Chapter 136: Soul Force Awakens, Grandmaster’s Insights (1)
Is this...the power of the soul? Manipulating the tangible with the intangible, telekinesis? Even someone as steadfast as Wu Yuan was completely taken aback at that moment. This was something that went beyond his wildest imagination.
Let's try again. This time, Wu Yuan did not close his eyes, but simply focused his mind. He immediately felt a formless power dwelling within the upper dantian lobe. With a single thought, he could manipulate it at will. It was much clearer than what he perceived initially!
It's the soul, the power of the soul! Wu Yuan was completely certain.
Then, like a surging tide, this formless power burst forth from the upper dantian lobe, spreading in every direction. To the naked eye, it manifested as an image refracted within his mind.
As the power of his soul expanded, Wu Yuan felt a flood of information inundate his mind. The entire structure and arrangement of the martial chamber materialized in his consciousness, akin to a three-dimensional projection, as though he were physically interacting with every facet of it.
In other words, even if Wu Yuan were to close his eyes and silence his hearing, he would still perceive the layout of the entire room, even clearer than through mere sight. The only difference was that the power of his soul could not replicate colors!
Can the power of the soul reach places that the eyes can't see? Wu Yuan keenly felt the uniqueness of this power. Once it spread, nothing could go unnoticed within a certain range.
Grasp. Now more familiar with this power, Wu Yuan made another attempt at telekinesis. He felt the previously dispersed power enter the chair one more. Slowly, the chair began to float again.
It's strenuous. Despite Wu Yuan’s efforts, the chair's movements were sluggish. Even an ordinary child could easily evade it.
Moreover, a wave of fatigue suddenly washed over Wu Yuan's soul, scattering his mental focus. His soul's power retreated back to the upper dantian lobe, like a receding tide. With a heavy thud, the chair fell back to the ground.
Sitting down in a lotus position, Wu Yuan exhaled deeply, weariness reflected in his eyes. So tiring. Controlling a floating chair that weighs only a dozen catties for a mere minute or two is more exhausting than fighting with Chen Luo.
It had been a while since Wu Yuan had experienced such fatigue. However, he wasn't quite ready to fall asleep yet. He sank into thought.
The soul power originating from the upper dantian lobe, is quite similar to the Soul Force mentioned in novels.
Those characters could slay enemies thousands of li away with a single swing of their swords. Who wouldn't yearn for such power? There were also those who could manipulate flying swords or other magical treasures due to their powerful souls. Wu Yuan had once dismissed these stories as mere fantasy, never believing they could be true.
Whether it’s Soul Force, or the so-called psychokinesis, telekinesis, or soul power, essentially, they are all powers stemming from a strong mind and soul. Wu Yuan concluded, grasping the essence of these abilities. There was no other way to achieve this step other than by fortifying the soul, making it extremely difficult to reach.
The upper dantian lobe is the abode of the soul. Even though the world of the Middle Land is aware of its existence, how many can actually unlock it? I'm afraid only those from the legendary Heavenly Rankings can do so.
Typically, there were two methods to strengthen the soul. The first involved nurturing the physical form, which indirectly enhanced the soul. This would manifest in one's demeanor, such as increased mental resilience. The second approach relied on the utilization of natural treasures, such as the Soul Condensing Pill.
In literature and reality alike, I have never heard of a Grandmaster remotely controlling objects. From my experience, even individuals at the human genetic limit struggle with such a task.
In his past life, Wu Yuan had reached the human limit for some time, yet his soul was not even one-tenth as strong as it was now. This was partly due to having a stronger physique in his current life. However, the more influential factor was the fact that Wu Yuan had been Visualizing the black pagoda daily for the past two years, causing his soul to grow at an astonishing pace.
After two years of Visualization, coupled with the continuous nurturing of my body, my soul has finally acquired enough strength to leave the confines of the upper dantian lobe and exert influence in the physical world.
Let's call this power Soul Force for now.
The first function of Soul Force was sensing and perception.
The soul sense I employed in the past was merely an auxiliary power. It allowed me to perceive the presence of individuals in my surroundings through the vigor of their qi and auras, but it was rather vague. However, perceiving the world with Soul Force allows me to see every detail, clearer than the naked eye.
The only drawback was its range.
At present, I can only explore up to ten meters. Furthermore, the further Soul Force extends from my body, the more energy it consumes. The closer an object is to the limits of its exploration range, the hazier my perception of the object becomes, and the greater my energy expenditure.
Although simple consciousness exploration consumed much more Soul Force energy than object manipulation, it was still significant and could not be sustained for long.
The second function of Soul Force was remote object manipulation.
My current telekinesis ability is relatively weak; I can't move something that weighs 100 catties. Wu Yuan had already tested this. Even controlling an item weighing around ten catties is a strenuous task.
