Chapter Thirty-Four: The Mysterious Martial Soul

It turned out that the mysterious power surging from the acupoints was not only able to stimulate the martial soul, but could also cause it to grow across levels!

Normally, the growth of a martial soul was directly tied to breakthroughs in cultivation realms—only by shattering barriers and stepping into a new major realm would the martial soul have the chance to advance. In other words, for a martial soul to break through, one had to move from the acquired realm to the innate, or from innate to the human realm. Advancing from the first to the second tier of the innate realm, such minor progress could not affect the martial soul.

Only by breaking through from one realm to another, during that moment of transition, did the martial soul have the possibility of improvement or transformation. Yet even this was not absolute; not every breakthrough guaranteed immediate martial soul growth. Sometimes, it required crossing two or even three realms!

Take Shi Yan’s “Stone Transformation Martial Soul,” for example—it advanced in four distinct phases. A son of the Shi family born with this martial soul would, within days of birth, while still an infant, find his skin turning a pale gray at some point—this was the first stage. If that child devoted himself to martial practice and managed to break into the human realm, the martial soul would transform again, the skin darkening to a dusky brown—the second stage. Should he break through to the earth realm, the stone transformation would shift to a yellow-green hue—the third stage. And if, by some stroke of genius, he reached the heaven realm, the martial soul would become a purplish red—the fourth stage!

The Shi family’s stone transformation martial soul had four stages in total, with each qualitative leap occurring only after crossing two realms. At each stage, the color of the muscles would change dramatically, and the body’s defensive power would multiply.

With the first stage, the stone transformation martial soul could generally only withstand ordinary blows and minor bursts of vital energy. But at the second stage, with the muscles dark brown, its defense would multiply several times over—not only could it resist fiercer vital energy impacts, it could withstand the slashes of ordinary blades!

In the third stage, the yellow-green stone transformation martial soul’s defense doubled again—nearly impervious to blades and spears, the body’s sensitivity not only did not decrease, but increased greatly, becoming extraordinarily formidable!

By the fourth stage, the body transformed to purplish red—the defensive power became terrifying: not only impervious to blades and spears, but immune to water and fire, even able to withstand many strange secret techniques. The flesh became immensely strong, and the body grew ever more agile.

These four stages were all achieved through the ascent of realms. For any Shi family youth with the stone transformation martial soul, if he remained in the acquired or innate realms, the martial soul would forever stay at the first stage. Without reaching the human realm, the stone transformation would not change.

On the Divine Grace Continent, other martial souls were much the same—most only advanced as their cultivators ascended realms. Only a handful of legendary divine-grade elixirs could alter the very laws of martial souls, granting advancement beyond the normal limits.

Such elixirs existed only in legend. Warriors of the Flame Empire, the Divine Sanctuary Empire, and the Merchant Alliance had only heard tales of them, but none had witnessed one firsthand. Even the three great medicine kings of the Flame Empire’s Valley of Medicine were but spirit-level alchemists, far from capable of crafting divine-grade elixirs.

Yet the mysterious power flowing from Shi Yan’s acupoints seemed to break this rule!

Those strange energies not only stimulated his martial soul, but could also enhance it beyond its current realm! When his arm turned to stone and darkened to brown, it was clearly the mark of a Shi family expert who had broken into the human realm—the second stage of stone transformation!

A power that could both awaken and advance a martial soul—what did that mean? It meant that he might not need to break through to the heaven realm at all, and could still reach the fourth stage of stone transformation!

Impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire, the body not only remaining supple but becoming more agile, capable of resisting all sorts of strange secret techniques, and gaining wild, divine strength...

The thought of reaching the miraculous fourth stage of stone transformation made Shi Yan realize he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure.

This ability was itself a kind of martial soul. Not only could it purify the deathly vital energy in his acupoints, but in battle it could run rampant, inflicting negative emotions upon his foes—mysterious and unfathomable.

This enigmatic martial soul could draw vital energy from death, transform it through the acupoints into vibrant, mysterious power, able to stimulate martial souls, enhance them, and strengthen vital energy...

Shi Yan’s dark eyes gleamed like cold stars in the night, shining brightly. Sitting upright, silent and thoughtful, he knew that with such a wondrous martial soul, with hard work, he could become the most astonishing and terrifying presence on this mystical continent!

