The friendly match had concluded with a decisive and overwhelming victory for Huo Feng. The gap in strength was undeniable. Even the likes of the Evil Eye White Tiger, Dai Mubai, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Yu Tianheng, and the Jade Phosphor Serpent, Dugu Yan—all of whom were powerful Spirit Ancestors at level forty—could not pose any real threat to Huo Feng. He stood in a league of his own, looking down from a summit they could barely see.
That evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and painted the sky in hues of orange and purple, Qin Ming, the teacher leading the Royal Fight Team, extended an invitation. He organized a grand banquet for the team members and teachers from both academies. It was meant to serve as a formal closing ceremony for the friendly exchange, a chance to build camaraderie after the fierce competition.
However, two notable figures were absent. Tang San and his teacher, the Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, naturally did not have the face to attend. The humiliation they had suffered in the arena was too fresh, too stinging. They were likely hiding away in their quarters, too embarrassed to even ask the staff to bring them food, let alone face the mockery or pity of the other students.
After the banquet ended, Huo Feng did not linger to chat. He immediately returned to his private room and locked the door tightly behind him. He had urgent business to attend to. He wanted to inspect the system reward he had just received earlier that day. The item was called the "Spirit Ring Age Enhancement Card," and the name alone was enough to make his heart beat a little faster.
Standing in the center of his quiet room, Huo Feng took a deep breath. With a simple thought, he summoned his martial spirit.
"Rise."
Four Spirit Rings quietly rose from beneath his feet, hovering around his body in a rhythmic, hypnotic motion. Yellow, purple, purple, black. These were the true colors of his rings, a configuration that was already shocking to the outside world. On normal days, Huo Feng would have modified their appearance using the Spirit Ring Simulator to blend in, but here, in the privacy of his room, he let their true power shine.
Huo Feng raised his right hand, concentrating his thick Spirit Power into his palm. Accompanied by a faint, milky white light, the Spirit Iron Sword gradually emerged, gripping firmly in his hand.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, the light on Huo Feng's first Spirit Ring flashed brightly and then seemed to disappear into the blade. In an instant, the ordinary-looking Iron Sword began to rapidly transform at a speed visible to the naked eye. The metal shifted and groaned as it directly turned into a longsword emitting crackling blue electrical arcs. The air in the room filled with the sharp scent of ozone.
This was the Dugu Nine Swords, First Form—the Thunderclap Sword!
"Buzz!"
Immediately after, Huo Feng's right hand trembled slightly as he channeled energy into the next form. The second Spirit Ring instantly lit up, casting a violet glow over the room. The longsword in his hand transformed its appearance once again. The crackling blue lightning receded, instantly replaced by a deep, glowing crimson. The electrical arcs dancing on the sword body vanished, replaced by raging, swirling flames. In a flash, the temperature of the entire room rose significantly, distorting the air around the blade.
This was the Dugu Nine Swords, Second Form—the Liehuo Sword!
"Whoosh!"
Just then, the third Spirit Ring finally lit up. The longsword in Huo Feng's hand began another rapid transformation. The intense flames started to dissipate, and the color of the sword body symmetrically split in two, running perfectly from the tip down to the hilt. The left side shone with a brilliant, holy golden light, while the right side was consumed by a deep, abyssal black. Two completely different types of energy occupied their respective halves, yet they coexisted in a terrifying balance, filled with powerful, chaotic energy.
This was precisely the Dugu Nine Swords, Third Form—the Shenmo Sword, representing God and Demon.
Immediately after, Huo Feng gently flicked his wrist. The longsword in his hand changed again, becoming even more slender and elegant. A slight, aerodynamic curve appeared at the front of the blade. It turned entirely into a faint blue-green color, translucent like high-quality jade. Mysterious wind patterns were carved intricately onto the sword body, and a soft breeze seemed to circle the room.
This was the Dugu Nine Swords, Fourth Form—the Jifeng Sword!
Satisfied with the condition of his spirit, Huo Feng opened the system panel in his mind. He unhesitatingly navigated to the system warehouse. The "Spirit Ring Age Enhancement Card" immediately came into view, glowing with a soft, enticing light on the interface.
Huo Feng gently mentally clicked to claim it.
"Buzz!"
The card instantly dissolved, transforming into four brilliant streams of light that shot out from the void. They drilled directly into the four Spirit Rings hovering around Huo Feng's body and then disappeared inside them.
The next second, all four Spirit Rings began to tremble slightly, emitting a low humming sound. Over the next five minutes, they all underwent drastic changes as the energy remodeled their very structure.
The most obvious change happened to the First Spirit Ring. Originally a yellow Hundred Year Spirit Ring, it absorbed the energy greedily. The yellow deepened, darkened, and then shattered, replaced by a vibrant, noble purple. Due to the increase of one thousand years in age, the First Spirit Ring had directly evolved from a Hundred Year Spirit Ring to a Thousand Year Purple Spirit Ring.
As for the remaining three Spirit Rings, their colors also deepened significantly, indicating a massive boost in power and age, though they did not cross a color threshold like the first one.
Huo Feng stood up straighter, feeling the surge of power. The four Spirit Rings appeared in sequence around him again.
