Yang Xiong felt somewhat helpless upon hearing his father's words about the mandatory school enrollment. Life within the sect operated according to strict rules and regulations for nurturing young talents, especially for those children who displayed superior abilities. Such individuals received even greater attention and oversight from the sect leadership.
Recently, Yang Xiong had researched various sources of information and gained a comprehensive understanding of the martial spirit awakening situation throughout the Spirit Master world. According to statistical data from across the continent, there were approximately 100,000 Spirit Masters in total, with more than seventy percent of them ranked below Spirit King level. The distribution essentially formed a pyramid structure, with the largest numbers at the bottom levels.
Among the lower ranks, the proportions of Spirit Masters, Spirit Grand Masters, and Spirit Elders remained relatively similar. Anyone who awakened their martial spirit with measurable innate spirit power levels—as long as it wasn't the pitifully low half-level variety—could basically cultivate to reach the Spirit Elder realm. It was simply a matter of time and dedication.
However, from the Spirit Ancestor level onwards, the numbers decreased dramatically. The population of Spirit Masters would be reduced by several times with each level increase, and as the ranks grew higher, the proportional decrease became even more severe.
For example, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was expected to have approximately 5,000 Spirit Masters total, but only two Titled Douluos served as the sect's ultimate pillars. There were an estimated twenty or more Spirit Douluos in leadership positions, and at least over one hundred Spirit Saints holding various important roles.
People shouldn't underestimate Yang Xiong's father despite his "only" being a Spirit King. Although Yang Lin served as an outer sect deacon, he didn't have an overwhelming workload within the sect. Unless there were special missions or emergencies, he basically had half his time available for rest and personal cultivation.
If a Spirit King chose to leave the sect and work independently, he could easily serve as the city lord of a smaller city, or he could become the head administrator of a high-level Spirit Master academy. Such positions commanded significant respect and authority.
According to the awakening statistics for innate spirit power levels, probably fewer than five people within the entire sect achieved level seven each year, and it was uncertain whether there would be one or two individuals who exceeded level seven. Of course, this represented just the annual situation rather than cumulative totals.
Just then, Yang Lin continued speaking with obvious excitement. "Yang Xiong, let me share some remarkable news with you. Our sect's eldest miss has awakened with level nine innate spirit power! She represents one of the people with the highest innate spirit power level in the entire history of our sect's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial spirit lineage."
Yang Xiong asked with some confusion. "What does this have to do with anything particularly significant? Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is incredibly powerful in terms of support capabilities, it has an inherent limitation. Users of this martial spirit can only reach level seventy-nine at maximum."
Yang Lin sighed heavily. "Yes, unfortunately that represents the biggest limitation facing our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Otherwise, with the incredibly powerful support capabilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, we would definitely be able to compete directly with the Clear Sky School for supremacy."
Yang Xiong decided not to comment further on this sensitive topic.
In the afternoon, under his father's careful guidance, Yang Xiong began his first formal meditation session.
The meditation process involved emptying one's mind completely and allowing the innate spirit power to begin circulating throughout the body, thereby absorbing energy of the same attribute that existed naturally in the surrounding air.
The meditation methods used throughout the entire Douluo Continent were fundamentally similar, but there were certain differences in the specific pathways the energy followed within each practitioner's body. Everyone would gradually develop their own unique circulation method due to differences in their martial spirits and individual physical characteristics.
The foundation of all cultivation remained innate spirit power. The higher someone's innate spirit power level, the faster their meditation speed would naturally become. Additionally, the higher the quality of someone's martial spirit, the wider their internal meridians would be. For most Spirit Masters, the innate spirit power level and martial spirit quality discovered during awakening were basically equivalent and matched well.
This principle explained why Spirit Master sects continued growing more and more powerful over time. They not only possessed complete cultivation systems and methodologies, but also maintained the most refined martial spirit training techniques. Relatively speaking, their bloodline inheritance and martial spirit qualities remained stable and predictable across generations.
In contrast, Body martial spirits had no specific elemental attributes and could theoretically absorb all types of energy present in the air. However, this advantage was also a significant disadvantage. The energy existing in the natural environment was exceptionally chaotic and disorganized, which made cultivating Body martial spirits much more difficult during the early stages of development.
In addition, Body martial spirits suffered from another major disadvantage: they could not be summoned and manifested like other martial spirit types.
Throughout the Douluo Continent, whether someone possessed a Tool martial spirit or a Beast martial spirit, their martial spirits could be summoned and made visible. During a Spirit Master's meditation process, they could gradually synchronize their meditation with the physical form of their martial spirit. When a Spirit Master eventually reached level ninety-nine, their body and martial spirit could achieve perfect fusion and unity.
