Duoluo Dalu: Path to Godhood

After Tang San took the first bite and felt the rich layers of flavor from the dish, he immediately nodded to Xiao Wu.

"Tastes good."

"Really?" Xiao Wu still looked a little skeptical.

But it really did smell delicious, and Tang San wouldn't lie to her, right?

So she filled a large bowl, hesitantly picked up a piece, and took a bite.

After just a moment of chewing, her round, bright rabbit eyes sparkled.

Delicious!

Xiao Wu started eating with big, eager bites. Tang San also couldn't wait any longer.

After eating Fang Ling's cooking for a month, in comparison, this finally felt like proper food.

The canteen food now tasted bland and boring.

This didn't cost anything and tasted great too.

Plus, it was just a trade, providing a bit of protection to a work-study student, nothing but a small favor.

Fang Ling quickly served everyone a bowl.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Fang Ling had successfully reached Level 5.

In the evenings, thanks to Xiao Wu, he no longer had to sweep the grounds.

He could now spend more time practicing techniques.

With the emergence of technique-based specialties, his theory had been confirmed.

He now spent a full hour training with the scythe.

As for the saying that warriors train inefficiently, he didn't really feel it.

But his scythe technique, now rated as Level 1 (Beginner) on his panel, made him much more comfortable and adept with using the weapon.

Hooking, pulling, slashing, blocking, thrusting...

His movements now had some form and precision.

He truly understood the benefit of having a technique recognized by the system.

He didn't need to worry about hurting himself anymore.

After his routine one-hour scythe practice each day, he began to train in movement techniques.

The appearance of the scythe specialty meant that movement skills could also become specialties.

Battles weren't like turn-based games, opponents varied widely.

Tang San was a long-range control-type Soul Master. With Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, his movements were light and ghost-like, making him nearly untouchable.

Fang Ling was a close-combat fighter, so he needed to combine both movement and scythe techniques.

He already had the scythe. A good movement technique was even more crucial.

Since he had some money now, he wrapped the trees he usually trained around with more cotton cloth.

Not thick, but at least it added some cushion, he wouldn't end up with a nosebleed from crashing into one.

Once everything was ready, he began darting and weaving between the trees.

His footwork looked casual but held hidden precision.

What kind of precision exactly? If you asked Fang Ling, he wouldn't be able to explain.

Every turn and leap was accurate and controlled.

The stride of each step and the way he adjusted his posture came from crashing into trees hundreds of times and falling dozens more.

Thanks to countless failures, he knew exactly where every root stuck out of the ground, which rocks were too slippery to step on, where the soil was hard, and where it was soft.

Luckily, the safety measures were in place, so he wasn't at risk of serious injury.

He didn't suffer any major injuries, but minor ones were constant.

He almost ended up being blacklisted by the academy's healing-type Soul Masters because of it, but he finally reached this stage.

As he trained further, his movements became faster.

His silhouette blurred under the dim, fading sunlight.

Sometimes like a soaring eagle, sometimes like a diving fish.

Each landing was silent, each leap light and graceful.

Unfortunately, this was still just his imagination of the future.

This half-formed technique merely made him more agile than before.

It wasn't even a real specialty yet.

Light as a swallow? A lovely thought, but still far out of reach.

When his legs finally began to go numb, Fang Ling stopped.

He had brought a water bottle.

Taking a sip and resting briefly, he massaged his aching legs, then adjusted the intensity of his training and resumed.

Just then, a faint crackling of twigs and leaves being stepped on echoed through the quiet forest.

Fang Ling was still immersed in training, his breathing heavy, and didn't notice.

By the time he felt something was off and turned around, he saw a familiar figure.

"Tang San?"

He quickly smiled and waved.

Tang San nodded lightly.

Fang Ling felt a bit puzzled.

At this hour, Tang San should've been sparring with Xiao Wu…

Or just coming back from Yu Xiaogang's place and starting meditation.

Why would he be here, in this remote corner of the woods, silently watching?

A bit creepy, honestly.

Did I somehow offend him?

"Sit down, don't just stand there," Fang Ling said, wiping off a rock with his sleeve, trying to make it look cleaner.

Seeing the already-dirty rock now smeared with foul-smelling mud, Tang San's mouth twitched slightly.

Now he understood why Fang Ling had bought so many sturdy hemp clothes.

"No need. I was just passing by and heard noise from the forest. Thought I'd take a look, didn't expect to find you training."

"Seeing how agile you and Xiao Wu are, I thought I'd try training too."

"You saw just now, right? What do you think?" Fang Ling asked eagerly.

Tang San glanced at Fang Ling, who was covered in filthy mud, and the tree trunks wrapped in blankets around him.

He could tell Fang Ling was practicing some sort of movement technique.

He had watched the whole thing, clumsy like a monkey dancing, nowhere close to Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step.

But he didn't want to discourage him, so Tang San said against his better judgment, "Hmm... looks decent."

In truth, he was quite put off, Fang Ling's disheveled look was hardly impressive.

A lame kid dreaming of becoming a Battle Soul Master was already far-fetched. Now he wanted to train movement techniques?

All that effort for little gain.

With his cooking skills, Fang Ling could become a great chef one day.

But with only Level 1 innate soul power and no strong background, what was the point of forcing his way down the path of a Soul Master?

Tang San looked at Fang Ling with a trace of pity in his eyes.

He had already asked the Grandmaster.

Someone with Fang Ling's talent, Level 1 innate soul power, no notable connections, training in a basic continental meditation method, had extremely limited potential.

At best, he could become a Soul Grandmaster.

To break through to Soul Elder, he'd need a miraculous opportunity.

The scythe martial soul was too ordinary, not suited for combat in the first place.

The Grandmaster told him that quick gains early on didn't mean much.

There were records of such cases, they often left hidden internal injuries in the body.

"What is it?" Fang Ling waved his hand at Tang San.

Tang San thought of Xiao Wu waiting for him and smiled slightly. "Nothing. Just remember to come back early. Teacher will be doing inspections tonight."

"Oh, and take a shower before you come back. You stink."

Tang San pinched his nose.

"Don't worry, I know. I'll definitely clean up before heading back."

Fang Ling watched Tang San leave.

He noticed how Tang San leapt away lightly and without a trace of dirt on him, and he fell into thought.

He began to mentally simulate what he saw, then tried to imitate it.

At first, he fell hard a few times. But soon, he found the rhythm.

His movements became more agile and, surprisingly, started to show some grace.

With one final flash of insight, he stepped lightly and landed steadily on a slick tree root.

A leaf fluttered up, the corner of his mouth curled slightly.

Then Fang Ling noticed something new on his status panel.

Because he was extremely familiar with it, he immediately saw the addition.

A new specialty had appeared.

Movement Technique Lv1 

(Skill Specialty – Beginner Level. A movement technique created through countless failures and a sudden moment of inspiration by a novice with no foundation. Allows for short-distance or obstacle-filled quick movement.)

If you want to read 40 advanced chapters, please subscribe to my : patreon.com/Moorowkeel