[Soul Bone] —
[Spirit Eternal Skull], 500,000 Years
Eternity: Maintains and protects spiritual power; can independently or forcibly steal fear from opponents to create illusions.
Spirit Vision: Uses elemental power to re-present the world to the eye.
Light of the Spirit: Resists and purifies all spirit-related negative effects.
...
After absorbing the power of the Vast Sea and Universe Cover, although not completely devoured—
The [Spirit Eternal Skull] still directly gained an additional 400,000 years, instantly reaching the level of 500,000 years!
It can be said—
The current [Spirit Eternal Skull], if it could take the form of a weapon, would already be considered an artifact-level existence!
Although the two original abilities it provided did not change—
It did grant Li Yu an additional ability called Light of the Spirit.
Resist and purify all negative spiritual effects!
This undoubtedly means that, when facing oppressive forces such as Power Gods in the future, he will no longer fear them and will be able to unleash his own power.
No longer will he be as passive as he was today!
This enhancement cannot be measured by stats or combat power alone.
In addition—
His spiritual power once again surged!
Li Yu even felt as though his spiritual power was about to take on a tangible form.
Of course...
He also understood that this was merely a "feeling"—he still had a long way to go before it would truly materialize!
But the path was now clear, and the direction could be discerned!
That in itself was a priceless gain.
"Li Yu, what's going on?"
At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the bedchamber.
Li Yu was momentarily stunned before regaining his composure.
He stepped out of the sleeping quarters and saw the anxious face of Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo...
He had always remained within the Eastern Palace, though he hadn't shown himself in a very long time.
Clearly, today's disturbance had startled him.
Li Yu studied Dugu Bo, but instead of answering the question, he smiled and said, "Well then, has your metamorphosis completed?"
Ever since Li Yu detoxified Dugu Bo—
Dugu Bo had sensed signs of a second awakening in his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
Later, when Li Yu gifted him the Snow Swan Kiss, Dugu Bo entered seclusion.
Though he remained in the Eastern Palace—
He released no aura while in seclusion, as if entering hibernation.
Even now, disturbed by the effects of the Sea God—
Li Yu sweeping glance found no major fluctuations in Dugu Bo's aura, clearly indicating that his metamorphosis had likely long since been completed.
He had merely been consolidating or meditating.
"Haha, thanks to you!"
Dugu Bo, hearing that Li Yu asked about him rather than explaining himself, realized that Li Yu had not encountered any real danger.
As for the earlier strange energy—
That was Li Yu secret. If he didn't speak of it, Dugu Bo wouldn't ask.
Dugu Bo released a slight aura, and at the same time, a translucent, snow-white figure like a flood dragon flickered briefly over his body.
"Mm!"
Surprise flashed in Li Yu eyes.
Out of respect for Dugu Bo, just as Dugu Bo respected him, Li Yu had never probed his strength.
Yet, with just that brief pulse of aura, Li Yu clearly sensed that Dugu Bo's spirit power level had reached Rank 96!
Yes!
He had jumped from Rank 93 to Rank 96!
In terms of spirit power level, Dugu Bo now stood on the same level as Sword Douluo Chenxin!
One must understand—
After becoming a Title Douluo, especially after surpassing Rank 95 into the Super Douluo stage, every additional level was extremely difficult.
From Rank 95 onward, one needed deeper comprehension of their Martial spirit to advance further.
But now—
Dugu Bo had, within just a few short months, advanced from Rank 93 to Rank 96!
How could Li Yu not be astonished?
"Your Martial spirit?"
After the initial shock, Li Yu suddenly noticed—
Dugu Bo's Martial spirit had clearly changed from before. Even its color showed a noticeable difference from the previous Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
"That's right!"
Dugu Bo completely trusted Li Yu and had no intention of hiding anything:
"After refining the Snow Swan Kiss you gave me, my spirit power skyrocketed!"
"In just over two months, I advanced from Rank 93 to Rank 95!"
"And that was merely the effect of the Snow Swan Kiss stimulating and expanding my 'poison spirit power'!"
"More importantly..."
At this point, Dugu Bo's eyes burned with excitement:
"The energy within the Snow Swan Kiss actually triggered a transformation in my Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor!"
"And it was a more thorough, even elevated, transformation!"
"A serpent turning into a flood dragon!"
"It really happened in my Martial spirit. My Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor has now transformed into the Snow-Scaled Celestial Flood Dragon!"
"And because of that, my spirit power level rose again, directly reaching Rank 96!"
"Moreover, I can feel that the Snow-Scaled Celestial Flood Dragon may still have room for further evolution—when that time comes, the flood dragon may truly transform into a dragon!"
Dugu Bo's eyes were filled with fervent emotion.
His gaze toward Li Yu could no longer be described with mere gratitude.
"Congratulations!"
Li Yu only smiled and congratulated him.
There were no flowery words, no elaborate rituals—just two simple words: "Congratulations."
But this—
Made the blessing seem all the more precious!
Even Dugu Bo was momentarily stunned. Then, his expression softened even more.
At this moment, Dugu Bo truly regarded Li Yu as one of his most important kin.
He did not say anything more in thanks—
He was just about to ask Li Yu if he needed anything, but before he could speak—
A presence swiftly approached and landed inside the Eastern Palace, right before Li Yu.
It was Xue Qinghe.
Dugu Bo shook his head with a chuckle and quietly vanished from the scene.
Qian Renxue grabbed Li Yu hands, carefully looking him over again and again before finally asking:
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Li Yu let her examine him thoroughly and could only smile helplessly in response.
"Whew, that's a relief!"
Qian Renxue finally let out a breath of relief, pulling Li Yu back into the room.
"How was the opening ceremony for the qualifying rounds? Why did you rush back?" Li Yu asked, making conversation.
"I was worried about you! What's a tournament compared to you?" Qian Renxue glared at him softly.
She understood that Li Yu wasn't really concerned about the tournament—
He just didn't want her rushing back to negatively affect anything.
Touched by this, she briefly described the situation at the preliminaries' opening.
Then, her focus turned to Dugu Bo:
"Dugu Bo actually came out of seclusion. How is he doing?"