However, Body martial spirits operated differently. Because they could not be summoned and manifested externally, cultivation became extremely difficult during the early stages. Progress could only be achieved through continuous physical exercise and training. It was important to understand that the current cultivation methods available were much inferior to those that would be developed ten thousand years in the future, especially since there were no mental cultivation techniques available anywhere on the entire continent.
After meditating for the entire afternoon, Yang Xiong felt as though he had achieved only a trace of improvement in his spirit power, but this progress was extremely limited. The results didn't resemble what would be expected from a genius possessing level six innate spirit power.
At dinner, Yang Lin inquired about the day's progress. "Yang Xiong, today was your first meditation session. How do you think the results were?"
Yang Xiong carefully reviewed his afternoon's meditation experience. "Father, I believe the meditation results this afternoon were quite poor. My spirit power only improved by a tiny amount. Perhaps this represents an inherent limitation of having the body itself serve as a martial spirit."
His mother Sun Yu offered comfort and encouragement. "Yang Xiong, I experienced similar difficulties when I first started meditating. Body-type martial spirits seem unable to fully synchronize with traditional meditation methods. The process will become somewhat easier after you slowly adapt to the techniques."
Yang Xiong smiled confidently. "Mom, I plan to focus much more attention on physical exercise starting tomorrow. I will try to study and exercise my body during the day, then only meditate during the evening hours."
Yang Lin asked with obvious puzzlement. "Although we Spirit Masters do need to pay attention to physical conditioning, spirit power cultivation remains the fundamental foundation. Exercise certainly has beneficial effects, but it's not as effective as spending more time on meditation, especially considering that your innate spirit power has reached level six."
Yang Xiong replied with determination. "Father, I have developed my own cultivation methods that I believe will be more effective. Please trust me—I will be able to adapt quickly to this approach. By the way, I remember that our sect provides medicinal baths for disciples, correct? Please help me register for this service and collect the necessary materials."
Yang Lin became even more confused by this request. "With the abundant resources of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, we do indeed provide medicinal baths for all disciples. However, they are generally distributed after children reach the age of twelve or after becoming Spirit Grand Masters. Although medicinal baths are very beneficial for the body and can accelerate a Spirit Master's cultivation progress, the bodies of young children have not yet fully developed. Medicinal baths may have certain side effects and could even negatively affect your future growth and development."
Yang Xiong responded quickly and persuasively. "Father, my martial spirit is quite special and unique, so I want to begin medicinal baths as soon as possible. This approach may be able to stimulate the growth and development of my martial spirit in ways that traditional methods cannot."
Although Yang Lin remained somewhat puzzled by his son's unusual requests, he finally agreed to help. "Well, it's encouraging that you have confidence in your cultivation approach and have developed your own plans. Although medicinal bath materials are quite precious, they represent no significant burden for our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Our sect serves as the largest herbal medicine merchant on the entire Douluo Continent."
The family was not particularly surprised by Yang Xiong's mature statements and requests. From childhood through the present, Yang Xiong had been remarkably self-sufficient and responsible. He seemed to have his own thoughts and detailed plans for everything he undertook, displaying a level of maturity that was exceptional for his age.
Yang Lin suddenly seemed to remember another important matter. "By the way, Yang Xiong, Aunt Li's son is already twenty years old. He previously worked with the patrol team for some time. I spoke with Aunt Li and told her that I would ask her son to take care of your daily needs in the future. You will need to travel to and from school every day, and six years old is still quite young for such independence."
"If you plan to engage in intensive physical exercise in the future, someone should be present to monitor your safety and prevent any potential problems. I know you don't particularly enjoy being served by others, but sometimes you still need assistance from someone reliable, at least to ensure your safety and well-being."
Yang Xiong nodded with resigned acceptance of this arrangement.
In truth, Yang Xiong's family background was definitely very good compared to most families throughout the entire Douluo Continent. Both of his parents were accomplished Spirit Masters who also served as outer sect deacons of the prestigious Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The sect distributed substantial salaries to them each year, not to mention various additional subsidies and benefits.
Aunt Li was a housekeeper hired to work in their home, responsible for washing clothes, cooking meals, cleaning, and other domestic tasks. A family of Spirit Masters couldn't be expected to handle these mundane chores themselves, could they? It was much more efficient to spend their valuable time on meditation and cultivation rather than waste it on household maintenance.