Purple, purple, purple, black.
The four-colored Spirit Rings gleamed with dazzling light, illuminating the room. Even Huo Feng himself was quite shocked by the visual impact. A configuration starting with purple was unheard of in the history of the continent.
Immediately after, not wanting to expose this terrifying secret, he directly began to adjust the Spirit Ring Simulator. After just one minute of tinkering, the first and second Spirit Rings on Huo Feng's body reverted to a disguised yellow color.
He looked at the familiar yellow-yellow-purple-black configuration and couldn't help but smile. "Having a cheat is so convenient! It saves so much trouble."
If he didn't have this simulator, he would have to be on edge all day long. He wouldn't be able to pretend to be a normal genius; he would be viewed as a monster to be studied or killed. He wouldn't be able to hide his trump cards. This current state, where he could show a "genius" level configuration while hiding a "god-like" configuration, was the most comfortable position to be in.
Immediately after, Huo Feng directly opened the system interface again to check the specific numerical changes. A light screen appeared before his eyes, and he clicked on the "Host Information" tab.
"Buzz!"
The light screen trembled slightly as it refreshed the data, and then the new interface appeared.
[Host Name]: Huo Feng [Host Spirit]: Dugu Nine Swords
First Form: Thunderclap Sword
Second Form: Liehuo Sword
Third Form: Shenmo Sword
Fourth Form: Jifeng Sword
[Host Spirit Power]: Level Forty-Seven Battle Spirit Ancestor [Host Spirit Abilities]:
First Spirit Ability: Sword Breaking Strike
Second Spirit Ability: Prairie Fire
Third Spirit Ability: One Thought God and Demon
Fourth Spirit Ability: Gale Breath Severing Strike
[Host Spirit Bone]: Hundred-Thousand-Year Sword Domain Spirit Bone [Host Wife]: To Be Determined
"Level forty-seven Spirit Power..." Huo Feng murmured, reading the line again.
His eyes flashed with a hint of undisguised joy. It was just as he had judged before using the card. The massive influx of energy from all Spirit Ring ages increasing by one thousand years had indeed caused his Spirit Power to rise again.
But honestly, he hadn't expected it to increase by five full levels at once, shooting straight to forty-seven. After all, the higher the level a Spirit Master reached, the more Spirit Power was needed for every single rank breakthrough. If it was an increase from level one to level five, he naturally wouldn't be surprised. But jumping from level forty-two to forty-seven was a completely different matter. That was a chasm that usually took geniuses years to bridge.
Relying on his terrifying foundation, his enhanced rings, and his hidden trump cards, Huo Feng felt confident. He calculated that even an ordinary level fifty Spirit King would be easily defeated by him now. If he added his Spirit Bone skills into the mix, even fighting a level sixty Spirit Emperor wouldn't be impossible.
If this thought of his were known by others, they would probably laugh themselves to death. A Spirit Ancestor who was only level forty-seven actually wanted to contend against a Spirit Emperor of level sixty or higher? The gap in Spirit Power was immense. Wasn't this just foolish arrogance?
But only Huo Feng knew the truth. He knew that he truly possessed such strength. However, such strength should not be easily displayed. It was a card to be played only when life was on the line. Otherwise, he would truly be foolish to show his hand too early.
He closed the system warehouse and then clicked on the system mall. Looking at the upper right corner, the number that came into view was over ten thousand sacrifice points.
Huo Feng was a little surprised. He hadn't carefully calculated it himself when acquiring sacrifice points recently. Who would have thought it had once again surpassed ten thousand points? He briefly scanned the items available in the mall. Although they all looked good and powerful, unfortunately, there was nothing he could immediately use right now to improve his current state further.
Given this, the sacrifice points could temporarily be saved. Anyway, stored in the system's account, they were safe. There was no need to worry about them depreciating or being stolen.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Just then, a rhythmic knocking on the door suddenly sounded, breaking his train of thought.
Huo Feng quickly put away the system interface, ensuring his Spirit Rings were retracted. Then he walked to the door and unlocked it.
What came into view were three stunning young women: Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing. They were dressed in casual clothes, looking refreshed after the day's events.
"Huo Feng! You're finally answering. Do you want to go for a stroll in Heaven Dou City with us?"
It was Ning Rongrong who spoke, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She continued, "Because we just participated in the friendly match against the Royal Fight Team and won, Dean Flender has given everyone two more days off to relax."
"Now?" Huo Feng asked, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He looked past them toward the window. It was already evening, and the sky was dark. These three girls actually wanted to drag him all the way to Heaven Dou City at this hour?
Ning Rongrong giggled, seeming to read his mind. "Of course now! You don't understand. Heaven Dou City's nightlife is incredibly exciting! It's boring to just sleep. Today, I absolutely must take you guys to experience it!"
A flicker of genuine excitement appeared on Ning Rongrong's face. She was clearly eager to play the role of a tour guide in her home territory.
Seeing this enthusiasm, Huo Feng smiled and nodded. He had just received a massive power boost and was in a good mood. "Alright. Since you're offering to show us around, I'll go and experience it a little."
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