Chapter 5: Qi Follows the Heart, Countless Changes

A capybara that cannot refuse others' coercion!

As long as you force it hard, the capybara will do anything!

Holding a mentality of 'living is good, dying is also fine,' the Auspicious Capybara moved slowly to Zhao Xuanzhen's side, its body blooming with scorching brilliance, emitting the aura of the Yin-Yang attribute.

Zhao Xuanzhen seemed to sense something, raised his right hand, and placed it gently on the Yin-Yang imprint on the Auspicious Capybara's forehead. Yin-Yang air currents suddenly rose, as if two black and white giant dragons were dancing wildly around one person and one beast.

Seeing this scene, Leng Yaozhu and the Bai sisters couldn't help but show joy. They had fused with several soul spirits and naturally understood the current situation.

The unique auspicious beast of the Spirit Tower, the No. 99 Unyielding Soul Spirit, was concluding a contract with a human!

After a while, the Auspicious Capybara whimpered, its cute body melting into Zhao Xuanzhen like flowing water. During this process, the fluctuation of the black and white air currents became extremely intense.

The second after the Auspicious Capybara completely fused, all the air currents surged toward Zhao Xuanzhen's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. A bright yellow light wheel, shining several times brighter than an ordinary hundred-year soul ring, rose abruptly, with special pale gold patterns of the auspicious beast engraved on the surface of the soul ring.

Soul power advanced, level 13!

The contract was successfully completed, and Zhao Xuanzhen let out a long sigh of relief. No one likes to be suppressed by the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings into a 'roadside strip' for no reason. Both the True Self and the Auspicious Capybara were not afraid of bloodline pressure, and the heavy stone hanging in his heart was finally put down by half.

At this time, a smart person would ask: what is the other half?

Trident warning!

"Xuanzhen, congratulations on having your first soul spirit, a promising future!" The Bai sisters said with a smile.

"Without Teacher, I wouldn't even have the qualifications to see the Auspicious Capybara."

Zhao Xuanzhen waved his hand and smiled. Only the Tower Master and Deputy Tower Master of the Spirit Tower have the right to dispatch auspicious beasts. The prerequisite for fusing with the Auspicious Capybara was actually Leng Yaozhu.

"Alright, don't gild me; fusing with a soul spirit ultimately depends on yourself." Leng Yaozhu's lips curled up. "Since you're here, how about challenging the Spirit Ascension Platform?"

"Okay, let's test the effect of the soul skill, and just happen to help the capybara ascend."

Zhao Xuanzhen stretched his muscles and bones, feeling refreshed. After his martial soul awakened, the Yin-Yang energy hidden within his body changed from dormant to active, and he also very much wanted to witness the power of his past-life skills combined with his current-life martial soul!

The Spirit Ascension Platform is a semi-real, semi-virtual space created by the Spirit Tower, where millions of soul beasts live, providing combat training for Federation soul masters.

In addition to improving combat experience, when soul masters kill soul beasts in the Spirit Ascension Platform, they can absorb ten percent of the energy.

If Zhao Xuanzhen kills a hundred-year Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear, his first soul ring will directly increase by ten years of cultivation. If Leng Yaozhu kills it, the nine soul rings will be distributed together, increasing by about one year on average.

Therefore, as long as the soul master himself has enough support to accommodate high-level soul rings, the earlier the soul spirit ascends, the simpler it is.

The True Self martial soul provided a powerful body and excellent spirit. Zhao Xuanzhen had no problem bearing a thousand-year soul spirit, and he intended to let the Auspicious Capybara cross four hundred years of cultivation in one go and advance to the first soul ring!

Leng Yaozhu pressed the button, the wall slowly cracked, and a metal cabinet slowly slid out. The style was not very auspicious; the exterior looked inexplicably like a coffin, with a width just enough for a person to lie in.

