Chapter 98: Late Stage Application of Will
Bang!
Two massive apes rolled into a ball, their immense weight losing all control; the slender branches could no longer support their combined weight, snapping one by one as their bodies plummeted uncontrollably toward the ground with a thunderous crash.
Ignoring the two Soul Beasts tangled together, Tang Shan used the tips of his feet to leverage off the branches, his figure swiftly pursuing the Multi-brain Monkey; this time, no other Soul Beast could hinder Tang Shan's pursuit.
Ga-ga-ga, ao-wu, zhi-zhi-zhi!
The Multi-brain Monkey looked back with its massive head, seeing Tang Shan rapidly closing the distance, and panicked, chattering incoherently; clearly, it had already foreseen its own end.
Zhi!
A sharp mental force struck at Tang Shan again, causing a wave of intense pain in his mind, but just like before, it failed to cause even the slightest impact on him.
A majestic will wrapped around his entire body, and under the mobilization of this will, his boiling blood energy and surging Soul Power fused perfectly, erupting with even more tyrannical power.
Whoosh!
His body tore through the air, reaching the Multi-brain Monkey's side in the blink of an eye; his large, dark-green, fan-like hand reached out to grab the Multi-brain Monkey's slender neck, and facing the creature's attempt to turn and claw back in resistance, a sneer of disdain appeared at the corner of Tang Shan's mouth.
Rip!
The sharp claws raked against skin that was tough and bulging with thick muscles, failing to cause Tang Shan even the slightest injury, or even a sensation of pain.
What his hand grasped was coarse fur and the actively pulsing carotid artery.
Looking at the pleading in the Multi-brain Monkey's large eyes, Tang Shan's expression remained indifferent.
"Since you have become my enemy, your end will naturally not be good. I will not hypocritically label you as evil and myself as righteous, but neither will I let an enemy I can handle slip through my fingers."
Crack!
His palm exerted force, the Multi-brain Monkey's body stiffened, and its life force quietly faded away; he casually tossed its body under the tree, and watching the purple thousand-year spirit ring gradually condense on the creature, Tang Shan couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
"What a pity. Although its mental force is strong, its body is too weak. Ultimately, my Martial Soul is primarily based on the power of the Physical Body, with mental force as a secondary attribute; it is impossible for me to absorb a purely mental force-based Soul Beast."
He looked up and scanned his surroundings; the remaining ape-type Soul Beasts, seeing that Tang Shan had killed their leader, lost the courage to continue attacking and merely lingered in the canopy, hesitant and indecisive.
Finally, a Mad Baboon, unable to withstand the pressure of Tang Shan's gaze, was the first to choose to flee.
Following its lead, it was like knocking over dominoes; one by one, the Soul Beasts turned and fled, not even glancing at the Multi-brain Monkey's body under the tree, and using the branches of the dense forest, they quickly disappeared from Tang Shan's sight.
The Snake Lance Douluo, who had been in the nearby canopy, saw that the battle was over and, with a flash of his figure, quietly appeared beside Tang Shan.
"To condense a will unique to oneself with a one-ring cultivation level—I have lived for so many years, and this is the first time I have seen it."
The Snake Lance Douluo's eyes shone as he scrutinized Tang Shan from head to toe, his heart truly shaken.
Although he had been prepared when he discovered Tang Shan grasping the Qi and later encountering the "Muscle Ape"—he had even personally sent Tang Shan to face the "Muscle Ape"—when the other party actually succeeded, the turbulence in his heart was still difficult to calm.
"That is all thanks to Senior."
Seeing the Snake Lance Douluo appear, Tang Shan hurriedly thanked him.
He hadn't realized it before when he hadn't condensed his will, but looking back now, he saw that his will had indeed been lacking a bit of substance at that time, and he finally understood what the other party meant by "Your Opportunity has come."
If it hadn't been for the other party discovering the Soul Beasts early, and if it hadn't been for the other party decisively throwing him into the encirclement led by the Multi-brain Monkey, it would be hard to say whether he could have condensed his will this time.
"It is nothing. The prerequisite for condensing a will is that you yourself must have reached that threshold. If you did not already have a rich accumulation of foundations, it would not have been so easy to condense it."
The Snake Lance Douluo said, turning and leaping down from the canopy.
Tang Shan looked at the twenty-zhang-high tree trunk and felt a bit helpless; he could only rely on the branches to descend slowly, and finally, he plunged his hands into the thick trunk, eventually returning to the ground.
To be honest, Tang Shan was impressed by his own self, who had been in a state of enlightenment, using branches and treetops to maneuver and move, fighting against ape-type Soul Beasts in their most advantageous terrain, and even fighting one against many, yet still achieving victory in the end. If the memories weren't still deeply imprinted in his mind, Tang Shan might have suspected it was all a dream.
"That is also thanks to Senior's decisiveness; otherwise, I might have truly fallen short of success. After all, there are certainly many on the entire Douluo Continent who have reached this threshold, but not many can take that final step."
Hearing Tang Shan's heartfelt gratitude, the corner of the Snake Lance Douluo's mouth curled up almost imperceptibly, though he still spoke some of the reality.
"Part of the reason for not being able to take that final step is indeed because one did not grasp the Qi, but a more important reason is that this condensation of will is, after all, somewhat unorthodox. The most important things remain the release of one's own Soul skills and one's Soul Power cultivation. As long as one's cultivation is deep enough, one can completely suppress others with power; there is no need to play with any will."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior."
Tang Shan thanked him aloud, but his heart stirred: Suppress others with power? My will is to amplify and unleash even greater power as much as possible.
The Snake Lance Douluo watched the thoughtful Tang Shan and did not continue to explain the deeper mysteries of the will to him. What he did not say was that in the early to even Late Stage cultivation of a Soul Master, the help of the will is not particularly obvious; it can only be regarded as a secret method for increasing combat power developed through cultivation.
However, if one reaches the level of a Titled Douluo, when a Soul Master needs to inject their own insights into their Martial Soul to open up the Martial Soul's upper limit, the will can play its truly important role.
The will is, after all, a type of insight. A few years ago, after the Snake Lance Douluo broke through to the Titled Douluo level, he injected his own insights of will into his Martial Soul. As a result, his Martial Soul was opened up, its quality improved, and thereby, the Soul Power within him was further refined.
The Martial Soul's upper limit had been opened, and his Soul Power had been refined. For the Snake Lance Douluo, the only thing missing on his path to level 93 was the accumulation of Soul Power. As long as there was enough time, he could steadily break through to level 93 and then go on to contemplate his own Martial Soul.
In other words, the Snake Lance Douluo had already broken through the Bottleneck of advancing from level 91 to 92, and from 92 to 93; he would never be like a certain Poison Douluo, stuck for years with no progress in cultivation.
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