Chapter 2: Transcending the Body, True Self

The next day, early morning.

Having had a dreamless night, Zhao Xuanzhen finished washing up, changed into fresh, clean clothes, and opened the door, only to nearly collide with pectoral muscles larger than his own head.

Looking up at the two muscular men blocking the door, tall, fierce, and bearded—the kind of 'top-tier' men who would definitely be on the 'must-eat' list in his past life—Zhao Xuanzhen joked:

"Why are your heads so pointy?"

"You're the one who's pointy! We came all the way here early in the morning!"

The Bai sisters retorted in unison, and with a 'poof' like an exploding balloon, they transformed back into their original, moving appearances.

"Lady Tianfeng is back and is waiting for you."

Bai Zhicen said with annoyance, reaching into space and pulling out a cup of milk as if performing a magic trick. Bai Haoze activated her martial soul, Light Unicorn, to heat it up before handing it to Zhao Xuanzhen.

Taking the steaming milk and drinking it down in gulps—it was from a thousand-year snow mountain yak, rich in nutrition and mellow in flavor—Zhao Xuanzhen felt moved internally.

Starting in the Spirit Tower, do you know what kind of life he has lived for these six years? It's simply...

A fairy-tale life!

Favored by his teacher, a seven-figure allowance, and two loyal, saintess-type sisters who care for and love him, satisfying his every request anytime, anywhere!

"Here, I am happy and have no thoughts of returning!"

"Let's go, don't keep Teacher waiting."

Time passes and things change; the Limit Douluo Continent is no longer the era of Tang San, where Spirit Hall deacons traveled the world to help soul masters awaken, nor is it the era of Huo Yuhao, ten thousand years ago, when even martial soul awakening was difficult.

Nowadays, free martial soul awakening sites have been built all over the continent, and as one of the super powers, the Spirit Tower naturally has its own exclusive martial soul awakening site.

The three of them took the high-level elevator straight to the ninth floor of the Spirit Tower, the Awakening Room.

As the elevator doors opened, Zhao Xuanzhen stepped onto the ninth floor and discovered that the entire Awakening Room had been cleared out. He couldn't see a single member of the Spirit Tower; the hall was as empty as water, the crystal chandelier refracted warm white colors, and the marble floor was bright enough to reflect a person's image.

Without a doubt, it had been booked out for the day; unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter.

A certain powerful and influential person valued Zhao Xuanzhen and provided him with a spacious, quiet environment.

"Xuanzhen."

A call suddenly rang out, and a figure walked out from the depths of the Awakening Room. Sunlight shone from her side, her beautiful, picturesque features and exquisite, curvaceous figure carrying a charming halo, making one unwilling to look away.

Her dark hair was like a waterfall and mist, light and supple. A pair of phoenix eyes like red gemstones revealed a coldness like frost, and her willow-leaf eyebrows were curved, adding a touch of tenderness to her coldness.

"Greetings, Lady Tianfeng."

Seeing the woman appear, the Bai sisters' eyes immediately revealed reverence, and they bowed respectfully. There was no other reason; the woman's status and her own strength were things they looked up to.

Deputy Tower Master of the Spirit Tower, Four-Character Doukai Master, Tianfeng Limit Douluo Leng Yaozhu.

"Teacher."

Zhao Xuanzhen walked quickly toward Leng Yaozhu. Leng Yaozhu bent down, reached out, cupped Zhao Xuanzhen's face, and rubbed it vigorously, smiling:

"Martial soul awakening is about to happen, are you nervous?"

"There's no need to be nervous. Martial soul awakening cannot determine a soul master's long life; the Limit Douluo Continent has too many treasures to make up for innate deficiencies."

"To quote a famous saying: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the young because they are poor.'"

Zhao Xuanzhen let Leng Yaozhu enjoy the 'bouncy' tactile sensation, which made the Bai sisters look on with envy. Yesterday, they couldn't even pat his head; in the end, Teacher's face was more important.

