Chapter 50: A New Era for the Body Sect

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As Xu Yuan's blood and qi increased, the Five-Element Spear Spirit also grew stronger. This was a good sign—it meant that the fusion between the spear spirit and his blood and qi was proceeding smoothly.

Xu Yuan felt highly motivated in his cultivation.

"With the existence of the blood and qi contract, your progress in cultivating blood and qi has indeed accelerated significantly," Mu Ye remarked, clearly impressed.

Because Xu Yuan's body martial soul resided in his brain, although he could cultivate many of the Body Sect's secret techniques with decent aptitude, his growth in blood and qi had always been a weak point.

Though it seemed Xu Yuan had only condensed his blood and qi two months ago, in reality, over the past year, Mu Ye had been closely observing the power of his blood and qi. Compared to Xu Yuan's eldest senior brother, the gap was significant.

"Mm, so this approach might be worth considering as a reference for expanding the Body Sect's disciple recruitment criteria," Xu Yuan suggested.

Mu Ye frowned, not expecting Xu Yuan to bring this up.

There was no denying that the Body Sect had declined in the current era.

If not for his and Zhen Hua's relationship—and their possession of four-character battle armor—they would still belong to the strongest tier on the Douluo Continent, with Limit Douluo-level combat abilities. Otherwise, the Body Sect might not even qualify as a first-rate power anymore.

Of course, the Body Sect's decline stemmed from its rarity of body martial soul users, resulting in few disciples, combined with its lack of dominance in any specialized industries. As the times evolved, the sect gradually faded but remained resilient.

The previous leader of the Body Sect was a Limit Douluo.

The current leader, Mu Ye, was both a four-character battle armor master and a god-level mech pilot.

The next heir, Ah Ruheng, possessed a body martial soul and had shown exceptional promise under the sect's innate secret methods since childhood. He had the potential to achieve the "Flawless Golden Body" realm. Barring untimely death, his future was assured as a Limit-level powerhouse.

In this regard, the Body Sect's cultivation secrets and methods were undeniably powerful, producing elite disciples despite their scarcity.

In terms of heritage, the Body Sect could rival Shrek Academy's Tang Sect or even challenge the Spirit Pagoda. However, as a sect with few members and no special industry dominance—unlike the Spirit Pagoda, which monopolized the spirit soul industry—the Body Sect had gradually declined over the past ten thousand years.

But what if this situation could change? For example, by increasing the number of disciples...

Why did the Body Sect only recruit body martial soul users?

Initially, it was because a group of body martial soul masters banded together for mutual support. Over time, as the sect's secret methods improved, the core of the Body Sect became blood and qi cultivation.

Without a body martial soul, blood and qi cultivation faced tremendous obstacles. Thus, the Body Sect had never recruited non-body martial soul users.

Zhen Hua was an exception.

And now, Xu Yuan's suggestion seemed to herald the possibility of a new era for the Body Sect.

Mu Ye fell into deep thought.

If the blood and qi contract truly allowed soul masters to cultivate blood and qi more smoothly—even without a body martial soul—if they could at least easily begin cultivation and make progress, it might already meet the Body Sect's entry requirements.

Moreover, if Xu Yuan's exploration continued and he succeeded in transforming his blood and qi into a blood and qi martial soul, fusing his martial soul with blood and qi , and attaching soul rings directly to blood and qi, this method would likely reach a level comparable to body martial souls.

And could a blood and qi martial soul undergo a second awakening?

Theoretically, yes!

Mu Ye was genuinely intrigued.

He had let himself stagnate because his pursuit of mech piloting perfection had delayed his own cultivation, causing damage to his foundation during a critical moment and preventing him from breaking through to Super Douluo.

But if the Body Sect had a chance to rise again—or rather, make a comeback—he, as the sect leader, might still have the opportunity to regain his former glory!

"I'll think about it."

In the current state of the continent, the peak powers had already been established. The Body Sect's resurgence would face immense pressure.

"Teacher, there's no rush. The Body Sect can quietly expand its recruitment scope. My Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique could actually be incorporated into the Body Sect's secret methods. Paired with this technique, suitable martial souls wouldn't necessarily be spear-type. Instead, they could be five-element attribute martial souls or those with devouring and digestion potential."

Unlike his dealings with others, Xu Yuan was willing to share the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique with the Body Sect.

"No need. When the Body Sect's disciples require your supreme technique, they can seek you out themselves," Mu Ye waved his hand, refusing to incorporate the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique into the sect's secret arts.

This supreme technique belonged to Xu Yuan alone.

After a week of cultivation, Xu Yuan had thoroughly absorbed Zhen Hua's techniques and adapted to his new training routine after completing the blood and qi contract.

"Teacher, I should head to the Spirit Pagoda's Ascension Platform."

The Ascension Platform only required entry tickets, and the identity of soul masters wasn't recorded. Therefore, tickets could be auctioned, and entering the platform wouldn't result in complete surveillance by the Spirit Pagoda.

The reason it wasn't fully monitored was that staff only observed during entry. Without knowing the identities of those entering, this information wouldn't be compiled into records.

Thus, Xu Yuan didn't need to worry about his situation being documented by the Spirit Pagoda and included in soul master archives, potentially falling into the hands of Qian Gu Dongfeng.

"Go to the Intermediate Spirit Pagoda," Zhen Hua said, handing over two entry tickets. "These were sent by your uncle. The Intermediate Spirit Pagoda allows soul masters below level seventy to enter. Neither your teacher nor I can assist you this time, so I've arranged for a blacksmith from the association to accompany you."

Xu Yuan nodded.

Zhen Hua made a call, and soon there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

"President."

A young man entered—muscular, but his face revealed he was no older than thirty.

"This is Zhao Long, a fifth-rank blacksmith in the association. His soul power is at level fifty-eight. With his strength, he should be more than capable of helping you hunt spirit beasts for your spirit soul's ascension," Zhen Hua introduced him.

Not yet thirty years old, with fifty-eight levels of soul power, and already a fifth-rank blacksmith.

In the forging profession, one's value increased significantly as they advanced, as the early stages focused heavily on foundational skills.

With fifty-eight levels of soul power and already a fifth-rank blacksmith, advancing to sixth rank shouldn't be difficult. The real challenge might lie in reaching seventh rank and achieving Soul Forging.

However, given his circumstances, he clearly had ample time to attempt Soul Forging. If he succeeded, he would become a Saint Craftsman!

On the entire continent, Saint Craftsmen were exceedingly rare.

"Zhao Long, this is Xu Yuan. Your task is to help him complete his spirit soul's ascension—raising the five-hundred-year spirit soul to one thousand years. If he can handle it, push it to fifteen hundred years," Zhen Hua assigned the mission.

Zhao Long didn't hesitate, replying crisply, "Understood."

"Mm," Zhen Hua nodded at Zhao Long and added, "After finishing the ascension of Xu Yuan's spirit soul, you can proceed with your own. This time, directly raise your second spirit soul to just below ten thousand years."

"Thank you, President!"

Due to technical limitations, the Ascension Platform couldn't yet raise spirit souls to the ten-thousand-year level.

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(Author's Note: Previously, I confused the ranks—fourth-rank blacksmiths don't require Spirit Forging; it's only required for fifth-rank blacksmiths. Fourth-rank blacksmiths focus on Thousand Refinements Grade One and begin interacting with spirituality. The theory remains sound; it was just a slip-up in wording, which has now been corrected.)

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