Changes of Adulthood

Just as everyone was reeling from Vine Elder's words, the Sect Master finally arrived with several elders, aside from Fang Chun.

"Mingxi, are you all right? What on earth is going on?"

Before Xu Mingxi could speak, Vine Elder spoke first instead.

"The Myriad Starlight this boy drew down contained a trace of Moonlight Essence. I suspect this boy's Martial Soul has evolved. This Moonlight Essence can promote the growth of me and the old tree, and it can also create a better cultivation environment for our Star Crown Sect."

This was the first time the Sect Master had heard words like "our Star Crown Sect" from Vine Elder's mouth.

It seemed that after Mingxi absorbed his fourth soul ring this time, the changes in him were far from small.

"Vine Elder, you mean that as long as Mingxi cultivates here, you and Tree Elder can allow more people to cultivate here?"

Vine Elder's vines all shrank back a little. I clearly said the cultivation environment here would be better. He turned back to the old face on the Starry Tree, said something unknown, then returned to the crowd.

"For Mingxi's sake, fine. However, only those with the Star Crown Martial Soul and cultivation at Soul Saint or above are permitted to enter."

"No problem. Then many thanks to you two elders."

Afraid he would go back on his word, the Sect Master hurriedly agreed. For possessors of the Star Crown Martial Soul, cultivating beneath the Starry Tree and cultivating elsewhere simply could not be compared.

If not for the prior agreement between the Star Crown Sect and the two elders that only elders at Soul Douluo or above could come, the Sect Master would have called the entire sect over long ago.

As for the issue of exposing the two elders, as long as they did not show themselves or speak, who would know they were soul beasts?

Before Xu Mingxi could say anything, his fate of sitting here in dry meditation had already been decided. Though he did not mind either. Cultivation was cultivation, no matter where he did it.

While the outside world was in turmoil, within the Star Crown Sect, a wave of cultivation swept from top to bottom.

Xu Mingxi was thoroughly reduced to a tool man, sitting cross-legged at the very center of the Starry Tree, surrounded by the Star Crown Sect's Sect Master, elders, and disciples.

Apart from those who could not leave their duties and the defensive forces necessary for the sect, all the remaining experts above Soul Saint in the Star Crown Sect were here.

Much like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control method, the Star Crown Sect also had its own special method, named the Star Power Fusion Method.

There had once been an exceptionally talented Old Ancestor who, using the same Martial Soul and the same Fourth Soul Skill as the link, developed a method for fusing Soul Power.

When disciples and sect members used their Fourth Soul Skill together, they could establish links between each person's Soul Power, which was beneficial for both combat and cultivation.

However, the foremost prerequisite was that one had to reach the Soul Ancestor level, and the Fourth Soul Skill had to be Star's Protection obtained from a Moon Gazing Toad.

Secondly, it required persistent, unrelenting training, a process that lasted years, even over a decade.

And now, beneath the Starry Tree, aside from Xu Mingxi at the very center, even Xu Mingguang had been driven out.

The rest were all sect disciples of the Star Crown Sect above Soul Saint, and they had long since memorized this Star Power Fusion Method inside and out.

Although Xu Mingxi had not really learned it yet, it was enough as long as the others coordinated with him. More than twenty purple soul rings lit up, and the dozens of people present linked their Soul Power with one another.

Xu Mingxi's first soul ring lit up, drawing down boundless starlight, within which were strands of silver light.

Part of it was intercepted by the Starry Tree and Star Seeking Vine, part was transmitted through the Soul Power links to the sect elders, and the vast majority that remained all gathered atop Xu Mingxi's Star Crown.

Among the three jewels in the very center, the one on the left was gradually dyed with specks of silver light.

Although the elders and seniors felt that their cultivation speed was not much faster than when they normally used the Star Power Fusion Method, some of them—especially certain elderly people—could clearly sense that the bottleneck which had troubled them because of insufficient talent was beginning to loosen.

Just like that, Xu Mingxi was kept under the Starry Tree to cultivate. Fortunately, his father was there too, so he did not find it dull.

As for the Sect Master, elders, and seniors, they still needed to handle sect affairs, so they could only take turns coming to cultivate.

However, those old people who had been stuck at bottlenecks for years, even over a decade, handed off all the affairs in their hands and focused fully on breaking through here.

This round of cultivation did not end until Xu Mingxi successfully broke through to Level 50.

Xu Mingxi spent more than three years on these ten levels, and not long ago, he had just celebrated his eighteenth birthday.

Twelve years had passed since Xu Mingxi's Martial Soul awakening until now, and not only had Xu Mingxi reached the threshold of Soul King, The Star Crown Sect had also undergone earth-shattering changes.

With the help of Moon Essence, the Sect Master successfully broke through to Level 96, stepping into the ranks of the continent's mighty experts.

The First Elder advanced another step and became a Level 92 Titled Douluo. The Second Elder had become a Titled Douluo not long ago and was still Level 91.

The other elders had also made progress in their own ways, and three old members of the Chun Generation who had been stuck at Level 79 successfully broke through their bottlenecks.

As for the Sect Master's son, Xu Fangjie, Xu Mingguang's father, he also rode this favorable wind and became the first of the second generation to break through to Soul Douluo.

The Sect Master quietly took them to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul rings, and the sect gained four new elders.

The Star Crown Martial Soul was a top-tier Martial Soul to begin with. As long as it awakened, it would have at least Level 6 Soul Power.

Together with the Star Crown Sect's nurturing from childhood, cultivating to Level 69 was no problem at all.

After the Sect Master brought Xu Mingxi to negotiate with the two elders, Vine Elder and Tree Elder, they agreed to let the sect members stuck at Level 69 enter.

However, the two elders limited the number of people to fifty. In the future, no matter how many Soul Saints there were, this number would not be allowed to be exceeded.

Many elderly people who had accumulated years of effort finally fulfilled their long-cherished wish and became Soul Saints. According to the Sect Master's tally, the current Star Crown Sect had three Titled Douluo, eight Soul Douluo, and forty-one Soul Saints in total.

In terms of quantity, they had already surpassed any period in the past several thousand years.

However, breaking through bottlenecks was not omnipotent. It required long-term accumulation.

This time, although all the Star Crown Sect elders who had been stuck at bottlenecks for decades had made breakthroughs.

It was only this once. Their talent was what it was, and every level after this would be a bottleneck for them.

Xu Mingxi himself needed to obtain a soul ring and travel outside, while new talents were also constantly emerging within the sect. This was as far as those elders would go.

The Sect Master looked at the delighted old men. Among them were childhood playmates of his, and comrades-in-arms from his youth.

He truly could not bear to tell them this cruel truth to their faces, so he could only wait for them to discover it themselves.

However, this matter only affected the Sect Master's mood slightly. He still had more important things to do.

"Mingxi, have you decided what soul beast you want to hunt for your Fifth Soul Ring?

"My suggestions are still the same: Starry Tiger, Gathering Star Turtle, Moon Embracing Flower.

"Or the Bewitching Butterfly, a special soul beast generally used by our Star Crown control-type soul master lineage."