"Let's put it this way, theoretically. The more Dou Seals one possesses," the higher the quality of the Battle Soul will be. High-quality Dou Seals, such as those generated by Saint-Tier Battle Techniques, will contribute far more to enhancing the quality of the Battle Soul than Seals produced by Advanced-Tier Battle Techniques."

Dou Seals, they actually relate to the quality of the Battle Soul? Qian Jin pondered, nodding repeatedly. The innate Bloodline Battle Techniques of the Ten Great Bloodline Warrior Families—all of those were Saint-Tier Battle Techniques! Some families even possessed more than one set of bloodline-type Saint-Tier Battle Techniques.

Powerful status and immense social influence naturally meant they could acquire more high-quality Battle Techniques. The Battle Souls condensed by these Bloodline Warrior Families were, consequently, even more formidable.

A flash of insight struck Qian Jin’s mind; he instantly understood why Bloodline Warriors were so overwhelmingly powerful, yet were still willing to enter the War Academies for advanced study.

The War Academies didn't just provide higher-quality Retainers, nor were they solely for learning the art of battlefield command.

Simultaneously! Every high-tier War Academy possessed a Battle Technique Development Department! Many talented, white-haired Battle Technique Designers, relying on experience and genius thinking, created various new mature or nascent Battle Techniques.

These Bloodline Warriors could, through various means, learn these new mature or immature Battle Techniques and bring them back to their families to submit, allowing future Bloodline Warriors to accumulate more Dou Seals and condense stronger Battle Souls. (Baidu: Zha Zha Ba Shou Mao Update)

"Next, let's discuss the Dou Seals." Enlack pointed a finger at the seals on the sword-shaped Battle Soul: "Once a Dou Seal is formed, it generates a unique kind of power. When a Warrior encounters a moment of extreme crisis, they can forcibly activate the Dou Seal, causing it to shatter and unleash extraordinary might."

Enlack smiled upon seeing Qian Jin’s expression—a look of understanding mixed with an inability to articulate it: "Let's put it this way. If all the Dou Seals in my Battle Soul were to shatter simultaneously, how much power could I unleash?"

Qian Jin’s eyes widened, staring dumbfounded at Enlack. "That power… perhaps… perhaps it could level the entire village… hmph… hmph…" Enlack chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly. "You severely underestimate the power released when my Dou Seals shatter."

More than that? Qian Jin felt as if his throat had suddenly been choked, leaving him speechless. This power was truly beyond imagination.

"Now you understand, right?" Enlack clapped Qian Jin on the shoulder. "Continuously practicing Dou Qi can indeed enhance your Dou Qi, even allowing your Battle Soul to mature faster... Wait! If you have no Dou Seals at all, you cannot condense a Battle Soul."

Qian Jin finally grasped it entirely: to nurture a Battle Soul, one must condense Dou Seals. And to possess an ever-stronger Battle Soul, one must constantly practice various Battle Techniques to increase the number of Dou Seals.

If one abandoned the practice of Dou Seals, or only condensed one or two, perhaps in the future, driven by reaching a high level of Dou Qi, a Battle Soul could be barely condensed. But the quality of that Battle Soul would be exceedingly poor.

A subpar Battle Soul cannot ascend to Sainthood!

The only way to possess a formidable, high-quality Battle Soul was to relentlessly practice Dou Seals and increase the count of high-quality ones. Even when shattered, the resulting power would become exponentially greater.

"A truly complete Dou Seal..." Enlack calculated seriously. "If it originates from a Saint-Tier Battle Technique, even if you haven't mastered the technique itself to its absolute peak, it can unleash at least five times the inherent power." Five times? Qian Jin gasped in cold air. The incomplete Seal that shattered previously, unleashing only one unit of power, had severely wounded the Blazing Violent Cactus. If it were five times that amount? Perhaps a single blow back then would have ended it completely. (Baidu: Zha Zha Ba Shou Mao Update)

"Alright! I've said what needed saying. You can go now." Enlack waved Qian Jin out of the Dou Qi chamber. "Next time you defeat someone here, I’ll teach you the special technique for shattering Dou Seals without harming your body."

A method to shatter Dou Seals without harming the body? Qian Jin sat in the sand, gazing up at the rising moon, replaying Enlack’s words in his mind.

The agonizing pain from shattering the Dou Seal during the fight with the Blazing Violent Cactus—it felt like being stabbed by a spear. What exactly was the method?

Fen Tu Kuang Ge sprang energetically out of the cave, clutching a Dou Crystal and metal, burying himself alive once more.

Duan Feng Bu Er held a Monster Core in his hand—the same one used at the Pan Family’s Second Altar. He chuckled and sat down beside Qian Jin, casually handing the Monster Core over.

"Look at this," he said. "I don't remember these things being on Monster Cores before." Qian Jin took the core and held it up to his forehead, examining it closely against the moonlight. The core, which had been somewhat luminous, was now covered in strange, bizarre patterns. His pupils gradually constricted, shrinking and shrinking.

Magic Arrays! The special Magic Arrays stored deep within the Monster Core! It was because of these arrays that magical beasts possessed innate magical talents—talent spells that humans could never learn!

