Chapter 156: Level Sixty
Ning Fengzhi's Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was indeed a powerful auxiliary tool. Soon, Yang Xiong's body was fully restored, and even his mental strength felt incredibly abundant.
After Yang Xiong had fully recovered, Sword Douluo spoke up, "How do you feel now, Xiao Xiong? How's your killing intent now?"
Yang Xiong thought carefully for a moment before replying, "Teacher Jian, I feel that during the clash of our killing intents, although it was completely suppressed by you, I could still sense my own inadequacy."
Sword Douluo nodded. "That's quite normal. You must have undergone the Killing City's trials and just recently acquired the Killing God domain, but you haven't fully mastered it yet. It's still relatively rough."
"Moreover, you're only a Soul King, and I'm a 97th-level Title Douluo. There's a huge gap in soul power, which is why I could easily suppress your Killing God domain."
"Of course, if your soul power was higher, say at the Soul Douluo or even Title Douluo level, I wouldn't be able to suppress you so easily."
Yang Xiong nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Jian."
Sword Douluo continued, "Do you have any plans going forward? This killing intent of yours is still exposed, and it's not a sustainable solution. You're in a state where you could easily lose control."
Yang Xiong thought for a while and then said, "Teacher Jian, I plan to find a secluded mountain forest to rest and slowly learn to control my killing intent through experiencing the life force of nature."
Sword Douluo nodded. "That's indeed a good idea. Nature is filled with endless life, and perhaps you can slowly gain control over your Killing God domain through the life energy. However, the progress might be slow, and it might not be the best path for your future development."
Yang Xiong quickly responded, "Then, Teacher, what should I do now?"
Sword Douluo said, "When I first broke through to Title Douluo, I awakened my Seven Killing Domain, which, like yours, was pure killing intent. But the difference is that the Seven Killing Domain is inherent in my Seven Killing Sword martial soul, while your Killing God domain was acquired through killing. Controlling it will be harder."
"I suggest you take a two-step approach. Spend part of your time reflecting on your own, and for the other part, focus on mastering the use of your killing intent. Your killing intent will be wasted if it remains solely within the Killing God domain."
Yang Xiong's eyes lit up. "Teacher Jian, I've been thinking the same thing. Over these years, I've also studied the Seven Killing Sword technique. Since the killing intent entered my body, I've felt that my sword energy has changed. It seems to be more infused with killing intent and is much stronger."
Sword Douluo said, "You've been thinking in the right direction. From now on, we will arrange for you to practice in the back mountains of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, where you will be undisturbed."
"Fengzhi and I will visit you once a week, and during that time, I'll guide you in using your killing intent. Perhaps confronting me will help you grow. Additionally, Fengzhi's Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda will be of great assistance to you."
...
In just half a day, a small thatched hut had been built in the back mountains of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Inside, it was fully equipped with all the necessary facilities, and various flowers and plants were even planted around the area.
Yang Xiong moved into this thatched hut.
The reason it was a thatched hut was that it was closer to nature and had a stronger sense of life and vitality.
For the first time in a long while, Yang Xiong woke up naturally from his sleep. In this secluded place, the life energy was incredibly dense, almost as though it was blending with his own killing intent.
From then on, Yang Xiong's daily life became very simple.
His main activities were writing, practicing Tai Chi, and pruning the flowers.
Every time Yang Xiong held a pen, he felt as though the pen was a weapon and the paper his enemy. His hand would tremble as he gripped the pen.
However, Yang Xiong suppressed the killing intent inside him and slowly began to write.
The content he wrote wasn't complicated, mostly drawn from the "Tao Te Ching" and the "Heart Sutra."
Although Yang Xiong couldn't fully understand these two classic texts from Taoism and Buddhism in his past life, he was still familiar with some of the most famous verses.
From the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao produces One, One produces Two, Two produces Three, and Three produces all things."
From the Heart Sutra: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is emptiness, emptiness is form."
These were the fundamental truths of Buddhism and Taoism, containing the principles of the universe and human life. Every time he wrote these, Yang Xiong had profound realizations.
He also wrote about Tai Chi theory: "Tai Chi produces the Two Forms, the Two Forms produce the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols produce the Eight Trigrams."
After writing and reflecting, Yang Xiong always felt an extraordinary sense of emptiness in his heart. These simple sayings contained extraordinary meanings.
Whenever Yang Xiong felt himself losing control or felt the urge to act, he would go out to an open space and practice Tai Chi.
Tai Chi emphasizes the balance of hardness and softness. As he practiced Tai Chi, his killing intent seemed to change subtly, becoming more peaceful as it followed the flow of the Tai Chi movements.
Especially since the killing intent was fierce and direct, while Tai Chi was extremely soft, it seemed to perfectly counterbalance it.
The last task was pruning the flowers and plants.
This was mainly something Sword Douluo had taught him, and it was only performed when Sword Douluo was present.
Every time Yang Xiong held the small scissors, he felt an urge to tear the flowers and plants into pieces.
However, under Sword Douluo's watchful eyes, Yang Xiong would tremble as he carefully cut the messy branches and leaves of the flowers and plants. Each cut felt like his killing intent was trying to condense again.
But the flowers and plants in front of him swayed as if showing a kind of powerful life, displaying the miracle of life.
Yang Xiong felt that the scissors in his hand represented all the killing in the world. Only by completely controlling it could he prevent true harm.
Of course, aside from these tasks, Yang Xiong also brewed tea and drank alcohol from time to time.
...