Zhao Xuanzhen lay into the metal cabinet, and strips of instrument suction cups quickly emerged, fitting his body seamlessly. Leng Yaozhu's gentle voice followed:

"Xuanzhen, you are a one-ring soul master, about to enter the primary Spirit Ascension Platform, which allows soul masters under the four-ring Soul Sect to enter. Most of them are ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts, and occasionally thousand-year soul beasts will appear."

"The Spirit Ascension Platform is brain-wave access. Theoretically, once mental power breaks through the Spirit Penetration Realm, there is no life danger, but under huge stimulation, the sea of spirit can be severely damaged. If you encounter a soul beast you cannot match, be sure to remember to press the distress signal to leave the Spirit Ascension Platform."

"Understood."

The metal cabinet slid into the wall, the Spirit Ascension Platform journey started, and the last image in Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes stayed on the Bai sisters' cheering fists, and then the world turned pitch black.

Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.

Trees pierced the clouds, and the surroundings were large patches of shrubs. There was no road in the true sense. The sky was clear, the sea of trees rose and fell, and the green of the primeval forest was boundless.

Zhao Xuanzhen breathed deeply, the fresh air of nature was refreshing, and the abundant life energy made people feel happy. The primary Spirit Ascension Platform was equivalent to the outer area of the Star Dou Great Forest in the past, an ancient scene not seen in the era of the Long Wang Legend.

Picking a direction based on his sixth sense, Zhao Xuanzhen began to search for soul beasts living in the Spirit Ascension Platform. The Auspicious Capybara had six hundred years of cultivation, and raising the first soul ring limit by four hundred years required killing a four-thousand-year soul beast.

Time is tight and the task is heavy, be bold and finish early!

In the room outside, Leng Yaozhu and the Bai sisters watched Zhao Xuanzhen's every move through the soul guidance screen.

Leng Yaozhu crossed her arms, the aura of a Title Douluo fully opened, and the Bai sisters subconsciously moved away a few steps.

In Leng Yaozhu's understanding, a teacher needs to deeply understand the disciple's ability characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses, and then formulate a detailed cultivation plan to help the disciple's talent be perfectly realized.

She took the initiative to propose the Spirit Ascension Platform training because she wanted to use a microscope to carefully observe Zhao Xuanzhen. After all, nothing is easier to see a person's ability than actual combat.

On the screen, Zhao Xuanzhen's figure was slender and agile, with a red signal device on the back of his left hand. A white garment fluttered lightly, like a white wolf shuttling through the forest, agile and full of the youthful spirit unique to a boy.

His feet suddenly paused, Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes became concentrated, and he looked in one direction abruptly. Leng Yaozhu and the others were attracted by him, and then they saw the figures of soul beasts appearing in the forest, and they couldn't help but frown.

"Wind Baboon... tribe!"

More than twenty scarlet pupils lit up one after another. They were baboons with extremely ugly appearances, brown-yellow fur covering their entire bodies, sharp claws, protruding canine teeth at the corners of their mouths, and ferocious beast eyes!

"The 'God-Slayer,' a bit interesting."

Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze was calm, dreaming back to the first battle of Huo Yuhao, the God of Emotions, in the Star Dou Great Forest. His opponent today was also a Wind Baboon, but the number was a tribe!

The Wind Baboon didn't deserve the evaluation of a high-level soul beast; its combat power was actually in the lower-middle level of the soul beast pyramid. In the eyes of soul beasts like the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear, they were nothing more than food, but a tribe of more than twenty Wind Baboons formed a fatal crisis for a normal one-ring soul master who had just stepped into the world!

"Roar—"

The Wind Baboon King had eight hundred years of cultivation. The moment it discovered a human in its territory, its eyes immediately erupted with violent and cruel murderous intent. It hammered its chest heavily with both fists, releasing an attack signal to the tribe. The Wind Baboon received the order and rushed up, howling and screaming on all fours.

A three-hundred-year Wind Baboon was the fastest, baring its fangs and rushing straight at Zhao Xuanzhen, its long arms clasped above its head, smashing down with a violent hammer!

