Chapter 13: Excessive Humility
"It seems senior has had some enlightenment."
Ye Cheng smiled as he observed the clear transformation in Sword Douluo's demeanor.
"This is all thanks to your guidance yesterday, my friend."
Sword Douluo's attitude toward him had noticeably shifted. Even his way of addressing Ye Cheng had changed.
Before, despite his outward politeness, he had always subconsciously viewed Ye Cheng as a junior, treating him as the son of Ning Fengzhi first and a rising talent second.
However
After yesterday's battle, Ye Cheng's unfathomable strength and profound insights had completely altered Sword Douluo's perception of him.
For the first time, he now saw Ye Cheng as his equal.
Thus, his address changed from a condescending "child" to a respectful "friend."
Ye Cheng chuckled, completely unfazed.
"Guidance? I wouldn't dare say that. Those were merely some superficial insights of mine."
After all, Douluo Continent was a world governed by martial souls but the way soul masters used them was completely flawed.
They relied far too much on spirit rings.
Rather than exploring the full potential of their martial souls, they focused only on the skills granted by their rings.
Even those who attempted self created soul techniques only scratched the surface their methods were primitive at best.
The truth was
The entire soul master system was fundamentally incomplete.
Take Haotian Douluo, Tang Chen, for example.
He was renowned for his self created techniques, the Haotian Nine Absolutes and the Great Xumi Hammer and because his raw strength was already formidable, those skills made him nearly invincible in his era.
However, if one truly analyzed his techniques, they weren't as mysterious or revolutionary as people made them out to be.
They only seemed invincible because
His contemporaries were too underdeveloped to match them.
The soul master system was still in its infancy.
It lacked any true refinement no structured cultivation methods, no systematic energy circulation techniques. The only way to progress was through basic meditation.
If compared to a properly developed martial system, soul masters were nothing more than cavemen trying to master fire.
Only tens of thousands of years later, when soul technology advanced, did soul masters begin to break free from their reliance on spirit beasts.
By then, they had discovered how to create artificial spirit rings, eliminating the need for soul beast sacrifices altogether.
That was when the soul master system truly became whole.
But right now
They were still primitive.
If soul beasts went extinct, soul masters would perish alongside them.
Right now, the entire system was poorly structured, imbalanced, and fragile.
That was why Ye Cheng's words had been a revelation to Sword Douluo.
For the first time
He realized how limited his thinking had been.
For the first time
He saw a new path forward.
A road he had never even imagined before.
And in that moment
He felt it.
A faint, but unmistakable sensation
He was on the verge of breaking through to Rank 97.
From Rank 95 onward, every step forward required more than just power accumulation.
One needed insight.
Realization.
True understanding.
Without it
Some people remained stuck at one level for decades, or even forever.
Had Ye Cheng not spoken those words, Sword Douluo was certain he would have remained at Rank 96 for at least another ten years if not longer.
It was only now that he understood how invaluable this opportunity was.
And that was why
Hearing Ye Cheng call his words "superficial insights" made him want to laugh.
With a helpless smile, Sword Douluo shook his head.
"My friend if those were merely 'superficial insights,' then this world must have gone completely insane."
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