Chapter 142: The Five Great Elders of the Body Sect

Time flew quickly, and a full year passed in a flash.

On the training ground of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, it now looked unusually perilous and terrifying.

Yang Xiong stood alone at the very center of the ground, surrounded by five thousand-year Soul Beasts, each over 3,000 years old, looking extremely ferocious.

Moreover, the five beasts each had different attributes: a swift Wind Demon Wolf for rapid attacks, a Blazing Bear with excellent defense, and even a massive python.

Yet Yang Xiong was not frightened at all; gripping a treasured sword, he fought the five beasts desperately, and even without using soul power, he felt more at ease.

As time passed, several beasts were gradually grievously wounded by Yang Xiong's various tactics; by the final moment, only a terrifying Raging Dragon remained, the oldest and strongest of all the beasts.

When the Raging Dragon lunged at full force, the sword in Yang Xiong's hand unexpectedly emitted a blade aura that seemed to tear the very space, ultimately slicing the dragon's throat, leaving it unlikely to survive.

After that final strike, Yang Xiong's sword shattered piece by piece, and he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, sitting rigidly on the ground, panting heavily.

Sword Douluo waved a hand, and several Soul Grandmasters appeared to control the five beasts, even providing them some treatment; these were all top-tier Thousand-year Spirit Rings that could not be wasted lightly.

After Yang Xiong got up, Sword Douluo nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, Yang Xiong. This year you have met the expectations of me and Old Bone; both your combat power and bodily control have improved, and you haven't disappointed us."

Yang Xiong finally breathed a sigh of relief; just two days earlier, he had broken through to Level 50, but before he could rejoice, Sword Douluo arranged this brutal battle.

Over the past year, Yang Xiong's training was extremely harsh and arduous, hovering between life and death daily, without a single moment of true relaxation.

After much contemplation, Yang Xiong finally requested Sword Douluo to teach him swordsmanship.

Although his Body Martial Soul is strong, attacks relying solely on raw power and technique are still lacking, and learning swordsmanship might compensate to some extent.

Sword Douluo was originally disdainful, thinking that a non-sword-type martial soul like Yang Xiong learning swordsmanship was a waste of time.

Yet Yang Xiong was undeterred, spending a fortune to forge an extremely heavy and massive sword weighing three thousand jin; though not sharp, its design perfectly matched his physique.

Yang Xiong swings the heavy sword daily for basic sword training, performing thrust, slash, point, flick, poke, cut, shave, and press—eight moves—each a thousand times, eventually achieving a slight breakthrough, reaching Level 50 and finally grasping a hint of sword aura.

Originally Sword Bone Douluo sneered at Yang Xiong, deeming his efforts a waste of time, but since Yang Xiong practiced during the afternoon after training, the two did not object.

However, compared to that, Yang Xiong sensed a hint of excitement in Sword Douluo's eyes, feeling that he was finally like a disciple of Sword Douluo.

After a year of hard training, both his combat and defensive abilities essentially met the two teachers' standards.

In terms of defense, when facing attacks from the five Soul Beasts, Yang Xiong's reaction was lightning fast and his endurance extremely high.

Especially when confronting the thousand-year Raging Dragon's assault, he could physically block it; even when the dragon struck his shoulder, the shoulder seemed to have fully adapted to the powerful blow, shedding some force at the moment of impact, making his Defense Path considerably stronger than before.

As for offense, aside from occasional sword use, he was overwhelmingly fierce and brutal; prolonged battles with such Soul Beasts greatly boosted his body's pressure tolerance, and a murderous aura began to condense on him, making him unusually ferocious.

Facing Sword Douluo's praise, Yang Xiong quickly bowed: "Thank you, teacher, for your cultivation; I will strive to become stronger."

Sword Douluo nodded: "Very well, you're now at Level 50. Future cultivation will wait until you obtain a Soul Ring; which Soul Ring you get is up to you. I'm busy, so let Lin Gong handle that single Ten-thousand Year Soul Beast for you."

Over the year, Yang Xiong advanced a full five levels; the speed, if not extreme, was still quite impressive.

Especially after each training, whether it was Bone Douluo's defense or Sword Douluo's offense, it essentially battered his body.

It was this desperate combat and Body Tempering that vastly improved his body's shock resistance, and even his cultivation speed seemed to edge up slightly.

After parting with Sword Douluo, Yang Xiong followed Lin Gong to Cloud Mist Mountain.

In the great hall of Cloud Mist Mountain, Yang Xiong sat at the very center, surrounded by five people: Lin Gong, Yang Wudi, Niu Gao, Bai He, and Long Gong Meng Shu.

Indeed, Long Gong Meng Shu has also led his clan to join the Body Sect, and even the Exotic Beast Academy under Long Gong's control has moved near Heaven Dou City.

To win over Meng Shu, Yang Xiong put in considerable effort; besides a Ten-thousand Year Divine Medicine and various supports, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect also paid a heavy price.

The crucial factor is Lin Gong, who has now reached Level 89, not far from becoming a Title Douluo.

Originally Lin Gong was one level below Meng Shu, but now he surpasses Meng Shu by one level of soul power, leaving Meng Shu feeling quite unsettled.

Moreover, Lin Gong and Meng Shu fought an earth-shattering battle lasting a full day and night, with Lin Gong finally clinching a hard-won victory.

In this high-stakes duel, Long Gong Meng Shu finally agreed to cooperate with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and to join the Body Sect, now becoming one of its Five Great Elders.

To win over Meng Shu's clan and the Exotic Beast Academy, Yang Xiong's contributions were substantial; he even leveraged Lin Gong's past friendship with Meng Shu and promised to help them slay Ju Douluo in the future, allowing Long Gong to lead his people away if the promise couldn't be kept.

