Holy Blessing of Light, Embryonic Domain

"Good, good, good..."

Dugu Bo's withered palm landed heavily on Chen Jieqi's shoulder.

His murky, dark green eyes shone with startling intensity, and even his voice trembled slightly.

"My grandson has actually crossed this threshold!

Such a foundation is unheard of, even across the entire Douluo Continent!

You have the potential to become a god; you truly have the potential to become a god!"

Dugu Bo's emotions surged at this moment, a mix of complexity and lingering fear.

He was thrilled by the talent of the youth before him, yet secretly relieved that he hadn't tried to stop him with all his might earlier.

Dugu Yan stepped forward quickly, her pretty face full of curiosity and joy.

Her gaze was glued to that bright yellow spirit ring, her tone eager and restless:

"Little Brother Jieqi, congratulations!

Hurry and try out your spirit skill; I really want to see what kind of power this limit-breaking century-old spirit ring hides!"

Watching Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo, who were even more impatient than he was, Chen Jieqi nodded.

"Martial Soul Avatar."

A faint golden light gathered before Chen Jieqi's eyes, forming a cross-like puzzle piece.

It no longer hovered above his head but was branded onto his forehead like a crystal, making him look exceptionally sacred, his entire being suffused with a divine radiance.

A long sword appeared in his right palm, glowing with light; while it didn't look significantly different from before, a closer look revealed a faint shimmer along the blade.

[First Spirit Skill: Holy Blessing of Light]

As the bright yellow spirit ring flashed, the Heart of the Naaru brand on Chen Jieqi's forehead shone with golden light, covering his body.

At the same time, the metal blade of Ashbringer began to be covered in a layer of holy flame, the shimmer on the edge intensifying, the color deepening until it looked almost tangible, and the hilt began to glow with golden patterns, manifesting the majesty of justice.

Chen Jieqi felt it carefully.

"Grandfather, Sister Yanyan, my first spirit skill is called 'Holy Blessing of Light.'

Its effect is to consume 20% of my base spirit power to buff myself, increasing strength, defense, and holy attributes by 50% for the duration of one incense stick.

At the same time, Ashbringer is also enhanced; the blade gains certain elemental effects.

Upon attacking or making contact, the holy flame on the blade will erode the opponent, slowly dissolving their spirit power and accelerating their stamina loss, unless they expend a large amount of spirit power at once to extinguish the flames.

Furthermore, the spirit power consumption required to maintain Ashbringer itself is negligible, and it inherits 100% of the attribute buffs.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with it."

Hearing Chen Jieqi's calm voice, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan were both dumbfounded.

Dugu Bo's murky eyes stared fixedly at the golden light faintly circulating around Chen Jieqi, his Adam's apple bobbing before he rasped:

"...What did you say?

Your first spirit ring provides a 50% buff to strength and defense?

And it comes with a holy attribute?"

He had lived for nearly a hundred years and seen countless genius spirit masters, but he had never heard of any century-old spirit ring possessing such heaven-defying effects.

This level of buff intensity was comparable to, or even better than, the second or third spirit skills of many others!

Beside him, Dugu Yan's pretty face flushed red, her voice trembling slightly:

"Little Brother Jieqi, that sword of yours... Ashbringer?

It can actually inherit the full effect of the attributes?

And it can continuously dissolve spirit power?

And looking at you, you don't seem particularly satisfied?"

"Grandfather, Sister Yanyan, I didn't say I wasn't satisfied, I just said it was alright... it's just alright!"

Just as the two were struggling to calm their racing hearts, Chen Jieqi suddenly turned his head, his voice dropping to a whisper, carrying a hint of deliberate cunning:

"Actually, I also had a small, unexpected improvement."

"What kind of improvement?"

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan spoke almost simultaneously, their breathing subconsciously slowing as their gazes locked onto his face.

"It seems I've awakened a domain, or at least the embryonic form of a domain's effect."

Before Chen Jieqi could finish his sentence, Dugu Bo lunged forward, his voice cracking:

"Are you certain it's a domain?!

Do you have any idea what a domain is?

That is..."

Chen Jieqi did not respond further, He simply raised his hands slowly above his head, palms facing each other, and chanted devoutly as a soft golden light suddenly ignited between his brows.

A crystal etched with sacred patterns floated out from his forehead, hovering three inches above his head. The golden light flared, spreading outward like a rising sun to cast a translucent curtain of light across the surroundings.

Wherever the light touched, even the air seemed to become gentle and serene.

Dugu Bo felt the flow of his soul power suddenly become smoother, and even the intensity of his soul power saw a faint yet distinct increase.

Dugu Yan's pupils constricted subconsciously; for her, the improvement was even more pronounced.

"This... this really is a domain effect!!"

