Douluo Continent: The Ice King's Resurrection

11. Experimentation, the wonders of the methods, the eye of destiny.

As night deepened, curfew was in effect both inside and outside the outer city of Extreme Ice City. Only a few casinos and brothels remained brightly lit. Unlike other main cities of the Heavenly Soul Empire, Extreme Ice City had no streetlights; the only light at night came from individual eyesight and torches. Therefore, the streets were mostly filled with city guards carrying torches, performing their duties.

The Ling family mansion, which had been brightly lit, now had most of its lights turned off. Only a few lanterns remained in each passageway of the mansion to facilitate the passage of servants or family members who came out at night.

Strangely, the servants and guards who usually patrolled the entire Ling family compound were nowhere to be seen in the core area of ​​the Ling family compound today.

"Clatter".

Suddenly, a soft sound of a door opening rang out from in front of the Ling family's main study, and a thick arm pushed the door open from the inside.

Two figures, one tall and one short, quickly emerged from within. The taller figure was robust and imposing, while the shorter one was lean and handsome. Who else could it be but Ling An and his son, Ling Bingtian?

The two, who had just finished talking with the two elders, Ling Yongsheng and Ling Yongyi, were now preparing to go back to their rooms to sleep, as they each had things to do the next day.

Led by Ling An, Ling Bingtian bowed respectfully to the two elders inside the gate, said goodnight, and then left at their signal.

Along the way, Ling Bingtian pretended to be tired and yawned a few times, clearly trying to make Ling An realize that it was late at night, he was sleepy, and he didn't have the energy to chat with him anymore.

In fact, this worked. Seeing that Ling Bingtian yawned several times along the way, Ling An, who had originally intended to say a few more words of advice, didn't chat with him any longer. After leading him to his room, he told him to go to sleep early and then decisively left. He still needed to tell Ling Jun about Ling Yongsheng's decision tonight, and it would be necessary to inform his mother of Ling Bingtian's departure tomorrow morning.

At the service of two maids, Ling Bingtian cooperated well in completing the pre-sleep tasks such as changing clothes and washing up. Then he lay down in the bed that another maid had warmed up beforehand and pretended to sleep.

"Huff—huff—" The fake snoring soon began, prompting the three maids who were tidying up to speed up their work. Soon, after quietly extinguishing the candles, the three maids quietly left.

As the maids closed the door and their footsteps faded into the distance until they could no longer be heard, Ling Bingtian opened his eyes, struggled out of his warm bed, sat up cross-legged, and began to reflect on what he had learned that day.

The first thing I naturally felt was the soul power slowly flowing through my body. Just now in the main study, my father, Ling An, had already taught me the soul power meditation method exclusive to the Ling family. After many years of experimentation by the Ling family, this meditation method has proven to be far more effective in helping ice-attribute soul masters improve than the meditation methods used by the general public.

Ling Bingtian's soul power was now circulating according to the Ling family's soul power meditation method. The soul power flowed freely through his meridians, like the Yangtze River, completely unlike the sense of obstruction Huo Gua experienced at the beginning of the original story. This must be the advantage of innate level 15 soul power over innate level 1 soul power in cultivation (laughs)!

"What amazing power!" After a simple cycle of cultivation, Ling Bingtian stopped trying this method. From now on, this would be a daily routine, and there was no need to spend too much time on it now.

Ling Bingtian channeled his soul power into his right hand, and a point of icy blue light immediately appeared on his right hand, which was the manifestation of his ice-attribute soul power.

A sense of novelty and curiosity welled up in Ling Bingtian's heart. This thing, which was similar to internal energy and true essence, was a very new thing for anyone in the era without magic.

Ling Bingtian tried to control the flow of soul power in his hands for a while, wanting to transform it into the shape he wanted. Unfortunately, he did not yet have such control.

Even with the simplest triangle or square, Ling Bingtian couldn't properly shape the released soul power into such a form. At most, he could only create a crooked and irregular shape, with the connections between the points being incredibly convoluted.

"After all, I just awakened. With more practice, I'll definitely get better," Ling Bingtian could only console himself. Having briefly played with his soul power and thoroughly enjoyed it, Ling Bingtian stopped. Today's gains were far more than just soul power.

With a change of heart, the three methods that had appeared in Ling Bingtian's mind at noon resurfaced in his mind.

Ling Bingtian had already tried it during the banquet in "Swallowing the Yuan," and its effect was indeed surprisingly powerful.

After swallowing the nutritious and delicious food prepared by the Ling family's chef, Ling Bingtian tried out the cultivation method of "Swallowing Yuan".

