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As the members of Shrek Academy pushed themselves to their limits, Li Luochen's voice echoed in their ears.
"If you're tired, just cultivate within the Light of the Sea God. You'll constantly be under external pressure. Moreover, I've discovered that under the pressure of the Light of the Sea God, the speed at which our spirit power circulates is faster than when we normally push it ourselves.
It's as if we're using spirit skills. If everything goes smoothly, our cultivation speed will increase significantly.
For this trial of crossing the Light of the Sea God, you can complete it on the final day. Until then, use the Light of the Sea God to cultivate your spirit power!"
Li Luochen's words caused the Shrek team to exchange glances. So, the first trial was actually a blessing in disguise. Everyone sat down where they were, feeling the pressure brought by the Light of the Sea God.
As soon as they began cultivating, they noticed what Li Luochen had described. Under the external pressure of the Light of the Sea God, the circulation speed of their spirit power increased noticeably. Without even consciously controlling it, the flow was faster than during their usual self-cultivation.
It was as if their spirit power was being stimulated and cultivated automatically by the external pressure.
At this moment, only Li Luochen and Dugu Yan continued climbing. Dugu Yan felt the pressure here wasn't enough, so she wanted to try ascending a few more steps.
Li Luochen planned to reach the summit, where the pressure would be greatest. He intended to use the pressure to fuse all nine of his spirit rings into his martial soul, completely transforming it into a divine artifact.
This idea was quite risky, especially since all of Li Luochen's spirit rings were over ten thousand years old, making the danger immense.
However, Li Luochen believed that with great risk came great reward. If he succeeded, the power of his martial soul-turned-divine artifact would undoubtedly be extraordinary.
Perhaps this path could allow tool-based soul masters on the continent to break through their limits once again.
Dugu Yan stood at the 256th step. Feeling somewhat tired and having expended eighty percent of her spirit power, she began cultivating on the spot under the immense pressure of the Light of the Sea God.
She noticed that her Level 87 spirit power began to fluctuate—this was a sign of an impending breakthrough. Dugu Yan began cultivating her spirit power, activating the Limitless Universe Technique to circulate her energy.
Now, only Li Luochen remained climbing. He reached the 1,000th step, released his martial soul, and began cultivating on the spot.
Li Luochen estimated that he might need to enter seclusion for quite some time—it was no small feat.
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A Week Later
Yu Tianxin was the first to break through his bottleneck, reaching Level 70. The others also experienced varying degrees of improvement in their spirit power.
Cultivating spirit power under such high-pressure conditions truly doubled their efficiency.
The moment Yu Tianxin broke through his bottleneck, the Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi appeared.
"Yu Tianxin, sit down."
Upon hearing this, Yu Tianxin complied. Bo Saixi raised her right hand, flipped her wrist, and turned her palm upward, revealing a golden bead.
The golden bead looked as if it were carved from the most precious golden crystal, flawless and transparent. What was most peculiar was the faint golden mist continuously rippling inside it, much like the golden mist that surrounded their bodies under the pressure of the Light of the Sea God.
With a flash of golden light, the bead floated out, slowly rising above Yu Tianxin's head. Bo Saixi flicked her finger, and with a soft pop, the bead shattered directly above Yu Tianxin's head. Instantly, a dense golden mist poured down, enveloping his body.
Bo Saixi's voice rang in everyone's ears. "All who have accepted the Sea God's Black Rank or higher trials are granted one opportunity to receive a divine-bestowed spirit ring upon reaching their first bottleneck.
There's no need to hunt soul beasts. The divine-bestowed spirit ring will grant you the spirit skill you need most, along with the highest possible level of spirit ring your body can withstand. Each person only has one chance.
Yu Tianxin, focus carefully and endure the baptism of the divine-bestowed spirit ring with the greatest perseverance possible to gain the maximum benefit."
Divine-bestowed spirit ring?
These four simple words left the Shrek team utterly stunned.
Such an operation existed? Truly, this place was filled with great opportunities. Even Dai Mubai envied him deeply. As the only one undergoing a Purple Rank trial, he didn't qualify for a divine-bestowed spirit ring. His spirit power had reached Level 59, and he was about to break through to Soul Emperor—but he'd still have to obtain a spirit ring himself.
The golden mist gradually engulfed Yu Tianxin's body, and halos began appearing around him. Yu Tianxin felt the pain of absorbing a spirit ring. Indeed, this divine-bestowed spirit ring was different.
However, this pain was nothing compared to the intense training Li Luochen had put them through before. Pain and reward always went hand in hand.
Yu Tianxin's first four spirit rings were near their limits. Later, he learned about the concept of surpassing limits when absorbing spirit rings. His fifth spirit ring was nearly twenty thousand years old—exceeding the limit by nearly six thousand years.
His sixth spirit ring was a thirty-five-thousand-year ring, with immense power and equally immense benefits.
Generally speaking, a thirty-five-thousand-year spirit ring was more than sufficient for a Soul Sage's seventh ring. Some Soul Douluos' eighth rings might not even be this powerful.
Yu Tianxin sensed that the divine-bestowed spirit ring wasn't causing any soul tremors. As long as his body could endure it, the age of the spirit ring would continue to increase!
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An Hour Later
The golden glow surrounding Yu Tianxin had transformed, becoming a series of black halos encircling his body. Though the rest of the Shrek team was several dozen meters away, they could clearly feel the immense spirit power emanating from him.
Each infusion of spirit power caused subtle changes in Yu Tianxin's body. The pain on his face had disappeared, replaced by a calm expression that starkly contrasted with the sweat dripping down his cheeks.
"It seems Tianxin is almost done. Can the divine-bestowed spirit ring really be absorbed this quickly?" Oscar remarked, taking a sip of water.
It was already noon, and food had been delivered from Seahorse City. The Shrek team had paused their cultivation to eat lunch.
"The divine-bestowed spirit ring is indeed powerful. By the way, can you guys guess how many years Yu Tianxin's seventh spirit ring is? It's so black—how old is it?" Ma Hongjun asked curiously.
This question piqued everyone's curiosity about the age of Yu Tianxin's seventh spirit ring.
"About sixty-four thousand years, I'd say. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon truly lives up to its fearsome reputation," Jing Ling said slowly.
Jing Ling's words immediately drew strange looks from the rest of the Shrek team.
"Uh… I enjoy reading books written by Director Li in my spare time. Many of his theories are kept in the Shrek Academy library. I've studied extensively on the topic of spirit ring ages.
When you read enough about determining the age of spirit rings based on their color, you naturally learn how to identify them."
Jing Ling spoke leisurely.
"Looks like we've got a theoretical master among us. Who knew? You've been hiding your talents well," Ma Hongjun teased, draping his arm around Jing Ling's shoulder with a grin.
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