Traditionally, the Magic Arrays for talent spells were forever hidden in the very center of the Monster Core. The moment the core was opened meant destroying the array; humans couldn't even extract a fraction of the precious Magic Arrays.

The Monster Core of the Sand Python—a high-tier magical beast—had its Magic Arrays protected even more strictly. No one had ever succeeded in extracting them.

Now, these Magic Arrays that should have been concealed at the core's deepest point were all manifested on the surface of the Monster Core! Qian Jin's hand trembled slightly. "How was this done?"

"I'm not sure either." Duan Feng Bu Er wriggled a few times in the sand. Some grains were swept away by his movement, and he lay back, gazing at the stars. "When I woke up that day, and looked at this thing you gave me again, these markings had appeared."

"Could it be?" Qian Jin’s mind raced, recalling the scene when the Second Altar radiated light that day. Could it be that Altar? Those complex Magic Arrays, and the function to extract Magic Arrays from Monster Cores? Regardless of whether this was the truth, the Sand Python's innate magic was now revealed. Sending it to Bi Luo would still make for a fine gift.

As for giving it to the Academy? Qian Jin shook his head. He didn't lack the few gold coins rewarded for submitting new types of magic. There was no need to share something like this with other magicians, especially since submitting it might allow the Elven King’s bloodline to learn it someday—and he had no desire to aid the Elven King’s bloodline.

"This... I'll keep this for now." Qian Jin flipped his hand, tossing the Monster Core into the Dou Realm, and caught a fiery red Monster Core thrown by Chè Kè Fú Lìtè—the core of the Blazing Violent Cactus.

Compared to the Sand Python's core, this core was larger, about the size of a human head, but the magical energy contained within was far less than the Sand Python's. This was the difference between a mid-tier and a high-tier magical beast.

Mid-tier magical beasts only continuously increased their magical power, making their cores larger; the size of a mid-tier beast's core was directly proportional to its strength.

When mid-tier beasts advanced to high-tier, they learned magic compression! They compressed their enormous cores into very small sizes. Legends told of cores the size of a grain of rice that contained enough magical energy to instantly obliterate hundreds of Grand Mages, or even Archmages.

"Qian Jin." Duan Feng Bu Er stared greedily at the Blazing Violent Cactus core.

"Do you think it contains that special ability to grow body spikes?" Qian Jin stared blankly at the core. Theoretically, every Blazing Violent Cactus core should possess this special innate ability, but the one he fought that day—the one smooth as a giant radish—had not grown any sharp spikes.

"I'll find a way in a few days to see what exactly is inside." Qian Jin lightly rotated the massive Monster Core between his fingers, his eyebrows slightly raised as he looked at Duan Feng Bu Er. "What? Are you interested in extracting that ability?"

"Don't you think it's incredibly cool?" Duan Feng Bu Er grinned at Qian Jin. "If my entire body suddenly erupted with spikes, and every single spike was coated with the Sand Python's potent poison, then I jump into the Demon Race army on the Human-Demon Battlefield..." (Baidu: Zha Zha Ba Shou Mao Update)

Qian Jin stared blankly at Duan Feng Bu Er. This was truly a mad idea. Countless poisonous needles flying everywhere—this was even more terrifying than his Chain Arrows.

If the Sand Python's poison was originally meant for one-on-one or one-on-two battlefield duels, then the Blazing Violent Cactus's spikes, combined with the Sand Python's poison, could transform into a method for fighting crowds.

Pan Hongji's ears twitched repeatedly as he observed Duan Feng Bu Er with great interest. This young man had a natural instinct for combat, unlike many Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Warriors who only sought higher magical beast core abilities without considering the synergy between different powers.

Such talent, yet none of them belonged to the Pan Family. Pan Hongji ran a hand through his hair, feeling an indescribable depression. Qian Jin was a little monster, perhaps acceptable since he carried the blood of the Qian family. But Duan Feng Bu Er carried much more of the Nine-Headed Serpent family's blood. Yet, his surname was Duan Feng, not Pan.

Qian Jin lay down in the sand like Duan Feng Bu Er, feeling the coolness rising from his back. The night in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea had fallen, taking away the scorching heat.

"The stars... they are truly beautiful..." Lu Xi Fa Liu Shui lay quietly beside Qian Jin, her voice softer and more genuine than ever before. "It's been... a very, very long time since I looked up at the stars. Vast, brilliant, full of endless, mysterious beauty."

Qian Jin turned his head to look at the beautiful demon beside him. Putting aside her seductive demeanor and aura, setting aside her proud princess temperament, this demoness with the Fallen Angel bloodline possessed an indescribable, delicate beauty.

Versatile! Qian Jin cycled through every word he could think of, feeling that only this one word fit this demoness. Luo Qingqing was beautiful, and Gu Yue Jiaying was also a rare beauty, yet both possessed a unique beauty all their own. Luo Qingqing was youthful and vibrant; Gu Yue Jiaying’s detached, transcendent aura was her beauty.

Lu Xi Fa Liu Shui shifted between sensual, delicate, and melancholic; her temperament changed ceaselessly, making it hard to imagine which was her true face, and which was a mask she donned. Or perhaps, all of it was real, or perhaps all of it was fake. (Baidu: Zha Zha Ba Shou Mao Update)

Slept at five in the morning... Just got up. X