The fist brought a harsh sonic boom as it fell. Zhao Xuanzhen drew an arc with his left foot and retreated half a step. Soul power surged, True Self martial soul possessed him, and his black hair turned pale!

The first soul ring shone brilliantly. As his right hand turned and gripped the Wind Baboon's wrist, a black and white air current surged through his entire right arm!

"First soul skill, Qi Follows the Heart."

The Wind Baboon's strong body suddenly lost its center of gravity. Zhao Xuanzhen's fingertips slid along the rugged beast arm to the left chest, like a calligrapher lifting a brush to outline 'flying white'!

"Squeak!!!"

Its eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets, and the Wind Baboon let out a roar that pierced the clouds. Fear soared to the extreme due to the intense pain, but nothing could change the inevitable ending. The Yin-Yang air vortex pierced its heart, and blood mist refracted a beautiful, sorrowful brilliance in mid-air!

The vanguard, whose combat power was only inferior to the King, was killed in one blow. The impact of this scene was extremely strong. The Wind Baboon's pupils widened, and its feet honestly slowed down, the momentum of its charge exploding and decreasing!

Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze was cold. His arms bent, his body moved sideways to draw a standard circle, and the Yin-Yang vortex appeared under his feet. His whole person erupted with speed close to teleportation, residual images condensed into lines, his clothes fluttered, revealing his tight abdominal muscle lines.

An uninvited guest broke into the Wind Baboon tribe. Turning and stepping, single whip, double push palms, blocking and hammering—every move was a fatal blow. Exquisite techniques, yet not a single redundant movement. Raising his hand meant death, and every move meant a life lost!

Qi follows the heart, countless changes. True Self mobilized the Yin-Yang energy within his body, changing forms as he pleased, dual cultivation of far and near, capable of attacking, defending, and boosting!

"The moves look like the ancient martial arts Xuanzhen practices slowly every day! This, this isn't right!"

In front of the soul guidance screen, Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen stretched their necks out, the sisters wishing they could rush into the Spirit Ascension Platform and grab Zhao Xuanzhen by the collar and shake him repeatedly!

You said 'a watermelon cut in two,' how did it become 'a head split in two'?!

Practicing slowly and fighting fast, you brat, you're not even 'salting' (slacking off) anymore!

"Strength and speed far exceed soul masters of the same level, and the power of the first soul skill combined with the arm boost is enough to kill ordinary hundred-year soul beasts in seconds." Leng Yaozhu's crimson eyes curved, and a smile curled at the corners of her mouth. "The combat techniques are the most surprising. No wonder he liked studying ancient martial arts since he was little; he really is a natural battle soul master."

"Boom, boom, boom..."

How powerful is the innate strength of a body martial soul? Coupled with the secondary boost provided by the arms attached to 'Qi Follows the Heart,' the Wind Baboon that lost to the God of Emotions was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in front of Zhao Xuanzhen, falling one after another.

The blood-red stained the earth, and the surviving Wind Baboons were completely terrified. The enemy was like mist that couldn't be grasped, while their tribesmen had already died more than half. The fists they threw in their death throes could only graze the flying hair tips!

Hearing the mournful cries from the depths of his subordinates' throats, the Wind Baboon King roared to the sky, hammered his chest violently, forcibly awakened the tribe's fighting spirit, and ordered them to gather and attack!

On one side was the King's irresistible order, on the other was the human soul master who descended like a demon. Rationality and fear exploded together, and the lucky surviving Wind Baboons almost lost their ability to judge.

Left and right fighting destroyed their already underdeveloped brains. The death of their companions was like wheat being cut down, and the rich smell of blood stimulated the Wind Baboons to fall into a state of madness. The wildness deep in the soul beast bloodline gradually gained the upper hand, and they opened their mouths to activate their talent soul skills, shooting balls of light at Zhao Xuanzhen!

"Qi Moves Shanhe!"

The light balls were easily crushed into powder by the Yin-Yang vortex. Above the sky, a magnificent Taiji diagram was woven, black and white rotating and mixing in the air, carrying Yin-Yang energy and falling down like a sun crashing to the ground!

