Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"I attended this auction to look for some unique items for further research."

"What kind of research?"

"Research on martial souls and soul masters." Chen Ming glanced at Ning Fengzhi, feeling that the timing was just right, so he revealed some of his thoughts.

"Oh? The research on martial souls and soul masters is a topic of interest to all soul masters on the continent, but no one dares to claim they truly understand it. Decades ago, someone on the continent called himself the Grandmaster and published the so-called Ten Core Competencies of Soul Masters. But in reality, it was just a compilation of previous conclusions, given his name as a label."

"Most of the Ten Core Competencies of Soul Masters are nonsense. If a soul master truly treats them as treasures and cultivate them according to those theories, they will undoubtedly face an unfortunate future. Stagnation of soul power is a minor issue; conflicts in their martial soul are not impossible either."

The person Ning Fengzhi was referring to was none other than the self-proclaimed Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang.

In truth, what most people didn't notice was that Ning Fengzhi and Yu Xiaogang were from the same generation, with only a year or two in age difference. Even their backgrounds were not all that dissimilar.

Both of their fathers were sect leaders of the top three sects, and both were favored children of their fathers at the time. As a result, before their martial soul awakenings, the two had already interacted to some extent.

At that time, Yu Xiaogang gave Ning Fengzhi the impression of being overly arrogant and pathologically conceited. However, because nine out of ten soul masters from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had such personalities, Ning Fengzhi didn't think much of it.

After all, for the weak to be overly arrogant, was pure ignorance and stupidity. But for someone strong, arrogance was merely a personality trait. At that time, Ning Fengzhi thought Yu Xiaogang would awaken with a decent innate soul power level, so his arrogant personality seemed normal.

It wasn't until their martial soul awakenings that things took different turns. Ning Fengzhi successfully awakened the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, while Yu Xiaogang awakened a mutated Pig Beast martial soul. From then on, their paths diverged.

Through his efforts, Ning Fengzhi earned the most recognition in his sect, first becoming the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and later, after his father's death, the new sect leader. He brought Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, two Titled Douluo, into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and led the sect to new heights.

Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, fell into despair, abandoned his family after enjoying its resources, joined Spirit Hall, published the Ten Core Competencies of Soul Masters, and was then rejected by Spirit Hall. He formed the Golden Iron Triangle with other soul masters and was active for a while before disappearing into obscurity for decades.

Due to the inherent limitations of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, successive sect leaders struggled to find ways to overcome these natural restrictions, inevitably delving into martial soul research. Ning Fengzhi, in this regard, surpassed his predecessors—not only inheriting their knowledge but also making breakthroughs.

Although most people didn't know, Ning Fengzhi was a master-level figure in martial soul and soul master research in his era.

Unlike Yu Xiaogang, who merely claimed the title of Grandmaster, Ning Fengzhi had genuine skills. Even without his identity as the leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, his research on martial souls alone would make him a renowned figure on the continent.

However, the problems of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda were profound. Even with Ning Fengzhi's advancements, he had no clue how to solve them. Hearing Chen Ming claim he was researching martial souls and soul masters, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but ask sharply:

"I wonder, Xiao Ming, on what basis do you dare say you're researching martial souls and soul masters?"

"On my talent." Chen Ming opened his palm, and his soul power, vitality, and spiritual power surged together, gathering in his hand. Under Chen Ming's control, the soul power and vitality formed the shape of a scorpion. Chen Ming stabilized it with his spiritual power and infused it with his essence.

Once infused with essence, the previously hollow scorpion seemed to be imbued with a soul, becoming a semi-independent life form.

The soul power and vitality formed its body, while the spiritual power and essential energy granted it basic thought. The tiny lifeform, confused, wobbled its pincers and tail in Chen Ming's palm, sensing the world around it.

It climbed up Chen Ming's arm, then, guided by him, moved to his other palm.

Seeing this astonishing scene, Ning Fengzhi's mouth fell open, and his eyes almost bulged out. He carefully brought his hand closer to Chen Ming's, and the tiny scorpion, under Chen Ming's guidance, crawled onto Ning Fengzhi's palm.

Ning Fengzhi cautiously used his spiritual power and soul power to probe the little scorpion in his hand, finding that it didn't feel like a mere cluster of soul power but rather an elemental life born from soul power. Within its intricate and fragile body was a wave resembling a soul.

Seeing this, Bone Douluo instantly appeared in front of Ning Fengzhi, incredulously reaching out a finger to poke the little scorpion in Ning Fengzhi's hand.

The little scorpion instinctively tried to defend itself, waving its tail and pincers to repel the massive finger approaching it. However, its resistance was utterly ineffective against Gu Rong. The tiny creature could only endure Gu Rong's rough exploration of its body.

Seeing this, Sword Douluo couldn't hold back either. Ignoring the soul bone auction, he teleported through space to Gu Rong's side and pushed him away, wanting to examine the little scorpion for himself.

The moment Gu Rong withdrew his soul power, the little scorpion, lying motionless in Ning Fengzhi's palm, immediately jumped back to life and scurried into Chen Ming's palm, seemingly complaining to him.

Looking at the little scorpion in his hand, Chen Ming's expression was peculiar. With a thought, he reabsorbed the essential energy that formed the scorpion's core.

Without the foundation provided by the essential energy, the scorpion-shaped cluster of soul power, spiritual power, and vitality began to dissipate, breaking apart into unrelated components that Chen Ming reabsorbed into his body.

Witnessing this, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and Ning Fengzhi all fell silent. Ning Rongrong and Lou Gao, not understanding what had just happened, could only remain quiet, pretending to be shocked and contemplative.

In truth, the two of them had no idea what had just occurred. Ning Rongrong lacked the experience, while Lou Gao's thinking was too rigid to imagine a soul master doing such a thing.

To the two of them, the little scorpion must have been some extraordinarily special soul skill, right?