not only was it much easier on his body, but the moves were more concise, and the speed of transitioning between strikes was much faster.
This experience taught Xiao Lin an important lesson: everything must start from practical reality; one must never be blindly overconfident. After finishing his practice of the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique, Xiao Lin began to focus on cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Under his Heart Separation Control, while he could theoretically practice staff moves and cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill simultaneously, he certainly couldn't do so if he wanted to conduct a deep, thorough study.
Furthermore, practicing the staff was far less sustainable than the endurance provided by the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Xiao Lin quickly sat cross-legged on the ground, calming his mind and concentrating on the changes within his Dantian.
Back when Tang San first taught him, Xiao Lin had already discovered why the Mysterious Heaven Skill was so powerful on the Douluo Continent.
It was because it was an orthodox Daoist cultivation technique, capable of adapting to the relationship between anyone and their Soul Power, and it could form a Dantian within the body to help store more Soul Power.
At the same rank, Tang San's Soul Power would undoubtedly be more abundant and lasting than others. In the future, Tang San could even rely on the Mysterious Heaven Skill to make his Soul Power endless and self-sustaining.
This was the strength of the technique.
However, Xiao Lin discovered other outstanding aspects of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. He found that the Soul Power refined by the technique was not as violent as his original Soul Power.
When Soul Power was no longer violent, it meant Xiao Lin could achieve more perfect control over it, and even create his own Soul Skills. Beyond that, Xiao Lin noticed that the Dantian created by the Mysterious Heaven Skill could continuously absorb, compress, and solidify Soul Power.
This gave Xiao Lin not only a reservoir far exceeding others but also the chance to attempt the legendary Soul Core cultivation method.
To his knowledge, this Soul Core could only be condensed by Titled Douluos or one hundred thousand year Soul Beasts during the era of The Unrivaled Tang Sect.
But with an orthodox Daoist technique like the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which possessed incredible adaptability, Xiao Lin didn't think he would fail. Not to mention, a one hundred thousand year Soul Beast transformed into a little rabbit would soon appear by their side.
With a test subject like Xiao Wu who had personally experienced the process, all Xiao Lin needed was time to experiment. Moreover, regarding this Soul Core cultivation method, Xiao Lin knew he had to discuss it with Tang San.
While Tang San might have other flaws, his martial arts talent was undeniably strong.
As a member of the Tang Sect, Tang San was intimately familiar with human meridians, the Dantian, and vital points. With the three of them working together, Xiao Lin was even less worried about developing the Soul Core method.
However, before developing the Soul Core, Xiao Lin had to make his control over Soul Power even stronger. He wasn't worried about control; with the information explosion of his previous life, he could easily find a few methods to test and improve his control over time.
However, what Xiao Lin was currently most concerned about wasn't any of that, but rather the changes in his Soul Power and the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Because of the Horned Dragon Staff or perhaps his own constitution, Xiao Lin's Soul Power inherently possessed a "hardening" property. While it couldn't match the indestructible level of the staff itself, when he coated himself in Soul Power, even a small knife couldn't cut through his skin.
This ability meant that as his rank increased, he wouldn't fear Tang San's hidden weapons at all.
But now, this specific Soul Power was also causing changes in the Mysterious Heaven Skill. The Mysterious Heaven Skill had the ability to be learned by and adapted to anyone. In Tang San, it manifested as unfathomable Soul Power.
But in Xiao Lin, it became even more terrifying.
As long as Xiao Lin activated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his Soul Power would circulate endlessly through his body, and he could even form a faint, golden Vajra Soul Power Shield. It was equivalent to the Golden Bell Shield or Iron Cloth.
Xiao Lin named his unique version of the Mysterious Heaven Skill the Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill. The Vajra Soul Power Shield could even be considered Xiao Lin's own self-created Soul Skill.
Although the current shield was relatively weak and the Soul Power was somewhat scattered, in actual combat, Xiao Lin would definitely create other, more suitable self-created Soul Skills. For instance, an "Ultra... Vajra Soul Power Barrier."
Specifically, a cone-shaped one with the point facing forward, which could block enemy attacks while simultaneously striking back.
While such a self-created skill wouldn't provide the all-around defense of a shield, it offered distinct advantages in terms of saving Soul Power, defending, and attacking. Furthermore, on the Douluo Continent, one never relied solely on individual bravery in a duel.
At least while Xiao Lin was still weak, he needed teammates. One wasn't too few, and six wasn't too many. In Xiao Lin's calculations, the seven-person team most commonly used in the world of Soul Masters was the most suitable.
Since Xiao Lin had decided to keep Tang San away from that trash teacher Yu Xiaogang, Xiao Lin and Tang San would absolutely never go to Shrek Academy.
Xiao Lin disliked that academy with its twisted values.
According to Xiao Lin's plan, it would be best to go to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. This would allow Tang San to come into contact with Dugu Yan, and then... take some Immortal Herbs.
They could also establish a good relationship with Dugu Yan and then ask Dugu Bo to help them obtain high-quality Soul Rings. Of course, ideally, Xiao Lin also wanted to perform some experiments on Dugu Bo.
The Soul Core experiment was one of them.
As a Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo wouldn't suffer accidents while testing the Soul Core. Moreover, the properties of a Soul Core would stop Dugu Bo's toxins from flaring up. There was no reason for Xiao Lin not to go through with something that offered only benefits and no harm.
He even imagined leading the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to crush Yu Xiaogang's Shrek Academy and the Spirit Hall later on.
Most importantly, the three Elders of Board of Education of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy were all Soul Douluo level experts and were quite upright individuals; they could help ensure Tang San didn't become so "double-standard."
Additionally, most students at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy were nobles with poor strength. Once Xiao Lin and Tang San joined, the academy would inevitably lean its resources toward them, providing numerous benefits.
Furthermore, with Ye Lingling of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and her Nine-Hearted Begonia Martial Soul, Xiao Lin could experiment to his heart's content without fear of losing his life. This would greatly enhance his research into Martial Souls and the exploration of Soul Skills.
After briefly thinking over his future plans, Xiao Lin resumed his cultivation of the Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill.