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

"Your Highness, the breakthrough is successful. Your internal martial arts have reached the Core Formation stage, and your martial spirit has successfully awakened for the second time."

Tangshan replied with a smile.

Silence fell again.

"Seniors, shall we find another place to talk?"

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Tang Shan had no choice but to take the initiative to make a suggestion.

……

Ten minutes later, a group of maids entered the courtyard, bringing various teas and snacks.

However, none of the people present paid attention to the tea and snacks; all their eyes were focused on Tang Shan at that moment.

What are the effects of a second awakening?

Dugu Bo and Tang Shan were fairly familiar with each other, so his question wasn't abrupt.

"Different effects will be produced depending on the awakening level."

Recalling his awakening experience, Tang Shan slowly explained, "Based on my feelings, there should be two other awakening levels before my second awakening, namely the Iron level and the Bronze level. My second awakening should be at the Silver level. The benefits gained from different awakening levels are also different. As for the benefits of awakening, in addition to further developing the potential of the martial soul and increasing the speed of cultivation, activating the awakened state can also amplify one's own strength."

"How effective is the boost?"

Ning Fengzhi inquired.

"I haven't awakened the Iron and Bronze levels, so I'm not very clear about them, but the awakening of the Silver level is a 100% increase in all aspects."

"Isn't it a bit low?"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin frowned slightly, not because he thought Tang Shan's description of the effect was too good, but rather too bad.

After all, as long as a Soul Master is lucky, a Soul Skill that provides a 100% boost in all aspects can potentially be attached, not to mention a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, but even some thousand-year Soul Rings with higher age limits. Tang Shan's second awakening was grand and imposing, but in the end, it only provided a 100% boost, which was truly disappointing.

"At the very least, it proves that the second awakening is real, which shows that the original martial soul does have special features."

Xue Qinghe smiled, subtly diverting everyone's attention. As for whether the effects of the second awakening were disappointing? What a joke! Even without the second awakening, Tang Shan's talent was already astonishing enough; what could she possibly be dissatisfied with?

Tang Shan knew that everyone was treating the Second Awakening as a simple enhancement skill and had clearly missed the point, so he reminded them: "The characteristic of the Second Awakening enhancement is that it performs a final calculation on the enhanced strength."

Everyone present was intelligent, and after Tang Shan's reminder, they quickly realized the key point.

"You mean, this second awakening can even amplify the effects of soul skills?"

Ning Fengzhi's eyes flashed with golden light as he stared intently at Tang Shan and pressed for an answer.

"It's obvious that my second soul skill was significantly amplified just now, which is why my body underwent such a terrifying change. Of course, soul skills that are not possessed by the soul master themselves cannot enjoy this effect."

Fearing they might overthink things, Tang Shan added a final sentence to prevent them from mistakenly believing that even the soul skills of support-type soul masters could be amplified.

Even so, the middle and upper management of the major forces present already understood the absurdity of the original martial soul.

Dugu Bo is alright. Although he has a family, it currently only consists of him and his granddaughter, so there is no need to train other soul masters.

However, Yu Xuancang, an elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, had different ideas—they had already foreseen the enormous potential hidden within their own martial souls.

Especially Ning Fengzhi, for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, cultivating other soul masters might be a waste of resources and not worth the loss, but for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, resources are the least lacking.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's inherent treasure-hunting ability makes its "wealth comparable to a nation" a true statement, especially since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School needs to cultivate other Soul Masters to protect the sect.

In a daze, Ning Fengzhi saw a path to eternal prosperity for his sect: cultivating Soul Masters as exclusive protectors. It's important to understand that not every era can have two Title Douluos, Sword and Bone, simultaneously protecting the sect. During the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's most perilous time, the sect only had one Soul Douluo as its protector.

The most crucial reason for this is that talent does not represent everything. Some Soul Masters make rapid progress in their early cultivation but find it difficult to break through in the later stages. This also leads to the fluctuating strength levels of the sect protectors in each era.

The original martial soul before us is different. Perhaps due to the different body parts that awakened it, it cannot guarantee absolutely top-notch cultivation speed or talent, but it can steadily lock in the lower limit. As long as it is carefully nurtured with the resources of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, it can ensure that each generation of the sect has at least one powerful expert to preside over it.

Even if he is just a Soul Douluo, with the all-round enhancement of the second awakening, plus the ultimate assistance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, he might be able to forcefully break through the barrier of the Title Douluo.

By then, with protectors of pseudo-title strength guarding the mountain gate generation after generation, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School will be able to stand tall in the Douluo Continent for a long time, and will not have to fear the rise and fall of the world.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin cast an inquiring gaze at Ning Fengzhi. Ning Fengzhi fell into a brief moment of thought and was about to transmit his voice when Chen Xin's expression changed slightly, and he gently shook his head.

In the shadows, a cold smile crept across the aged face of Golden Crocodile Douluo: "Heh, some people aren't to be messed with."

He concealed his aura, closed his eyes slightly, and savored the entire process of Tang Shan's breakthrough.

Qi and blood condense into a elixir, will merges, and they sublimate together...

Wonderful! Wonderful!

Golden Crocodile Douluo was filled with admiration. In a moment of inspiration, a highly refined internal force rose from his neck, traveled along his meridians, and instantly spread throughout his entire head. This was a crucial sign of breaking through to the Transformation Realm in internal martial arts. The last trace of stagnation and disharmony in his vast, ocean-like qi and blood quietly dissipated, completely absorbed into his control, and perfectly fused with his soul power. The terrifying fluctuations of qi and blood flashed by, then were immediately suppressed again, with not a trace leaking out from his body.

Simultaneously, Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Poison Douluo Dugu Bo looked up. They exchanged a glance and both understood the solemnity in each other's eyes—that fleeting aura was something no ordinary Title Douluo could possess.

After a long while, apart from confirming that the aura of a peerless expert had indeed quietly descended and then disappeared, there was no other movement, and the two slowly relaxed their tense bodies.

Ning Fengzhi frowned slightly, realizing that the powerful figure in the shadows had likely sensed his thoughts. He sighed almost imperceptibly, turned to Tang Shan, and his signature refined smile returned to his face: "Tang Shan, we have found four Body Soul Masters. I wonder about the training method you mentioned earlier..."

Seeing the simultaneous change in expression on Dugu Bo and Chen Xin's faces, Tang Shan knew that it was most likely that the Golden Crocodile Douluo had intimidated the two of them, and his confidence grew stronger: "Of course I won't go back on my word. You hand over those Body Soul Masters to me, and I will lay the foundation for you. After you have laid the foundation for developing the secret techniques for potential, you can take them back."

"Alright, if you need anything, just tell us at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly, then stood up and looked at Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe: "Qinghe, Tang Shan, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"Take care, teacher."

Xue Qinghe and Tang Shan saw Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin off at the courtyard gate, watching them disappear at the end of the path.

Back in his seat, Dugu Bo looked at Tang Shan with some curiosity: "Kid, what are your plans for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School? I don't believe you're a good person who helps others train Soul Masters for free—you weren't so easy to talk to when I asked you for the antidote."

Tang Shan smiled. There were some things the other party would inevitably find out in the future, so there was no need for him to hide them: "Sect Master Ning may think that because I helped him train Soul Masters and directly taught him the secret methods to develop potential, they would be able to train them on their own in the future. I can only say that he is overthinking it."

Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow: "Tell me, what happened?"

"Internal martial arts are not that simple. In addition, when I teach stance training, I make slight adjustments based on their physical conditions. In other words, just because these people have no problem with training doesn't mean that others can directly copy and practice them. If something goes wrong during practice, there could be a lot of trouble."

"But people will eventually figure it out over time, won't they?"

Dugu Bo couldn't help but remind him.

"So how long do you think it will take them to figure this out? Ten years, or twenty years?"

Tang Shan's eyes were bright, and his words were filled with confidence and an arrogant disdain for the world. "That's right, I didn't hide anything. I gave them a future and I gave them opportunities. But what they didn't see was that the future ultimately belongs to me—I am the future."

……

"Uncle Jian, was there a powerful figure in the shadows just now?"

As Ning Fengzhi walked out of the Crown Prince's residence, he glanced back at it. The palace walls gleamed majestically in the sunlight, and the upturned eaves exuded a unique royal solemnity and mystery.

After a moment of silence, he softly asked the Sword Douluo Chen Xin beside him.

