Douluo Continent: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

As long as your cultivation is profound enough, what does it matter if you don't have a good grasp of martial spirit theory or continental history? You'll have an external brain to help you think, and great scholars to debate with you.

According to the course schedule received upon enrollment, Tang Shan discovered that one of the teachers giving today's lessons was Qin Ming, a graduate of Shrek Academy from the original work, who was already a Soul Emperor when he first appeared and is still a Heavenly Sovereign-level teacher at the Soul King level.

Out of curiosity, Tang Shan decided to go and see what kind of talents the future famous Shrek Academy would cultivate.

The overall learning atmosphere at Tiandou Royal Academy is quite relaxed. Very few students hurry by; most walk side by side in twos and threes, laughing and joking with each other. Their cheerful chatter is interspersed with discussions about soul skills, and occasionally someone will casually demonstrate a few moves. The fluttering of their clothes carries the unique vibrancy and ease of youth, like the warm sunshine of early spring illuminating the campus paths, full of youthful energy.

Tang Shan wandered over to the main teaching building from yesterday and saw a somewhat familiar figure enter it. He blinked but didn't call out to the person, since they had only met once.

Stepping into the attic, and ascending the winding staircase to the third floor, one finds hardly anyone on the stairs. This suggests that these students do not place much importance on martial spirit theory; perhaps the most proficient martial spirit theory they possess is simply the information about soul beasts suitable for their own martial spirits.

Upon reaching the third floor, rows of classrooms, each at least 200 square meters in size, stood neatly arranged. Tang Shan walked along the corridor, glancing at the teacher information displayed at the entrances:

Ling Feng: Disassembling the Martial Soul Meditation Method;

Water Spring: The creation of a powerful offensive style;

Yunying: What is agile attack?

Bull Power: A defensive counterattack.

The sign outside the classroom was simple, displaying only the teacher's name and the name of the course being taught that day. Tangshan quickly found what he was looking for:

Qin Ming: The Cultivation and Growth of a Soul Master.

Pushing open the door, the 200-square-meter classroom is spacious and bright, with neatly arranged wooden tables. Sunlight shines through the glass-framed windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Basic martial spirit diagrams are outlined on the walls, and a faint scent of ink permeates the air.

At this moment, the eight or nine long tables were almost full, and the students in their academy uniforms were talking in hushed tones.

Clearly, even though he is still a Heavenly Supreme Soul Master, Qin Ming's courses are very popular among students. No wonder he led Yu Tianheng and his group to fight Tang San so many years later.

After scanning the few empty seats, just as he was about to find one to sit down, someone waved to Tang Shan, signaling him to sit next to him.

Since the other party had invited him, Tang Shan did not refuse and readily sat down next to the person.

"This is our second meeting. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Yu Tianheng."

Indeed, the one who beckoned Tang Shan to sit down was none other than Yu Tianheng, the eldest grandson of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's leader, who had previously spoken rudely and was subsequently knocked down by Tang Shan with a single punch.

Seeing the awkwardness of the young man in front of him as he still forced a greeting, Tang Shan couldn't help but smile: "Hello, I'm Tang Shan."

Tang Shan's response eased Yu Tianheng's awkwardness somewhat: "Um, I was wrong before, please forgive me."

Tang Shan felt awkward for the other person and couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder: "What happened before is all in the past. I didn't take it to heart at all. There's no need to dwell on it."

Seeing the sincerity in Tang Shan's eyes, Yu Tianheng finally relaxed completely.

"By the way, why did you come to this teacher's class? Is there anything special about him?"

To avoid embarrassing the child, Tangshan took the initiative to bring up the topic.

Upon hearing Tang Shan's question, Yu Tianheng, who was unsure how to begin, became interested and explained to Tang Shan why he had come: "I have an uncle whose talent for martial spirit cultivation is mediocre, but he is quite accomplished in theoretical research. Although he is not as good as a master, he has provided some help to my cultivation."

I've been trying to find him, but to no avail. However, I have learned some other information.

My uncle and two others once traveled the continent together, forming the renowned "Golden Iron Triangle." Later, the three separated, and one of them opened a special academy that claimed to only accept monsters, not ordinary people.

Out of curiosity, I inquired about this and found that this school was indeed extraordinary. Most of its graduates became pillars of various forces, and one even became the youngest elder of the Spirit Hall.

