Jue's body emitted a dazzling light.
Ah, yes—it could be done this way!
Why hadn't he thought of it before?
His own abilities had already been honed to the extreme, reaching a limit where even the slightest progress required immense pressure and refinement. His last significant breakthrough had occurred during the previous tournament, when Xu Yuan leveraged Long Yue's pressure to integrate star attributes into his spear techniques.
Although Jue had been digesting the spear techniques since then and had managed to fuse multiple powers more appropriately, resulting in steady progress, this was only temporary.
Xu Yuan had used Long Yue's pressure to temporarily pave a path for Jue's spear techniques, but that path would eventually run out. When it did, they would once again face the arduous task of exploration.
It was essential to prepare for adversity even in times of stability.
While there was still room for progress, it was crucial to plan ahead for a future where advancement might stall and to seek new directions in advance!
This was the standard Jue had set for himself in his quest to achieve an unparalleled divine spear.
Xu Yuan's words had opened a new door for him.
Yes—if his own strength had reached its peak, why not train in others' abilities?
Integrate others' powers.
"Illusion and manifestation—these two abilities pair well with spear techniques and can also be fused with the Seven Forbidden Techniques," Xu Yuan explained some of his insights to Jue before leaving him to ponder on his own.
Jue was a natural spear spirit, and his comprehension of spear techniques was among the highest. More than half of Xu Yuan's current achievements in spear techniques stemmed from Jue.
Xu Yuan openly acknowledged this.
He was too scattered, trying to cultivate everything at once, so he didn't spend as much time or focus on spear training as Jue did. This resulted in most of the progress in spear intent and momentum being driven by Jue's efforts.
Xu Yuan himself merely relied on real combat to master these aspects and innovate further.
Man and spear complemented each other, allowing Xu Yuan to reach a soul power level of 57 at just 15 years old while possessing an exquisite mastery of spear techniques.
Yes, 57 levels.
Before entering the Dragon Valley, during the tournament, Xu Yuan had broken through to level 55. Over the three months in the Dragon Valley, absorbing the vast medicinal energy within his body, combined with the tempering and nourishment from the dragon clouds and dragon souls, his soul power had consecutively broken through two more levels.
After assigning new cultivation ideas to the spirit souls, Xu Yuan began his own practice.
Aside from advancing his secondary professions and cultivating spiritual power and soul force, Xu Yuan's main task now was the development of runes.
Runes—Xu Yuan had a vague premonition that their development would mark the beginning of his own transformation.
After all, everything he currently possessed were borrowed from others.
It was time to innovate and develop something uniquely his own.
---
Time passed.
Occasionally, Xu Yuan would dive to the bottom of the lake to converse with Tong Yu.
En Ci hadn't returned to the Five Elements Lake since his meeting with Yun Ming in Star Luo City—perhaps he had gained some insight.
Xu Yuan's exchanges with Tong Yu were smooth.
Tong Yu held no reservations.
There was nothing to be wary of.
When Xu Yuan presented some of his understanding of the five elements, Tong Yu was happy to teach him.
After all, Tong Yu was uncertain about his future. Would he ever see the light of day again? Would he ever be recognized by the world?
He couldn't be sure.
In the face of such an uncertain future, leaving behind a legacy was a human instinct.
Although Xu Yuan wasn't his disciple or student, his exceptional understanding of the five elements and his evident talent moved Tong Yu to quietly explain things whenever Xu Yuan came to ask.
---
Two and a half months passed.
Xu Yuan's soul power broke through once more.
"Level 58."
Calmly steadying the turbulent soul power, Xu Yuan exhaled deeply, sensing the flow of soul power within his body.
"The next breakthrough will involve the condensation of a soul core…"
By now, the soul power in Xu Yuan's meridians had filled every corner, and its viscosity had slowed its flow significantly compared to when he first broke through to Soul King.
Every moment, Xu Yuan could feel the swelling sensation in his meridians.
Each circulation of soul power was a process of compressing the soul power within his body.
"The Dragon Valley truly is a great opportunity. Without it, your soul power cultivation wouldn't have progressed so smoothly, let alone accelerated, during the critical stage of soul core condensation," Mu Ye remarked in astonishment.
Advancing one level in two and a half months was already astonishing at the Soul King stage. Moreover, Xu Yuan faced the added challenge of preparing for soul core condensation, where every increment in soul power required additional compression.
Clearly, the tempering from the Dragon Valley's dragon clouds and dragon souls was indispensable.
The dragon souls purified impurities from his soul power, while the dragon clouds enhanced its properties, making compression easier.
"Does level 59 require the condensation of a soul core?" Mu Ye asked again, seeking confirmation.
Xu Yuan nodded.
"It's better to condense the soul core sooner—it'll benefit you," Mu Ye said, exhaling. "You have three dantians: upper, middle, and lower. The middle and lower dantians can both provide space for soul core condensation. If you want to condense a yin-yang complementary soul core, the middle dantian is the optimal choice. But if you're pursuing resonance, it doesn't matter."
"Teacher, I'll pursue the resonance path. A triple-resonance system suits me best."
Xu Yuan would eventually need to merge essence, energy, and spirit, and he planned to assign each of the three soul cores to one of these aspects.
This was different from Huo Yuhao's approach.
Huo Yuhao didn't explicitly cultivate blood essence power, so aside from his spiritual attribute, he built his two soul cores around his strongest attributes: ultimate ice and spatial power.
Xu Yuan, however, intended to construct one soul core for each of essence, energy, and spirit.
Since his ultimate goal was to unify essence, energy, and spirit, it meant his three soul cores—not necessarily fully merging—should ideally resonate at the same frequency.
Triple resonance was his only option.
Moreover, the upper limit of triple resonance wasn't low.
The only drawback was that during the dual-soul core phase, it was weaker than a yin-yang complementary configuration.
However, in reality, very few soul masters on the Douluo Continent chose the yin-yang complementary path. Aside from the top talents of each generation from the Body Sect, almost no one opted for it.
Of course, resonance had its advantages—fewer bottlenecks. Condensing dual and triple soul cores was far easier than adding the complexity of yin-yang complementarity.
"Try to break through to level 59 in the final three months. During our return to the Federation, I'll arrange some additional training for you to refine your soul power further, facilitating the condensation of the soul core," Mu Ye said.
Xu Yuan nodded.
"Also, your battle armor has been delayed long enough," Mu Ye hesitated for a moment but still reminded Xu Yuan.
"Don't worry, Teacher. It's almost ready. Before breaking through to level 60 and condensing my soul core, I'll complete my one-word battle armor."
Although it seemed like he hadn't learned any substantial forging techniques in recent months, his forging skills had actually been advancing rapidly.
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