The faster the movements of the object he manipulated and the longer the distance between himself and the object, the greater the depletion of his Soul Force energy.
Over 30 meters? Wu Yuan couldn't even budge a single grain of rice that far away.
In terms of perceiving his surroundings, the results were miraculous. But when it came to telekinesis? Currently, it appeared showy but impracticable. After all, the only real threats to Wu Yuan's life were Grandmasters, who could easily unleash the power of 600,000 to 700,000 catties. What good was this rookie-level ability to control objects?
But, this is merely the start. With a soul strong enough to control objects, my speed of comprehension, analysis, and perception have been greatly amplified.
As his soul grew stronger, Wu Yuan believed that both abilities, consciousness exploration and telekinesis, would progressively improve. In due course, they would play a pivotal role in battle.
For example, if he could slightly alter the trajectory of a throwing knife mid-flight? His attacks would be multiple times deadlier!
The black pagoda! Truly, it's unimaginable. Wu Yuan marveled. The blood-red mist that it produces evolves my genome, while Visualizing it strengthens my soul.
How miraculous was that?
However, even though his soul was much stronger than before, it was still as insignificant as a mayfly compared to the black pagoda itself, unable to shake the structure in the slightest. What's more, if Wu Yuan Visualized the black pagoda for too long, he would still experience pain.
The relationship between Wu Yuan's soul and the black pagoda was like the relationship between plants and the sun. Plants needed sunlight to grow, but if the sun's rays were too intense, the plants would be scorched to death!
...
In the following days, aside from his daily training, Wu Yuan also dedicated a considerable amount of time to pondering over the potential applications of Soul Force.
As days went by, he gradually started to experiment with incorporating Soul Force into his combat training.
The second level of Environmental Mastery, is fundamentally the ability of the soul and body to perceive the surrounding environment, allowing the body to perfectly adapt to the environment. The so-called environment is essentially composed of matter. By integrating my body into the environment, the environment presents no obstacles to me.
Then, if my Soul Force advances, could I gradually control the surrounding environment? Or even bend its forces to my will?
If this could be achieved, this meant his opponent would be hindered by air resistance, water currents, and other matter as they fought, handicapping their strength.
Meanwhile, not only would Wu Yuan not be weakened, but he would even gain a boost. Two people with the same physical constitution, yet an astoundingly wide gap in combat power.
This was just one path Wu Yuan contemplated as his martial arts skills hit a bottleneck. Deep down, he felt this might indeed be the right path.
Again and again, he tried. Again and again, he pondered. Again and again, he failed!
As flowers bloomed and withered with the passing of time, the seasons changed from the height of summer to the depths of fall. Wu Yuan's physical constitution grew stronger, and his soul increasingly powerful. However, his martial arts skills remained stagnant, showing no significant signs of improvement. Yet Wu Yuan showed no sign of giving up.
...
As November arrived, autumn neared its end.
Inside the martial chamber on the first floor, Wu Yuan practiced the Tiger Leopard Bone Training Technique in solitude, repeatedly stimulating his musculoskeletal system to its limits.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally let out a long breath.
What a relief. Wu Yuan smiled and suddenly threw a punch. His muscles snapped like a whip, resulting in a terrifying sonic boom. Wu Yuan did not attempt to negate the effects of air resistance. If he had integrated his movements with the air, the force behind this strike would have been even greater. However, the sonic boom allowed him to vent the stifling feeling in his heart, bringing him great satisfaction.
My one-armed punch force has finally reached 190,000 catties.
That was about 30,000 catties more than when he sparred with Grandmaster Chen Luo half a year ago!
But it was important to note that this was due to the continuous assimilation of the blood-red mist into his body over the past six months. Wu Yuan clearly felt the slowing of his physical progression. He knew this was a sign of his golden development phase gradually coming to an end.
Although it was said to last until the age of eighteen, in reality, the duration of the golden development phase could vary slightly based on an individual's constitution. Wu Yuan, who was nearing eighteen, was reaching the end of his rapid development phase.
No matter, there's still over a year to go. After this golden development phase, my physical constitution should easily break through the 200,000 catties threshold and reach the first-grade level.
Once Strength Training concludes, I can commence Viscera Cultivation. By then, my physical constitution will receive a significant boost. Wu Yuan was calm.
His physical constitution was bound to surpass the common Grandmaster.
Strength Training, Viscera Cultivation, Acupoint Connection. Completing these three crucial phases would greatly enhance his physical constitution. Martial artists in the Middle Land could continue to increase their strength from tens of thousands of catties to 200,000 catties after reaching adulthood, and the latter two cultivation phases played a vital role in this continuous progression.
Although Wu Yuan had not yet completed the first phase, Strength Training, his physical constitution was already nearing the first grade.
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