A hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring! Poseidon's heart surged with astonishment.
Li Xun's first Martial Soul already had two hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings, which was shocking enough, but she never expected the young man's second Martial Soul to conceal yet another hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.
At such a young age, with eighty levels of Soul Power, Twin Spirits, and so many hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings—only now did she understand why the Sea God had forcibly increased Li Xun's God Trial, even though the girl named Ning Rongrong had already gained the recognition of the Heart of the Sea God.
With such heaven-defying talent, perhaps he might even have a chance to become a god on his own, without the God Trial? The thought flashed inexplicably through Poseidon's mind, her chest rising and falling slightly.
Snapping back to reality, Poseidon was startled and quickly shook the idea from her head.
No one in this world had become a god for a long time. The last one to achieve godhood was the Sea God a thousand years ago, which was enough to prove the difficulty of ascension.
It required not only talent but also sufficient opportunity.
"Senior Poseidon, the limitation of Twin Spirits lies in the strength of one's physical body. If a Soul Master's physique is too weak, they can easily be overwhelmed by the sudden influx of energy. My physical strength has already broken through this constraint."
Li Xun twirled the ice needle in his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips as he said, "You can record this. If any descendants happen to possess Twin Spirits, you can share this knowledge with them."
"Then, on behalf of the people of Seagod Island, I thank you," Poseidon replied, her eyes dimming slightly. Though she expressed gratitude, inwardly she sighed.
"Since you're confident there's no risk in adding a Soul Ring to your second Martial Soul, let's see if you can harness the energy of the God-given Soul Ring." Poseidon tossed a small golden sphere, which drifted slowly toward Li Xun. "Just crush it."
Li Xun nodded, gently grasping the golden sphere before sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Zhu Zhuqing and the other two noticed what was happening and paused on the steps. Realizing Li Xun was about to break through, they felt both joy and anxiety. After all, the stronger Li Xun became, the less they would be able to assist him.
The three unconsciously exchanged glances, and upon sensing each other's thoughts, they ignored Li Xun's advancement and simultaneously took another step upward.
Tracking, positioning, tracking.
On the platform, Li Xun crushed the small golden sphere in his hand while silently repeating the mantra in his mind.
As the sphere shattered, a pale golden radiance spread from its center, gradually enveloping Li Xun. A tremendous energy surged from the golden light into his body.
Li Xun had previously wondered where the energy of Soul Rings came from. Through firsthand experience, he now understood.
If one's physical body was strong enough, could they possibly condense a million-year Soul Ring?
The thought flickered through Li Xun's mind before he focused entirely.
The massive energy, once inside his body, rushed straight toward his first Martial Soul, showing no interest in the second.
Li Xun quickly mobilized his Soul Power to intercept and guide the energy, but he soon found the process inefficient. Moreover, an endless stream of energy continued pouring in from outside.
With a thought, he summoned his second Martial Soul, striving to forget the existence of the first. Fortunately, this energy wasn't rigidly programmed—his second Martial Soul could also absorb Soul Rings.
As energy continuously poured into his second Martial Soul, the color of the newly emerged Spirit Ring beneath his feet shifted rapidly—white and yellow flashed by almost instantly, followed swiftly by purple and black, before finally settling into a deep red.
Its age limit climbed steadily: 120,000 years, 140,000 years... 150,000 years.
Scorching heat and agony—this was the inevitable path Li Xun faced each time he absorbed a Spirit Ring, for every instance pushed his body to its absolute limits.
"Li Xun, don't rush to raise the upper limit just yet." Suddenly, a voice echoed from within Li Xun's Spiritual Sea of Consciousness.
"You're awake?" Li Xun grabbed Skydream, who had been crawling restlessly over his soul form.
"I was jolted awake by this energy—it's even vaster than my original body."
Skydream struggled briefly, realized he couldn't break free from Li Xun's grip, and promptly gave up. "Remember how I reshaped your Martial Soul when I became your Spirit Ring? This energy is too immense for you to absorb directly. Why not use it to remold your Martial Soul instead?"
"Great minds think alike." Li Xun set the worm aside.
He wasn't Huo Yuhao; to him, Skydream's so-called wisdom ring wasn't all that wise. In many matters, Li Xun knew far more than Skydream did. He had long since devised a plan to seize this opportunity to his advantage.
The second Spirit Ring's age limit continued to rise, slowing only when it reached 160,000 years. By then, fine beads of blood had begun to seep from Li Xun's pores.
Unlike his first Martial Soul, absorbing a ring for the second one placed additional strain on his body. Unless the first Martial Soul's rings had already reached their limit, it was exceedingly difficult for most to enhance the age of their Spirit Rings further.
Yet, despite this, Li Xun's formidable self-healing ability allowed him to forcibly push the ring's age limit significantly higher, all the way to 180,000 years.
He had reached the absolute limit of what his body could absorb, yet the golden mist enveloping him showed little change.
Guiding the energy with his spiritual power, Li Xun channeled it into the ice needle. As the energy accumulated, the needle gradually thickened and lengthened under his mental manipulation.
The idea was sound, but execution proved exceedingly difficult. Though the Martial Soul was his own, altering its fundamental structure was no simple feat.
As he relentlessly poured spiritual energy into the effort, sweat streamed down Li Xun's forehead, mingling with traces of blood and leaving him looking utterly disheveled.
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From the outside, Bo Saixi watched the scene with puzzlement. She could sense that Li Xun's body had stopped absorbing energy, yet the power of the God-given Soul Ring was diminishing.
Unlike the little girl named Zhu Zhuqing, Li Xun showed no signs of being in danger.
However, after the previous incident with Zhu Zhuqing, she had already braced herself. No matter what unusual circumstances arose with Li Xun and his group, she doubted anything could surprise her now.
By this time, Ning Rongrong and the other two had reached their physical limits and were slowly descending the steps. Seeing Li Xun still absorbing the Spirit Ring, they gathered around him.
Li Xun resembled a blacksmith, tirelessly hammering at his Martial Soul with spiritual energy, yet achieving minimal results.
"Is it really that exhausting?" Skydream sounded puzzled, with a hint of mockery. "Shouldn't shaping this thing be pretty straightforward?"
"If you're so capable, why don't you give it a try?" Li Xun shot Skydream a sidelong glance and gestured invitingly.
"Then I'll do it myself. I'll show you what I'm capable of, so you don't think I'm useless." Skydream raised his head, his small eyes brimming with confidence. He slowly channeled his spiritual power onto Li Xun's second Martial Soul.
With a forceful tug, if one didn't look closely, the second Martial Soul appeared completely unmoved.
"Something's wrong!..." Sky Dream Iceworm refused to believe it and increased his spiritual power output.
This time, there was a slight change, but it was still extremely slow.
"What's going on?" Sky Dream Iceworm began to sweat.
(End of Chapter)