"You're quite carefree for such a young age." Leng Yaozhu withdrew her hand, her gaze gentle. "However, Teacher hopes you can inherit your mother's Spirit Phoenix martial soul, a rare spirit-attribute phoenix bloodline; I can teach you my skills to the greatest extent."

"Teacher, Teacher, the Spirit Phoenix is indeed very strong, but it's too operation-intensive. Is there any simpler and more powerful martial soul you recommend?"

"There is." Leng Yaozhu nodded. "Your father's Silver Giant, combined with ancient martial arts fist techniques, is simple and powerful."

The Leng family is one of the ruling families of the Spirit Tower, inheriting the Heavenly Phoenix martial soul, also known as the Phoenix Family.

Zhao Xuanzhen's mother, Ye Ling, came from the collateral Spirit Phoenix lineage. Fifteen years ago, she was recommended by the Spirit Tower to join the army and guard a key location, where she met and fell in love with Zhao Xuanzhen's father, Zhao Liuyun.

Just on the day Zhao Xuanzhen was born, the evil creatures guarded by the legion's key location suddenly rioted, on a scale that could be called the greatest in a century. The couple unfortunately sacrificed themselves, leaving behind their young son, Zhao Xuanzhen.

After the war ended, the legion won a tragic victory. A high-ranking general originally proposed to adopt Zhao Xuanzhen, but Leng Yaozhu intervened in the matter.

The two beauties of the Leng family, who were once famous for both their prestige and beauty across the continent, were both left alone. The main line of the Leng family had no heirs, making the collateral line even more important, so Leng Yaozhu took Zhao Xuanzhen away, took him as her disciple, and looked forward to the day he would become the family leader after her.

Six years have passed, and the moment to 'scratch the lottery ticket' has finally arrived; 'Thank you for your patronage' or the 'hidden grand prize' is about to be revealed.

"Xuanzhen, Teacher will help you awaken your martial soul. Big White, Little White, you come along too."

Leng Yaozhu stood up and walked inside, her gait gentle and graceful, her whole body full of feminine charm. Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai sisters followed closely behind.

In the center of the Awakening Room, Zhao Xuanzhen stood still. Leng Yaozhu extended a slender, jade-like finger and slowly injected soul power into the surroundings.

The awakening method was extremely simple; even if a Great Soul Master performed it, there would be no danger at all, let alone with Tianfeng Limit Douluo operating it herself.

During this process, Leng Yaozhu kept her eyes on Zhao Xuanzhen, and Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen locked their spirits onto him even more tightly. They were his teacher and sisters, having witnessed Zhao Xuanzhen grow from a child into a boy, and they were terrified that something might happen to him.

The martial soul awakening began, and Zhao Xuanzhen only felt a warm breath constantly permeating his body, a power gradually awakening within him, evolving from a slight fluctuation to a violent boiling.

Under the guidance of that warm breath, it was as if something had shattered, and all the energy surged through his entire body!

In an instant, black and white mist emerged, and the entire ninth floor of the Spirit Tower shone brilliantly, like a strange dream.

Zhao Xuanzhen stood quietly in place, eyes closed tightly, invisible power overflowing, his body shrouded in a mysterious black and white halo.

Mist filled the air, and the three women felt as if they were floating in black and white clouds; the person who was just in front of them suddenly drifted into the clouds, out of reach.

The Bai sisters' 'breath-cultivation' skills were far inferior to Leng Yaozhu's, and they couldn't help but open their mouths wide. Bai Haoze muttered: "Xuanzhen's martial soul awakening has a much bigger commotion than ours did!"

Bai Zhicen felt the same; the sisters possessed top-tier Unicorn martial souls, and at six years old, they only showed slight anomalies.

Judging from the angle that the bigger the awakening commotion, the stronger the martial soul, their past worries...

Were all unnecessary!

Leng Yaozhu's phoenix eyes were also overflowing with brilliance. Although she had prepared a series of tonics like Profound Water Pills, Whale Glue, and Shark Pearls in advance, and even prepared herself to pay a high price to go to Tang Men to exchange for an Immortal Grade herb, it was ideal if it wasn't needed. Every teacher hopes their disciple's talent is as powerful as possible!

