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Three days later.
After passing the position of the hall master of the Nuoding City branch hall to Su Yuntao, Ma Xiu Nuo bid farewell to everyone and boarded a carriage bound for Tian Dou City with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.
"Goodbye, Grandpa Ma Xiu Nuo!"
Tang San waved goodbye to the departing carriage outside Nuoding City, watching until it disappeared from sight. Then, he turned to Su Yuntao and asked, "Brother Tao, are you finally happy now that your wish has come true?"
"I'm very happy, of course."
Su Yuntao raised his head proudly. "I never expected that I, Su Yuntao, would also have the day to become the hall master of the Spirit Hall. This is all thanks to you, Little San."
"I just made a suggestion about your second soul ring selection. It's nothing significant." Tang San didn't take credit and instead asked about another matter. "Has the Fallen, Blood Sword Norman, been caught?"
"Not yet."
Su Yuntao's expression turned serious when he mentioned Blood Sword Norman. "Recently, there haven't been any more disappearances in Nuoding City or the surrounding areas. I suspect he has fled to another city or a remote town."
The Fallen are soul masters who have lost their humanity, primarily seeking to enhance their cultivation by taking the flesh and soul power of others. They have twisted minds and engage in extremely heinous acts.
Although their logic is different from ordinary people, it doesn't mean they are foolish. They usually don't stay in one place for too long to avoid being captured by the Spirit Hall.
"Is that so?"
Tang San breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze also revealed a hint of seriousness.
Relief because he didn't need to worry about Blood Sword Norman targeting Old Jack; seriousness because there exists a place in this world where a large number of Fallens gather—the City of Slaughter.
That place is a paradise for the Fallen.
The Spirit Hall confines a large number of Fallens there, creating the illusion that it's a paradise for them to attract other Fallens from the outside world.
One could say it's a peculiar, unguarded prison.
But—
Is an unguarded prison still a prison?
Tang San felt that in the future, when soul engineering technology develops on this continent, measures must be taken to manage the City of Slaughter professionally.
However, managing the City of Slaughter would inevitably involve the Inheritance of Asura God. Would doing so offend the Asura God of the divine realm?
Although the divine realm is not allowed to interfere with the mortal realm, those rules are set by the Divine Realm Committee members themselves and aren't absolute world rules. As the enforcers of the divine realm, the Asura God is one of the five great gods and two enforcers. If they want to descend to the mortal realm, they have plenty of reasons to persuade the other four great gods and two enforcers.
After all, the Asura God's power is there. For the sake of stability in the divine realm, the other four great gods and two enforcers wouldn't make things too difficult. At most, they would say, "This is an exception."
Therefore, managing the City of Slaughter would be unavoidable in the future.
Thinking to this point, Tang San shook his head and chuckled inwardly, "Really, now that I'm a Soul master, why am I thinking about gods?"
With that in mind, Tang San bid farewell to Su Yuntao and went to the house Ma Xiu Nuo sold to him.
Ma Xiu Nuo's home, in Nuoding City, could be considered a small manor, occupying an area of over two hundred square meters. In addition to a three-story European-style building, there was also a garden and a practice field.
Tang San spent fifty thousand gold soul coins to buy it.
"Are we going to live here from now on?" Xiao Wu looked at the three-story building with starry eyes. "It's so beautiful."
"Yes."
Tang San sighed deeply. In his previous life, he had to toil day and night for a house and a car, but in this world, he unexpectedly had his own small manor.
Fortune is truly unpredictable.
Afterward, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Guang Ling began to move their luggage in. Each of them chose a room and began to clean and tidy up.
It wasn't until noon that they finished tidying up.
After lunch, Tang San began to conduct detailed tests for Guang Ling. After obtaining her thousand-year soul ring, Radiant Feather's data was as follows:
Strength: 4. Strengthened by the Thousand-Year Golden Sun Eagle, it has become stronger.
Defense: 3. The bow body is tougher, but it's not suitable for defense.
Speed: 5. Attack speed remains unchanged, but with the addition of light attribute, shooting speed is faster.
Energy: 4. The energy for shooting arrows has increased significantly.
Stamina: 4. Increased due to the increase in soul power.
Special: 4. The arrows condensed by the soul skill have light attributes and possess armor-piercing properties.
Total score: 24.
"From the current situation, Guang Ling, after adding two soul rings, your various attributes tend to be balanced, but the path of long-range output and strong attack remains the same. This is the advantage of your two soul skills. However, the edges of the Sun Chasing Bow now have sharp blades on both sides, which can also be used as a unique melee weapon. The sharpness is quite good, and you can also pursue the path of melee control and strong attack."
Tang San tailored a future plan for Guang Ling. "Primary, long-range output; Secondary, melee control, and even armor-piercing. This is the path you will take in the future."
"I understand, Third Brother, but can I study soul devices?" Guang Ling thought for a moment and asked what was on her mind. "I think I can study soul devices based on the patterns on my bow."
"Soul devices? Are you interested in soul devices?" Tang San stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then agreed, saying, "Okay, no problem. I'll teach you what I've currently researched about soul devices over the next two years. But you must not neglect your cultivation."
"Don't worry, San Ge, I won't." Guang Ling nodded vigorously. "After all, our research on soul devices is only in the preliminary stage, and one's own strength is fundamental."
"As long as you know."
Tang San pushed up his glasses and said to Guang Ling and Xiao Wu, "In these two years, I have also developed a self-created soul skill that can strengthen the strength and flexibility of your entire skeletal system."
With that said, Tang San handed over the improved Jade Bone Technique to Xiao Wu and Guang Ling. He personally helped them perform the technique several times with his soul power, allowing them to remember how to use soul power to drive their blood, thereby refining their entire skeletal system.
"This technique, why does it feel familiar?" Xiao Wu frowned, thinking of something, and asked in astonishment, "Have you combined it with the flow of soul power from my True Bone Spirit soul skill?"
"Exactly."
Tang San nodded. "I had a method of refining hands using qi and blood, and by chance, I combined it with qi and blood to refine my bones into jade quality. I found that it could strengthen as my soul power increased. So, I thought of refining the bones of the whole body into jade quality, but I didn't know how to handle so many bones in the human body... Fortunately, your True Bone Spirit gave me inspiration. By cultivating the spine, which is where blood is produced in the human body, it can be said to be the source of human qi and blood strength."
"Start by cultivating the spine and then continuously cleanse the entire skeleton, including the skull."
"After two years of continuous experimentation, I finally improved this perfect method of jade bone cultivation."
Thinking of the adventurous actions over the past two years, Tang San couldn't help but sweat on his forehead. "To be honest, if it weren't for my Blue Silver Grass providing me with a continuous supply of vitality, I wouldn't dare to try."
Xiao Wu looked shocked.
This Jade Bone Technique allows one to refine jade-like bones through cultivation, which can strengthen with the increase in soul power. Isn't it similar to the legendary external soul bones?
Except that there are no soul skills, it is a method for soul masters to refine their own set of one hundred thousand year soul bones!
And there are two hundred and six of them!
It's the most suitable "soul bone" for human soul masters!
"Have you succeeded in cultivation?" Xiao Wu asked incredulously.
"Of course, otherwise how could I practice it with you?" Tang San retorted, then changed the subject, "However, I haven't refined all 206 bones of my body into Jade Bones. That requires a large amount of qi and blood, according to the current cultivation speed. If there aren't any other opportunities, I estimate that reaching the Titled Douluo level would be necessary to complete the cultivation."
"For you two, since it's your first time encountering this cultivation method, it may take longer. I speculate that you might need to reach the Rank 90 level before it works."
"However, cultivating the entire skeletal system into Jade Bones has great benefits. Firstly, it enhances physical fitness and extends the lifespan for us to absorb soul rings."
"Secondly, it allows us to advance our exposure to spiritual power."
"By controlling the flow of soul power to operate the blood and refine the bones, our minds are in a constantly concentrated state. Maintaining this state for a long time during cultivation can greatly enhance our mental strength."
"The third point is my intuition. If we can transform all the bones in our body into Jade Bones, our lives may undergo a qualitative change."
"Of course, I'm not sure what will happen exactly, but I dare say there are many benefits and no harm."
"Moreover, after the completion of Jade Bone cultivation, I have other ideas. Using similar methods to temper our internal organs and brains, and then from the inside out, strengthen muscles, membranes, and skin."
Generally speaking, the method of body refinement starts from the outside and works inward. However, in this real world, if one were to cultivate external skills first, it would make the skin and muscles rough, and although the muscles and meridians would become strong, the internal organs and bones would remain fragile as usual. The whole body would be unable to bear it.
Therefore, according to Tang San's research, true superior body-refining methods start from the inside and work outward.
