Outside the exclusive post station of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Whoa!" With a light shout from the coachman, the carriage slowly came to a halt. Dugu Yan lifted the curtain and peeked out, looking at Qin Ming, who had just stepped down from another carriage.
"Teacher Qin, I plan to head straight home to see my grandfather, so I won't be going in."
"I'll go with Sister Yan. Once we reach Heaven Dou City, I'll head straight to my clan." Ye Lingling, who was in the same carriage, added.
"Alright." Qin Ming turned and nodded, then looked at the coachman. "Mister, I'll trouble you."
"It's nothing! Don't worry, Teacher Qin, I'll make sure to send the two young ladies straight to their doors." The coachman replied politely.
Thus, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's carriage changed direction, heading straight for Heaven Dou City.
'Not willing to see me in the dorms?' Following behind Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng watched the carriage fade away, his eyes dim with gloom.
"Captain, what are you planning to do during the month-long break?" Yu Feng suddenly asked.
Yu Tianheng came back to his senses, thought briefly, and said, "I plan to go to Heaven Dou City's Great Spirit Arena and participate in some individual battles, temper myself more, and aim to obtain a Gold Spirit Badge. At the same time, I'll try to break through to rank 40."
Yu Feng nodded slightly. Yu Tianheng's soul power was currently at rank 39, still at the Soul Elder stage. In individual battles, as long as he didn't apply to challenge above his level, he'd be facing Soul Elders. With Yu Tianheng's strength, he had an advantage against peers and indeed had a chance to earn the Gold Spirit Badge. If he waited until breaking through to Soul Ancestor, he'd be facing Soul Ancestors instead, and by the end possibly a rank 49 Soul Ancestor—much harder.
"That's a solid plan." He then turned to Yang Yunhai. "Xiao Hai, what about you?"
"I'll stay at the academy, review what I've learned, and focus on correcting weaknesses through training." Yang Yunhai smiled.
"Not bad either." Yu Feng's eyes showed intent as he nodded. "I'll first go home and spend a few days with my parents before returning to the academy. With my martial soul, I don't have much of an advantage in the Great Spirit Arena, so I'll stick to training honestly."
He then turned to the others. "I'm heading to Heaven Dou City now, anyone coming along?"
Shi Mò, Shi Mó, Oslo, and Yu Tianheng all replied together, "Let's go together."
Thus, the four boarded another carriage to Heaven Dou City. Yang Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing returned to the academy with Qin Ming.
"Xiao Hai, Zhuqing, I need to report to the Education Committee. You two go back first." Qin Ming said as they entered the academy.
"Alright." Yang Yunhai nodded, leading Zhu Zhuqing back toward the valley.
Once home, they tidied up, set up a pot for cooking, and shared a warm meal together.
After resting side by side on reclining chairs for a while, they began a new round of training.
Meanwhile, at a luxury hotel in Heaven Dou City, Yu Tianheng checked in and began his grueling battles in the Great Spirit Arena.
His breakup with Dugu Yan hit him hard. He felt he had done wrong, but from the perspective of family and kin, he also felt he hadn't. No matter how he thought it through, he couldn't resolve the conflict in his heart. All he could do was fight, using battle to sharpen his focus and ease his frustration.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy valley, Dugu Yan arrived with Dugu Bo to pay a visit.
"Xiao Hai, do you think it's suitable for Yan'er to take the Nine Treasure Dragon Ganoderma now?" Dugu Bo asked as he sat at the table.
Yang Yunhai thought for a moment. "Yes. If I recall, Sister Yan broke through in April. It's been nearly three months—just right."
"However, I don't recommend that Sister Yan obtain her spirit ring immediately after taking it. It would be better for her to train here with me, focusing on tempering her body. That way, her body has time to adapt and can better absorb and refine the medicinal energy, strengthening her physique. After that, when she goes to obtain her spirit ring, it will also help her absorb a higher-age spirit ring."
Since Dugu Yan had broken up with Yu Tianheng and severed ties with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yang Yunhai felt safe investing more trust in Dugu Bo. From what he could see of the grandfather and granddaughter's character, they were trustworthy, unlikely to betray him like Yu Tianheng had.
"A higher-age spirit ring?" Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed in surprise.
"It means absorbing a spirit ring beyond the typical limit." Yang Yunhai nodded slightly, speaking with confidence. "My third spirit ring was just that—the actual age was over 2,000 years. In fact, after absorbing it, I directly broke through to rank 32."
"This is a theory I thought of long ago—it's also my biggest secret."
Dugu Bo's eyes widened in shock. He re-examined Yang Yunhai, his gaze burning hot.
He didn't probe further. The fact that Yang Yunhai was willing to share this secret showed how much he trusted him. Instead, he went straight to the point:
"So Xiao Hai, in your opinion, what age spirit ring could Yan'er handle for her fourth ring?"
"That depends on how much she improves after absorbing the Nine Treasure Dragon Zhi," Yang Yunhai answered. "In theory, as long as her physique is strong enough, her fourth ring could be an extreme case just under 10,000 years. If her spiritual power also meets the standard and she can withstand the mental shock that comes with a 10,000-year spirit ring, then she could absorb one directly. But that second condition is extremely difficult."
"That's why I put so much emphasis on body training. It tempers willpower, slowly strengthening spiritual power as well."
"I see." Dugu Bo quickly grasped it, though inside he was deeply shocked.
The theory wasn't complicated—soul masters had attempted to absorb beyond the limit before. But almost all failed and died by soul explosion.
As for successes, no one would dare publicize it, for fear of being captured and dissected.
And now, Yang Yunhai had tried it—and succeeded. More than that, he had summarized it into a mature theory.
Yu Xiaogang had proposed his "best spirit ring age theory," but Dugu Bo saw that as nothing more than compiling Spirit Hall's massive data and publishing a conservative version to avoid blame.
Yang Yunhai, however, had innovated, testing with his own body—something far beyond what Yu Xiaogang could compare with.
'No wonder I trust this boy as my granddaughter's future husband.' Pride welled up in Dugu Bo's heart.
'If Yan'er truly managed to absorb a 10,000-year fourth spirit ring, that would be incredible.'
"I'll fetch the Nine Treasure Dragon Ganoderma right away. The sooner she eats it, the better." Dugu Bo said eagerly.
'If only I had met Xiao Hai earlier and purged the poison sooner…' he thought with regret.
His granddaughter had already spent so much time detoxifying. Now her soul power was about to break through again, but spiritual power wasn't easy to raise. He couldn't afford to make her linger at rank 40 just for the slim chance of a 10,000-year spirit ring.
Time was too short.
'Sigh… a 10,000-year fourth ring probably isn't realistic.'
As he thought about it, he added, "Xiao Hai, do you want me to bring Zhuqing's herb back as well?"
(End of Chapter)
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