Chapter 101: The First Body Tempering Method

Two months later, Xu Yang had secured his ninth consecutive victory in the Hell Slaughter Arena. Now, few dared to ambush him after he exited the arena. Anyone who tried ended up dead—gruesomely so—their corpses piled up outside the arena as a warning to others: this man was not to be trifled with.

His murderous aura grew thicker with each battle, and his blade techniques became increasingly refined. He even found time to make minor upgrades to his spirit guidance pistol, gravity wristbands, and Wind Chime Wings. All three spirit tools had now reached Grade 4, their power significantly enhanced.

However, Xu Yang had yet to use either the gravity wristbands or Wind Chime Wings. He intended to keep them hidden as trump cards for emergencies.

Utilizing materials scavenged from the storage soul tools of fallen Evil Soul Masters, Xu Yang even cobbled together a set of armor. Though its soul tool propulsion inscriptions were crude and its appearance resembled a pile of mismatched iron lumps, it was equipped with soul tool energy blasters at the arms, legs, and shoulders.

Ugly? Perhaps. But functionality was what mattered.

Even though the armor was only a Grade 1 soul tool, Xu Yang knew that in critical moments, it could offer unexpected advantages.

Meanwhile, outside the Slaughter City, Ning Rongrong's mother had run into danger while traveling with her daughter. Confronted by more than a dozen Soul Douluo—including one titled Douluo—Madam Ning stepped protectively in front of Ning Rongrong, her brows knitting into a cold frown.

The Soul Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, who had been secretly assigned to protect them, instantly revealed themselves, forming a defensive barrier around Madam Ning and Ning Rongrong.

"Madam Ning, we've been tailing you for over a month, waiting for that old bastard Sword Douluo to return to the clan for official business. If we kill you and your daughter here, I wonder... will the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan dare to go to war with Spirit Hall?"

"You're not from Spirit Hall," Madam Ning said sharply. Her eyes narrowed as she quickly deduced the truth. Besides the Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects, only a few hidden clans and reclusive sects possessed titled Douluo.

These mysterious forces had remained in the shadows for generations—low-key and rarely showing themselves. Now, targeting her and her daughter could only mean one thing: the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had disrupted their interests.

Of course, there was also a possibility they were merely posing as someone else. Everything would depend on the enemy leader's spirit.

"Of course not... But Madam Ning, you still have one option. Hand over all the secrets to soul ring limit-breaking. Do that, and we might let you go," said the titled Douluo, smiling faintly as he toyed with his fingernails.

So it really was about the method for surpassing the absorption limit of soul rings. That would certainly be something these hidden forces would fixate on.

Madam Ning understood at once. She glanced at Ning Haiyan, who instantly took the cue. He stepped forward, scooped up Ning Rongrong, unleashed his spirit power to its limit, and led a few Soul Douluo into the sky at full speed, heading straight for Seven Treasure City.

"Trying to run? Dream on!"

The titled Douluo burst forth with spirit power, intending to intercept them. But the next second, a high-heeled shoe appeared right before his face. Shocked, the titled Douluo hastily summoned a Big Dipper Umbrella to block a vicious kick from Madam Ning.

"You're a Titled Douluo?! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan really kept this hidden!" the attacker exclaimed, stunned to see the perfect nine-ring configuration beneath Madam Ning's feet and the slim sword in her hand.

"The Xuanji Clan, huh?" Madam Ning said with a chilling smile upon seeing the umbrella, now recognizing her enemy's background.

Just then, a sword beam shot across the sky. A moment later, Sword Douluo Chen Xin appeared beside Madam Ning, his Seven Kill Sword stained with fresh blood—clear evidence that he had cut his way through to get here.

With the two joining forces, the ambushers stood no chance. None of them survived to tell the tale—their bones buried in that forsaken land.

Back inside Slaughter City, Xu Yang remained unaware of the events outside. Now fully equipped, his fighting style had become increasingly ferocious. With armor to tank damage, he frequently traded blows head-on, adopting a brutal method of fighting. In just ten months, his win count had risen from nine to fifty-three.

A faint blood-red gleam had appeared in the depths of his dark pupils—an embodiment of killing intent, not the poison of Slaughter City. His killing aura had grown so overwhelming that even passing by him made many Evil Soul Masters tremble.

Despite showing no apparent increase in spirit power—still stuck at rank 50—Xu Yang's physical strength and spiritual power had grown immensely. With the nourishment of devoured soul power and detailed inner-view adjustments, his physical strength had doubled, reaching a terrifying 8,000 jin (≈4,000 kg).

Most significantly, using his spiritual inner-view, Xu Yang had pioneered two rudimentary but highly practical body tempering methods. Though simple, they ensured his body steadily improved under the influence of soul power.

The first method involved syncing his breathing with soul power to purify his internal organs—expelling waste, replenishing energy, keeping his body fresh and his stamina limitless. Now, Xu Yang could fight in the Hell Slaughter Arena for an entire day and night without tiring.

The second method was inspired by the high-frequency vibration characteristic of his fourth soul skill, Sun God Light. By vibrating his soul power from the dantian outward during cultivation, the energy would ripple across his body's cells and bones, resulting in continuous tempering of his physique.

These methods made Xu Yang realize how limited Gu Rong's vision had been—likely confined to the boundaries of the Douluo Continent. He lacked broader inspiration.

But Xu Yang was different. His thinking was flexible, enriched by concepts and ideas from his previous life and exposure to countless webnovels. By trying idea after idea, he eventually discovered what worked.

At the same time, he used his inner-view to chart all the meridians in his body and began opening them one by one. For now, he only recognized the two primary meridians along the spine—the Ren and Du meridians—and hoped that opening them would allow him to achieve the legendary Innate Realm.

Moreover, beyond the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Principal Meridians, Xu Yang discovered an ever-growing network of fine meridians branching throughout his body.

In the past year alone, these minor channels had increased the strength of his physique by at least one-third.

To Xu Yang, these capillary-like meridians were no less important than the renowned major ones. As they grew, his control over soul power improved, and his bodily sensitivity heightened as well.

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