Unlike the passive absorption in the past, which left him feeling nothing, this time, Ling Bingtian quickly and clearly felt warm currents emanating from his abdomen, flowing rapidly throughout his limbs and bones, gradually strengthening his body in the process.

Although it hasn't been tested, Ling Bingtian could sense that if his body could continue to absorb this warm current, the boost it would receive would likely far exceed his expectations.

Originally, his physical attributes were already far superior to those of a typical level 10 Soul Master due to his divine-level Martial Soul, the Ice Crystal Phoenix, and his innate level 15 Soul Power. He was even stronger than some Soul Masters with Weapon Martial Souls. Now, with the help of the Devouring Yuan technique, his physical attributes could be further enhanced at an even faster pace.

If his body could be strengthened even faster, coupled with the opportunities he might encounter during his trip to the secret realm tomorrow, Ling Bingtian believed that it was not impossible for him to absorb a thousand-year soul ring when he was getting his first soul ring!

In the Douluo Continent, a world where martial souls determine destiny and soul skills greatly influence a soul master's strength, all nine soul ring positions are extremely important. A powerful first soul ring is enough to lay a solid foundation for a powerful soul master. For example, the future Huo Gua, without his million-year first soul ring, probably wouldn't even have been able to pass Zhou Yi's test.

Therefore, it is not difficult to see the importance of the first spirit ring. If there is a chance to get the first spirit ring in a thousand years, Ling Bingtian naturally does not want to miss it.

Ling Bingtian has already experienced the power of the Devouring Yuan technique. Now, he wants to try two other methods.

Ling Bingtian's first choice to try was the "Nine Revolutions" method. After all, "Cultivating God" was related to the spiritual sea in the brain. From the perspective of modern people, Ling Bingtian felt that it was necessary to be cautious about cultivation related to the brain.

According to the records in "Nine Revolutions", Ling Bingtian tried to circulate the soul power within his body, compressing it, compressing it, compressing it...

"Pfft—" A sound of gas being released suddenly rang out in the room, causing Ling Bingtian's face to show a few more embarrassed expressions. He hadn't expected that his soul power wouldn't be compressed and instead he would fart. Luckily, no one was around, or he would have been quite embarrassed.

The soul power within the body is not so easy to control. It's fine to gather it all in one's hand and play with it, but to precisely control and compress it is not something that Ling Bingtian, a soul master who has just awakened his martial soul, can do.

Ling Bingtian wasn't discouraged; he figured he could take it slow. He believed that cultivation, like learning, couldn't be rushed.

Since he had run into a wall with "Nine Revolutions", Ling Bingtian turned around and began to try "Cultivating God".

With the cultivation method of the Expansion Realm in the "Cultivation of Gods" in mind, Ling Bingtian hesitated for a moment before hardening his heart.

The timid starve, the bold feast.

Ling Bingtian mobilized the last wisp of his spiritual power, gathering it into a sharp cone shape according to the method of the Expansion of the Sea chapter. After pondering for a moment, Ling Bingtian cut off half of his already scarce spiritual power, and then, without hesitation, thrust it towards the edge of the Sea of ​​Spirit.

"Hiss—" Ling Bingtian took a deep breath, and his body trembled involuntarily.

This is because the moment the tip of the mental energy cone touched the edge of the sea of ​​spirit, the mental energy cone dissipated, replaced by a stinging sensation that quickly spread from Ling Bingtian's head, making him feel as if dozens of needles were piercing his forehead and various parts of his body.

"This fucking hurts..." Ling Bingtian managed to utter this sentence after a long while.

However, it still had an effect. Ling Bingtian could feel that his sea of ​​consciousness expanded slightly after being pricked by the sharp cone.

However, without careful observation, it is difficult to notice this change, which is as subtle as half a grain of rice.

"It's better than nothing, at least it's a pioneering spiritual cultivation method." Ling Bingtian murmured to himself as he eased his pain.

The world of Douluo Continent is a strange world. Whether it was the era ruled by a selfless god-king or even earlier times, there were no native, systematic cultivation techniques, let alone cultivation techniques for spiritual power.

The Xuan Tian Gong, a skill that might be overlooked in a low-level martial arts world, has been passed down almost intact for tens of thousands of years in the Douluo Continent, which is truly puzzling.

Now that he possessed the "Cultivation of Gods" technique, even without a martial soul with spiritual attributes, Ling Bingtian no longer needed to worry about his spiritual power lagging behind his cultivation. He felt somewhat relieved.

"But it really hurts!" Ling Bingtian murmured, rubbing his forehead and still feeling the lingering pain.

It seems that the method of "Cultivating God" requires one to determine the number of times they can practice in a day. Practicing this too many times a day might really hurt their brain.

Next, it's time to talk about the unique aspects of one's martial soul.

