THE MARTIAL KING - Season 7 Episode 56

Elder Wei just told Zen about the Fighting Soul Realm. But it was the first time that Zen had heard it because it was not familiar in the Eastern Region.

Nevertheless, it was what Elder Wei had expected because no one in the Eastern Region had owned one. The strongest cultivator in the Easter Region was at the same level as Kenneth. Even Kenneth, who was the leader of Cloud Sect, did not own a Fighting Soul, let alone a more powerful Jasper Fighting Soul.

It was no surprise for Elder Wei that Zen didn’t know much about the Fighting Soul also because he was only at the consummation of nature level. Had he been at the Internal Elixir Realm, he might have known about Fighting Soul.
If it was any other disciples, Elder Wei would have sneered at that person’s ignorance. But it wasn’t any ordinary disciple. It was Zen. Elder Wei had acknowledged and respected Zen because of his excellent performance and talent. Elder Wei took the time in explaining it in detail.

The souls of an ordinary human and some other species were naturally fragile, except for those whose soul was innately strong.

When a fragile soul was damaged or injured, it would make the person weak for several days. A more serious injury would put a person into mental retardation. Once one’s soul was broken into pieces, his physical body would instantly turn into dust.

If one could cultivate his soul to reach a certain level of strength, not only could he use his soul directly in the battle, but he could even launch a soul battle.

However, training a soul was not as easy as training the physical body. But the result of the hard training would worth it. One could reach the Fighting Soul level.

“That’s interesting. But how can I get into the Fighting Soul level?” Zen was intrigued with what Elder Wei had just told him. He had only dreamt of reaching the Internal Elixir Realm. But now that he had known about the Fighting Soul level, he had shifted his focus on this far better cultivation level.

Elder Wei felt an indescribable joy of superiority over Zen. Not only that he had interested him in the Fighting Soul topic, but now Zen would also need him as his mentor. Smiling, he said, “To be frank, you certainly don’t have an opportunity to own a Fighting Soul let alone a Jasper Fighting Soul in the Lower World. People from the Lower World have naturally weak souls. Your soul can be compared with that of many cultivators at the Illuminating Soul Realm. However, you still need more practice to get to the Fighting Soul level.”

Zen had always believed that his soul strength was already at the best level given that it was refined through the mysterious furnace in his mind. However, after hearing the assessment of Elder Wei, he realized that his soul was not yet strong enough.

But instead of being annoyed and depressed, he became more motivated to improve his soul strength.

“Elder Wei, please tell me what to do,” Zen asked respectfully.

Elder Wei smiled at the respect that Zen had shown him. He felt more superior now, but he had to hide his excitement over it. He calmed himself and pointed at the big black ball and said, “Put your soul into it, and you will understand.”

“Put my soul into it?” Zen asked. He didn’t understand what Elder Wei was saying. Even if he put his mind into it, he still couldn’t understand what the action was pertaining to. He then said, “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

Zen was not clear about the strength of the Jasper Fighting Soul. However, he felt that he would not be able to resist the soul pressure that the black ball would release. With the current level of his soul, he wouldn’t be able to fight the Owl Beast ghost head on. He assessed that he would instantly be killed if he confronted it right now.

Sensing the concern through Zen’s eyes, Elder Wei comforted him. He said to Zen, “Don’t worry. Our training is designed very well, and we won’t let you die here. Look at all the other people who are practicing here!”

Elder Wei pointed to Zen the other practitioners in the training field. Zen had seen that their souls had already entered the black ball while their bodies were either sitting or lying near the black ball.
“The elites from the Lower World are also training in the black ball. It is a rare opportunity for them. Once you grasp it, you will surely benefit from it,” Elder Wei added. When he saw that Zen had understood the concept of the training, he then proceeded to explain the rules of the black ball.

After listening to Elder Wei’s explanation, Zen’s worry faded away. He nodded in understanding and went straight to the black ball. He sat down, crossed his legs, and started meditating. When he finally settled down, Zen released his soul into the black ball. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself inside the black ball and he could see nothing but darkness.