...

Deep in the shadowy forest, at a blood-soaked clearing littered with bones, a group stood grim-faced, observing the scene.

“These are the men of the Wolf Mercenary Corps,” Barnard said, pacing among the corpses, his expression grave. “The leader of the Wolf Mercenary Corps is, like me, at the Hundred Tribulations Realm... Judging from this, they’re all wiped out.”

At his words, the Dark Moon Envoy and Mo Chaoge both frowned.

The Dark Moon Envoy hesitated, then drew a silver horn and blew it gently. No sound emerged, but a strange wave rippled out from it.

Soon, two masked men in silver robes slipped quietly from the woods. Their masks bore blue faces and fierce fangs, quite different from the pale masks worn by the Dark Moon Envoy’s party.

“Dark Envoy, any discoveries?” the Dark Moon Envoy asked coolly.

“Last night, beasts ran wild—many warriors and mercenaries were attacked. There are too many tracks left nearby; it’s hard to distinguish the target’s footprints.” One of the Dark Star Envoys of the Dark Nether replied respectfully.

The “Dark Nether” organization was divided into Dark Envoys and Nether Envoys; Dark Envoys handled tracking and intelligence, while Nether Envoys were responsible for killing, their ranks marked by sun, moon, and star.

Though their tasks differed, the hierarchy was strict; star-ranked Dark Star Envoys had to obey moon-ranked Dark Moon Envoys.

“Difficult to find the target?” The Dark Moon Envoy, more skilled at killing than tracking, grew ever more gloomy upon hearing this.

“My lord, the area is too vast; too many warriors, mercenaries, and beasts roam here. It is indeed hard to track. In recent days, we’ve been attacked by several mercenaries while tracking—another envoy has been killed.”

The “Dark Nether” had a poor reputation here; the warriors and mercenaries in this region weren’t the type to shy from trouble. When in bad moods, spotting a Dark Nether agent, they might well strike. These past days, the Dark Moon Envoy's group had encountered many such incidents. Even after joining forces with the Mo family’s warriors, they still faced provocations, though they hadn’t suffered major losses.

“If we can't find the target and the beasts have been restless lately, this becomes troublesome...” Mo Chaoge mused, then suddenly suggested, “Searching aimlessly like this isn’t working. Why don’t we go guard at Serene Town? It’s the only route to the Merchant Alliance; as soon as they leave the Shadowy Forest, they’ll head for Serene Town. We can wait for them along the road.”

“A good idea,” Barnard nodded, eyes brimming with murderous intent. “Anyone heading for the Merchant Alliance has to pass through Serene Town. Lying in wait is a sound plan.”

“Very well, we’ll cross this area as quickly as possible, and wait for them along the road to Serene Town.” The Dark Moon Envoy, silent for a long moment, unable to think of a better solution, agreed.

The three reached consensus, wasting no more words or time searching for Shi Yan and his companions in this area. They began to traverse the shadowy forest, preparing to ambush along the border and the route to Serene Town.

...

For five days straight, Shi Yan and his two companions navigated the Shadowy Forest with utmost caution, avoiding beasts and mercenary warriors wherever possible.

At night, they always found hidden spots to rest, never daring to travel after dark.

Thanks to their cautious approach, they passed through many dangers unscathed, evading high-level beasts and human mercenaries alike. Fortune favored them.

Each night, Shi Yan trained relentlessly, adapting to the second stage of stone transformation, gradually extending the “rampage” transformation across his whole body.

Di Yalan, deprived for years, found joy after her union with Shi Yan, and often sought his embrace. Beneath trees, in shrubbery, beside rivers—their fiery passion left its mark everywhere.

Mu Yudie, knowing she could not stop them, merely turned a blind eye, occasionally venting her indignation with complaints, cursing the pair inwardly for their shamelessness.

One night, after Di Yalan and Shi Yan’s wild encounter beneath a tree, she had barely begun her meditation before leaping up in delight, exclaiming, “I—I broke through!”

Not far away, Mu Yudie peered from the leaves of another ancient tree, her pretty face full of astonishment, staring at the disheveled Di Yalan and covering her mouth in shock. “Th-this... is this really possible?”

...

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