Chapter 17: Body Tempering

That night, Yang Xiong's recent Body Tempering plans were ready to be put into action.

These past days Yang Xiong bought all sorts of medicinal herbs in Seven Treasures City, which is one of the most prosperous cities on the Douluo Continent; the herb shops are numerous, and basically every kind of herb is available.

In Yang Xiong's room stood a huge iron bathtub, already filled with clear water, and charcoal fire was lit beneath it, causing the water in the tub to seem slightly boiling.

Yang Xiong took a number of herbs from his Soul Guidance Device and placed them into the tub; the once‑clear water turned a deep crimson, like fresh blood.

Beside him, Yang Lin looked a bit nervous: "Xiao Xiong, you're still young, no need to rush; Body Tempering is fine and suits your martial soul, but it's still a little early for you."

Yang Xiong replied, "Father, I'm absolutely confident it won't harm my body, and this formula didn't come from a simple source."

Some time earlier, Yang Xiong discovered the Bone Douluo's cultivation record on the Cangshu Lou Seventh Floor—"The Way of Defense"—and as the continent's top defense master, besides Defense-type Soul Ring Absorption, one must also use external means to bring the body to its limit.

A top‑tier defense expert like that fears neither water nor fire, even not fearing deadly poison; that is the ultimate of the Defense Path.

Following the instructions in that "The Way of Defense," Yang Xiong bought many herbs; today was the first time, a fire‑attribute tempering of his body.

The herbs weren't expensive, but they were all fire‑attribute herbs with a certain toxicity; the process is extremely painful, yet it forms the foundation of the Defense Path.

Yang Xiong ignored everything else and, naked, leapt into the tub.

Yang Xiong felt his whole body as if immersed in a sea of fire, his skin seeming to burn, especially as the red liquid in the tub seeped through his skin; every muscle and even bone felt as if being roasted by fire.

Even when Yang Xiong summoned his martial soul, the soul itself seemed hard to resist the heat and toxicity; his whole body began to burn, and despite his robust physique, he couldn't help clenching his teeth, his face showing extreme agony.

After a full hour, the blood‑red liquid in the tub gradually faded, the medicinal potency seeming to dissipate after flowing into Yang Xiong's body.

Yang Lin hurriedly pulled Yang Xiong out of the tub; at that moment Yang Xiong looked terribly miserable, his body seemingly burned in patches, resembling a severe burn victim.

His mother Sun Yu looked unusually distressed: "Xiao Xiong, why are you doing this? I'll take you to a healing‑type Soul Grandmaster."

Yang Xiong shook his head: "Mother, I think the effect is great; no need to seek treatment. My martial soul should soon heal my injuries."

That is the greatest advantage of a body‑type martial soul: after injury, the martial soul can heal quickly; purely in terms of recovery, a body‑type martial soul is undoubtedly the top among all martial souls.

……

In the following period, Yang Xiong underwent nine consecutive days of fire‑herb tempering; his whole body turned crimson, yet miraculously, after a night of Meditation and cultivation, his body could recover most of the damage.

Of course, this is also because Yang Xiong minimized the dosage of the Body Tempering herbs; if he truly followed the later herb ratios and selections in that "The Way of Defense," an ordinary person would melt in a very short time, and only a mid‑high‑level Soul Master could endure it.

After nine days, Yang Xiong began using another set of herbs; the water in the tub had been boiled away, but after adding the herbs, all the water in the tub turned blue at a rapid pace, the previously bubbling, boiling water's temperature dropped sharply, even emitting a chill.

When Yang Xiong jumped into the tub, his whole body felt as if immersed in ice; endless cold rushed into him, every inch of skin seemed about to freeze, his body even like an icicle, the pain not any less than that of the fire‑herb tempering.

Especially in the ice, not only his body but also his martial soul and soul power seemed to solidify, yet this extreme practice actually helped him better control the flow of his internal soul power.

That is the cold‑attribute tempering of the body described in that "The Way of Defense."

After nine consecutive days in the icy tub, Yang Xiong began another form of training.

At this point the tub's surface boiled, the entire tub turned a jade green; the contents were the poison Yang Xiong had purchased.

Compared with the ice‑fire training, the poison‑type training seemed harsher on the body, more painful; his whole body felt as if devoured by countless insects, especially as the toxin seeped into the marrow, as if the bones were about to shatter.

The poison's devastation to flesh and cells is immense, and like maggots clinging to bone, it is hard to dispel.

The advantage of the body‑type martial soul resurfaced; since the martial soul is his own body, the toxin could be absorbed and gradually utilized by the soul, the effect even surpassing ice and fire, no wonder those who favor deadly poison walk the Poison Path.

……

In the following period, Yang Xiong basically trained in these three aspects daily: blazing fire, icy cold, and deadly poison, each for nine consecutive days before switching to the next.

As time went on, Yang Xiong felt his body as if undergoing continual tempering; under the successive fire, ice, and poison temperings, his body seemed repeatedly shattered yet repeatedly recovered swiftly.

Especially as Body Tempering progressed, his martial soul seemed to grow stronger, his strength and soul power both increased, and after each tempering, Meditation felt noticeably faster, at least stronger than after ordinary medicine baths.

Yang Xiong even felt his meridians strengthening under the fire‑ice‑poison tempering, perhaps his Innate Soul Power Level also rose somewhat.

Of course, Yang Xiong does all this to prepare for the future; his body‑type martial soul is too unique and relatively weak in the early stage, only by desperate Body Tempering and following the Defense Path might he hope to achieve Second Awakening later.

Indeed, truly attaining Second Awakening is far harder than now; it requires extreme pressure between life and death, far beyond the pain of these trials.

However, Yang Xiong searched the entire Cangshu Lou and never found any method to cultivate spiritual power; it seems that across the Douluo Shijie, aside from Tang San's Purple Extreme Demon Eye, no one possesses a similar technique.

According to Yang Xiong's plan, Body Tempering can make his physical quality extremely robust, which can also be called Qi Blood, and Power-type Soul Rings are the most effective among all Soul Ring attributes at boosting soul power and Qi Blood.

Yang Xiong aims to cultivate his Qi Blood, soul power, and spiritual power to the utmost, and with elemental attributes, that would surely reach unprecedented heights.

Plan to learn how to roll meatballs tomorrow; that will compensate for his shortcomings.

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(End of Chapter)