His soul suddenly felt intense stinging pain. He couldn’t tell where the pain was coming from or what the feeling was. It felt like there were countless flying knives stabbing his soul. Sometimes, he felt like he was being roasted in a fire or freezing in cold.

“Gnash…” The pain was excruciating. He was trembling, his teeth grinding together in pain.

Without a physical body, his soul was fragile. Even if his soul was stronger than other cultivators’ souls, he was still unable to bear the pain.

While he suffered great pain, Zen suddenly noticed a beam of pale-yellow light. The pain clouded his mind and without thinking, he rushed towards the light.

As he rushed towards the light, Zen felt less soul pressure and the pain had subsided gradually. His body felt like a burning log that was instantly covered by a block of snow. His throat felt like a dry desert that was splashed by cold water.
When he came closer, the light gradually mended his soul.

It was paradise! When he opened his eyes again, he saw the other cultivators’ souls gathering around the small oil lamp warming themselves up.

There were many little oil lamps like dots around the dark space. The soft light they emitted protected the souls of the cultivators from the powerful pressure.
Aside from the little lamps and the cultivators around each, Zen noticed a huge Owl Beast ghost chained by lightning at the center of the space. Zen realized that terrible soul pressure was coming from the ghost’s body.

Some cultivators would move away from the little lamps from time to time to challenge themselves with the soul pressure from the Owl Beast ghost. They would stay outside the protected area until they couldn’t bear the soul pressure anymore, and then they would return near the lamps to regenerate their souls.
The soul training was quite similar to the first soul training Zen got from the mysterious furnace in his mind. During that time, his soul underwent alternate destroying and repairing. However, the pain was a hundred times more intense compared to what he was experiencing now. Also, the furnace could heal the soul much faster than these lamps.

Because of that training, Zen’s soul became tougher.

Other than his first soul training, the soul training in the black ball had many similarities to various cultivating methods.

In this cultivation method, one’s soul would be constantly beaten and sharpened, but as a result, the soul would gradually become more powerful. But in the Lower World, there was no such little oil lamp to repair their souls. If their souls were damaged, they would eventually become idiots.

But with these little oil lamps in the black ball, the soul training became easy.

This opportunity was rare for a person at the consummation of nature level like Zen. So, it was natural for him to seize it.
Without waiting until his soul had fully regenerated, Zen rushed out of the protection towards the terrible soul pressure. The instant he moved away from the little lamp, the soul pressure swept Zen away.

The soul pressure was not getting any lighter in any way. One could only rely on this willpower to endure the pain.

However, most people could not stand the soul pressure for more than six seconds. After that, they would immediately return to the protection area to regenerate their souls.

Zen, on the other hand, stood firmly in his place outside the protected area. He challenged himself to endure the pressure a little longer. Soon, his teeth started to grind.

“Just a little longer…” Zen told himself.

Three seconds…

Six seconds…

Thirty seconds…

After half a minute, Zen’s soul started to tear apart like a cotton-padded jacket being shred into pieces.

“Now!”

When Zen felt that he was about to lose consciousness, he moved back to the side of the small oil lamp. Once back into the protected area, he felt his soul began to regenerate.

“Hey, newcomer! Do you really need to push that hard?” a cultivator who sat beside the little oil lamp said with a smile on his face.

These cultivators had been in the black ball longer than Zen. They had already experienced the brutality by the soul pressure and were very clear of their limit. They couldn’t hold the pressure for more than fifteen seconds. So, when they saw Zen tried to hold it for thirty seconds, they were stunned and felt jealous at the same time. The newcomer had easily outperformed them!

Zen just smiled back at the cultivator and said nothing. He concentrated on regenerating his soul. Now, after his soul had been completely regenerated, he left the protected area once more.

He did that repeatedly. After a few times of enduring the soul torment of the Owl Beast ghost, Zen could now endure the pain longer.

At his first try, he could only hold for 30 seconds. As he repeatedly went in, his endurance had lengthened to 36, 60 until he could endure for 120 seconds.

Soon after, Zen could endure the pain for at least 5 minutes. It was the longest time that a cultivator had endured the soul torment of the Owl Beast ghost.

The other cultivators saw his improvement and were amazed by his speed.