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Integrating essence, energy, and spirit into heaven and earth was also part of cultivating spear momentum.
At the same time, it was a form of willpower training. Once the last three techniques that integrated essence, energy, and spirit into heaven and earth were fully mastered, combining them would allow one to infuse their own willpower into the universe.
Yun Ming didn't completely exclude Xu Yuan's spear momentum, allowing him to more directly feel the changes brought by the last three techniques while explaining their key points.
"Your willpower is very strong," Yun Ming observed as Xu Yuan practiced the last three techniques, offering his evaluation.
Strong willpower?
Perhaps it was due to the long passage of time.
Xu Yuan wasn't just referring to his experiences from his past life but also his cultivation in this life. Though he appeared to be only eleven years old, he had experienced far more than five years. His training in the dream realm had been a tangible journey.
"A strong willpower benefits the cultivation of the last three techniques."
They practiced for an entire afternoon.
Master Yun Ming truly seemed idle. Xu Yuan felt that the other party hadn't deliberately cleared his schedule to teach him—it was simply that he had nothing else to do.
"Do quasi-gods no longer need to cultivate?" Xu Yuan thought to himself.
"Teacher!"
A crisp voice came from behind.
Xu Yuan turned his head and saw two beauties approaching—one older and one younger.
The elder woman had a graceful appearance, appearing clean and elegant yet brimming with vitality. She was Yun Ming's wife, Ya Li—the Holy Spirit Douluo, and now Xu Yuan's master's wife.
The younger one had cascading silver hair, her face resembling a finely crafted piece of art—delicate and exquisite. Her eyes blinked mischievously, her curious gaze now fixed on Xu Yuan.
It was Na'er.
She had met Xu Yuan before.
But now, their relationship seemed to have shifted slightly.
Around those she was close to, Na'er maintained her innocent and lively demeanor. Her split personality existed because the Silver Dragon King sought to experience human emotions, unlike the cold and detached main personality, Gu Yue.
"Xu Yuan, shouldn't you call me Senior Sister now?" She clearly knew in advance that Yun Ming would take Xu Yuan as a disciple today. Now, standing before Xu Yuan with her hands on her hips, she looked quite pleased with herself.
Her expression radiated anticipation as she waited for Xu Yuan to address her as "Senior Sister."
Xu Yuan smirked.
"I'm older than you—you should call me Senior Brother."
In reality, Xu Yuan was slightly younger than Tang Wulin.
During the Tianhai Tournament, Tang Wulin was already over ten years old, nearing eleven, while Xu Yuan had just turned ten.
Of course, power determined seniority.
As long as Tang Wulin remained weaker than him and never brought up this point, he would still obediently address Xu Yuan as "Big Brother Xu."
As for Na'er, Xu Yuan was only about a month older than her.
Both of them had awakened their martial souls in the same batch.
But Xu Yuan was genuinely older.
"You entered later—you're definitely Junior Brother!" Na'er glared with her big eyes, her purple pupils carrying a hint of adorable fierceness.
"But I started learning our teacher's true teachings earlier than you," Xu Yuan began to bluff.
Surprisingly, Yun Ming's ultimate secret technique was the Seven Forbidden Techniques. Although Na'er had apprenticed under Yun Ming and studied spear techniques, she hadn't yet begun learning the Seven Forbidden Techniques.
Na'er turned to look at her teacher and master's wife.
To her dismay, neither of them showed any intention of supporting her.
"Teacher, Master's Wife~~~"
"Look at him~~~"
Na'er pouted and whined, but it had no effect.
"Then let's fight. Whoever wins gets to be the senior one. If I win, I'll be your Senior Brother—if you win, you'll be my Senior Sister."
"No." Na'er stuck out her tongue.
She couldn't win.
She knew Xu Yuan well since she was also an inner court student. Though she often stayed by Yun Ming and Ya Li, she frequently trained in the inner court and interacted with her seniors there.
