After setting up a basic "Speed-Attack Assassination" build for Xiao Wu's Soul Rings, Xiao Lin stopped worrying about her. He left her to be taught by that simp Tang San, letting him drill Xiao Lin's Martial Soul philosophies into her head.
At that moment, Xiao Lin was sitting cross-legged on the Blue Silver Grass, motionless. He was simultaneously circulating the Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill, meditating, and contemplating how to further train his physical strength.
Using the weight of the Horned Dragon Staff was indeed a way to temper his body, but Xiao Lin currently had no idea just how much weight or length he could truly handle.
The longer the staff, the longer the lever arm and the resulting torque. If he couldn't control it properly, he wouldn't just fail to master the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique; he might actually injure himself.
For now, Tang San wasn't proficient enough in the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique to dare teach it to Xiao Lin, fearing he might teach it incorrectly.
Thus, Xiao Lin had to find a better training method.
He wasn't going to be like a certain "Grandmaster" and run around carrying rocks; he had to find something superior to that. After sitting for about two minutes, Xiao Lin finally came up with a suitable plan.
Self-restraint.
The Horned Dragon Staff would remain at its original length suited for his height, and he wouldn't add extra weight. However, Xiao Lin planned to temporarily sever the soul power connection between himself and the staff.
He would force himself to bear the current weight of the staff entirely with his physical body, allowing his soul power to drain rapidly.
As an "Innate Tool Soul Avatar Physique," once he connected his soul power to the staff, he achieved the state of "lifting heavy as if it were light, and light as if it were heavy."
He could make the staff heavier or lighter at will.
This wasn't ideal for training.
If he hit a wall during a workout, his body would instinctively weaken the staff's weight to compensate. Because his muscles would already be fatigued, he might not even realize the staff had lightened, leading to half the result for twice the effort.
By cutting the soul power connection, Xiao Lin's situation became no different from Tang San summoning the Clear Sky Hammer. Summoning the staff would consume a massive amount of soul power, and once that power was depleted, the stat buffs the staff provided him would vanish.
At that point, he would be training entirely on raw physical strength.
He dubbed this "Self-Restraint."
However, as a method that cost Xiao Lin a "massive" two minutes of his time, it wasn't that simple.
Xiao Lin decided to leave everything to his flesh, making the training a physical instinct. Meanwhile, his brain would continuously meditate and circulate the Vajra Imperishable Divine Skill.
The soul power he absorbed would be used solely to widen his meridians before being concentrated into his external soul bone—the small ox horn—and then fully released.
It was like turning on a faucet while pulling the plug; the soul power would pass through his body three times without staying. This would train his soul power recovery speed and widen his meridians, allowing him to store more power in the future.
Finally, because he had to guide the power through tiny meridians, it would greatly enhance his Heart Separation Control and sharpen his mental power.
Most importantly, as an Innate Horned Dragon Staff Sacred Body, he was a natural with the staff.
The human body is a miraculous thing.
Letting his body practice the staff techniques instinctively would only strengthen his bond with his Martial Soul.
Genius!
Xiao Lin felt that while his method might be a bit crude, it was definitely more effective than Yu Xiaogang's.
If this wasn't genius, what was?
After training, he'd just ask Tang San for a Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet and have a "spa" session.
Perfect! Simply perfect!
Just thinking about it made Xiao Lin high with excitement.
It was just a shame he didn't have better conditions yet; otherwise, he'd have set up gravity training, or even the One Punch Man workout.
Xiao Lin stood up.
Now that he had the plan, it was time for action.
Seeing Tang San still teaching that "silly rabbit" Xiao Wu how to do a horse stance, Xiao Lin shook his head and moved away from them. He was genuinely afraid that Xiao Wu's low IQ might be contagious.
Once he was far enough away to not worry about the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique hitting Tang San, he activated the Horned Dragon Staff. Severing the soul power connection, he summoned the staff, and his hands immediately sank from the weight.
Since he hadn't made the staff return to its full 2.5-meter form, he could still manage it.
It took about three-fifths of his soul power to successfully summon it.
A bright silver staff was gripped in his hands, weighing roughly fifty catties. For an average six-year-old, this was a weight they'd struggle even to lift.
For Xiao Lin, it was manageable.
He estimated he could perform about two sets of the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique before his soul power ran dry.
Those two sets were just the warm-up.
Once his power was gone and his base attributes dropped, the real training would begin. Fortunately, this was a two-handed staff technique, allowing him to train this way; otherwise, he might have had to shrink the staff even further.
Even though the soul power link was gone, the "intimacy" between the staff and Xiao Lin remained. After two sets, he found that there was very little friction between his palms and the staff—no blisters in sight.
The staff and his hands were in perfect harmony, as if they were one.
As his soul power flagged, the training gradually became grueling.
On the other side, only after Xiao Lin had successfully entered his training state did Tang San finally manage to teach Xiao Wu a proper horse stance.
Xiao Wu wasn't actually stupid; her form was quite standard.
The problem was that she wanted to quit the moment it got tough, becoming distracted to the point where she couldn't even meditate. Eventually, Tang San drew a spiral symbol on her forehead and told her to focus on it while meditating.
Only then did she manage to hold out.
As for the long duration of the stance, it wasn't something Xiao Wu could handle yet, so Tang San secretly placed a Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet on her wrist to help her endure.
After helping Xiao Wu find her rhythm, Tang San quickly sat cross-legged and entered a state of Mysterious Heaven Skill cultivation and meditation. At the same time, he began communicating with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass to help him gather the ambient soul power.
Meanwhile...
Having reached Soto City, Yu Xiaogang arrived at Shrek Academy under Flender's lead.
Looking at the facilities, which were inferior even to Nuoding Academy's, Yu Xiaogang felt a pang of regret.
Is Flender serious? This is Shrek Academy?
"Xiaogang, you've finally come around! With a theoretical grandmaster like you here, Shrek Academy will surely reach the next level and produce another Qin Ming!"
Flender was incredibly hospitable, genuinely thrilled by Yu Xiaogang's arrival.
Shrek Academy was his life's work; if it one day became famous across the continent, he could die without regrets.
"Flender, you let children live in a place like this? Eating ordinary steamed buns, and without meat at that?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression was dark, his face looking terrible.
If this was the academy, he didn't believe his disciple could ever beat Tang Hao's son. That boy Xiao Lin could knock him down with a gentle push; could the children here do the same?
Faced with the criticism, Flender just scratched his neck, looking awkward.
"Xiaogang, I don't want it to be like this either. I'm making money for the whole academy by myself; it's hard."
"It's hard? Have you actually worked for it?"
Yu Xiaogang snapped.
"Forget it. From now on, I will guide the students. They must eat better meals to ensure proper nutrition. Also, have the older students go to the Soul Arena to fight. You have a sharp eye—bet more and win some money back."
The moment Yu Xiaogang arrived at Shrek Academy, he seized the authority to guide the students.
He even demanded Flender fire several teachers to save on expenses. However, Flender blocked the attempt to fire the teachers. Every teacher there was at least a Soul Emperor.
Even if they went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, they would be treated with respect by Emperor Xue Ye himself. Because of this behavior, Flender couldn't help but feel that Yu Xiaogang had gone a bit mad.