Analects

Du Siji slowly opened his eyes, and his aura surged once again.

The secondary awakening of his Silver-level martial soul, combined with his near Soul King strength, made him appear as formidable as a Soul Sage to those not looking closely.

At this level of secondary awakening, the full attribute boost is almost comparable to the effect of a martial soul avatar.

In some ways, a secondary awakening is even more terrifying than a martial soul avatar because it has the potential to evolve!

Du Siji' martial soul was himself. In his secondary awakened state, his pupils had turned silver.

He looked completely different from before, with a grateful expression and no signs of losing control.

After sensing the changes in himself, Du Siji finally turned to Zhongli and said, "Sect Master, I've succeeded."

"Mm, suppress it now."

"We've already disturbed the public for too long."

Zhongli nodded, speaking calmly and without showing any emotion.

Upon hearing this, Du Siji quickly withdrew his martial soul, returning to his original appearance.

The words of thanks that had reached his lips were swallowed back by him in the end.

Zhongli hadn't just changed him—he had changed the fate of all martial soul masters with body-based martial souls in the world.

How fragile the words "thank you" seem!

They needed to show their resolve with their actions.

If Du Siji had been a fanatical believer before, now his faith in Zhongli had reached the level of a saintly disciple!

In worlds that cultivate faith, saint-level believers are exceedingly rare.

Normally, the highest level most can reach is that of a fanatic.

Yu Xiaogang watched the scene unfold from afar, feeling somewhat dejected. He had rushed over as fast as he could, but only caught the final moments.

There was some value in what he saw, but not much.

"Does this mean that the road to revenge is getting further and further away?"

Ma Hongjun muttered quietly, a look of concern hanging on his face.

One Xiao Felian was already difficult enough to deal with, offering almost no hope.

Now, she had gained a near-Soul King level teammate!

How could they possibly fight this?

Hearing this, Tang San and Dai Mubai were stunned. The expressions on their faces, already somewhat stiff, grew even heavier.

"What are you afraid of? Brother Dai is already a near-Soul Ancestor, and after he absorbs a spirit ring, he'll be a full-fledged Soul Ancestor."

"With my Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda boosting him, even defeating a Soul King isn't out of reach!"

Ning Rongrong spoke up bluntly.

She was a Soul Elder, a three-ring spirit master.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancement increased by 10% with every spirit ring absorbed.

At her current stage, with three rings, her skills would offer a 40% boost to everything.

As soon as she said this, Ning Fengzhi, who was watching from the shadows, couldn't sit still any longer.

This child, Ning Rongrong, is hopeless!

Even if he, Ning Fengzhi, personally went down to boost the Shrek Seven Monsters... no, Six Monsters, Ning Rongrong wouldn't be able to handle his enhancement.

After all, she herself possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.

With their current levels of spirit power, challenging the silver-awakened Du Siji would be nothing short of suicide.

With his keen eye, Ning Fengzhi could vaguely perceive just how terrifying the attribute boost from a silver-level secondary awakening could be for a spirit master.

It was equivalent to the power of a martial soul avatar!

In fact, the boost to attributes was even more comprehensive than that of a martial soul avatar!

A martial soul avatar enhances all attributes, but with a focus.

For example, strength-type spirit masters receive more enhancement to strength, while other attributes are more balanced.

Agility-type spirit masters experience greater boosts to speed, with other attributes also remaining balanced.

However, the silver-level secondary awakening enhances all attributes equally.

That being said, this could also be considered a weakness, as there isn't one particularly dominant aspect.

A comprehensive and balanced enhancement means that there are no weaknesses but also no particular strengths.

"Yeah, we forgot about you, Rongrong!"

Everyone's eyes lit up. With a 40% boost to three attributes, that could certainly close the gap significantly.

Even though Zhongli wasn't paying close attention to the conversation among the Shrek members, he could hear it clearly.

It was clear that Ning Fengzhi, once again, had managed to support multiple sides without offending anyone.

Even though he knew that Shrek Academy was a trap, he had no choice but to allow his daughter to form bonds with them.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Clear Sky Clan, the Star Luo Empire…

If things went well, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could gain friendships with these major powers.

If things went badly, they'd only lose Ning Rongrong.

Ning Fengzhi didn't just have Ning Rongrong as a daughter, after all.

The reason Ning Rongrong was so favored was that her innate spirit power was the highest, giving her a chance to evolve the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Eight Treasures Pagoda.

Without that potential, Ning Rongrong's personality, while not being disregarded, wouldn't have garnered as much attention.

After all, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda can only be cultivated to the Soul Sage level.

If it weren't for the possibility of breaking through this limitation, there wouldn't be much difference between innate level 7 and level 9 spirit power.

At level 71 and level 79, the boost effects are the same; the only difference is how long it can be sustained.

Even the owner of the Seven Treasure Hotel, Ning Fengzhi's cousin, is a Soul Sage and was once a candidate for the position of sect master.

Unfortunately, his talent fell short, but it wasn't cultivation talent that he lacked—it was his ability to handle matters.

To be the sect master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan, cultivation talent isn't the main requirement. As long as one can reach the Soul Sage level, that's sufficient.

Handling people and situations is the most important factor!

---

The next morning.

Zhongli, Paimon, and Du Siji were on their way from Heaven Dou City to the Sunset Forest.

Du Siji had broken through to level 50 and needed to absorb a new spirit ring to make the breakthrough official.

After returning to Zhongli's residence the previous night, Zhongli had been deeply pondering what kind of "sacred text" would help the disciples of the Body Sect cultivate inner righteousness.

After much thought, he decided to start with the Analects of Confucius as a test.

The Analects is a profound collection of teachings from Confucius, recorded, excerpted, and compiled by his disciples.

In his past life, Zhongli had memorized the Analects in his short decade or so of life but hadn't fully grasped its wisdom.

With thousands of years of experience now, reading the Analects again offered him a whole new perspective.

"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous."

"When three people walk together, one can always learn from the others!"

"Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar..."

Confucian philosophy indeed has a great deal of value in cultivating inner righteousness.

Before the sun rose, Zhongli made a quick trip back to the Body Sect to instruct acting sect leader to ensure that all sect disciples study the Analects. After giving these instructions, he returned to his residence.

---

At that moment, inside the Body Sect.

Du Bafang ordered many copies of the Analects to be made and took the first one to begin his own study.

Sect Master had come early in the morning, instructing him to have all disciples study the text. When he returned from helping Du Siji hunt a spirit beast, they could consult him if they had any questions.

"The Analects, could it be some kind of martial technique?"

Du Bafang wondered silently.

The Sect Master was the Martial God Douluo, his martial arts skills reaching divine levels.

This Analects must be something extraordinary!

"Hiss—"

"This..."

"Good, good, good!"

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire!"

"If I don't want something, I won't give it to others!"

"A gentleman is not respected if he is not imposing!"

"If a gentleman doesn't fight fiercely, he won't have any authority!"

"As expected of the Sect Master, as expected of the Martial God himself!"

Zhongli: "???"