Yin-Yang War Physique (1)
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***
After cleaning up and regaining her bearings, Yuehua was no longer stupefied by the revelations of the effects of her martial soul once she gained her first spirit ring. It seemed like to actually know about her true worth, she needed to absorb her first spirit ring.
The setting sun lit the yellow trees of the Sunset Forest with its fiery hue and alongside basked the faces of her teammates with its glow, too. They looked at Yuehua silently, quite curious. To them, she was an anomaly. Not in the sense of extreme strength, the pace of cultivation, uncommon comprehension, or a heavenly origin. Just her martial soul. There were only two encounters of Enlightened Martial Soul even for Ja Sun so he never claimed to have a complete grasp on this concept either and never deluded himself with the fact that the tomes he had gained from his trait knew everything either.
Yuehua didn't shy away from the situation and cleared her throat. Instead of having logs cut out for the seats, the group carried chairs and even couches in their storage rings. So, instead of being one with nature, they used chairs.
"I apologize for my excitement previously and poor display as a Spirit Master," she began, "And I would like to share a few things that I have come to understand about myself."
Unlike usual, she had her silver-blue hair let loose without any ornaments to tie them up which gave her quite an 'open' vibe. She still looked elegant and graceful, but that sense of nobility was no longer present and she seemed much approachable as a person.
"First thing I came to understand is that the Enlightened Martial Souls are actually dead Spirit Beasts. Now, I understand that almost all Martial Souls be it a tool or a beast spirit resemble something from this world itself for reasons yet unknown. But... the martial souls that have their own body and relatively co-dependent consciousness with the Spirit Master, in other words, the Enlightened Martial Souls are actually specific spirit beasts that survive through the spirit master.
In other words... this proves that beast-type martial souls may just be the 'blessing' of the dead Spirit Beasts... and Enlightened ones are just less 'dead.' It is hard to be articulate really because what I 'felt' once I absorbed the spirit ring would have been much more useful to either Brother Ka-ul or Teacher since they are more knowledgeable."
Ja Sun pursed his lips. She was saying the truth. Now he really wanted to know the origin of Martial Souls and what she 'felt.'
"It's nothing to worry about. Theories regarding origins and whatnot can be pondered when we reach the highest point of the path that is the Spirit Cultivation. We study things that are useful to this path itself and understanding the origin of the martial souls seem... novel, only."
Bibi Dong shrugged.
Ja Sun glanced at her and she could feel him ridiculing her through his gaze.
She said the same thing about arrays, thought Ja Sun, and how wrong she happened to be. What if the origin of the martial soul is helpful for him in his other, more ambitious endeavors? He still had the Rakshasa Soul Devouring Technique that opened a completely new way of cultivation that touched the subject of the origin of the martial souls and heavily studied Soul Origins.
Unknowing of Ja Sun's thoughts, Yuehua continued with a pleasant smile, "But that 'feeling' of knowledge is the only thing I didn't understand. I'm now perfectly aware of the ability of my Martial Soul. Just like the Clear Sky Hammer has a smaller attribute of suppression, my Clear Phoenix is capable of that, too, but only through the domain— Calm Circle. And that domain will be the only place for that attribute because my Martial Soul's major attribute is not an element or a primitive force of nature such as 'Spirit' or 'Yin'," she looked at Ja Sun and Xie Xan who held these two attributes, "or Charm and 'Food,'" she gazed at Hu Lana and Oscar, "but it is more of a concept of a part of nature called 'Clear.'"
"Have you all heard of a rare Martial Soul named Nine Heart Flowering Apple?"
"A martial soul that only has one ability despite the number of spirit rings that only serve to increase the quality of the said ability: healing. I am going to try and contact the current master of the martial soul to see if he can do something about Ka-ul's arm," Bibi Dong spoke up.
"Thank you," Ja Sun shrugged but then he and everyone looked at Yuehua strangely.
"My two attributes can only be used with my domain and my spirit skills separately. My domain will always hold the attribute of Suppression despite the number of spirit rings and my Spirit Ability will not change at all. So, my skill will always be 'Clear.'
And by clear... I mean 'Clearing' anything. For instance, if any of you attacked me with a Spirit Skill derived from a spirit beast with cultivation lower than 1000 years... I can just... erase it."
"Woah!"