In the eyes of the three women, Zhao Xuanzhen's body was completely rendered by the black and white halo, his whole body emitting radiance. Under the action of the ancient traditional ceremony, his dormant martial soul was about to awaken.

Leng Yaozhu, who had the highest cultivation and was closest to Zhao Xuanzhen, saw a black and white pattern flash on her disciple's forehead, rapidly spreading like a web to his limbs and bones, reflecting all the meridians of his body.

"Not a Spirit Phoenix..."

As the head of the Phoenix Family, Leng Yaozhu was extremely familiar with the Phoenix martial soul, and in one second, she judged that this was definitely not a Spirit Phoenix!

"Could it be a Silver Giant?"

Just as Leng Yaozhu was deep in thought, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly opened his eyes, and his soul power fluctuation erupted with a boom, accompanied by a clear mental fluctuation!

Three pairs of beautiful eyes immediately scanned Zhao Xuanzhen from top to bottom like searchlights, identifying what kind of martial soul it was at the first opportunity.

Martial souls on the Limit Douluo Continent are generally divided into two categories: tool martial souls and beast martial souls, both of which would cause great changes to the soul master without exception. But Zhao Xuanzhen didn't have any extra weapons, nor did his body show any soul beast characteristics; only a strand of black hair quietly turned pale.

"Hair?"

Bai Haoze blinked her eyes.

"Body martial soul..."

Bai Zhicen scratched her white hair by her ear.

"It is a body martial soul, but not hair."

Leng Yaozhu spoke softly, then added: "It should be said that it's more than just hair!"

As if to confirm Leng Yaozhu's words, the black and white mist emitted by Zhao Xuanzhen condensed behind him, and a figure slowly took shape—it was actually an enlarged version of Zhao Xuanzhen, his eyes as brilliant as stars, and a Taiji Yin-Yang diagram rotating regularly beneath his feet!

"Self!"

The Bai sisters' pupils widened slightly. On the Limit Douluo Continent, martial souls are inherited through bloodlines, but there is only one type of martial soul that all soul masters might awaken: a part of the human body, also known as a body martial soul!

Among body martial souls, the more important the body part, the higher the martial soul's potential!

'Self' was undoubtedly the top-tier body martial soul!

"Self... not bad."

Zhao Xuanzhen laughed lightly, feeling the power surging through his body. To be honest, it was much stronger than his psychological expectations.

While the Spirit Phoenix and Silver Giant were both high-level martial souls, the problem was that this was the era of the Long Wang Legend.

Facing the two great Long Wang ancestors, beast martial souls simply had no way to survive, but body martial souls were completely different. Their strength depended only on Zhao Xuanzhen himself, without fear of bloodline suppression like a caste system. It was the most suitable martial soul for him to integrate his past-life Taoist arts!

"Xuanzhen, test your mental power and innate soul power."

Leng Yaozhu's expression had an irrepressible excitement. There was a Body Martial Soul Super Limit Douluo sitting in the Spirit Tower headquarters, and when she communicated with him, she learned many secrets about body martial souls.

She had a feeling that Zhao Xuanzhen's 'Self' matched that description!

Taking an azure crystal ball from her storage soul guidance device, Leng Yaozhu signaled Zhao Xuanzhen to place his right hand on it. The next second, a metal helmet for testing mental power fell from the ceiling, covering the top of Zhao Xuanzhen's head.

As soon as Zhao Xuanzhen touched the crystal ball, the blue crystal ball lit up. The dazzling blue light spread rapidly from the starting point, and the rich blue halo was exposed, making the entire crystal ball shine like a brilliant gem.

The anomaly didn't stop there; a slight humming sound rang out, the helmet flashed with a soft white light, and the three women looked at the connected soul guidance screen, where data began to jump.

The value started from zero, soared all the way up, broke through three digits in the blink of an eye, and then slowly stabilized, stopping at 188.

"Innate Full Soul Power!"

"Innate Spirit Penetration Realm?"

The Bai sisters' expressions could only be described as dumbfounded, their beautiful features shocked to the point of tangling together.

