Dedicated Cultivation, Breaking Through the Bottleneck

For the three months following the Third Prince's death, the Heaven Dou Empire remained calm and peaceful.

Emperor Xueye continued to hold court only once a month and delegated most governmental affairs to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. This left Qian Renxue busy with state affairs during the day and diligently cultivating at night, with no time to leave the palace and have fun with Su He.

Golden Crocodile Douluo, along with the two elders She Long and Ci Xue, felt especially distressed by this.

In addition, Su He brought Dugu Bo out of the Spirit Hall Sanctuary. As a result, the small Crown Prince's Palace now housed three ordinary Titled Douluo and one existence at the peak limit.

Su He said without exaggeration that if the fighting force within the Crown Prince's Palace were deployed in full, it could even wipe out the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

Even if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect came, it would be useless. Golden Crocodile Douluo alone could hold off Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo working together with Ning Fengzhi's support.

One had to know that Sword Douluo had yet to break through to Level 97. He was merely a Level 96 Super Douluo, while Bone Douluo possessed only Level 95 soul power.

The two of them were vastly inferior to Golden Crocodile, who had already entered the peak limit and carried a Divine Trial. Even if all three joined forces, they could only barely hold him off. Just like the Golden Iron Triangle fighting Dugu Bo in the Original Work, their defeat was merely a matter of time.

Over these three months, Su He practiced mastering several Self-Created Soul Skills by himself during the day, while cultivating his Soul Power Level with Qian Renxue at night.

Su He always felt that he and Qian Renxue shared some strange resonance in a certain aspect. Whenever they cultivated their Soul Power Levels together, the speed was around thirty percent faster than when he cultivated alone. Qian Renxue said she felt the same way, and this gave Su He a bold guess.

One morning, just as the early sunlight broke through the thin dawn mist and spilled across the splendid, colorful roof tiles of the Crown Prince's Palace, Su He—who was condensing soul power palm-to-palm with Qian Renxue—suddenly opened his eyes. His golden pupils turned toward the morning light descending from the sky.

"What is it, He'er?" Sensing something unusual about Su He, Qian Renxue opened her beautiful purple eyes and asked, "It is only morning. There is still One Shichen before court begins."

"Xue'er, I can't suppress the bottleneck anymore." Su He gave a bitter smile. "Cultivating with you has been much faster than usual. So, in the end, I'm about to break through Level 40."

Seeing the delight in Qian Renxue's eyes, Su He helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"Xue'er, how far are you from the Level 60 bottleneck?" Su He asked. Before he had come to Heaven Dou, Qian Renxue's soul power had already reached Level 58. Now that nearly half a year had passed, she must have been very close to Level 60, the Quasi Soul Emperor rank.

It had to be said that Qian Renxue's talent truly was first-rate. Even a genius like Su He had no hope of catching up to her Soul Power Level anytime soon.

However, Su He was six years younger than Qian Renxue, and she also possessed ten levels of God-bestowed Soul Power. It was only natural that his level was lower than hers. Once he undertook a Divine Trial, the gap in their levels would quickly be erased.

"About one more week," Qian Renxue said. "Could it be that He'er wants to go obtain soul rings together with me?"

Su He nodded. That was exactly what he intended.

Even though there was nothing much to worry about within the palace now, the two of them still bore an important undercover mission. The less time they were absent, the better.

"Then this week, I'll spend more time raising my level and consolidating my soul power. As for government affairs, I'll have my substitute oversee them for now." Qian Renxue caressed Su He's cheek and gave his lips a light kiss, like a dragonfly touching the water. She then resumed her seclusion, leaving behind only Su He, his face slightly red as he stood there in disarray.

After informing several elders of the matter, Su He stayed by Qian Renxue's side.

The increased cultivation speed benefited both of them. With Su He beside her, Qian Renxue's cultivation speed also rose considerably.

Su He could not help but marvel at the thoroughness of Spirit Hall's Usurpation Plan. Even the substitute had received professional training in handling government affairs, ensuring that she would not expose any flaws while Qian Renxue was away.

Seeing that Qian Renxue had settled down and resumed meditating, Su He took out the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. As for the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, he planned to consume it only after reaching Level 50.

By now, the medicinal effects of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot within his body had largely been completely absorbed by his powerful physique. His immunity to ice and fire attributes had reached a rather terrifying level.

Among those of the same rank, perhaps only the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu from Skywater Academy—the Ice and Snow Drifting Ice Phoenix, with its nearly ultimate ice attribute—could cause him some trouble. Even so, it would be impossible for it to inflict any serious injuries on him.

Su He examined his body and felt that he now met the conditions for consuming the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. He no longer hesitated.

Su He's Abyssal Golden Lion martial soul was born with the majesty of a king—vigorous, fierce, and incomparably overbearing. Apart from its innate Geng Metal Attribute, all of its strength lay in the hands and feet. The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum's effect was to empower the limbs, circulate the blood through the eight channels, and grant an indestructible body upon consumption.

Following the method described in Hundred Solutions to Medicine, he first ate the stamen, then consumed the petals one by one. Su He immediately began meditating as well, refining the medicinal effects of the immortal herb.

It had to be said that Hundred Solutions to Medicine really was a good thing. Su He did not possess a photographic memory, and his recollection of certain parts of the Original Work had already grown vague. Fortunately, with Hundred Solutions to Medicine, he was able to consume this immortal herb correctly.

The refinement process went unexpectedly smoothly, without any particularly painful sensations.

Perhaps the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum differed from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot. The latter two were immortal herbs with extreme attributes, while the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was an attribute-less, neutral immortal herb that primarily affected the physique.

Given that Su He's body had consumed an immortal pill, it was only natural that he could withstand the invasion of its medicinal power. Refining the immortal herb took Su He only three days. Feeling the abundant soul power within him, burning hot as though it were about to burst forth, Su He stood up with a smile even appearing on his normally calm face.

He could feel that his physical constitution had improved tremendously compared to before consuming the immortal herb. Though it could not truly be called indestructible, it had come increasingly close. If Su He fought Teacher Qin Ming again now, then even though the latter possessed Level 57 soul power, it would be far from easy for him to injure Su He.

Moreover, Su He could sense that at least seventy percent of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum's medicinal power had yet to be fully absorbed by him, leaving him deeply awed.

As expected of a peerless Immortal Grade. This thing belonged only in heaven; how often could one encounter it in the mortal world?

With such powerful cultivation resources, calling them cheats would not be an exaggeration. No wonder Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing could defeat Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun despite having such a massive disadvantage in soul power. Those immortal herbs had undoubtedly contributed greatly.

Just think—every one of the Seven Monsters had such powerful cheats. Who could possibly stop them? But this life was already completely different. It was the already powerful Spirit Hall Academy Team that had obtained the immortal herbs, which would only make them even stronger.

As for the Shrek Seven Monsters without cheats, whether they could even enter the Soul Ancestor rank was quite an interesting question.

Sorry for being late, readers. I'll post another chapter tonight.