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Dugu Yan sat on the 423rd step of the Sea God Mountain, absorbing her spirit ring. She was still 243 steps away from completing her trial—an impressive feat indeed.
This would be Dugu Yan's final spirit ring. She already possessed two hundred-thousand-year spirit rings and had every type of ten-thousand-year spirit bone except for a torso bone. Absorbing a divine-bestowed spirit ring was a simple task for her.
Soon, a crimson-red spirit ring began to swirl around her body. Since her seventh spirit ring had been a hundred-thousand-year one, this process was now routine for her.
The memory of her struggle with the seventh ring haunted her—it had nearly overwhelmed her, threatening to backlash and kill her. A hundred-thousand-year spirit ring at the seventh ring was truly unimaginable.
However, after absorbing her first hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, the difficulty of subsequent ones had become manageable for her.
Now, absorbing a divine-bestowed spirit ring was as easy as pie. The process was completed in no time.
Behind her, Dugu Yan's martial soul—the Golden Azure Dragon—materialized, surrounded by nine glowing spirit rings:
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red, Red.
Aside from her first three normal rings, each subsequent one was more outrageous than the last.
Dugu Yan's spirit power had now reached Level 92. However, her combat strength likely rivaled that of a Super Douluo at Level 97 or higher.
After all, who else could boast such an exceptional setup? She only lacked a torso bone to complete her full set of ten-thousand-year spirit bones. What else was there to achieve?
Dugu Yan's absorption of the spirit ring was merely a small interlude. After watching, the rest of the Shrek team returned to their intense cultivation. Ma Hongjun and Oscar, in particular, were brimming with determination.
As students raised and trained personally by Li Luochen, they too felt they deserved hundred-thousand-year spirit rings. While obtaining one at the seventh ring was out of reach, they still aimed for it at the eighth ring!
By now, they had spent four months cultivating under the Light of the Sea God, with one-third of the trial period already passed.
Ma Hongjun's spirit power had reached Level 78, while Oscar's stood at Level 75.
Oscar had little hope of breaking through to Soul Douluo before the trial ended, but Ma Hongjun still had a chance!
Ma Hongjun was determined to push himself and obtain a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring through the divine-bestowed trial before the assessment concluded!
Everyone was working tirelessly, knowing that time waits for no one. Only by pushing themselves to their limits could they advance faster.
Li Luochen remained in seclusion, showing no signs of response—even when Dugu Yan broke through to Title Douluo, he gave no reaction!
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Seven and a Half Months Later
The Shrek team gathered around the dining table, savoring the delicious food delivered from Seahorse City. With just half a month left until the trial's conclusion, they decided to push forward and complete their trials in one final burst.
Bo Saixi had reminded them to finish early, as Li Luochen had begun emanating powerful spirit energy—indicating that his seclusion was nearing its final stages.
His presence might interfere with their trials, so she urged them to wrap things up fifteen days ahead of schedule.
After nearly a year of training under the Light of the Sea God, the Shrek team had made tremendous progress!
Following the absorption of her spirit ring, Dugu Yan's spirit power had surged to Level 93! She was now a true powerhouse, having climbed to the 600th step and continuing to train there.
She had created an enormous gap between herself and the rest of the Shrek Academy members!
In fact, Dugu Yan had already glimpsed her limit—she estimated she could reach somewhere in the mid-650s. The final dozen steps might prove challenging, but she had teammates to rely on!
With Ning Rongrong's support skills, Ye Lingling's healing abilities, and Oscar's sausages, passing the trial would be no problem for her.
Her trial was completely secure. The only concerns were Ning Rongrong, undergoing the seven-test trial, and Ye Lingling, undergoing the eight-test trial.
As auxiliary soul masters, such pressure-based trials were particularly difficult for them. However, Ye Lingling had an advantage over Ning Rongrong—she possessed two top-tier spirit bones:
The Spirit Wisdom Skull Bone and the Blue Silver King Torso Bone, which greatly enhanced her physical capabilities.
Moreover, Ye Lingling's extraordinary recovery abilities made her combat endurance comparable to two Qian Renxues or four Zhu Zhuqings—not because her physical attributes surpassed theirs, but because her recovery rate was unmatched. Simply put, her endurance was exceptional!
