Ning Fengzhi and the other three arrived at the Dugu Residence one after another, each with a hint of solemnity on their faces, as Li Qing had only called Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi when Spirit Hall attacked last time.
"Holy crap!"
Li Qing took out over thirty Spirit Bones he had picked up, and Dugu Bo immediately couldn't help but curse, while the others also stared at the Spirit Bones in shock.
"You didn't kill all the Spirit Beasts in Death Canyon, did you?" Gu Rong asked, dumbfounded, looking at Li Qing.
Li Qing chuckled, "If killing all of them only yields this much, then the drop rate is too low. These were all picked up by me in the core area. You can pick and choose whatever you like."
"Picked up?"
Everyone exchanged glances. You say you picked up one or two, we might barely believe it, but picking up over thirty? Do you think our brains are squashed?
Li Qing did not explain further, as there was no point.
Because they were unsure of the specific Spirit Beasts these Spirit Bones came from, the few of them could only choose based on intuition, and what Spirit Ability they would ultimately gain was an unknown.
To prevent them from not using the Spirit Bones, Li Qing specifically informed them of the potential dangers that might exist in the finals.
He brought out the Spirit Bones not for them to keep as reserves, but for them to use to enhance their strength and face the impending crisis.
Dugu Bo was already Level 97, and only had two Spirit Bone slots left, making a breakthrough virtually impossible; he could only add two Spirit Abilities.
Chen Xin had enough Spirit Bone slots, but the spirit power required to go from Level 96 to Level 97 was considerable. One could only say he could try, and have a small expectation.
As for Gu Rong...
Although the original novel had a specific description that breaking through from Level 95 to Level 96 wasn't just about having enough spirit power, the subsequent main character group completely ignored this setting.
Whether he could break through was truly hard to say.
Ning Fengzhi, needless to say, if his Spirit couldn't evolve, he would never be able to break through Level 80 in his lifetime, so he could only add a few Spirit Abilities.
Dugu Yan was already Level 57 and still had four Spirit Bone slots; she should be able to reach Spirit Emperor after absorbing them.
Ye Lingling was already a Spirit Emperor; at Level 62, with five Spirit Bones, she should be able to reach Level 65 or higher. The exact level would only be known after absorption.
Ning Rongrong was Level 46. With five Spirit Bone slots, it wouldn't be difficult for her to enter Spirit King.
After distributing the Spirit Bones, everyone went to absorb them. Li Qing put away the remaining Spirit Bones, took a shower, changed his clothes, and walked out of the Dugu Residence.
He had been staying in Death Canyon for the past few years. Wandering through Heaven Dou City, he finally found a sense of human presence again.
"Li Qing!"
As he was walking, someone suddenly called out to him. He turned around and saw a group of beautiful women walking towards him. It was Shui Bing'er and the others from the Heavenly Water Academy team.
Li Qing asked curiously, "Why are you here?"
Shui Bing'er couldn't help but roll her eyes: "The Soul Master Competition starts in five days. Where else would we be? Do you expect us to Teleport from Heavenly Water City to Heaven Dou City?"
"Listen—"
Li Qing gave an awkward smile; he really didn't know the exact start date of the Soul Master Competition.
"By the way, why are you alone? Where are your teammates?"
Shui Bing'er glanced left and right but didn't see Dugu Yan or the others, feeling a bit curious. Could they still be diligently cultivating at this time?
No way?
The Soul Master Competition was about to begin; no matter how hard they cultivated, how much spirit power could they gain?
"They have something to do at home."
Li Qing wasn't sure about Oslo and the others, as he had just returned and hadn't had time to contact them. Dugu Yan and her group indeed had things to do at home, so saying this was not wrong.
"We're going to find something to eat. As the host, do you have any good food recommendations?"
Shui Yue'er looked at Li Qing with a smile, feeling less like she was asking Li Qing for food recommendations and more like she wanted Li Qing to treat them to a meal.
Li Qing saw through it but didn't expose her: "Speaking of food, who can compare to Heaven on Earth? Let's go, my treat."
"Hehe, that's great."
Shui Yue'er chuckled, gently swaying Shui Bing'er's arm, showing a 'I'm awesome, right?' expression, which made the latter look helpless.
Thus, the girls followed behind Li Qing and headed towards Heaven on Earth.
"Do you have any current information on the Spirit Hall Academy Team?"
On the way, Shui Bing'er proactively asked. With a monster like Li Qing around, it was impossible for their academy to win the championship, so they could only see if they could aim for second place.
Li Qing looked at them with a hint of surprise.
He remembered that the Heavenly Water Academy team in the original novel didn't have many Spirit Ancestors. Logically, after witnessing the strength of the Wu Hun Dian Academy team, they shouldn't have too many extravagant hopes.
Could it be, there was a variable?
Li Qing said, "Three Spirit Kings, the rest are Spirit Ancestors. Even if all of you are Spirit Ancestors, it will probably be tough to get second place, because they also have Spirit Fusion Abilities."
Shui Bing'er: "..."
Shui Yue'er: "...."
The girls were speechless, but more than that, they felt helpless. The gap was simply too wide. Not to mention the Spirit Fusion Ability, their main force wouldn't even need to make a move to defeat them.
It seemed that second place was out of the question; they could only aim for third place.
Li Qing said no more. There were many geniuses in this Soul Master Competition. With their team's strength, let alone second place, they probably didn't have much hope for third place either.
They might not even be a match for the enhanced Thunder Academy team or the Star Luo Royal Academy team.
One could only say they were unlucky, born at the wrong time. The intensity of previous Soul Master Competitions was not this high. In previous editions, their team would have had a chance to win the championship.
"!"
Li Qing's steps suddenly paused. He looked with interest at the two people walking towards them in the distance.
The girls also followed his gaze.
They saw Dai Mubai, like a sycophant, trying to curry favor with a curvaceous girl, while the girl never gave him much of a good look from beginning to end.
Shui Yue'er exclaimed, "Isn't that your academy's second team captain?"
They had stayed at Heaven Dou Academy for a month back then, so they knew what kind of person Dai Mubai was. How did he become so pathetic after a few years?
"Aren't you annoying? Can you stop following me?"
The woman suddenly stopped, looking at Dai Mubai with a furious expression and scolding him, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd who stopped to watch.
Those intense gazes made Dai Mubai's face flush red.
Overwhelmed with anger, Dai Mubai immediately couldn't help but roar.
"What are you pretending for? Didn't you come to Heaven Dou City just to find me? I've apologized to you countless times, what more do you want?"
That's right, the girl was Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I admit I initially came to find you, but that was because I thought you hadn't reached a hopeless point."
"And the result?"
"I never expected that you would flee from Star Luo City like a dog, yet have no ambition whatsoever, spending your days only sleeping with women."
"What do you think I can still expect from you?"