Yet Long Gong also brought hundreds of Soul Grandmasters to the Body Sect; his family's martial soul inheritance consists of the Dragon Head Cane and Snake Head Cane, both top-tier Tool Spirits, and they possess Martial Soul Fusion Techniques.

This recruitment of Long Gong was guided by Ning Fengzhi, with full cooperation from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

As Ning Fengzhi said, the three single-attribute great families have an excellent relationship, acting as a single entity; only by bringing Long Gong's family in can they counterbalance each other.

As for why Long Gong's family didn't join the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, someone as proud as Long Gong could never become a subordinate of another sect; joining the Body Sect makes him half a master, becoming a sect elder, and Yang Xiong's training methods on Cloud Mist Mountain also amazed Long Gong himself.

Now Cloud Mist Mountain has changed dramatically; Yang Xiong designed various training methods, making the core area a massive and bizarre layout.

Here is a flat area spanning several dozen meters in diameter, its ground entirely granite, its surface dotted with iron pillars.

Each pillar stands about three meters tall, ten centimeters in diameter, allowing only the tip of a foot to rest on it; the pillars are spaced roughly one meter apart.

Yang Xiong arranged them according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams; the pillars follow a certain pattern, resembling a massive Eight Trigrams formation, which he named Eight Trigrams Stakes.

The Eight Trigrams Stakes offer two training programs; on the stakes one can train balance, akin to lightness skill cultivation in wuxia worlds, even stabilizing one's soul power.

The other method trains footwork between the stakes; Yang Xiong combines his previously devised Eight Trigrams Step with the stakes, moving swiftly within them without hitting any pillar.

Whether the three single-attribute great families or Long Gong Meng Shu, all are astonished by the Eight Trigrams Stakes, which greatly benefit their cultivation.

The Min Clan originally boasted unrivaled speed, but after mastering the Eight Trigrams Step and employing the stakes, their movements gained a certain order, no longer pure speed, adding some evasion ability.

The Yu Yi Zu originally moved slowly; after mastering the Eight Trigrams Step, they can compensate for their lack of mobility.

As for the Po Yi Zu, Yang Wudi and Long Gong often enjoy dueling on and among the stakes, restricting the use of soul power and soul skills.

Yang Wudi wields a Soul-breaking Gun, while Long Gong uses a Dragon Head Cane; the stakes seem perfectly suited to both their gun and staff techniques, and both have improved considerably over time.

Yang Xiong also invited Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo to Cloud Mist Mountain; the two teachers were no longer as restrained and bland, nor as aloof as before.

Sword Douluo fought a bout with Yang Wudi; although Yang Wudi lost badly, Sword Douluo highly praised the Soul-breaking Gun's might, even personally guiding the application of the Tool Spirit.

And Bone Douluo sparred with Niu Gao in pure defensive competition; even though the defense‑expert Niu Gao highly praised Bone Douluo's defense, if not for Niu Gao's advanced age, Yang Xiong would have suspected Niu Gao of wanting to become Bone Douluo's disciple.

In short, behind Yang Xiong stood Jian Gu Douluo, and the Five Great Elders grew more respectful toward him.

The Beast Academy was another surprise; although the academy is officially led by the Dragon Princess, it now falls under the Body Sect.

After some arrangement and handling, it has been renamed the Body Academy, primarily responsible for the study and cultivation of single‑attribute disciples from the three great families and the Dragon Prince family, and it also admits some ordinary civilian students.

And over the course of this year, Ning Fengzhi mobilized the forces of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to help Yang Xiong gather more than ten children with Body martial souls.

These children, though of average talent and even average Innate Soul Power, were previously given little attention, but in Yang Xiong's eyes they are all the future backbone of the Body Sect, even the foundation that could reshape the world's order.

Yang Xiong not only had Lin Gong personally educate these people, but he himself also poured in many resources and effort, even personally designing training methods, so that these ordinary children were each treated with astonishing favor.

Of course, a small incident also occurred during this year: the head of the Single Attribute Four Families held a gathering.

Tai Tan was originally very pleased that Yang Wudi and the other two moved their families to Tiandou Region, but upon hearing that Yang Wudi and his companions spoke with unusual reverence for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, his expression soured.

Since the Clear Sky Sect War, the Single Attribute Four Families have been extremely hostile toward the three major sects, but now the three great families are already showing a trend of allying with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, leaving Tai Tan a bit depressed.

Yet in Tai Tan's words there is great admiration for Tang Hao, always treating Tang Hao as the true master, which also makes Yang Wudi and the others feel deeply ashamed, for after all they extremely despise Tang Hao.

Although the four have long enjoyed close brotherly ties and deep affection, and have not openly clashed, the once‑united Single Attribute Four Families have begun to show subtle cracks among themselves.

Tai Tan did not explain the matter of the little master Tang San; Tang San is not yet ready to establish the Tang Sect, and Tai Tan is no fool—seeing Yang Wudi and the other two's families improve, he can only helplessly give his blessing.

And when the three of Yang Wudi learned of Tai Tan's loyalty to Tang Hao, they no longer entertained the idea of pulling Tai Tan and the Force Clan into the Body Sect.

Yang Xiong is well aware of Tai Tan's disposition; the two have never even met, and there is no intention at all to win him over—one Bai He already counts as a hidden risk, and adding a Tai Tan could cause the sect he painstakingly founded to fall apart at any moment.

According to Yang Xiong's plan, with the Body martial soul as the sect's core, the current Five Great Elders, a Body Academy capable of training students, and monetary cooperation from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the structure for a great sect is already complete.

(End of chapter)