The reason this academy has produced so many talented individuals must be because it has inherited some of my uncle's theories and cultivation experience. And Teacher Qin Ming is a graduate of Shrek Academy; since he's so popular there, he must have brought Shrek Academy's advanced experience, so naturally I want to come and learn.”

The other party's words contained a great deal of information, and many parts of them were worth "examining." Tang Shan looked at the glimmer of longing in Yu Tianheng's eyes and temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​telling him that Shrek Academy was just an ordinary place. Instead, he decided to shatter the boy's illusions at their source.

Although their first meeting wasn't pleasant, Tang Shan realized that Yu Tianheng was just a bit arrogant and not as bad as he had imagined.

Since the impression isn't bad, let's see if we can help him out.

"What are your uncle's theories? Let me analyze them for you; perhaps there are some subtle points you haven't grasped yet. After all, you should know who my teacher is, so I have some authority to speak on this matter, right?"

As he spoke, Tang Shan raised an eyebrow at Yu Tianheng.

Yu Tianheng's eyes lit up when he recalled how his grandfather had given him a severe scolding a while ago and analyzed with him the speculation that the teacher in Tangshan might be a master.

He could still distinguish between good and bad. Although he viewed his uncle Yu Xiaogang with a biased perspective, he knew that the latter was still far from being a master. Although the master himself was not present, with the discerning eye of his disciple, he might actually be able to discover some profound mysteries in his uncle's theories that even he himself had not noticed.

It was still before class started, and the students who knew each other in the classroom were talking in hushed tones. The private conversation between Tang Shan and his companion went unnoticed by others.

"Ahem, my uncle's theories carry his unique personal charm, and I still agree with many of his positive and uplifting ideas."

Yu Tianheng cleared his throat and began briefly. But before he could finish speaking, Tang Shan's expression subtly changed.

He had already anticipated what Yu Tianheng might say next. No, he originally wanted to gradually destroy Yu Xiaogang's impression on Yu Tianheng, but there was no need for the other party to hand him a knife from the start, expecting him to stab him in the heart directly, was there?

“My uncle’s view is that ‘there are no useless spirits, only useless spirit masters.’ If you can’t cultivate it, it’s the spirit master’s problem. Every spirit actually has great potential. I also strongly agree with this view. Tang Shan, aren’t you the best example? You cultivated a spirit that was generally considered a useless spirit into such formidable strength. Isn’t that the best proof of my uncle’s view?”

Tang Shan nodded: "That's indeed true. The original spirit isn't a useless spirit; it's just that there are too few spirit masters who can develop it to its full potential. But I have a question for you. Since there are no useless spirits, only useless spirit masters, what level is your uncle, who proposed this idea, at now?"

Yu Tianheng's expression froze, and he fell silent: Yes, since there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters, then why is Uncle still only a great soul master? At my own cultivation speed, I'll probably surpass him in two or three years at most.

After racking his brains for a moment, Yu Tianheng's eyes lit up as he thought of a possibility: "Could it be that Uncle's theory isn't finished yet, and there's another part to it? That is, although innate soul power can limit the upper limit of a soul master's cultivation, it cannot limit the true power that the martial soul itself can unleash. Even if the soul power stagnates due to talent limitations and cannot continue to improve, as long as the true power of the martial soul can be unleashed, the strength will definitely be the most formidable among those of the same level."

"And what about your uncle? Is he a control type or a power type? Is his ability the most powerful among those of the same level?"

Tang Shan's feigned curiosity was like the sharpest knife, freezing Yu Tianheng's expression completely.

Yu Tianheng was not aware of Yu Xiaogang's soul skills at first, but after Yu Xiaogang sent a letter some time ago, out of curiosity, he asked Yu Xuancang, who had gone to the Heavenly Dou Palace with him, about them, wanting to have a more thorough understanding of his uncle.

After all, some of the points in the "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" that the other party sent back did make a lot of sense. But what he got from this family elder was an absurd answer.

He knew that his uncle's martial soul had mutated, becoming a unique mutated, separated martial soul on the continent, resembling a creature that looked like a pig or a dog. Although he didn't understand why the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex had mutated into such an absurd form, what shocked him even more was that the family elder told him that the soul skills corresponding to his uncle's two soul rings were both farting.