Dugu Bo staggered back half a step, his cloudy old eyes wide as saucers.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and it took him a long moment to choke out, "You brat... what kind of monster have you reincarnated from?!"

Ignoring their astonishment, Chen Jieqi continued:

"Yes, I call this domain

--Holy Light Domain. It has several effects."

"Hahaha... Hahaha!"

Before Chen Jieqi could finish, Dugu Bo was already clapping his hands in laughter, his withered frame trembling.

"The so-called geniuses I've seen over these decades are nothing but fireflies compared to the bright moon when placed next to you!

Even the current Pope of Martial Soul Hall might not have reached your level at this age!"

Dugu Yan, standing to the side, was already too stunned to speak. She simply gazed at the flowing golden light, her eyes filled with shock and longing.

"That's right, little brother Chen Jieqi, I might really need you to protect me in the future."

"Stop talking for a moment; let's test your soul power first."

Dugu Bo handed a soul power crystal ball to Chen Jieqi. Absorbing a 700-year soul ring should have resulted in more than just level 11.

Chen Jieqi was also curious about his current soul power. He took the soul power testing crystal ball, and injected his soul power into it.

The next moment, the crystal ball erupted with a dazzling radiance, clearly displaying his level on the scale.

"Level thirteen!"

Chen Jieqi read the number aloud, a trace of imperceptible amusement flashing in his eyes.

Dugu Bo stroked his beard and chuckled:

"It's not entirely unexpected. A standard hundred-year soul beast generally only increases soul power by one level.

Even a four-hundred-year soul ring, which is near the limit, rarely allows a jump of two levels.

Your seven-hundred-year Sacred Scarab soul ring actually boosted you by three levels.

This not only means your level rises quickly, but your soul ring skill coefficient is also much higher. It was worth the risk of this adventure."

Dugu Yan looked at the crystal ball, her pretty face filled with reverence:

"This two-level gap could save little brother Chen Jieqi half a year of cultivation.

The golden period of early cultivation is the most precious; it truly is 'a step ahead, a step ahead in everything'!"

"It really reached level thirteen!"

Chen Jieqi withdrew his hand and looked at his soul power level, a satisfied expression flashing in his eyes.

In the original work, Tang San absorbed a four-hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring and reached level thirteen because he had practiced the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

He had filled his level ten soul power early on, and his subsequent cultivation had been stored within his body.

It was only after breaking through to become a Spirit Master that it all erupted at once, resulting in that level thirteen soul power.

It could be said that without the soul power accumulated from his continuous practice of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San's soul power level after absorbing the Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring would have only been around level twelve.

Beyond the increase in his Soul Power Level, what Chen Jieqi was most satisfied with was the further strengthening of his Martial Soul; combined with his current amplification abilities, he could attempt to further dredge and alleviate the backlash caused by the toxins in Dugu Bo's Martial Soul, and as his Martial Soul continued to improve, he would eventually be able to solve the problem completely.

By further strengthening Dugu Bo with auxiliary immortal herbs, he didn't need to aim too high, reaching the Super Douluo level would be enough, as that would provide a certain guarantee for his own safety in the early stages, and the more Chen Jieqi thought about it, the more determined he became.

Thus, Chen Jieqi explained his thoughts to Dugu Bo, though he naturally only mentioned dredging and alleviating the backlash for now, leaving the later stages unmentioned for the time being.

Dugu Bo felt very gratified, yet he still hesitated and said:

"Xiao Qi, Grandpa is doing just fine as I am now, and I've grown used to it. If you go further with the dredging, won't it affect your cultivation?

You are at the golden age for cultivation; it won't be too late to wait until you are a bit older. Grandpa isn't in any rush."

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I know what I'm doing. Not only will this not affect my cultivation, but it will actually be beneficial.

Aside from devout prayer during meditation, consuming Holy Light Power for purification and dispelling negative effects is all conducive to cultivation."

Chen Jieqi explained.

Consequently, Chen Jieqi and Dugu Bo began to discuss the details slowly.

Only Dugu Yan stood to the side, secretly anxious as she asked:

"Little brother Xiao Qi, with this arrangement, are you not planning to enroll in the academy?"

"That's right, Sister Yan Yan. There isn't much to learn in the junior and intermediate academies, and the theoretical knowledge I learn from Grandpa is more extensive and solid.

The main thing is that I don't want to expose myself too early. Once Grandpa's problem is solved, if I need to enter a high-level academy later, I will join you then."

Chen Jieqi said to comfort Dugu Yan, thinking to himself, I can't exactly say that I'm already quite old, and it's meaningless to spend every day with a bunch of little brats.

Taking a step back, even if I could go to a high-level academy, looking at my own little peanut, I can only sigh that the road ahead is long and arduous...