Chapter 17: Body Tempering
That night, Yang Xiong was ready to begin executing his body tempering plan.
In the past few days, Yang Xiong had bought all kinds of medicinal materials in Seven Treasure City, which was one of the most prosperous cities in the entire Douluo Continent. There were many herb shops, and basically, all kinds of medicinal materials could be found there.
In Yang Xiong's room, there was a large iron bath barrel, already filled with clean water, and below the barrel, charcoal was burning, causing the water in the barrel to begin boiling.
Yang Xiong took out many medicinal materials from his soul tool and placed them in the barrel. The originally clear water turned bright red, like fresh blood.
Yang Lin, standing nearby, looked a bit anxious. "Xiong, you're still so young. There's no need to rush like this. Body tempering is great and suits your martial soul, but you're still a bit early for this."
Yang Xiong replied, "Father, I'm absolutely confident that this won't harm my body. Plus, this recipe isn't simple."
Not long ago, Yang Xiong had found Bone Douluo's cultivation records in the seventh floor of the library—The Path of Defense. As the continent's top defensive expert, Bone Douluo's method of cultivation involved more than just absorbing defensive-type soul rings. He also used external items to push his body to the limit.
Such an elite defensive expert was not only immune to fire and water but also to deadly toxins. This was the pinnacle of defense.
Yang Xiong followed the methods described in The Path of Defense to purchase various medicinal materials, and today, he was performing a fire-based tempering on his body for the first time.
The herbs he purchased weren't expensive but were all fire-type herbs with a certain level of toxicity. The process would be extremely painful, but this was the foundation of the defensive path.
Without hesitation, Yang Xiong stripped off his clothes and jumped into the bath.
Yang Xiong felt as though he were submerged in a sea of flames, his skin seemingly burning. Especially as the red liquid in the barrel seeped into his body, each muscle and bone felt as though it were being roasted by fire.
Even when he summoned his martial soul, the martial soul itself seemed unable to withstand this heat and toxicity. His entire body began to be scorched. Despite his robust physique, Yang Xiong couldn't help but grit his teeth, and his face showed extreme pain.
An hour later, the blood-red liquid in the barrel gradually began to fade, and the medicinal effect seemed to dissipate after flowing into Yang Xiong's body.
Yang Lin hurriedly pulled Yang Xiong out of the barrel. At this point, Yang Xiong looked quite miserable, his body marked with burn-like wounds, resembling a person badly burned.
His mother, Sun Yu, appeared extremely distressed. "Xiong, why go to such lengths? Let me take you to a healing-type soul master."
Yang Xiong shook his head. "Mother, I feel this effect is great, and I don't need treatment. My martial soul will likely heal the injuries soon."
This was the greatest advantage of the Body Martial Soul. After the body was injured, the martial soul could quickly heal it. Purely in terms of recovery, the Body Martial Soul was undoubtedly one of the best among all martial souls.
…
In the following days, Yang Xiong continued the tempering process with fire-type medicinal herbs for nine days. His body remained flushed red, but miraculously, after meditating and cultivating for one night, most of his body recovered.
Of course, this was because Yang Xiong had adjusted the dosage of the herbs to the smallest amount. If he had followed the full prescription in The Path of Defense, even a normal person would melt within a short time, and only a mid- or high-level soul master could endure it.
After nine days, Yang Xiong began to use another set of medicinal materials. The water in the barrel, previously boiling, turned blue as soon as the herbs were added. The water, which had been bubbling, rapidly cooled and began emitting a cold aura.
When Yang Xiong jumped into the barrel, it felt as though his body was immersed in ice. Endless cold energy rushed into his body, and every inch of his skin seemed to freeze. His whole body felt like a frozen pillar, and the pain was just as intense as the fire-based herbal tempering.
Especially as the freezing cold penetrated deeper, not only was his body affected, but even his martial soul and soul power seemed to freeze. However, this extreme experience actually helped him control the flow of soul power within his body.
This was the body tempering process described in The Path of Defense for cold energy.
After nine days of enduring the ice-type tempering, Yang Xiong began another phase of training.
Now, the water in the bath barrel was bubbling, but it was all a bright green. Inside, Yang Xiong had added poison herbs.
Compared to the fire and ice tempering, the poison-based training seemed to be even more brutal on the body, with greater pain. It felt as though thousands of insects were gnawing at his body, especially as the poison entered his bones, making it feel as if his bones were about to shatter.
The damage done by the poison to the body's cells and flesh was severe, and like maggots on a bone, it was hard to get rid of.
However, the advantage of the Body Martial Soul appeared once again. Since the martial soul was his own body, the poison was absorbed and utilized by the martial soul, and the effects seemed to be better than those of the fire and ice tempering.
…
In the following time, Yang Xiong continued with these three types of tempering every day: fire, ice, and poison, each lasting nine days, and then switching to the next type.
As time passed, Yang Xiong felt as if his body were being constantly tempered, repeatedly being destroyed and then quickly recovering.
Especially as the body tempering progressed, his martial soul seemed to be getting stronger, and his strength and soul power had also improved. After each body tempering session, his meditation speed seemed to increase, at least better than after ordinary medicinal baths.
Yang Xiong even felt that his meridians had strengthened under the tempering of fire, ice, and poison. Perhaps his innate soul power level had also slightly increased.
Of course, Yang Xiong did all this in preparation for the future. The Body Martial Soul was too special and relatively weak in the early stages. Only through this intense tempering and walking the path of defense could he hope for a second awakening later.
Of course, achieving a second awakening was much harder than it seemed. A second awakening required extreme pressure between life and death, which couldn't be compared to just this level of pain.
However, Yang Xiong had searched the entire library and could not find any methods for cultivating mental strength. It seemed that in the entire Douluo world, aside from Tang San's Purple Extreme Magic Eyes, no one else had any similar techniques.
Yang Xiong planned to push his physical strength, soul power, and mental strength to their limits, and with the elemental attributes, he believed he could reach unprecedented heights.
(END CHAPTER)
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