The skeleton is the foundation for human upright posture, so it naturally needs to be cultivated first. Next are the internal organs, then the brain, and finally muscles, fat, membranes, etc.
Overall, it starts difficult and becomes easier later.
After all, during the process of refining Jade Bones, soul power and qi and blood will also flow through the internal organs, brain, muscles, and membranes passively strengthening these organs.
And if only muscles are tempered, then even if the muscles become stronger, the bones are still fragile. With a little force, one's own bones might break before injuring others.
"How do we increase our qi and blood? Is the gold soul coins enough?" Xiao Wu knew that refining qi and blood power requires a lot of intake of nutritious food.
Now, although Tang San is not short of money, good supplements are not easy to buy. Whale glue, this thing, is no longer available in the market. Even if it is, it will be snapped up immediately, and they won't have a chance to buy it.
Xiao Wu even thought that the next time she needed to obtain the fourth soul ring, she would ask Emperor Tian for help in preparing some edible soul beast meat. There must be soul beasts that Emperor Tian and others find unsightly, right?
"Follow me."
Tang San turned around, waved his hand behind him, and led the two women to the bathroom.
Tang San took out a crystal-clear deep blue bead from the white jade belt, about the size of a human head, and placed it in the bathtub, poured hot water, and then infused it with soul power.
Suddenly, the bead in the bathtub began to rotate, emitting a strange fragrance, and the hot water in the bathtub changed from white to red.
This red color is not like the red of blood, but rather as clear as a ruby.
"This is the whale pearl, a bead from the body of a thousand-year whale beast. It was bought together with the thousand-year whale glue." Tang San explained, "At that time, the thousand-year whale glue was as cheap as cabbage... Uh, digressing, at that time, I didn't know how to use this thing. In the end, when I was taking a bath, I took it out and infused it with soul power with my Profound Jade Hand. Unexpectedly, it guided the internal blood and energy within, and this energy can be refined and absorbed by soul masters."
"However, most of the blood energy in this bead has already been absorbed by me, and the rest is negligible for me, so I'll give it to you two."
After speaking, Tang San took out another bathtub, filled it with hot water, and put the whale pearl in it, using his Profound Jade Hand to transform it into red.
"Xiao Wu, Guang Ling, you two give it a try. The effect should be quite good."
After Tang San finished speaking, he took out the whale pearl and walked out.
Xiao Wu and Guang Ling looked at each other, not embarrassed, took off their clothes, and climbed into the bathtub.
The first feeling was heat.
The second feeling was refreshing.
Then, the two looked at each other, operated their soul power according to the Jade Bone cultivation method Tang San had taught them, mobilized the qi and blood in their bodies, and absorbed the blood energy in the bath, starting to strengthen their spinal bones...
An hour later.
Xiao Wu came out first. Because her third soul skill is the True Spirit Bone, the absorption was very fast, and the effect was extremely strong. Xiao Wu felt that her spine was even stronger and more resilient than before, surpassing her previous state.
While Guang Ling was still absorbing, Xiao Wu found Tang San and saw him studying the whale pearl, asking, "Are you still researching its other uses?"
"Yes, the whale pearl, a bead from the body of a thousand-year whale beast. Soul beasts can condense it, and humans should be able to condense corresponding qi and blood cores, soul power cores, or even mental power cores."
Tang San shared his thoughts, "Although these cores may not directly increase cultivation, they will likely accelerate the recovery speed of soul power, mental power, qi, and blood."
Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Actually, my mother told me how to condense cores with soul power, and those cores also have corresponding names, called soul nuclei. However, it requires a certain quality of soul power, something I hadn't considered before..."
"Soul nuclei?"
Tang San pondered.
"Yes, soul nuclei." Xiao Wu glanced at Tang San's thoughtful expression secretly, choosing her words carefully as she continued, "It's said to be an ancient method, and it's currently lost in the soul master world."
Lost?
It was never really there!
Tang San secretly rolled his eyes, after all, according to the original timeline, the concept of soul nuclei wasn't discovered and condensed until tens of thousands of years later, gradually being controlled by soul masters.
But Tang San didn't expose it and instead asked, "So, do you have it?"
"Of course!"
Soul beasts have inner cores like inner alchemy, whale pearls, dan beads, and other energy cores. Perhaps this is the origin of the soul nuclei.
And, in other words, soul nuclei do not increase cultivation, they only have two basic functions: one, increasing the quality of soul power, and two, improving recovery efficiency, making it more enduring;
however, this story wants to play a new trick.
(End of this chapter)