Seeing the Taiji diagram like a natural disaster, the Wind Baboons' faces turned pale, and looks of despair appeared on their faces, spitting light balls from their mouths in a futile struggle.

"Suppress!"

The moment Zhao Xuanzhen's palms closed, the Taiji diagram dragged circular light flames and fell to the earth. The Yin-Yang energy that exploded swept through this forest boundary inch by inch. Rocks, land, ancient trees, everything was reduced to ashes under the Yin-Yang baptism!

Forcing the enemy formation, like seeing the light breaking through the clouds!

The Wind Baboons suffered heavy casualties, and a large wave of soul power poured into Zhao Xuanzhen's lonely first soul ring.

Accepting the great power of the God-Slayer, strengthening was inevitable. A touch of noble and pure purple faintly gestated within the transparent yellow soul ring.

"It's your turn, super God-Slayer..."

Zhao Xuanzhen locked his aura onto the Wind Baboon King, who was struggling to climb up. This guy had been calling his younger brothers to consume him, while secretly trying to pick up the 'head' (the kill).

Who would have thought that the enemy's mechanism and values were too 'over-modeled'? The battle hadn't started for a few minutes, and in the blink of an eye, the younger brothers were wiped out. The Wind Baboon King was extremely glad that he had been a little further away just now, and had activated his talent soul skill to dodge outward at the first opportunity. Even so, he was almost rolled into the aftermath of 'Qi Moves Shanhe'!

The Wind Baboon King shook his head, his bloodshot pupils filled with intense hatred, his arm muscles bulging like hills. He didn't have any thoughts of running away. The blood feud of exterminating the tribe was irreconcilable, and he had seen Zhao Xuanzhen's terrifying speed. The end of running away must be death!

The majestic beast body rushed toward Zhao Xuanzhen's direction. A layer of pale cyan light emerged. After his cultivation broke through eight hundred years, the Wind Baboon King could mobilize a little wind element in the air, and his charging body brought out a few illusory images.

Zhao Xuanzhen rushed toward the Wind Baboon King's charge. All parts of his body were part of the True Self martial soul. 'Qi Follows the Heart' added to his legs, and his speed was more than a notch better than the Wind Baboon King's!

The moment one person and one beast collided, Zhao Xuanzhen's palm slashed diagonally along the trajectory of the Wind Baboon's arm. The iconic 'Wild Horse Parting the Mane' of Taiji Fist caused the Wind Baboon King's full-force blow to be misaligned and diverted. While missing, the Wind Baboon King felt like a flying insect falling into amber, watching helplessly as its limbs were twisted into a twist by invisible energy.

The final blow, 'Forward Elbow'!

"Boom—"

The Wind Baboon King flew up like a sack of potatoes, its expression maintained in disbelief. The flesh and blood on its chest were torn by dark energy, and its internal organs, with the heart as the core, were all shaken into meat paste!

"Done."

Crossing over the corpse of the Wind Baboon King, who died with his eyes wide open, Zhao Xuanzhen expressed satisfaction with the martial soul strength and the first soul skill 'Qi Follows the Heart.' The True Self body martial soul provided heaven-defying basic values, and 'Qi Follows the Heart' supplemented the ever-changing mechanism. The 'Three-Body People' of the Douluo Continent were beginning to emerge!

Everything is ready, only persistence and effort are needed!

This group of Wind Baboons totaled twenty-two. The Baboon King was eight hundred years old, the vanguard was three hundred years old, seven were hundred-year Wind Baboons, and the rest were ten-year soul beasts.

Calculated at a ten percent conversion rate, they provided nearly two hundred years of cultivation for the Auspicious Capybara. The Spirit Ascension Platform task progress reached half, and Zhao Xuanzhen seemed to hear the echo of victory!

Continuing to advance into the depths of the forest, Zhao Xuanzhen whispered to himself:

"Having said that, the body martial soul is indeed simple and powerful..."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 6 =====