He could hardly believe his ears: the dragon turning into a pig-like, dog-like form was already outrageous enough, but its powerful lightning ability had turned into farting! This was an insult to the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family!

Later, although Yu Tianheng came to understand the family's indifference towards his uncle to some extent, he still harbored some resentment, given his uncle's undeniable talent in martial soul research. Tang Shan's words at this moment were like puncturing the last layer of illusion, laying bare the bloody reality before him.

The strongest attack power or the strongest control power among those of the same level are naturally nonexistent for Yu Xiaogang. What he possesses is perhaps only the strongest "annoying" ability among those of the same level or even across levels.

P.S.: Thank you to reader 20190815204222713 for the 52 monthly tickets. The bonus chapter rules remain the same. I won't mention the exact number of chapters owed at the end of the chapter; the bonus chapter will be displayed in the title.

Chapter 137 Qin Ming, who is not bad, terminates the process of forming the Golden Core.

Seemingly reading something from Yu Tianheng's expression, Tang Shan said, "The saying 'There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters' may be true, but it is not appropriate for your uncle to say it."

He cannot prove the correctness or truth of this statement. To truly prove it, one must find a universally acknowledged owner of a useless martial soul, whose innate soul power cannot be high, and then allow them to grow into a mid-to-high-level soul master.

Yu Tianheng fell into a long silence and didn't speak again until the start of class. He was clearly still reeling from the blow of the reality that "Yu Xiaogang was indeed unable to prove his theory."

"Hello students, I am Qin Ming. Today I will briefly talk to you about the cultivation and development of Soul Masters."

Qin Ming had unremarkable black hair, an ordinary appearance, and a plain demeanor. If it weren't for the extremely luxurious attire of a Heavenly-level teacher, which accentuated his noble air, he would have gone unnoticed in a crowd.

His bright black eyes swept over the students below, pausing briefly on Tang Shan and Yu Tianheng.

This morning, the three education committees held a collective teachers' meeting. At the meeting, in addition to summarizing recent teaching achievements and promoting a newly-breakthrough Soul Emperor to a Heaven Dou-level teacher, the three committees also informed the teachers that the academy would soon welcome two geniuses, and announced the characteristics and basic information of these two geniuses.

There was a commotion in the room at that moment, after all, the information about these two people was truly shocking:

Yu Tianheng was born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He reached level 24 at the age of seven and had one yellow and one purple soul ring.

Tang Shan, a genius recruited by the First Prince, is highly valued by Emperor Xue Ye and has also attracted the attention of Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. He is seven years old and at level twenty-three, with an outrageous configuration of two thousand-year soul rings.

Many teachers were immediately excited – not to mention becoming their apprentices, just studying under these two for a period of time, given their demonstrated talent and destined brilliant future, would allow them to add a significant chapter to their teaching resumes within ten years at most.

However, the three education committee members had clearly anticipated this situation. They stated that since these two students were still at the Heavenly Realm level, only Heavenly Realm level teachers could teach them; and all teachers were not allowed to volunteer themselves, but could only passively wait for the two to come to them.

Many teachers immediately expressed their concern that this would affect the two's development, but Meng Shenji's final words completely dispelled the doubts of the Heavenly Dou-level teachers: "Gold will always shine. Our Heavenly Dou Royal Academy has the best teaching staff and the best learning environment, and they are also recipients of His Majesty's personally selected resources. If they cannot grow with such favorable conditions, then having dedicated teachers will not make much difference."

Moreover, they are still young and should be focusing on their cultivation. I don't want to say how many of you are genuinely teaching, or how many are just trying to curry favor with the Crown Prince and get closer to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. I'll just remind you that these two have more than one Title Douluo watching them, and the intricate web of relationships is vast. If you get yourself involved, we three old men are neither capable nor able to pull you out.

By the way, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's granddaughter will also be enrolling, and her treatment will be equivalent to these two. If you get involved, be careful; not only will your own lives be in danger, but your entire family could be wiped out.”

It must be said that Poison Douluo's deterrent power is extremely strong. If it were simply facing the potential attention from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon School, it might not be enough to scare away these teachers who want to "advance" - after all, provoking the former two would at most result in their own death, and climbing up always involves taking some risks. Given the reputation of these two major forces, it is highly unlikely that their families will be affected.

