Chapter 70: Yu Xiaogang's Little Thoughts

Soon, everyone completed Yu Xiaogang's first punishment, which was carrying stones back and forth between Shrek Academy and Suotuo City for ten laps.

When everyone had finished, except for Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong, the rest all collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, even Tang San, who has the best physical condition, was the same.

Ning Rongrong's last few laps were carried by Yang Xiong, so her physical state was relatively better and she didn't collapse.

As for Yang Xiong, given his current physical condition, this kind of weighted running is nothing at all; in fact, he is still some distance away from his limit.

A few boys, with the help of Zhao Wuji and others, carried themselves back to the dormitory, where tubs and Medicine Bath materials had already been prepared, along with some hot water that could be added at any time. The girls, however, were carried away by a few village aunties.

However, the dormitory was relatively cramped, and Zhao Wuji and the other teachers were rather rough, clearly not the kind of caring rough men, and the one carrying Tang San was none other than Yu Xiaogang.

Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Oscar originally shared a dormitory; watching the two of them being helped into the tub like sludge, Yang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head.

Yu Xiaogang is indeed ruthless; this kind of weighted training can truly push a person to the limit, even to extreme fatigue.

Yang Xiong didn't hesitate either; he stripped his clothes and stepped directly into the tub prepared for him.

The liquid inside the tub had a slight green tint, presumably the so‑called Medicine Bath ingredients; by the recipe it was decent, but not any precious herbs.

During this, there was a small incident: when Yang Xiong stripped his clothes to enter the tub, to ensure cleanliness he removed not only his close‑kept Hundred Herb Pouch and Wrist Storage Soul Guide Device, but also the weighted gear on his body.

These five pieces of weight were not light; the lightest, the Bracelet, weighed ten jin, let alone the chest armor at a full sixty jin, which would cause massive vibrations if dropped on the ground.

Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang stared at Yang Xiong with surprised faces; Zhao Wuji, in particular, is more sensitive to strength, and lately Yang Xiong has been repeatedly seeking Zhao Wuji for combat guidance, so the two are fairly familiar.

Zhao Wuji examined the previous weights carefully and said, "Yang Xiong, what are these on you? I count over a hundred jin altogether."

Yang Xiong showed a faint smile, "These are just the weights I usually carry; I'm accustomed to them. Normally, except when bathing, I don't take them off."

"However, these were specially crafted for me, somewhat like soft armor, and they don't affect my daily activities."

At this moment, Yang Xiong truly felt comfortable; after training, taking a Medicine Bath can indeed enhance the body's absorption of the bath, thereby improving physical condition and recovery to some extent.

Beside him, Yu Xiaogang looked a bit serious: "Yang Xiong, when did you start wearing the weights? Can your body handle them?"

Yang Xiong replied, "There's not much physical burden. Ever since I became a Soul Grandmaster, I've been wearing weights, but they were lighter before; after becoming a Great Soul Master, they reached their current heft."

Both of them stared at each other upon hearing this; given Yang Xiong's current situation, doesn't that mean he carried this hundred‑jin load even during the recent battle with Tang San and the weighted running? Considering that even the stones Tang San and Dai Mubai carried were only a few dozen jin, that would imply Yang Xiong ultimately bore about three hundred jin while running and still managed to persist, which is far beyond what a Great Soul Master could achieve.

Yang Xiong thought for a moment in the tub before speaking, "Master, Teacher Zhao, the new dormitory should be finished in a few days; when it comes to a Medicine Bath, please just prepare hot water for me—I have already prepared the herbs myself."

Yu Xiaogang said, "Yang Xiong, the Medicine Bath ingredients I prepared are fairly precious, and the formula is excellent—perfectly suited to your current cultivation."

Yang Xiong nodded, "Thank you, Master. However, my body is rather unique, and my Medicine Bath sessions are longer; these ordinary herbs no longer have much effect on me. My teacher has already prepared special Medicine Bath herbs for me in advance."

Yu Xiaogang, hearing this, could only nod in agreement.

After talking with Yu Xiaogang and Zhao Wuji for a while, Yang Xiong began to meditate alone.

After today's duel with Tang San, he felt that he had been a bit too complacent before, always believing that relying on his own foresight would let him create top‑tier techniques and become invincible.

But today Tang San clearly held back; at least he didn't adopt a reckless stance, and he neither used External Soul Bone nor Hidden Weapon, which probably means only about sixty percent of his true combat power was displayed.

Of course, Yang Xiong also held back; he estimated he used only about fifty percent of his strength and hadn't even employed any Soul Ring skills.

Yet Tang San's grasp of combat exceeded Yang Xiong's expectations; especially the Tang Sect's absolute arts, which basically crushed all of Yang Xiong's self‑created attacks, at least in terms of punches and kicks.

