Douluo: The Ultimate Self

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Soon, everyone completed Yu Xiaogang's first punishment: running ten laps back and forth between Shrek Academy and Suotuo City while carrying stones.

After everyone finished, except for Yang Xiong and Ning Rongrong, the rest collapsed from exhaustion on the ground—even Tang San, who had the best physical conditioning, was no exception.

Ning Rongrong had been carried by Yang Xiong during the final few laps, so her condition was relatively better, and she hadn't completely collapsed.

As for Yang Xiong, with his current physical conditioning, this kind of weighted running was nothing. He was still far from his limit.

The male students were helped back to their dorms by Zhao Wuji and others. There, large wooden tubs filled with medicinal baths and hot water were already prepared. The female students, on the other hand, were carried away by a few village women.

However, the dorms were cramped, and teachers like Zhao Wuji were rather rough-handed—they clearly weren't the type to take care of others carefully. Tang San, in particular, was carried directly by Yu Xiaogang.

Yang Xiong, Tang San, and Oscar shared the same dorm. Watching the two of them being helped into their bathtubs like limp noodles, Yang Xiong couldn't help but shake his head.

Yu Xiaogang was indeed ruthless. This kind of weighted training pushed people to their limits, even to the point of extreme fatigue.

Yang Xiong didn't hesitate. He stripped off his clothes and entered the bathtub prepared for him.

The liquid in the tub had a slight greenish tint—it was likely the medicinal bath materials. The formula was decent but didn't include any rare herbs.

There was a small incident during this process. When Yang Xiong removed his clothes to enter the bathtub, he took off his weighted gear to ensure cleanliness. Besides his personal herb pouch and wrist-mounted storage soul tool, he also removed the weights he always wore.

These five weights were not light—the lightest wrist weight was ten kilograms, and the chest plate alone weighed sixty kilograms. Dropping them on the ground caused a noticeable tremor.

Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang looked at Yang Xiong in astonishment. Zhao Wuji, in particular, was sensitive to strength and had grown somewhat familiar with Yang Xiong after providing combat guidance recently.

Zhao Wuji picked up one of the weights and examined it carefully. "Yang Xiong, what are these things you're wearing? Together, they must weigh over a hundred kilograms."

Yang Xiong smiled faintly. "These are just the weights I normally carry. I've gotten used to them. Except when bathing, I usually don't take them off."

"Besides, these were specially made for me—like flexible armor. They don't interfere with my daily activities."

At this moment, Yang Xiong truly felt refreshed. After physical exertion, soaking in the medicinal bath enhanced his body's absorption of the medicinal properties, improving his physical conditioning and recovery abilities to some extent.

Yu Xiaogang appeared serious. "Yang Xiong, how long have you been wearing these weights? Can your body handle it?"

Yang Xiong replied, "There's no strain on my body. I've been wearing weights ever since becoming a soul master, though they were lighter at first. I only started using this much weight after becoming a Soul Grandmaster."

Upon hearing this, both men exchanged glances. Based on Yang Xiong's current situation, it seemed that he had been carrying this hundred-kilogram load not only during his earlier battle with Tang San but also during the weighted run. Even Tang San and Dai Mubai had only carried stones weighing tens of kilograms. Did this mean Yang Xiong had carried nearly three hundred kilograms during the run—and still managed to endure it? This was something no ordinary Soul Grandmaster could achieve.

While soaking in the tub, Yang Xiong thought for a moment before speaking. "Master, Teacher Zhao, the new dormitory should be ready in a few days. If we need to prepare a medicinal bath, please just provide hot water—I'll handle the medicinal herbs myself."

Yu Xiaogang said, "Yang Xiong, the medicinal herbs I prepared are quite valuable, and the formula is excellent. It's very suitable for your current stage of cultivation."

Yang Xiong nodded. "Thank you, Master. However, my body is somewhat unique, and I've been using medicinal baths for a long time. These ordinary herbs no longer have much effect on me. My teacher has already prepared suitable herbs for my baths."

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang could only nod in agreement.

After conversing with Yu Xiaogang and Zhao Wuji for a while, Yang Xiong began meditating alone.

Today's battle with Tang San made him realize that he had been overly confident in the past. He had assumed that relying on his foreknowledge, he could create top-tier cultivation techniques and become invincible.

But today, Tang San had clearly held back—he hadn't fought with everything he had. Not only did he refrain from using his external soul bone, but he also avoided using hidden weapons. This likely represented only about sixty percent of his true combat ability.

Of course, Yang Xiong had also held back, using only about fifty percent of his strength and not even activating any of his soul ring skills.

However, Tang San's grasp of combat exceeded Yang Xiong's expectations. Especially the techniques of the Tang Sect—they overwhelmingly surpassed Yang Xiong's self-created attack methods. At least in terms of hand-to-hand combat, Yang Xiong had been thoroughly outclassed.