“That’s right. When you signaled to me just now, Feng Zhi, I immediately sensed a faint but terrifying aura. Later, when that aura reappeared, Dugu Bo and I noticed it at the same time, and I was able to catch a glimpse of the hidden powerhouse.”

Sword Douluo's expression was solemn, and his voice was very serious.

"What a pity. Judging from the situation, the person in the shadows is most likely a master. He has never shown himself, and his attitude is already very clear."

"The main problem was that we had bad intentions at the time, and we were afraid we had offended the other party."

Sword Douluo clearly had a bad feeling.

"No, we only had the idea, but didn't put it into practice. Even though you mobilized your soul power back then, as long as you didn't actually make a move, it doesn't count as provoking us."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes were dark and unfathomable, and his tone carried a strange undertone.

Sunlight fell on half of his face, outlining a gentle profile, while the other half was hidden in shadow, revealing a hint of unfathomable depth. "After all, having come this far, how could you not want to give it a try? Just like you, Uncle Jian, if you had known Tang Hao's future achievements and had met him when he was young, you probably wouldn't have been able to resist taking action to nip him in the bud, right?"

Since Tang Shan possesses such potential, if the master isn't around, what's wrong with forcibly abducting him back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School? Perhaps, with his help, we could even claim the title of the number one sect in the world.”

The two figures slowly disappeared at the end of the street. Sunlight shone down, and Ning Fengzhi's figure was half bathed in light and half blended into the shadows of the trees, as if walking at the boundary between light and shadow.

P.S.: Extra chapter today.

Chapter 158 Cultivation After Reaching the Core Formation, and the Tremendous Changes in Tangshan

After a quick meal, and seeing off Dugu Bo and his grandson, the Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been hiding in the shadows, quietly appeared behind Xue Qinghe and Tang Shan.

"Grandpa Golden Crocodile".

Tang Shan called out very sensibly. Putting everything else aside, just from the sudden change in Dugu Bo and Chen Xin's expressions today, it was clear that this senior had definitely put in a lot of effort. Based on that alone, his call of "Grandpa" was sincere.

The golden crocodile, with a rare, warm smile on its face, nodded gently.

"Grandpa Golden Crocodile, is there some good news for you?"

Xue Qinghe was incredibly observant and quickly noticed the smile on his elder's face.

"I just observed Tangshan's breakthrough to the Dantian stage and gained some insights. I might be about to break through as well."

"real!"

Xue Qinghe's face lit up with joy, and Tang Shan's expression also subtly changed.

Xue Qinghe didn't tell Tang Shan, but he was very clear about Golden Crocodile Douluo's current cultivation level—a peak Douluo of level ninety-eight.

According to what the other party said, if a breakthrough is to be made, does that mean reaching the limit?

What?! A new Limit Douluo is about to be born in the Douluo Era? What if it's my background? No problem then.

"Kid, it might be a little later before I can help you absorb your third spirit ring."

Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at Tangshan.

"Grandpa Golden Crocodile is fine. Focus on your breakthrough."

Tang Shan didn't care about breaking through later. As long as he wasn't out of his mind, he didn't need to say more about choosing between having the backing of a Limit Douluo and the extra cultivation speed and soul power gained from breaking through earlier.

"Don't worry, it won't be long, at most one or two months."

Golden Crocodile Douluo was very confident. With his powerful blood and energy and his soul power that had already reached the peak of level 98, he was confident that he could break through his limits, but the risk was extremely low. He just didn't know the difference between forcibly breaking through his limits through his powerful energy and the orthodox method of breaking through his limits.

"Grandpa Golden Crocodile, were those two up to something today?"

Xue Qinghe narrowed his eyes, which flashed with a cold light.

"Dugu Bo is quite normal, it's just that Ning Fengzhi is a bit unruly, I secretly intimidated him."

Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice was calm, but his words carried a hint of disdain. "A mere Chen Xin, his strength is nothing special, but he has a lot of ideas. If he's so capable, let his grandfather come."

Upon learning that Dugu Bo hadn't caused any trouble, Xue Qinghe felt a pang of regret for some reason. However, she quickly composed herself and looked at Tang Shan, saying, "You've just broken through, so focus on consolidating your strength first. We won't disturb you any longer."

Tang Shan replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

Afterwards, Xue Qinghe and Golden Crocodile Douluo walked out of the courtyard.

With the gate closing, Tang Shan was once again left alone in the courtyard.