Dugu Yan looked at Li Xun with a smile.
"Yan Jie, I've just been really busy lately," Li Xun chuckled.
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at him. "The Continental Elite Soul Master Competition is just around the corner, and we rarely see you around. It makes us all feel a bit uneasy."
"Don't worry, Yan Jie. I'll definitely train with you all soon," Li Xun replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, he was still the leader of the Heavenly Dou Royal Team.
"Then it's settled," Dugu Yan said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and giggling at Li Xun's awkward expression.
It had been over ten days since Li Xun defeated the Great Strength King Tai Nuo.
Perhaps due to the strength of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Tai Tan, the patriarch of the Strength Clan, had not arrived as everyone had expected.
Yang Wudi had already arrived, but when he heard that the Strength Clan had acknowledged a Young Master, he did not go to the clan's headquarters in Heavenly Dou City.
The training for the Heavenly Dou Royal Team was in full swing, but Li Xun encountered a problem during his cultivation.
"Failed again."
Li Xun sighed as he looked at his wooden right hand. He then held his breath and used his left hand to forcefully break off the wooden edge. The petrified part of his body was torn off with a crack.
Clutching his right wrist tightly to prevent excessive bleeding, Li Xun stared at the rapidly healing wound, lost in thought.
He had lost count of how many times he had failed in his Sage Art cultivation. He had initially thought that Soul Power was the same as Natural Energy, but now it seemed that wasn't entirely the case.
Sage Art was a more powerful force created by achieving a balance between the Spiritual Energy, mental energy, and Natural Energy within the body. Compared to a few years ago, after being baptized by the Blue Silver King, the Spiritual Energy and Soul Power within him had already merged into one.
According to Li Xun's reasoning, as long as he balanced his mental energy with his current power, he should be able to use Sage Art.
But he failed.
When Li Xun balanced his mental energy with the energy within his body, there was no change in his internal energy. Not only did he not feel any Sage Art, but he didn't even sense any risk. It was just like any ordinary moment.
He then stopped focusing on the already refined Soul Power within his body and instead tried to draw energy from the world around him. Unexpectedly, his body began to petrify, and no matter how careful he was, he couldn't avoid it.
Just like how the Sage Art from Mount Myōboku in Naruto could turn one into a toad statue, if he didn't achieve a balance with the Spiritual Energy within his body during his Sage Art cultivation, he would turn into a wooden sculpture.
"No, something must be wrong."
Li Xun muttered to himself, "Only when I absorb a large amount of external energy does it affect me. It can be concluded that the external energy must be Natural Energy, but what about the Soul Power within my body?"
He carefully sensed the changes in his internal energy. "Could it be that, without my knowledge, the external energy is being altered after entering my body?"
After pondering for a long time, Li Xun summoned his Martial Soul and looked at the emerald Thousand-Hand Wooden Sculpture in his hand. "Could it be because of my Martial Soul?"
He emptied his mind and felt the Natural Energy flowing between the sky and the earth. Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Li Xun's mind.
From ancient times to the present day, humanity has continuously adapted to the changes in the world, surviving through various natural disasters and diseases, all thanks to the human ability to adapt to environmental changes.
Martial Souls might be a product of human evolution to adapt to the environment of the Douluo Continent. Li Xun pondered this possibility and suddenly stood up, quickly making his way to the library of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy.
In a world where martial prowess reigns supreme, places like the library were not favored by students. They preferred to spend their leisure time honing their Soul Skills rather than burying themselves in books.
Only those who had little hope of advancing their Soul Power tended to seek knowledge as a means of livelihood.
Li Xun didn't stop along the way. He meticulously searched the library until he reached a section dedicated to theories of continental evolution.
Just like future theories of evolution and archaeology, some Soul Masters in Douluo, limited by their Martial Soul talents, turned to scholarly pursuits.
These individuals differed from Grandmaster Xiaogang in their research. Their studies focused more on human origins and the evolution of the continent itself. Of course, conducting such research in a fantastical world was akin to weaving myths.
Li Xun picked up a book titled The Legend of the Dragon God, which documented many myths and legends about the ancient dragon race.
These myths were fragmented, with some parts lacking logical coherence, but they awakened deeper memories within Li Xun.
"In ancient times, the dragon race waged wars that left countless corpses strewn across the land. The aura of the God Realm and the bloodline of the dragons leaked into the Douluo Continent, causing humans, beasts, and plants to mutate and evolve under its influence."
Li Xun continued to browse the books on the shelves, cross-referencing them with the memories in his mind. When he encountered contradictions, he chose to skip over them.
His actions caught the attention of other students. After all, even those with lower Soul Power wouldn't typically spend their time flipping through historical tales.
However, due to Li Xun's reputation in the academy, the students didn't dare approach him. Instead, they whispered among themselves from a distance, speculating about his intentions.
Li Xun remained oblivious to the outside world. He slowly closed the book and began placing the scattered books back on the shelves one by one. By now, he had a rough understanding of the situation he was in.
"So, it seems that the evolution of humans in Douluo was influenced by external interference," Li Xun muttered to himself as he walked along the smooth paths of the academy, his thoughts running wild.
"This evolution has nothing to do with natural human development. It came too suddenly, more like a forced choice for humanity."
"The bloodline of the Dragon God and the aura of the God Realm must have been more of a disaster than a blessing for humans of that era."
"After all, even now, absorbing a Spirit Ring beyond one's level can lead to fatal consequences, let alone suddenly receiving higher-level energy. It's inevitable that they would be affected."
Li Xun suddenly realized that these so-called dragons might not be native to this world.
"An invasive species carrying viruses or radiation caused beasts and plants to evolve. Humans, in order to adapt to the environment, developed Martial Souls. This served three purposes: passive evolution, resistance against external Soul Beasts, and the conversion of external energy into a harmless form to reduce negative effects."
"In ancient times, external energy must have been harmful to humans. But over a long period, this harm might have been neutralized or assimilated into the planet's own rules."
"However, Martial Souls have also become deeply ingrained in human genes over time." Li Xun couldn't help but rub his temples. He was truly starting to feel a headache.
If this were truly the case, it would mean that as long as the Martial Soul existed within him, the energy he absorbed could never be Natural Energy.
It would only be transformed by the Martial Soul into Soul Power, which was more suitable for the physique of the Douluo humans.
However, this also led Li Xun to another hypothesis.
What if humans had not been influenced by the dragon race? Could they have developed a more powerful cultivation method? What if humans had resisted the influence of the dragon bloodline and the aura of the God Realm? Could they have evolved into a stronger physique with greater potential?
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