Everyone instantly parted their lips in shock as Yuehua blushed, "But there are limitations. What I can 'erase' is based on many variables. Consider this first 1000 years as a wallet. Now if someone used a spirit skill derived from a 300-year-old spirit beast then I will only be able to erase further 700 years worth of spirit ability in a day."
"So this limit just resets on its own?" Bibi Dong inquired.
"It is based on Clear Phoenix. The reset seems to be based on the martial soul's connection to its strength." Yuehua replied.
"What is the exact time of reset?" Oscar inquired.
"1:55 in the afternoon," Yuehua sighed.
"What decides the limit of this 'wallet?'" Ja Sun frowned.
"The quality of my spirit ring. No matter the actual age, if it's a yellow spirit ring, I will have the limit of 999 years. If it's purple, then 9999 years."
"What happens when you use this ability on a Spirit Attack that surpasses your current limits?" Ja Sun continued.
"It weakens the attack," Yuehua replied confidently.
But Ja Sun sighed deeply.
"What's going on?" Ah Yin inquired, deeply aware of Ja Sun's shift in mood.
"I think this ability comes at a greater price," Ja Sun mumbled and looked ponderous, "Despite not knowing the origins of Martial Souls, we all are clear of one thing. The path of a spirit master is inherently evolutionary. Say, Oscar's martial soul: stinky tofu, has only its taste to its merit in the beginning, yeah? But with the first spirit skill, the tofu gains an ability that is not present in the continent itself: Revitalizing our Stamina.
This is growth. And somewhere, down the line, Oscar has a chance to have his martial soul evolved because of an extremely rare spirit ring and spirit abilities. Other methods would include some heavenly material but let's not go into that.
This is also the same for us. Liu Erlong's dragon doesn't have horns but her fifth spirit skill does.
My martial soul isn't capable of cloning but now I am.
These are all the proofs of our Martial Soul becoming something more. Constant accumulation of changes until a particular qualitative one that is defined as the Evolution of Martial Souls. Any questions till now?" Ja Sun looked around and everyone shook their head. He then looked at Yuehua, "But your martial soul... you have only one ability. In theory, this means, despite whatever rare Spirit Beast you end up absorbing the Spirit Ring out of, you may not have a chance of further growth in terms of the martial soul unless an extremely fortuitous encounter graces you.
In the end, this is all theory based on incomplete facts but I wanted you to feel prepared nonetheless. After all, we have yet to test what will happen if you absorb a Spirit Bone but 9/10 are the chances that the situation with Spirit Bones for you will be the same as everyone else."
Yuehua's gaze flickered. The theory that Ja Sun just proposed was a basic one that even she failed to think of in her excitement.
"But man, just erasing an attack makes it all worth it," Yuehua heard Ja Sun speaking loudly with a sigh and she looked up, only to see him smiling. His words made everyone else smile and a strange emotion bubbled in Tang Yuehua's heart.
"Once again, Congratulations, Tang Yuehua," Ja Sun called out with her name, "You're a spirit master now with an enviable skill and potential. Much better than a tiny snake I created unknowingly."
"Congratulations~!' Hu Lana chimed.
"You finally took your first step," Bibi Dong nodded.
"It's really an awesome skill. Clear!" Jun'er cheered.
Everyone followed on as Yuehua's lips trembled. Her gaze turned glazed gradually and tears emerged from the corner of her eyes.
"T-thank you!" She bowed her head and cried.
Loudly.
Everyone could only smile seeing this.
---
[Objective: Reach the end of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and collect the Immortal Fruit, and find an enclosed space to pump your fist.
Mission Rank: A
Mission Rewards: Sea Drake
Time Limit: 1 Day]
For something that stumped him in a frozen and hellish purgatory, it became quite easy to travel within the Yin Yang Well but Ja Sun wanted to create a mission before diving in.
It was already the fourth week of their stay and the training was coming to an end for the group within the Sunset Forest. Once again, there was not a single spirit master other than Ja Sun and Ah Yin in this blessed land.
"Are you sure about your survival?" Ah Yin inquired as she threw in a pebble but it was burnt to ashes before it could even enter the pond.
Ja Sun nodded, "We're gonna be leaving soon, and only now I could take a leave for 'personal' training. You need to return to the camp or they will end up being suspicious."
Ah Yin shook her head.