Another point: his own Tai Chi Meditation Method and Tai Chi Fist, compared to Mysterious Heaven Skill and Crane Control and Dragon Capture, still have a noticeable gap, not to mention Tang San's other Tang Sect absolute arts.

Nevertheless, this battle had great benefits; by confronting Crane Control and Dragon Capture, his understanding of Tai Chi deepened, and perhaps this meditation method can be gradually refined on his own.

At this moment, Yang Xiong, though fatigued, still began cultivating according to the Yin Yang Meditation Method; previous shackles started to loosen, soul power surged rapidly throughout his body, seeming to merge gradually, and especially after this battle, he began to grasp the true meaning of Tai Chi.

Seeing Yang Xiong like that, both Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang fell silent, only occasionally adding hot water for Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Oscar, while Shao Xin, who mainly tended to Oscar, is a rare Food System Soul Saint and also handles cooking for everyone.

Since Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin are both Soul Saints, they quickly sensed Yang Xiong's meditation, especially the soul power in the air rushing into his body at high speed.

However, they didn't notice that the water in the previously calm Medicine Bath tub began to flow slowly, eventually forming a vortex.

……

After more than two hours, the three teachers on site had already left; the effects of the herbs in the Medicine Bath had completely vanished, and the once‑green liquid had faded, even taking on a slight black tint.

Tang San and Oscar still leaned against the tub, snoring loudly.

Yang Xiong washed his body and his weights, then left the dormitory alone; after a day of hardship, especially having skipped lunch, he now planned to go to the cafeteria for something to eat.

During this time, Yu Xiaogang found Flanders, and the two discussed the students' situation together.

Flanders wore a proud smile, "How's it going, Xiaogang? My students are all monsters, they shouldn't tarnish your talent."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, "These kids are all excellent; their talent and perseverance are great. What surprised me most is Yang Xiong—his physical condition is stronger than I imagined. Though his Innate Soul Power Level is only six, his cultivation speed is no less than others."

"Especially his combat power—though only Level 27, probably no one within the Soul Elder rank can match him."

Flanders nodded, "Among all the trainees, the one I'm truly surprised by is Yang Xiong. You know he was born into the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect; it seems the sect invested considerable effort in him."

Yu Xiaogang said, "I find it odd too; normally, a Soul Grandmaster whose martial soul is the body or a part of it is rare and hard to inherit, yet I have seen some cultivation records of such Soul Grandmasters."

"According to the records, such Soul Grandmasters cultivate extremely slowly, with a very limited ceiling; the highest seems to reach only the Soul Douluo realm, never a Title Douluo level master, and even Soul Saint level is rare. Moreover, these Soul Grandmasters are heavily restricted in both combat power and soul skills, making them relatively weak among peers."

Flanders said, "Actually I'm also puzzled; this special martial soul is usually hard to cultivate to top‑tier, yet the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is so willing to invest in him, even assigning Lin Gong, a Soul Douluo, to protect him covertly."

Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment before speaking, "Flanders, I want to study Yang Xiong's martial soul and cultivation method, but he refused when I brought it up today. Do you have any solution?"

Flanders shook his head, "I have no way. Yang Xiong is a disciple of a Bone Douluo; a Title Douluo‑level master is not someone we can easily provoke. Moreover, the Bone Douluo likely gave him a complete cultivation method and training plan, which we cannot interfere with."

"Especially Sect Leader Ning Fengzhi even wrote me a letter, saying that Yang Xiong can receive regular education here; we need not interfere with his Soul Ring acquisition or Self‑Created Spirit Skill."

Yu Xiaogang expressed surprise, "How is that possible? Does the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect intend to train Yang Xiong as a future Guardian Douluo? They should also know that the Soul Master world has never seen a top‑tier master whose martial soul is the body itself."

Flanders was silent for a while before speaking, "Xiaogang, I understand your intent and goal. Today Yang Xiong defeated Tang San, and even surpassed a great realm to do so…"

Yu Xiaogang shook his head: "It's different. Although Xiao San lost, you should be even clearer about where his true potential lies. The present momentary victory or defeat doesn't explain anything, especially since the two have a large gap in Innate Soul Power; the gap in soul power will grow larger and larger in the future, especially when Xiao San enters the Title Douluo, then a qualitative difference will appear between the two sides."

"Moreover, today's battle made it clear: although Tang San's combat power was quite good and his control over Blue Silver Grass was strong, he was ultimately limited by his martial soul; his burst power was too weak, otherwise he wouldn't have lost to Yang Xiong's move."

Flanders was a bit puzzled, "Xiaogang, what exactly do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

Yu Xiaogang was silent for a moment before speaking, "Flanders, don't you think Yang Xiong's final self‑created soul skill was impressive, with very strong burst power, perhaps capable of greatly boosting all students' combat abilities and even potentially reshaping the Soul Master world's landscape in the future."

(End of Chapter)