Douluo Continent: Cultivating Qi and Immortals, Insidious to the Extreme

"Heavenly lightning tempering? Lightning can have a body-tempering effect?"

Dugu Bo looked at Jiang Xia in surprise; he had never heard of anyone being able to strengthen their body after being struck by lightning.

Curious, Dugu Bo reached out and pinched Jiang Xia's shoulder, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Tsk tsk, it has indeed improved a lot, and it is now completely comparable to an ordinary second-ring Great Soul Master."

"I just don't know if it's just physical fitness that's being enhanced, or if it's an overall improvement that includes the meridians and bones. If it's an overall improvement, that would be incredible."

Jiang Xia smiled and nodded, saying, "You guessed right. It's an overall improvement, including a comprehensive improvement of the five internal organs, meridians, and bones."

Dugu Bo was slightly taken aback, and said thoughtfully, "If that's the case, your first spirit ring can be compared to someone else's second spirit ring, your second spirit ring to someone else's third spirit ring, and so on. When you reach level 90, you will definitely be able to absorb a 100,000-year spirit ring."

"Wait a minute, you have a second martial soul, so when you think about it..."

"Hiss~"

After a pause, Dugu Bo gasped, looking at Jiang Xia as if he had seen a ghost.

"You're really something else, kid. No, 'monster' isn't enough to describe you. You should be called a prodigy."

"How could such a monster as you exist in this world? Is the world about to end, and you were created to save it?"

Jiang Xia has already surprised Dugu Bo enough, but he continues to challenge his worldview to this day.

One little monster after another, Dugu Bo's heart remained unsettled.

Jiang Xia shook his head with a wry smile: "I'm not some monster or prodigy, I'm just an ordinary person."

Jiang Xia is certainly not a monster or a prodigy. What do you mean by being born of necessity or saving the world? In his previous life, he was like an ant, so what kind of prodigy was he?

He was just an ordinary time traveler.

He was just lucky in his previous life, and the level of his cultivation world was high enough, which made him stand out after he transmigrated to Douluo Continent.

Just as with all the arts of cultivating immortality, so too with his two martial souls.

Dugu Bo was speechless for a moment. He looked at Jiang Xia, opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

Jiang Xia is just an ordinary person, so what is he? Disabled? Or cerebral palsy?

That's really a blow.

He's already so old, why would he need to suffer this kind of stimulation?

"Phew~"

Letting out a long breath, Dugu Bo calmed himself down and took out the testing crystal again.

"Alright, alright, you're just an ordinary person. Now let's see what level of innate soul power you have."

"I guess it's innate full soul power."

"Uh, you might be right." Jiang Xia smiled and placed his hand on the testing crystal.

Jiang Xia knew his own situation best. He had already reached the first level of Qi Refining when he was 5 years old, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would naturally have full innate soul power.

As expected, a bright light quickly filled the entire crystal, revealing it to be a rare innate full soul power.

Dugu Bo's lips twitched, but his heart remained completely unmoved.

He had become desensitized by Jiang Xia's provocation, and now that he was prepared, a mere innate full soul power could no longer stir any ripples in his heart.

After retrieving the testing crystal, Dugu Bo said thoughtfully, "As expected, he possesses innate full soul power. The next step is to hunt for soul rings."

"Logically, since you have twin martial souls, you should be able to absorb two soul rings at once, but I don't recommend that you do so."

"Do you know why?"

"I know." Jiang Xia nodded.

"Firstly, there are practical reasons. Absorbing spirit rings will put pressure on the body, and the body may not be able to withstand absorbing two spirit rings at once."

Even if you manage to endure it the first time, there will always be a day when you can't endure it anymore, the second time, the third time.

"Secondly, there's the issue of development. I can break through even by cultivating only one martial soul. Once I reach level 90, I can add soul rings to my second martial soul, and I can add at least nine ten-thousand-year soul rings."

"In this way, we will be stronger and it will be easier to use the energy of the spirit rings to reach higher levels."