Additionally, every time Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi came to visit, Yang Xiong would use all his strength to spar with Sword Douluo, pushing his killing intent to its limits.
According to Sword Douluo, it was better to unleash the killing intent rather than suppress it. Only by truly venting it could he learn to control it.
Whenever Yang Xiong was exhausted, Ning Fengzhi would use the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to assist him.
Ning Fengzhi's Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was indeed a top-tier auxiliary martial soul. Similarly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, being a gem-based martial soul, was the pinnacle of its kind. Every time Yang Xiong was fatigued, the shining light from the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda would greatly assist in his recovery.
Yang Xiong couldn't help but think of Tang Yuehua from Yuexuan. Her martial soul, the Ruyi Disk, had the noble domain, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda also had a noble, gem-like quality. In some sense, the Ruyi Disk and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda were similar.
Initially, Ning Fengzhi had suggested that Yang Xiong go to Yuexuan for training, but Yang Xiong had refused.
Yuexuan was a famous place in Heaven Dou City, especially with Tang Yuehua being from the Clear Sky Sect. This fact naturally couldn't be hidden from Ning Fengzhi, and Yuexuan also had Ning Fengzhi's support behind it.
During this year, Ning Rongrong also secretly came to meet with Yang Xiong. They enjoyed flower viewing, moon watching, and star gazing together, and their feelings for each other began to grow. Even Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo turned a blind eye to their relationship.
Time flew by, and a year quickly passed.
In this year, Yang Xiong's body and mind underwent significant changes. His killing intent seemed to have fully merged with his body, making him appear like an ordinary person who loved nature.
Especially in terms of appearance, his once blood-red hair gradually turned black. However, whenever he fought Sword Douluo, his hair would turn blood-red again.
Yang Xiong's inner peace had also grown immensely. He was no longer as ambitious or calculating as before.
After gaining the full approval of Sword Douluo and others, Yang Xiong finally left the back mountains of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
When he returned home, his father, Yang Lin, and mother, Sun Yu, were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Over the past year, Yang Lin, Sun Yu, and Lin Gong had visited Yang Xiong in the back mountains several times, but due to his abnormal state, they couldn't spend much time together, and no one else had seen him.
Despite not having meditated in the past year, or even for the last three years, Yang Xiong's soul power had grown naturally, reaching the full 60th level.
Yang Xiong also knew that his time was running out.
It had been four years since the Soul Master Competition, and only one year remained before the Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting operation. During this time, he had to improve as much as possible and also raise the strength of everyone around him. Only then would they have a chance to face the terrifying war ahead.
Yang Xiong was acutely aware that no matter how much the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect improved its strength, or how much the body sect gathered its forces, the gap between them and the Spirit Hall was still too large.
According to what Yang Xiong knew, the Spirit Hall had nine elders and seven offerings, not to mention Bibi Dong. That was a total of seventeen Title Douluos, including the 99th-level peerless Douluos, Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu. Even the 98th-level Golden Crocodile Douluo could not be matched by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's current strength.
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had worked hard over the years, but Sword Douluo's strength was still only at 97th-level, and Bone Douluo was only at 96th-level, with no signs of breaking through in the short term.
As for Lin Gong and Long Gong, both had soul ring configurations of two yellow, three purple, and four black, which had been heavily impacted by their early foundations. After reaching the Title Douluo level, their potential improvements would be limited. Even with Lin Gong having consumed the Mo Jade Bamboo, it couldn't make up for the lack of a solid foundation, and his final limit might only reach 95th-level.
Of course, Yang Xiong also thought that if he could quickly develop the Soul Core, he might be able to fundamentally boost the strength of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the body sect.
But right now, Yang Xiong hadn't even reached the Soul Sage level, so he didn't have the time or resources to conduct any research.
After meditating at home for a whole night, Yang Xiong felt his cultivation speed had increased significantly again. This wasn't just the improvement brought by his Golden-level martial soul awakening, but also from his recent insights into meditation.
Yang Xiong's Tai Chi meditation technique had already reached perfection, but after a year of mastering the Killing God domain, his Tai Chi meditation had become even more refined and profound.
The next morning, Yang Xiong went to find Lin Gong.
Lin Gong was surprised to see him. "Little Xiong, I didn't expect you to emerge so soon. Looks like you've made good progress this year. I can hardly gauge your true strength now."
Yang Xiong smiled. "Teacher Lin, you're being too modest. You're a Title Douluo. How could you not sense the power of a mere Soul King?"
Lin Gong scoffed, "Who else but you would be a Soul King? I bet you could probably take on a Soul Sage now."
...
After a brief chat, Yang Xiong got down to business.
"Teacher Lin, has anything unusual happened at the Body Sect these past three years?"
Lin Gong chuckled. "Look at you, the hand-off sect leader, now worrying about the sect. Seems like you know your place, huh? Barely a sect leader."
Yang Xiong grinned. "Thanks for your hard work these past years, Teacher Lin. After all, you're the Grand Elder of the Body Sect. It's only right to contribute to the sect."
Lin Gong sighed. "I'm not sure if I owe you or not. I was happily teaching before, now I'm stuck being the Body Sect's Grand Elder. I think you'll be the end of me."
"You've spent two years in the Killing City and another year in seclusion. Was all this time spent on the Killing God domain really worth it?"
Yang Xiong smiled. "Of course it was worth it. It's not just about the Killing God domain. Who knows, there may be other surprises in the future."
Lin Gong rolled his eyes. "Don't talk to me about surprises. As long as you don't scare me, that'll be enough. An old man like me can't take it."
(END CHAPTER)
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