Chapter 135: The Method of Soul Guidance and Bone Tempering

A few days later, Tian Lin and Rong Rong returned to the sect. Rong Rong had successfully absorbed her ten-thousand-year soul ring and advanced to the rank of Soul Ancestor. Even after Tian Lin retracted his auxiliary skill, Illusory Water Thunderstorm, she did not regress to the level of Soul Elder. The ten-thousand-year fourth ring had given her nearly three levels of soul power, bringing her to level 42, making her the strongest among the current Shrek Seven Devils. Additionally, Ma Hongjun had successfully acquired his third soul ring. The soul power boost provided by the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower had fully manifested, raising his level to 36. Before the Soul Master Competition, he was expected to reach the rank of Soul Ancestor. By tomorrow, Tian Lin planned to escort Ma Hongjun and Ning Rong Rong back to the original Blue Tyrant Academy. After all, with the competition approaching, since they had joined Shrek, they had to shoulder their responsibilities. Moreover, it was time for Tian Lin to return to the Emperor Team; he couldn't remain detached from them indefinitely. The night before their departure, Tian Lin sought out Ning Fengzhi and handed him four blueprints for hidden weapons he had obtained from Tang San. Ning Fengzhi was overjoyed after examining them. The materials required were simple, and the weapons were reasonably powerful. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's wealth, they could be mass-produced and distributed to the sect's core disciples. That same night, Ning Fengzhi dispatched people to Gengxin City to purchase materials in bulk and hire blacksmiths to assist at the sect. Once again, Tian Lin had rendered significant service to the sect. Ning Fengzhi was unsure how to reward him appropriately. That night, Ning Fengzhi locked himself in the archive room and worked tirelessly through the night. The next morning, Tian Lin woke up early to bid farewell to his Master and Ning Fengzhi but was greeted by Ning Fengzhi with dark circles under his eyes. "Uncle Ning, what happened to you?" Tian Lin asked in surprise. A dignified Soul Douluo shouldn't look like this, even after staying up all night. "Fengzhi has been preparing a gift for you, intending to give it to you before you return to the academy. For this, he's been sleepless for days," Chen Xin explained. Gu Rong nodded. "That's right. To maintain his image in front of the sect disciples, he even used his concubine's foundation to hide his dark circles in the past few days. But since you're leaving in a hurry today, he didn't have time to apply makeup." "This... Uncle Ning, you've gone to so much trouble for me." Tian Lin, though unaware of what Ning Fengzhi had prepared, was deeply moved by his effort and care. "Haha, it's nothing. This is something I promised you a long time ago." Ning Fengzhi took out a book from his robe. "Do you remember, Xiao Tian? I once vowed that, even if it cost me my life's work, I would resolve the defect of your twin martial souls. Now, I've finally done it!" "What?" Tian Lin was stunned. The defect of twin martial souls had only been resolved by Tang San and Bibi Dong in the original story, and both had relied on divine trials. Yet Ning Fengzhi claimed he had achieved it on his own. Taking the book from Ning Fengzhi's hands, Tian Lin saw six large characters on the cover: The Method of Soul Guidance and Bone Tempering. This was a handwritten manuscript, with every word penned by Ning Fengzhi himself. "I've been researching this method for years, ever since I learned about your twin martial souls," Ning Fengzhi explained. "Originally, there wasn't much urgency, but I didn't expect you to start adding soul rings to your second martial soul so early, and on top of that, a million-year ring. I had no choice but to accelerate my progress." "Thank you, Uncle Ning. This seems to be a method for channeling the power of soul rings," Tian Lin said after flipping through a few pages and grasping some of the basics. "That's correct. The biggest defect of twin martial souls lies in the process of adding soul rings to the second martial soul. The added attributes of the soul rings can exceed the human body's tolerance, leading to an explosion. Even with soul's bones, it's sometimes insufficient, as soul bones—except for external ones—has fixed age limits, similar to soul rings, and can also exceed their limits." What Ning Fengzhi said made perfect sense. Although Tian Lin already had a million-year soul bone, he also possessed a million-year soul ring. The burden of carrying that ring alone was almost at the soul bone's limit. What about future rings? Tian Lin still had four soul bone slots available, but he needed to add twelve more soul rings. Among them, there would inevitably be several that were over one hundred thousand years old, rendering the soul bones insufficient. "Xiao Tian, let me tell you about the origin of this method. You may already know that every generation of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect masters has dedicated their lives to one goal: evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Various methods were attempted, though all ultimately failed. However, they left behind a wealth of knowledge for the sect." "One sect master created a special technique to channel the physical enhancement energy provided by soul rings into the martial soul, attempting to evolve it." "The method I've given you is derived from that technique. I adapted it to temper soul bones instead of martial souls. It's a twofold solution. It not only prevents the excess energy from causing an explosion but also uses that energy to enhance the strength of soul bones, increasing your body's tolerance limit. That's why I gave you the sixty-thousand-year leg bone in the first place—to prepare for this day." "Incredible!" Tian Lin couldn't help but admire the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's past masters. Each one was a theoretical genius, especially the one who devised this miraculous technique, and Ning Fengzhi, who perfected it. "But it's a pity..." Tian Lin noticed a significant flaw as he flipped through more pages. "Yes, it's unfortunate, but I can't continue researching it. Going further would be against the natural order. Besides, I've already reached my theoretical limit," Ning Fengzhi admitted. He knew Tian Lin had spotted the issue—not a defect in the method, but its incompleteness. When absorbing a soul ring, there are two phases. The first is enduring the soul ring's assault; failing to do so results in death. The second is the peaceful assimilation phase, where the soul ring enhances the body and grants abilities. Ning Fengzhi's method could only be used in the second phase. Otherwise, any soul master could surpass their limits, leading to the rampant hunting of high-level soul beasts—something that would disrupt the natural balance. Even so, this method had revolutionary significance. If it were leaked, it would shake the entire continent. Though it seemed only suitable for twin martial soul users—since single martial soul users couldn't afford to divert their soul ring's energy elsewhere—it still had enormous potential for misuse. For instance, if an evil sect obtained this method, they could brainwash children into cultivating it, provide them with soul bones, and force them to channel all their soul ring energy into tempering the bones. Then, they could kill these individuals and harvest the enhanced bones, creating high-year soul bones in bulk. "Uncle Ning, this method must never be known to anyone else but us," Tian Lin said solemnly. Ning Fengzhi nodded in satisfaction. Tian Lin clearly understood the gravity of the situation. "You're right, Xiao Tian. So I'll give you one day to memorize this method completely. After that, not even a speck of dust from it should remain." Ning Fengzhi had no intention of preserving the method. If leaked, the consequences would be catastrophic, costing countless lives—a burden he could not bear. "Yes, Uncle Ning!" Tian Lin agreed instantly. At this moment, the most excited party was Skydream Ice Silkworm. The energy from its sealed two-hundred-thousand-year soul ring had nearly reached its limit and was about to disperse. But Ning Fengzhi, this theoretical genius, had unexpectedly delivered such a timely gift.