Dugu Bo shook his head and chuckled: "So you knew all along."

"I really don't know who you learned this from. You know so much at such a young age."

"How is it? Have you made up your mind about which martial soul you plan to cultivate, and what requirements you have for the spirit rings?"

Jiang Xia thought for a moment, then raised his right hand. A flash of purple light appeared, followed by purple lightning.

"Purple Lightning has stronger attack power, so cultivate Purple Lightning first. As for the spirit rings, they need to be lightning-attribute, fast, and have strong attack power. Do you know which spirit beasts meet these requirements?"

Jiang Xia certainly knows a lot about other things, but he really doesn't know much about the types of soul beasts.

The old Soul Master who adopted Jiang Xia was only level 33, too weak to understand the true secrets of this world.

In contrast, Dugu Bo is different. He is a titled expert and has access to more than 80% of the knowledge in Douluo Continent. Following him is far better than studying at a Soul Master Academy.

This is one of the main reasons why Jiang Xia decided to follow Dugu Bo.

After a moment's thought, Dugu Bo suddenly thought of a kind of soul beast.

"How about the Lightning Falcon? It's lightning-attribute, incredibly fast, and attacks silently, making it a perfect match for your flying sword spirit."

"And it's also conveniently located. Five hundred miles north of here is the Soul Hunting Forest, where the century-old Lightning Falcon roams."

Jiang Xia nodded: "Okay."

Having made their decision, the two set off immediately.

With Dugu Bo around, hunting down soul beasts won't take long at all.

Upon arriving at the location and spotting the target, Dugu Bo made his move and easily captured a 900-year-old lightning falcon.

With Jiang Xia's physical attributes comparable to a second-ring Soul Master, the absorption of the Soul Ring was extremely smooth.

In less than three hours, Jiang Xia successfully broke through to the first-ring Soul Master realm.

By absorbing a spirit ring beyond his level, and because Jiang Xia had stayed at the peak of the first level of Qi Refining for too long, his spirit power directly reached level 15 upon breakthrough.

According to the cultivation level of immortals, it is equivalent to the second level of Qi Refining.

Such a terrifying improvement once again sent chills down Dugu Bo's spine, making him exclaim that it was monstrous.

In addition, the soul skills that Jiang Xia acquired were also quite good.

First Soul Skill: Sword Flash.

Increases attack speed by 100% and penetration by 50% upon attack. Has no cooldown. Consumes a certain amount of soul power each time it is activated and inflicts paralysis upon contact with an enemy.

Most importantly, this soul skill can not only be applied to Zidian, but also directly to Jiang Xia, with the amplification effect remaining unchanged.

With the added benefits of speed, attack, and control, it excels at both close and long-range combat.

Afterwards, Dugu Bo led Jiang Xia on a continued journey north.

Three days later, the two bypassed Tiandou City and arrived at the foot of a mountain range fifty miles east of Tiandou City.

This place is close to Sunset Forest, and can be considered a branch of Sunset Forest. Therefore, it is sparsely populated. Apart from Soul Masters who occasionally pass by, ordinary people would never come here.

Dugu Bo led Jiang Xia into the mountains, and after winding around for a long time, they finally arrived at a valley.

The valley is not large, with a small river running straight out of it. There are a few small wooden houses by the river, and several plots of farmland around it, where lush green seedlings are growing vigorously.

"A paradise on earth, what a secluded place to live."

Jiang Xia offered his praise, and Dugu Bo laughed heartily:

"This is my home, and if you like, it can be your home too."

"Let's go in and take a look."

The two entered the valley, and Dugu Bo shouted excitedly with the joy of returning home.

"Yanyan, Xin'er, I'm back."

Upon hearing Dugu Bo's shout, the door of the side wooden house suddenly opened, and a small purple figure darted out.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! You're finally back! Dad, Dad..."

It was a little girl, about eight or nine years old, running and shouting, her voice trembling with tears.

"Xin'er!!"

Dugu Bo's expression changed drastically, his soul power fluctuated violently, and he flashed into the house.