The soul power crystal ball showing a trace of induction was enough to prove that soul power had been born within the tester. At this moment, the crystal ball in Zhao Xuanzhen's hand was shining with dazzling light, so the answer was obvious.

Innate Full Soul Power.

After a human martial soul awakens, besides the type of martial soul determining whether a soul master's combat power is strong, innate soul power is equally crucial. Innate Full Soul Power is the highest soul power a normal soul master can reach innately, giving them a huge advantage in future cultivation.

Although Innate Full Soul Power is rare, it wouldn't make Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen lose their composure like this; what was outrageous was that 188 points of mental power!

On the current Limit Douluo Continent, soul spirits have almost replaced soul beasts, and powerful soul spirits require sufficiently deep mental power to communicate, so the importance of mental power is no less than that of soul spirits, with six major realms.

Spirit Origin Realm, Spirit Penetration Realm, Spirit Sea Realm, Spirit Abyss Realm, Spirit Domain Realm, and the legendary God Origin Realm.

Spirit Origin Realm signifies the beginning of everything, 1-100 points, the most basic mental level, capable of contracting two ten-year soul spirits or one hundred-year soul spirit.

Spirit Penetration Realm is where the mind is psychic, 100-500 points, capable of contracting two hundred-year soul spirits or one thousand-year soul spirit!

Reaching the Spirit Penetration Realm, mental power control is officially introduced, allowing one to control mental power for one's own use. Innate Spirit Penetration Realm allowed Zhao Xuanzhen's first soul spirit to contract a thousand-year soul beast in one go!

"Sister, do you know what martial soul possesses both Innate Full Soul Power and Innate Spirit Penetration Realm mental power?"

Bai Zhicen looked as if she was doubting life; yesterday, she seemed to have made a fool of herself inadvertently.

"Me? Never heard of it!"

Bai Haoze shook her head like a rattle.

Zhao Xuanzhen couldn't help but smile when he heard the two women's conversation. Next door, Huo Yuhao transmigrated and had a soul mutation, possessing super alchemy talent; is it too much for our mental power to have some 'face'?

"Perfect Self, so the 'Illusion Brain' wasn't just bragging back then..."

With crimson pupils deeply watching Zhao Xuanzhen, Leng Yaozhu's eyes contained gratification, consideration, hesitation, and...

Ambition!

After a long while, her expression transformed from complex to one emotion: determination!

"Xuanzhen, your martial soul is not 'Self'."

As soon as Leng Yaozhu said this, Zhao Xuanzhen and the Bai sisters were stunned for a moment, casting questioning glances at her. The former didn't keep them in suspense and said slowly:

"You should know that the Limit Douluo Continent has a ten-thousand-year-old sect, the Benti Sect."

"Benti Sect disciples are all possessors of body martial souls; they are the people who understand body martial souls the best."

"Body martial souls correspond to many parts of the human body. Just as the Limit Douluo Continent divides traditional martial souls into tool martial souls and beast martial souls, the Benti Sect divides body martial souls into two lineages: physical and mental."

"'Self' in the Benti Sect's definition refers to the entire flesh and blood body, covering limbs, torso, skin, etc... It is the pinnacle of the physical lineage."

"You have all heard of the pinnacle of the mental lineage: the Spirit Ice Limit Douluo Huo Yuhao's 'Asura Eye,' a spirit-attribute martial soul that encompasses the eyes and brain."

"Physical and mental..." Zhao Xuanzhen narrowed his eyes. "Sounds so familiar, a bit like the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings each occupying half of the Dragon God's great power."

"You are right." Leng Yaozhu nodded gently. "For tens of thousands of years, the Benti Sect has constantly pursued the perfect form of the body martial soul. It should be like the Dragon God, integrating the Golden Long Wang's ultimate physique and the Silver Long Wang's world-shaking wisdom, giving birth to the supreme body martial soul."

"Xuanzhen, your 'Self' that possesses spirit attributes is exactly the god-level body martial soul that the Benti Sect dreams of..."

"True Self!"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====