Additionally, Yang Xiong realized that his self-created Tai Chi Meditation Technique and Tai Chi Fist still fell short compared to Tang San's Xuan Tian Technique and Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon. Not to mention Tang San's other techniques from the Tang Sect.

(T/N: Reminder that he's calling the Tai Chi meditation technique 'Yin-Yang meditation technique' because he's worried Tang San might recognize the phrase Tai Chi and realize that he also transmigrated)

Nevertheless, this battle had significant benefits. Through his confrontation with Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, Yang Xiong gained deeper insights into Tai Chi. Perhaps he could gradually refine this meditation technique.

Though fatigued, Yang Xiong began cultivating according to his Yin-Yang Meditation Technique. Some of the previous bottlenecks in his understanding began to clear up. His soul power circulated rapidly throughout his body, showing signs of gradual integration. After this battle, Yang Xiong also began to understand the true essence of Tai Chi.

Seeing Yang Xiong like this, both Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang fell silent. They occasionally added hot water to Yang Xiong's, Tang San's, and Oscar's baths. Oscar, in particular, was mainly cared for by Shao Xin—a rare food-type Soul Sage who also handled cooking for everyone.

As Soul Sages, Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin quickly sensed that Yang Xiong was meditating. Surprisingly, the soul power in the air was rapidly flowing into Yang Xiong's body.

What they failed to notice, however, was that the previously calm water in Yang Xiong's medicinal bath began to move slowly, eventually forming a vortex-like pattern.

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More than two hours later, the three teachers present had left. The medicinal effects of the bath had completely dissipated, and the once-green water had turned pale, even tinged with a slight blackness.

Meanwhile, Tang San and Oscar were still leaning against the sides of their bathtubs, sound asleep.

Yang Xiong cleaned his body and his weighted gear before leaving the dormitory alone. After a day of exertion—and without having eaten lunch—he planned to grab something to eat at the cafeteria.

During this time, Yu Xiaogang found Flender, and the two discussed the students' situations.

Flender looked smug. "How's that, Xiaogang? Aren't my students incredible? They certainly won't tarnish your reputation."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "These kids are all very impressive. Their talent and perseverance are great. But what surprised me most was Yang Xiong. His physical conditioning is even stronger than I imagined. Though his innate soul power level was only six, his cultivation speed doesn't lag behind the others."

"Especially his combat ability. Even at level twenty-seven, there's probably no one within the Soul Elder rank who can match him."

Flender nodded. "Among all the students, Yang Xiong surprises me the most. As you know, he comes from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. It seems they've invested heavily in him."

Yu Xiaogang said, "I find it strange. Normally, soul masters whose martial soul is their body or a part of it are rare and struggle to pass down their techniques. I've seen records of such soul masters before."

"According to those records, these soul masters cultivate extremely slowly, and their potential is severely limited. I've reviewed all the records, and the highest level reached was Soul Douluo. There's never been a Title Douluo-level expert, and even Soul Sages are rare. Moreover, these soul masters are restricted in both combat and soul skills, making them relatively weak compared to others at the same level."

Flender agreed. "It is odd. Such special martial souls rarely reach the level of top experts. Why is the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect willing to invest so much in him? They've even arranged for Lin Gong, a Soul Douluo, to secretly protect him."

Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment before speaking. "Flender, I'd like to study Yang Xiong's martial soul and cultivation method, but when I brought it up today, he refused. Do you have any suggestions?"

Flender shook his head. "I can't help you. Yang Xiong is Bone Douluo's disciple. We can't easily provoke someone at the Title Douluo level. Moreover, Bone Douluo likely provided him with a complete cultivation plan and training regimen—things we shouldn't interfere with."

"Especially since Lord Ning Fengzhi specifically wrote to me, stating that Yang Xiong should receive a normal education here. We don't need to interfere with his acquisition of soul rings or self-created soul skills."

Yu Xiaogang was astonished. "Is it possible that the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect intends to groom Yang Xiong as a future guardian Title Douluo? Surely they know that no top-tier experts with body-type martial souls have ever emerged in the soul master world."

Flender paused before responding. "Xiaogang, I understand your concerns. Today, Yang Xiong defeated Tang San, even across a major realm. I observed the battle closely, and both performed admirably. Don't overthink it."

Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "It's different. Though Xiao San lost, you know his true potential lies elsewhere. A temporary victory or defeat means nothing, especially given the significant gap in their innate soul power levels. This gap will widen as they grow stronger. Particularly when Xiao San reaches the Title Douluo level, the qualitative difference between them will become apparent."

"Moreover, today's battle was telling. Although Xiao San's combat ability and control over Blue Silver Grass were impressive, his martial soul ultimately limited his explosive power. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost to Yang Xiong's final move."

Flender looked puzzled. "Xiaogang, what exactly do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

Yu Xiaogang paused for a moment before speaking. "Flender, don't you think Yang Xiong's final self-created soul skill was excellent? Its explosive power was extraordinary. It might significantly enhance the combat abilities of all our students and even change the landscape of the soul master world in the future."

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