Ye Lingling's body now carried the characteristics of the Nine Heart Begonia, granting her incredible recovery abilities. Through her own efforts, she had reached the 180th step, though she typically trained around the 150th step.
Could she reach the 256th step with full support? Dugu Yan planned to simply carry Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling through the trial.
After all, they were all from the same academy and close sisters. Helping them complete the trial was only natural.
There was no need to worry about Zhu Zhuqing—she had already climbed past the 200th step. With Ning Rongrong's support, she could easily complete the trial.
By now, everyone in the Shrek team had made significant gains in spirit power. Among them, Ma Hongjun, Yu Tianxin, Yang Wu, Niu Dun, Dai Mubai, and Bai Chenxiang had all broken through their bottlenecks!
Two months ago, during the ninth month of training under the Light of the Sea God, Ma Hongjun's spirit power had broken through to Level 80, reaching the bottleneck of a Soul Douluo.
Bo Saixi appeared and bestowed him with a divine-bestowed spirit ring. Ma Hongjun immediately ascended to the 130th step to absorb it. The absorption process caused him to enter deep meditation for forty days.
It wasn't until a mighty phoenix cry echoed across the Sea God Mountain that Ma Hongjun finally awakened.
When he released his martial soul, his spirit rings appeared:
Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red.
A blazing crimson hundred-thousand-year spirit ring now adorned his body, leaving many envious. Ma Hongjun's spirit power had also reached the peak of Level 82!
Now at Level 83, the first trial held no difficulty for him. He could easily ascend to the 300th step—reaching the 136th step was now child's play.
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Current Spirit Power Levels of the Shrek Team:
- Dugu Yan: Level 93, Strong Attack-Type Title Douluo
- Ma Hongjun: Level 83, Strong Attack-Type Battle Soul Douluo
- Zhu Zhuqing: Level 79, Agility Attack-Type Battle Soul Sage
- Ye Lingling: Level 79, Healing-Type Tool Soul Sage
- Oscar: Level 78, Food-Type Tool Soul Sage
- Yu Tianxin: Level 75, Strong Attack-Type Battle Soul Sage
- Yang Wu: Level 74, Strong Attack-Type Battle Soul Sage
- Niu Dun: Level 73, Strong Attack-Type Battle Soul Sage
- Ning Rongrong: Level 72, Support-Type Tool Soul Sage
- Jing Ling: Level 69, Agility Attack-Type Soul Emperor
- Huang Yuan: Level 69, Agility Attack-Type Soul Emperor
- Jiang Zhu: Level 68, Healing-Type Tool Soul Emperor
- Dai Mubai: Level 63, Strong Attack-Type Battle Soul Emperor
- Bai Chenxiang: Level 65, Agility Attack-Type Battle Soul Emperor
The most surprising growth came from Bai Chenxiang! Her spirit power had increased by fourteen levels in a single year—a staggering improvement!
Though her talent had been significantly boosted by top-tier medicinal herbs, such rapid progress was still absurd.
Of course, Dugu Yan had given her special treatment. Bai Chenxiang had consumed two fifty-thousand-year whale jellies. As for how Dugu Yan obtained them—while bathing one day, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King happened to pass by.
Having grown familiar with Dugu Yan, the shark king, Xiao Bai, led his group out to hunt for food. Dugu Yan joined them and hunted two fifty-thousand-year whales. The flesh was devoured by the shark group, but Dugu Yan kept the whale jelly. Xiao Bai was baffled—since when did humans want such things?
In addition to the whale jelly, Dugu Yan had other rare treasures. She called upon Yang Wu to help refine pills, which the entire Shrek team consumed to aid their cultivation.
Under the combined effects of the Light of the Sea God and the pills, everyone made remarkable progress. Bai Chenxiang benefited the most—her pills had been specially "enhanced" by Dugu Yan.
It was a clear case of favoritism. After all, Ma Hongjun was Li Luochen's protégé, and Bai Chenxiang, as his wife, was considered part of the inner circle. Thus, Dugu Yan had given her extra support.
Now, with their dramatic improvements, the Shrek team planned to begin their final trials in three days!
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