But Poison Douluo is different; he already has a history of wiping out entire families. You can doubt Poison Douluo's combat strength at the same level, but you absolutely cannot doubt his ability to wipe out entire families.

With the intimidation of Poison Douluo and the long-accumulated authority of the three education commissioners, many teachers could only watch helplessly as the two geniuses walked into the classroom where Qin Ming was teaching.

Qin Ming was naturally familiar with the physical characteristics of Tang Shan and Yu Tianheng, but he never expected that the geniuses announced this morning would come directly to his classroom after the meeting.

However, he didn't think much of it and continued teaching according to the original teaching process without paying special attention to the two of them.

"Let's start with the development direction of a martial soul. The development direction of most martial souls is not fixed from the beginning, but is determined by a combination of factors such as the characteristics of your martial soul, the quality and type of the soul beasts you hunt."

Tang Shan subconsciously straightened up, showing some interest. He had originally thought that Shrek graduates would be more specialized in combat, or would say some outrageous things, but he didn't expect that Qin Ming's formal lectures would be so pertinent.

It makes sense, considering that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy is ultimately a directly affiliated academy of the Heaven Dou Empire, catering to the children of various noble families and powerful forces. If they were to recruit teachers solely based on cultivation level, problems would likely have arisen long ago. Perhaps the academy assesses teachers' levels based on cultivation level after they join—after all, this is the Douluo Continent where strength reigns supreme—but before joining, there must be certain requirements regarding the teachers' mastery of martial soul theory.

"For example, the dagger martial soul seems to be most suitable for the agility-based type—it is small in size and has a fast attack speed, but it is not impossible to go down the power-based path. If one absorbs a soul beast soul ring that can enhance the sharpness of the martial soul, after accumulating several soul rings, one can naturally become a power-based soul master."

Of course, this is just one of my thoughts. Ultimately, a dagger is best suited for an agility-based offensive build. After all, a high-attack build requires a certain level of defense, and a dagger's small size limits its defensive coverage.

……

"Alright, students, that concludes today's lesson. If you have any questions about cultivation, feel free to come find me on the fifth floor."

Qin Ming closed his book, glanced one last time at the students who were still engrossed in the lesson, and walked out of the classroom with a smile.

"Tangshan, what do you think?"

Seeing Tang Shan get up from his seat, Yu Tianheng quickly stood up, took a few steps to catch up with him, and asked him.

Tang Shan glanced back at Yu Tianheng and saw that he was no longer as dejected and depressed as before class. He was eager to communicate and didn't know if he had temporarily put his uncle Yu Xiaogang's matter out of his mind or had accepted reality. In any case, Tang Shan felt that he had recovered quite quickly.

"What do you mean, how do you see it?"

Tangshan casually replied as he walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace.

"Just like what Teacher Qin Ming said, the development system of a martial soul may be differentiated according to the differences in the soul beasts and soul rings absorbed."

"That makes a lot of sense. Actually, I suspect there are some things that Teacher Qin Ming doesn't dare to say, for fear of causing trouble."

Tang Shan noticed that Qin Ming's gaze fell on Yu Tianheng several times during the lecture, and based on the content of the lecture, he roughly made a guess.

"What?"

Yu Tianheng became increasingly curious.

"For example, you Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex don't necessarily have to be obsessed with the power attack type. You can also develop towards the agility attack type. After all, your martial soul attribute is lightning. In terms of developing the agility attack type, you probably have a greater advantage than wind attribute soul masters."

Upon hearing Tang Shan's suggestion, Yu Tianheng instinctively wanted to refute it, but recalling that he had been at a disadvantage in his few encounters with the other party—whether in terms of his own strength or his theoretical knowledge—he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Based on my speculation, when you Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Masters break through, you basically hunt and absorb dragon-type Soul Beasts, right?"

Yu Tianheng nodded.

"Actually, this idea isn't entirely wrong. After all, absorbing other spirit beasts has a certain chance of changing the strength of one's own spirit. If it's not handled well, it can change the essence of the spirit, making it difficult for the family to continue to prosper."

However, I have an idea: could we divide the family into two branches? One branch could continue to focus on absorbing dragon-type soul beasts to maintain the core strength of the martial soul; the other branch could focus on absorbing lightning-attribute soul beasts and explore the path of elements.