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Chapter 3: Training
🕑 Added 2024-10-02 11:16:11 +0000 UTCYang Podi carefully reviewed the original work and couldn't help but feel that it was quite misleading. The Breaking Clan had been betrayed by the Clear Sky Sect over 20 years ago, and their clan was almost wiped out.
Then, 20 years later, they were tricked again by Tang San into joining the Tang Sect. From beginning to end, aside from the Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb, it seemed the Breaking Clan had gained nothing else.
On the contrary, after the clan's disciples joined the Tang Sect, they became so-called disciples of the Medicine Hall, essentially receiving another "father" for no reason. The other three clans seemed to have fared even worse. They got nothing, yet they kept working hard for the Tang Clan and Tang San. For what?
Especially in the final battle at Jialing Pass, when clan leader Yang Wudi fought against the Titled Douluo Snake Lance, though he won, he was seriously injured. What did they gain from all this effort? Did Tang San ever help the clan? Would Tang San even share his Mysterious Heaven Skill with others?
It was evident that the contributions of the four single-attribute clans were not proportional to their rewards. With the time and effort they spent, they might as well have focused on improving themselves.
After contemplating this, Yang Podi returned to his own issue: how to avoid the impending war that would lead to the clan's destruction. How could he improve himself in the future?
The following years were relatively straightforward. After turning two years old, with Yang Podi's repeated requests, his mother arranged for someone to teach him how to read.
Although he had read the original "Douluo Dalu", everything in this world was different from the book. The discrepancies were vast.
For the most basic knowledge, there were hundreds of books about soul beasts, big and small. In Douluo Dalu, the biggest features were martial souls and soul beasts. There were as many soul beasts as stars in the sky. Even something as small as a blade of grass or as large as a mountain could be a soul beast.
Soul beasts varied greatly in size, feeding habits, and attack methods. Their differences only increased with age.
Similarly, martial souls came in all forms. Different martial souls paired with different soul beasts and soul rings—and even varying soul ring ages—produced a multitude of skills, sometimes even mutations.
Upon learning this, Yang Podi couldn't help but recall what Yu Xiaogang had taught Tang San: "More rings and more bones will make you stronger. Fewer rings and bones will have you fleeing."
Initially, Yang Podi felt disdainful of this sentiment, thinking it was simplistic and ignored the idea that someone with fewer soul rings could be just as strong. However, as he read more and more books, he gradually came to understand the distinctions between soul masters of different levels.
Some soul masters, like his grandfather Yang Wudi, might be able to challenge those of higher levels, but this was the exception rather than the rule. For the majority, even acquiring a soul ring was a lifelong struggle. Countless soul masters were forced to absorb ten-year soul rings just to have one.
Soul masters with a fifth-ring in the thousand-year range were common. In the original story, both Snake Lance Douluo and Qin Ming had fifth soul rings at this level. Was it due to a lack of skill or connections? No, it was because acquiring a suitable soul ring with the right age was extremely difficult without a powerful backing.
As he reviewed various fanfics, Yang Podi noticed that many of them were centered around Yu Xiaogang. While Yu Xiaogang might have had flaws in his personal life, from an academic standpoint, he made significant contributions, especially with his soul ring age chart. Although not completely accurate, it had spread widely among commoners, reducing the number of soul masters who risked absorbing soul rings beyond their capabilities, which often led to fatal consequences.
However, Yu Xiaogang's arrogant behavior still rubbed people the wrong way. He flaunted knowledge that was already available to large families, presenting it as his own. This was akin to plagiarism in the modern world, something that universally irked people.
Even worse, Yu Xiaogang had a strange hatred for the Martial Soul Hall, despite living off the gold soul coins provided by them. His attitude was akin to biting the hand that fed him.
What made matters worse was his time at Notting Academy. Though he was not technically a teacher nor did he contribute to the academy, he acted like one, which only added to his pretentious air.
All these actions had earned Yu Xiaogang a poor reputation among his peers.
When his grandfather Yang Wudi discovered his love for reading, he obtained all sorts of books for him, ranging from strange and obscure volumes to advanced notes on soul master training.
This reading period lasted for an entire year.
Then, when Yang Podi turned three, both his grandfather and father began imposing strict training regimens on him.
In addition to reading, he started practicing marksmanship and regularly took medicinal baths.
He primarily trained in the Breaking Clan's Soul-Breaking Spear Technique. Though Yang Podi found the spear technique crude compared to those from his previous life, he practiced it diligently for the time being.
Every morning, he would carry a heavy iron spear and train with a group until he was nearly exhausted. Afterward, his mother would take him for a medicinal bath.
The training ground had various sizes of soul-breaking spears. They all looked the same but varied in weight and material. Each day, Yang Podi would choose one that suited his current height and strength.
As for the medicinal baths, they started when he turned three. This was a common practice among large families. Core disciples would start training as early as three or four years old.
The Breaking Clan, known for their expertise in medicine, had superior knowledge of medicinal materials and prescriptions. Even the Clear Sky Sect used the Breaking Clan's medicated bath formula. Yang Wudi himself personally prepared Yang Podi's baths based on his constitution.
At the age of four, Yang Podi's training intensified, with additional physical exercises like frog jumps and running. Due to his young age, no weight training was included.
Over the years, Yang Podi had also met many people from the Clear Sky Sect. In his opinion, they all shared common traits: arrogance, self-importance, and in some cases, outright hubris.
This attitude was prevalent not only in the Clear Sky Sect but also among the four single-attribute clans. In short, they looked down on everyone else, always assuming they were the best.
If these characters appeared in a modern TV drama, Yang Podi thought they wouldn't survive more than two episodes.
It was no surprise that the Martial Soul Hall would target the Clear Sky Sect. The Clear Sky Sect opposed the Martial Soul Hall at every turn, and when the three upper sects banded together, they often disrespected the Martial Soul Hall. Anyone would want to see them fall.
Even the supposed allies of the Clear Sky Sect likely wanted to push them to the front lines to block the Martial Soul Hall's attacks. The Martial Soul Hall's strength wasn't what it would be 20 years later in the original story, and the combined forces of the three sects, with their tens of thousands of soul masters, were still capable of challenging them.
Every time Yang Podi thought about this, he couldn't help but sigh. The Clear Sky Sect's decline was inevitable. Too many enemies and too much arrogance.
However, only the core members of the Clear Sky Sect knew that their old sect leader had been missing for decades and that the sect's actual strength no longer lived up to its fearsome reputation.
