"Oh!"
Hearing Xu Yang's explanation, Dugu Yan's confusion eased a little, but she still seemed distracted. Clearly, the massacre caused by the three corrupted soul masters weighed heavily on her. In her eyes, there was a trace of sympathy and pity.
Noticing this, Xu Yang realized his explanation might have been misunderstood. He gently placed both hands on Dugu Yan's shoulders and spoke earnestly, "I'm not telling you this so you'll feel sorry for them. Those corrupted soul masters don't deserve pity—they got what they deserved.
What I want you to understand is that in our pursuit of fairness, we must not take extremes or stray down wrongful paths. We must hold fast to our principles, or our fate won't be much better than theirs."
"I understand. I don't pity those three corrupted soul masters. After seeing the details, I think they deserved to be torn apart. I was only feeling sorry for that child—so young, yet he lost his entire family because of those corrupted soul masters' cultivation. I don't know how he'll go on living."
Hearing this, Xu Yang realized he might have been overthinking. Thinking of the still unconscious boy, his heart filled with sympathy. He sighed softly, embraced Dugu Yan, and murmured, "Don't worry. Grandpa Gu will take care of it. Let's just hope the boy won't fall into despair."
Dugu Yan nodded and leaned into Xu Yang's arms, quietly adjusting her emotions under the moonlight.
Two hours later, deep into the night, Xu Yang and Dugu Yan returned to the village. Approaching the center, they heard sounds of something smashing, mixed with the breaking of bones.
They looked in that direction and saw the previously unconscious boy pounding the heads of the two corrupted soul masters with a stone. Gu Rong, Dugu Bo, and Ning Haiyan stood silently nearby, watching.
Xu Yang and Dugu Yan also stopped and watched.
Bang!
Due to long-term malnutrition and exhaustion from repeatedly hitting with the stone, the boy had no strength left. Just as he raised the stone again, he collapsed, the stone falling from his hands. He stared at the two corpses and broke into a heart-wrenching wail.
"Waaah! Waaah…"
Tears streamed down his face, mixing with blood and brain matter, creating a gruesome sight. But no one cared about the gore—only overwhelming sympathy for the boy.
His cries lasted well into the night. Eventually, he cried himself unconscious. Dugu Yan carried him back to bed, wiping tears and blood from his face and found him a clean set of clothes from a nearby house to dress him.
"It's all right. The fact that he can cry means he'll be fine. He's just overwhelmed with grief," Xu Yang said, gently patting Dugu Yan's shoulder in comfort.
"Mhm. I hope he'll be all right…"
—
The next morning, the group resumed their journey toward Seven Treasure City, but this time, the carriage carried a new passenger—the little boy.
"What's your name? How old are you? What's your Body Spirit?" Dugu Yan asked softly as she approached the boy, who sat quietly.
"My name's Ge Erdan. My Body Spirit is bone, but my innate soul power is only rank 3. The master who awakened my Body Spirit said my future limit would be Soul King…" The boy clenched his fists tightly, frustration and unwillingness clear on his face.
Hearing about his Body Spirit and innate soul power, everyone except Xu Yang concluded the boy's future potential was limited—Soul King at best. Even the Soul Master from Spirit Hall had said as much.
"You said your Body Spirit is bone? Is it your own bones, or like a beast Body Spirit manifesting as skeletons?" Xu Yang asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up. For years, he had wanted to explore the secret of second awakenings for Body Spirits. He always needed a cultivator with a Body Spirit to help test his theories, but had never encountered one—until now.
"What's got you so excited, Xu Yang? Does this child's Body Spirit have something special?" Dugu Yan asked curiously. Gu Rong, Dugu Bo, and Ning Haiyan looked at Xu Yang with puzzlement. Body Spirits were rare but not unheard of, and none of them saw anything special here.
Xu Yang didn't answer, just kept his eyes fixed on the boy.
At that moment, Ge Erdan seemed to realize his Body Spirit might be unusual and obediently replied, "It's my own bones, but it doesn't seem very useful. All it does is increase my strength a little."
"So it really is a Body Spirit—and not just any part, but the entire skeleton! With the right cultivation method, your potential is no less than mine!" Xu Yang exclaimed.
Now Xu Yang understood why Ge Erdan possessed innate soul power. In a remote village like Tao Tao Village, aside from soul power arising from Body Spirit mutations, the only other possibility was awakening a Body Spirit.
"No less than me?! Brat, are you joking?" Dugu Bo, Gu Rong, and Ning Haiyan stared at Xu Yang in disbelief. Over the years, they had come to believe Xu Yang was at least on the level of a Title Douluo and maybe even capable of breaking through to the legendary Limit Douluo.
For this frail boy with only rank 3 innate soul power to have potential comparable to Xu Yang's, they simply couldn't believe it.
Dugu Bo hesitated and finally asked, "Is it because of this Body Spirit you mentioned?"
"That's right. I once saw a fragmented text at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy describing Body Spirits… A Body Spirit is a rare and unique type of Martial Soul. Upon awakening, aside from the Body Spirit being part of the cultivator's own body, the cultivator's innate soul power is usually low—typically only rank 1."
"But what does that have to do with this kid's potential being equal to yours?"
"Because the potential of a Body Spirit isn't just tied to innate soul power. It also depends on the importance of the awakened body part. The more crucial the part to the body's function, the greater the potential. Someone like Erdan, with his entire skeleton as a Body Spirit, will definitely reach Title Douluo if he learns the proper cultivation method."
"I still don't quite get it," Dugu Bo admitted, perplexed.
"The key lies in the cultivation method for Body Spirits. Once a suitable method is found, a Body Spirit can undergo a second awakening…"
"A second awakening? Like our Martial Souls evolving through consuming immortal herbs?"
"Essentially, yes, though the process is different. According to the text, a second awakening for a Body Spirit is also a form of Martial Soul evolution. But unlike our evolution through immortal herbs, it's even harder. However, if successful, this evolution causes a complete transformation of the Body Spirit, elevating it beyond even top-tier Martial Souls and nearing the legendary God-level Martial Souls…"
In response to Dugu Bo's question, Xu Yang smiled and began explaining to everyone present. He recounted all he knew from his memories about the concept of Body Spirits, hoping to make Gu Rong and the others truly appreciate the power of Body Spirit cultivators.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin