Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, 101st floor, in Jing Shaoyu's room.
Inside the bathtub, Jing Shaoyu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. A faint, confused happiness flickered across his face.
"Strange…" he murmured.
The effects of the ten-thousand-year Purple Crystal Ganoderma and Earth Spirit Milk were exceptional. His soul power had broken through to level 40. Now, with a single thought, Red Ruby could immediately generate a soul ring, officially making him a Soul Elder with four rings. However, it didn't feel necessary.
Suppressing the natural urge emanating from his martial soul, his eyes showed a trace of hesitation and confusion.
For some reason, as his soul power reached level 40, it felt as though a voice in his mind urged him to first contract the Divine Unicorn and then attach soul rings to his Endbringer Spear martial soul.
This strange and overpowering sensation left Jing Shaoyu feeling unsettled, his usually steadfast will shaken by indecision.
"Could this be destiny?" he muttered, looking up at the bathroom ceiling as if trying to pierce through the walls to glimpse the heavens. The phantoms of his Origin Spirit martial soul and Endbringer Spear martial soul briefly flickered in his mind.
Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and pondered deeply. When he reopened them, the hesitation had vanished, replaced by calm, unwavering determination. He had made his choice.
Rising from the bathtub, Jing Shaoyu dressed and walked out of the bathroom with composed steps.
Leng Yaozhu, seated by his bed and toying with a model of a mecha, looked up when he appeared. A pleased smile crossed her face. "Not bad, you've grown taller. Come with me to check your current physical strength."
"Alright, Teacher," Jing Shaoyu replied with a nod, keeping his thoughts to himself for the moment.
The two entered Leng Yaozhu's workshop. Through the window, Jing Shaoyu glanced outside and froze. "Teacher, what time is it now?"
"It's morning," Leng Yaozhu said with a laugh. "Oh, I forgot to mention—you've been in there for a full day and night."
"What?!" Jing Shaoyu was slightly taken aback, but upon reflection, it seemed reasonable. After all, absorbing two ten-thousand-year treasures was bound to take time.
"Come on, lie down. Let's see if the Earth Spirit Milk brought your body up to the expected standard," Leng Yaozhu said, gesturing to the examination bed.
"Teacher, does the Earth Spirit Milk's effect vary that much?" Jing Shaoyu asked as he lay down, curious about this newfound knowledge gap.
Leng Yaozhu nodded. "The Earth Spirit Milk is a unique treasure formed in underground caverns more than five kilometers deep. While it has no major restrictions for users, years of observation have shown that it works best on soul masters with earth-element, metal-element, or gemstone-related martial souls. For others, its effectiveness depends on their body's absorption capacity."
"Really? The world is indeed full of wonders," Jing Shaoyu said with a sigh of amazement.
"Exactly," Leng Yaozhu agreed. "When I used the Earth Spirit Milk back then, it increased my body strength by about 5,000 years. As long as you're not worse than me… Wait!"
Leng Yaozhu suddenly gasped in shock, her composure breaking for the first time. Jing Shaoyu immediately sat up, alarmed. "Teacher, what's wrong?"
"Shaoyu, your body strength…" Leng Yaozhu raised her hand, pointing at the data displayed on the instrument screen. "It's off the charts!"
"Huh?" Jing Shaoyu jumped up and looked at the screen. His eyes widened in disbelief. "How did it increase so much?"
The glowing data on the screen was astonishing:
Bone Age: 13 years, 6 months
Soul Power: Level 40 (???)
Body Strength: 33,000 years
Soul Spirit Level: Black (13,000 years)
Spiritual Power: Spirit Sea Realm (3,999 points)
His soul power was capped at level 40, awaiting the addition of a fourth soul ring. However, his body strength had soared to an unprecedented 33,000 years, an increase of 15,000 years in just one day. No wonder Leng Yaozhu was so astonished.
Jing Shaoyu himself was stunned. "Teacher, is the Earth Spirit Milk really this powerful?"
"It's not the Earth Spirit Milk that's extraordinary—it's you!" Leng Yaozhu said with a wry smile. Compared to her disciple, she suddenly felt like a mediocrity. "Normally, the Earth Spirit Milk can enhance a soul master's body strength by up to 10,000 years under ideal conditions. But this effect diminishes as the user's cultivation level increases.
"The best time to use it is during the Soul Elder stage, but no one has ever achieved a 15,000-year boost like you—not even top-tier earth-element soul masters!"
"Well," Jing Shaoyu grinned after a brief moment of surprise. "Doesn't this just prove I'm uniquely gifted?"
"You little brat, so full of yourself!" Leng Yaozhu laughed despite herself, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "I suspect your martial soul played a role here. Besides your natural talent, your Origin Spirit martial soul likely contributed significantly."
"Probably," Jing Shaoyu mumbled through her playful tussling. "The next element my Origin Spirit awakens will likely be earth. From that perspective, the Earth Spirit Milk was a perfect match for me."
"Sigh, your Origin Spirit martial soul truly defies logic," Leng Yaozhu said as she finally let go, marveling at his abilities. "It's nearly omnipotent, save for its lack of offensive capabilities. And then there's your Endbringer Spear martial soul—though you've yet to cultivate it, it's clearly a devastating weapon. Together, you're nothing short of a prodigy."
"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment, Teacher," Jing Shaoyu chuckled. His eyes fell on the spiritual power reading: 3,999 points. His spiritual strength had increased by 1,000 points, explaining why he felt so clear-headed and sharp upon waking.
"Alright, stop gloating," Leng Yaozhu said with a light laugh. "Go pack your things. We're heading out to hunt soul beasts."
"To the sea?" Jing Shaoyu asked, surprised, swallowing the question he'd been about to ask.
"Yes, to the sea," Leng Yaozhu confirmed with a touch of exasperation. "Nowadays, only the vast ocean still harbors a significant population of soul beasts. On land, be it Douluo Continent, Star Luo Continent, or Heaven Dou Continent, soul beasts are nearly extinct. The few that remain are either weaklings or terrifying apex predators. There are no thousand- or ten-thousand-year soul beasts left."
Jing Shaoyu fell silent, saddened by the reality of the situation. But who could he blame? Such was the world's natural law. If blame was to be placed, it would fall on whoever dictated those laws.
"Teacher, what about the Star Dou Forest? Isn't it home to the Ten Great Savage Beasts?" he asked.
"The Savage Beasts?" Leng Yaozhu sighed. "They still reside in the Star Dou Forest's core. Led by the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, the six Savage Beasts and the last of the soul beasts represent the final remnants of their kind on Douluo Continent.
"You've seen the metal fences surrounding the forest, right? The Federation wants to contain these beasts, but their plan is laughable. Containing Savage Beasts? The very thought is absurd."
"Emmm…" Jing Shaoyu didn't know how to respond.
"That's Di Tian we're talking about," Leng Yaozhu continued. "An entity with over 800,000 years of cultivation, nearing godhood. Even with our advanced technology and four-word battle armor, the strongest human Limit Douluo can only fight him to a standstill. The so-called containment is nothing but a stalemate.
"Our policy now is to avoid provoking Di Tian at all costs. If he's driven to desperation, the consequences will be catastrophic. A berserk black dragon with nothing to lose…
Even if we win, it will be a pyrrhic victory."
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