Among them, Xu Yuan was a peer who had awakened his martial soul in the same batch as her. They had sparred before.
She had always been slightly inferior to him. Thus, upon learning that Yun Ming intended to take Xu Yuan as a disciple, she had secretly waited for the moment when Xu Yuan would obediently call her Senior Sister.
Unfortunately, Xu Yuan wasn't the type to willingly play the junior role.
He could accept being called "Big Brother Xu" by Tang Wulin, who was nearly a year older, without batting an eye. How could he tolerate calling Na'er, who was younger and weaker, "Senior Sister"?
After much arguing, they couldn't determine who would be the senior brother or sister.
In the end, Xu Yuan called Na'er "Junior Sister," and Na'er called Xu Yuan "Junior Brother."
"When Brother Ming took in Na'er, he said she'd be his final disciple—but then he turned around and accepted Xiao Yuan," Ya Li teased, nestled in Yun Ming's arms.
Yun Ming sighed helplessly.
There was no helping it. Xu Yuan's talent was extraordinary, and he was perfectly suited to Yun Ming's path.
"Though I'm still young and have plenty of time to explore, I truly have no guarantee of becoming a god," Yun Ming lamented.
Even he, the acknowledged strongest being on the continent, had no certainty of ascending to godhood.
In fact, the number of peak-level experts on the continent had already exceeded a handful.
Limit Douluos were divided into three tiers: quasi-demi-gods, demi-gods, and quasi-gods.
Those who had just broken through and lacked Four-Word Battle Armor were mostly quasi-demi-gods. After years of cultivation and mastering their powers—or acquiring Four-Word Battle Armor—they might ascend to the demi-god tier.
As for quasi-gods, that was another threshold even greater than advancing from Level 98 to Level 99.
Even so, the number of quasi-gods on the continent had surpassed a handful.
Yun Ming was one, as were Chen Xinjie, Cao Dezhi, Zang Xin, and Guan Yue.
Even Qiangu Dieyan, the grandfather of the Spirit Pagoda's current Tower Master Qiangu Dongfeng, was a quasi-god-level expert.
Beyond the quasi-god level, there was no clear path forward. One had to begin exploring the domain of gods.
Through exploration, most quasi-gods pursued the route of power breakthroughs—transforming soul power into divine power and entering the Divine Origin Realm for spiritual energy. By breaking through the Level 100 barrier, they could enter the true god-tier realm without needing a divine position.
But Yun Ming's ambitions were even greater—he pursued the path of condensing a divine position, hoping to use his own strength to create a new god realm.
This was why he was universally recognized as the strongest on the continent.
While others struggled to grasp even a sliver of hope for godhood, Yun Ming was planning to condense a divine position and establish a new god realm.
"Although Xiao Yuan has split his martial soul, which may affect him in the early stages, as long as he compensates for his origin, he can truly succeed in cultivating his three martial souls. Each of the essence, energy, and spirit systems can reach their pinnacle."
When Yun Ming referred to the "early stages," he meant before reaching Limit Douluo.
And even then, it was only a potential impact.
After all, Xu Yuan had employed safe methods to split his martial soul and had prepared heavenly treasures in advance to stabilize his martial soul's foundation.
While there was a possibility of negative effects, there were also potential benefits.
If handled well, he could even purify his martial soul, making it purer in each direction.
"Pity Xiao Yuan didn't join the Tang Sect. I'll have to talk to Zang Xin and see if I can get him a suitable immortal herb," Yun Ming sighed.
Being taken as a disciple by Yun Ming came as a surprise to Xu Yuan, but he quickly accepted it.
Especially after receiving the inheritance of the last three forbidden techniques, he understood even more clearly why Yun Ming had chosen him as a disciple.
It was a perfect match.
Essence, energy, and spirit—their cultivation paths were almost identical. Xu Yuan even suspected that his innate talent for cultivating these three paths simultaneously surpassed Yun Ming's.
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