Ling Bingtian mobilized his soul power, and the familiar ice crystal mask reappeared on his face. His black hair turned into short, ice-blue hair, and his eyes, which had turned from black to crimson, could be seen shining beams of light throughout the Ling family compound through the slightly open window.

They come in white, green, blue, and purple.

The white pillars of light were the most numerous among all the pillars of light. Based on their distribution and the scene he witnessed when awakening his martial soul that morning, Ling Bingtian had a general idea of ​​what these pillars of light represented.

These beams of light, in different colors, might represent something like a person's luck or aptitude.

The beam of light that Ling Bingtian saw above Ling Yongsheng's head was a noble and elegant purple. Most nobles and a few commoners had beams of light that were either deep or light blue, while the vast majority of commoners had beams of light that were green or white. Among them, the commoners with white beams of light above their heads made up a large proportion.

The most peculiar was the commoner boy who awakened the Ice Sea Sawtooth Crocodile after him. When he first stood with the other commoner children, Ling Bingtian glanced at him; at that time, the pillars of light above their heads were a mix of green and white, with a few pale blue ones mixed in.

But when the boy awakened the Ice Sea Sawtooth Crocodile Martial Soul, Ling Bingtian secretly opened his mask and glanced at him before leaving. At that time, the pillar of light above his head had turned into a deep blue, with a hint of noble purple.

To get a precise answer to the question of what the pillar of light actually is, Ling Bingtian knows he needs to observe more people and spend more time.

Originally, Ling Bingtian was thinking of checking on the blood shadow that had rushed into his left hand, but now, he was glancing at a corner of the room not far from him out of the corner of his eye.

To the naked eye, there was no one there, but after opening the mask, Ling Bingtian discovered a faint blue beam of light shining slightly.

"It's not the right time yet." Ling Bingtian sighed inwardly. The side effects of his extraordinary talent: his family was far too focused on him.

"Besides, didn't this hidden Soul Master see me farting and trembling in pain just now?!"

Thinking about this, Ling Bingtian couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of embarrassment and discomfort.

I made a huge fool of myself! (covers face)

"Never mind, if I'm not embarrassed, then everyone else is. I should go to sleep now; I have to go to the Secret Realm tomorrow."

With this thought in mind, Ling Bingtian covered himself with the now-cold blankets, lay down, and prepared to drift into a deep sleep. Once he started cultivating, he might not get many good nights' sleep.

The clouds in the sky moved slowly, and the moon shyly hid behind them, withdrawing all the moonlight that was about to fall on the earth.

Time ticked by, and listening to the ticking of the mechanical clock in the room, Ling Bingtian closed his eyes, but couldn't fall asleep. It was one thing not knowing, but after being used to sleeping alone for so long, suddenly knowing there was another person in the room made it really hard to fall asleep easily.

After thinking for a moment, Ling Bingtian gritted his teeth and activated the "Cultivation of Gods" technique. A normal amount of spiritual energy spike reappeared in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"Consider it a form of cultivation!" With a determined look, Ling Bingtian controlled the sharp cone to pierce the edge of his mental sea, and then, enduring the intense pain, he gave himself another sharp stab.

In an instant, Ling Bingtian felt as if ten thousand needles were piercing his brain at the same time, and then they began to move around on his forehead like snakes.

Almost simultaneously, Ling Bingtian fainted. His last thought before losing consciousness was, "The ending of the 'Cultivation of Gods' expansion chapter was indeed correct; it's so painful when you can't sleep..."

Before he could finish thinking, Ling Bingtian "fell asleep".

"Hmm?" A figure in black suddenly appeared from the direction Ling Bingtian had just been looking, floating to Ling Bingtian's bedside without touching the ground, and subtly using his soul power to sense Ling Bingtian's physical condition.

Being able to fly without releasing one's martial soul is something only Soul Saints and higher-level Soul Masters can do. This black-clad figure protecting Ling Bingtian must be at least a seven-ring Soul Saint!

Everything is normal; the young master is just as asleep as usual.

'The young master is acting a little strange today.' The black-clad figure, who had observed Ling Bingtian's entire attempt, thought to himself. 'Oh well, since there were no fluctuations in soul power or mental power, the young master is probably just too excited about awakening his ultimate martial soul today.'

Attributing everything to Ling Bingtian's excessive excitement during his awakening of his martial soul today, the black-clad figure silently drifted back and stood in a corner that was easy to move to anywhere in the room, beginning a new round of vigilance and protection.

Of course, Ling Bingtian was unaware of all this; he could only passively "enjoy" his own feat.

As night deepened and people slept, the moon peeked out from behind the dark clouds, its gentle light shining softly on the window, as if mocking the behavior of someone inside.