"I think they believe that the two of us leaving 'together' means we're probably engaging in a passionate intercourse," she replied while brushing strands of her hair behind her ear.
"Just say sex like a normal person would," Ja Sun sighed unbuttoned his shirt. Seeing this, Ah Yin frowned.
"I said they think it. Not us—"
"Would you stop being a pervert?" Ja Sun glared and her lips twitched.
"I don't want my clothes to be ruined or my storage essence tool."
Saying this, Ja Sun stripped himself casually with the single arm he had including his underwear, not particularly mindful of Ah Yin. Since they had seen each other naked before, it didn't matter to him now anyway.
"Anyway, I think that you would need someone to heal you after this," Ah Yin sighed and sat down.
Looking back, Ja Sun thought for a moment and then nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Ja Sun began inscribing a small formation over his chest using a knife to carve his skin. Ah Yin frowned for a moment but then realized that this act wasn't as simple as it seemed. She felt the ordinarily calm tension of Ice and Fire elements around her beginning to gather around Ja Sun and he continued to carve the intricate pattern on his body without flinching.
Formation and Arrays can be formed with spiritual metals, herbs, corpses, and many other elements such as ponds of spiritual water like the Yin Yang Well.
In reality, Yin Yang Well's water would also be considered one of the deadliest materials for any being out there, even for Ja Sun himself due to the sheer concentration of the ice and fire element.
For Ja Sun, the best material to form arrays and more complicated formations was none other than his own blood and spirit energy. He could perfectly control his spirit energy so this always gave him an edge over others.
Meanwhile, the art of using arrays and formation on the body and using the blood flowing out as a material was none other than the creation of an even more exotic but highly dangerous yet artistic skill: Totem Creation.
His body was the fuel for the Totem he created: Yin Yang Gathering Totem.
The idea had proved effective already but he wanted to complete this task himself and not leave it up to a clone. That would just lower his sense of achievement and would be a taint to all his past achievements. He didn't mind using the clones to find a method but the last bit would be completed by his real body.
"Well, after this, maybe we could really do it. Of course, for Lana's and everyone else's expectations, you know."
Ah Yin suddenly smiled.
"Sure. If you don't lose your hair once again, we will. I agree that it is about time."
Ja Sun narrowed his eyes and then suddenly chuckled eerily, "Don't you go back on your words."
"What?" Ah Yin frowned, feeling ominous.
Without replying, Ja Sun jumped from the large blue crystal the two were on, diving into the pool but before he even reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he felt his hair burning and his skin already heating extremely high with the carving on his chest closing due to the burning flesh but this only allowed Ja Sun to collect the two separate elements to protect himself even well.
*Splash*.
He successfully entered the pond while Ah Yin stood up and walked to the tip of the crystal, her blue eyes finally revealing deep-rooted worry. She had seen enough clones destroyed but she had no plans to stop the kind of person she actually fell for. She didn't like taking risks just for fun but Ja Sun did and always managed to pull through with her support. And she liked the kind of Ja Sun who always survived. It affirmed her own beliefs that nothing would happen to him.
But she still couldn't help but clench Ja Sun's storage ring in her first and stored his clothes into her own.
"I should just grow more Blue Silver Kings around," Ah Yin sighed deeply and looked around.
***
A/N: I am in love with skills like Purification that can just erase things. But I added these restrictions on Yuehua because such a high power comes with restrictions and prices, the price itself being her being unable to further evolve her Clear Phoenix while others will (foreshadowing?). Anyway, I had read a few suggestions and there were claw skills and stuff but that happens everywhere, right? Sharp claws and stuff. But then I remembered about the Nine Heart Flowering Apple with only one skill and felt it was cool. This led me to give Yuehua two skills. Calm (Suppressing) using her domain, something she inherited from her father's Clear Sky Hammer. The 'Clear' is a concept her Enlightened Martial Soul is capable of itself. Now she is weak, but as she gains more and more rings, her ability brings even greater support.
So, Yuehua also fulfills the role of one of the greatest support ever-present in the continent alongside Oscar whom I will now start to focus on soon enough.
I also feel that as a hell dog and darkness attribute, Jun'er has great potential which led me to have her on the team but I would ask not to expect every team member fully fleshed out. (I will try but I don't want to pull expectations high unnecessarily.)