Half a Year of Time

Golden Crocodile Douluo's cheek twitched slightly as he listened to Qin Tian.

Thirty times—he could unleash such an attack thirty times. One had to realize that the three claw shadows that had just merged into one already possessed the attack power of a high-level Soul King.

Qin Tian was only a Soul Master, yet his attacks were already comparable to those of a Soul King.

"Spirit Bone Skill, Dark Gold Terrorclaw!"

Qin Tian swung both claws, slashing fiercely toward the sky.

Ten massive claw lights filled the sky, as if intending to tear the void asunder.

Golden Crocodile Douluo and Ling Yuan Douluo looked at the enormous claw lights with shock in their eyes.

"Second Grandfather, this external spirit bone from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear not only provided me with a powerful spirit bone skill, but it also strengthens my hands. Once it fully fuses with me, no one will be able to tell I have an external spirit bone after I activate my spirit avatar."

Golden Crocodile Douluo smiled as he listened to Qin Tian. "Xiao Tian, you've gained quite a lot on this trip. Not only did you obtain a suitable third spirit ring, but you also gained two powerful offensive spirit skills."

"After absorbing your third spirit ring, what is your current spirit power?"

Qin Tian listened to Golden Crocodile Douluo, sensed the spirit power within his body, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.

"Second Grandfather, my spirit power has reached level thirty-four."

Upon hearing Qin Tian's words, Ling Yuan frowned slightly, her eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

"The energy produced by an eighteen-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear spirit ring is comparable to that of an ordinary forty or fifty-thousand-year spirit beast. Even a Soul Saint can increase their spirit power by one or two levels after absorbing a forty or fifty-thousand-year ring. You are only a Soul Master; why did you only increase by four levels after absorbing a ring containing such vast energy?"

Hearing Ling Yuan Douluo's question, Qin Tian immediately explained.

"Sister Ling Yuan, when I absorbed the spirit ring, I didn't refine all of its energy into spirit power. Instead, I used this massive surge of energy to clear the blocked meridians in my body, only refining a small portion of the energy into spirit power."

"With my talent, spirit power cultivation isn't a problem, but clearing the blocked meridians in my body on my own would require a slow, grinding effort. Using the vast energy of the spirit ring to clear those blockages saves me quite a bit of time."

Golden Crocodile Douluo and Ling Yuan Douluo nodded inwardly as they listened to Qin Tian.

They both understood the importance of meridians. Once the meridians are cleared, spirit power circulation accelerates, and spirit power cultivation becomes faster than for those whose meridians remain blocked.

"Xiao Tian, since you've successfully obtained your third spirit ring, it's time for us to head back."

Qin Tian had no objections to this, and the three of them headed toward Spirit City.

In the Pope Hall, Bibi Dong frowned as she listened to Yue Guan's report.

"You're saying Qin Tian went out to obtain his third spirit ring?"

Yue Guan did not answer as he listened to Bibi Dong's inquiry.

Bibi Dong tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table, her mind lost in thought.

"Yue Guan, the training for Na Na and the others needs to be intensified. Go and oversee this matter personally."

Hearing Bibi Dong's words, Yue Guan nodded in acknowledgment.

After Yue Guan withdrew, Bibi Dong rubbed her forehead with a sense of irritation.

"How old is Qin Tian, and he's already reached the level of a Soul Master? His talent is truly terrifying."

Bibi Dong murmured to herself, her gaze shifting toward the direction of the Gongfeng Dian, her mind filled with unknown thoughts.

Gongfeng Dian, After returning, Qin Tian went to reunite with his companions. He had already obtained his third spirit ring, while his friends still needed some time before they could obtain theirs.

Qian Daoliu's calm, unruffled eyes finally showed a change as he listened to Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"Xiao Tian has gained much on this trip. It seems the training tailored for him must also be adjusted."

As he said this, Qian Daoliu swept his gaze across the faces of Golden Crocodile and the others, speaking in a deep voice.

"In half a year, Tian Yao and the others must obtain their spirit rings, and then they will be sent into the Lost Trace Canyon."

Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others exchanged glances upon hearing Qian Daoliu's words, all of them in agreement; no one dared to object.

In half a year, it would not be difficult for Tian Yao and the others to become Soul Masters. Currently, the lowest among them were level twenty-six Great Soul Masters, while the likes of Tian Yao, Qian Han, Qian Chengfeng, and Qian Chengyun were already level twenty-eight Great Soul Masters.

Once everyone became a Soul Master, sending them into the Lost Trace Canyon for training would be an excellent choice.

Training on the edge of life and death is the only way to truly stimulate their potential.

A spirit master can only truly grow after experiencing life and death and being baptized by blood.

The current training was meant to help them grow, increase their combat experience, and help them find a fighting style that suited them, but it was not true combat.

True combat requires a baptism of blood; it is a state of hovering between life and death.

After Qin Tian obtained his third spirit ring, Qian Daoliu changed his training regimen.

Now that his theoretical knowledge was solid, the theory classes had been canceled.

In the morning, Qin Tian was free to train on his own, though, of course, training in spirit power compression and control could not be neglected.

In the afternoon, there was actual combat training. This had not changed, but the current combat training was more challenging than before. He no longer sparred with Golden Crocodile Douluo and the others, but instead fought against different types of spirit masters.

Agility-attack type spirit masters, power-attack type spirit masters, control-type spirit masters, and so on. Furthermore, those he fought were all battle-hardened Soul Saints, and occasionally, even Soul Saints from the Angel Legion would spar with him.

At night, things remained unchanged; it was still dedicated to the cultivation of spirit power.

Over the past six months, Qin Tian had gained a great deal. His combat experience had accumulated rapidly, his spirit power compression had reached its current limit, and his control over his spirit power had reached a new peak.

He no longer limited himself to standard soul power control training, instead adopting methods like tree climbing, standing on water, and manifesting objects of his imagination within his palms using soul power.

In half a year, he also attempted to develop self-created soul skills, but such skills were extremely difficult to master; after six months of effort, he had only managed to create two.

The first self-created soul skill was Holy Light Roar, which belonged to the mental attack category.

By combining mental power with soul power and unleashing it through a tiger's roar, those with weaker mental power than Qin Tian would fall into a brief state of dizziness.

The second self-created soul skill was Explosive Step, a movement-based soul skill.

He had suffered quite a bit to create these two skills; had he not been in Gongfeng Dian, surrounded by many experienced experts, he would never have been able to create them in such a short half-year period.

Of course, he had not neglected his soul power cultivation during these six months, and he was now a level 36 soul master.

During this period, Qian Renxue returned, and Qin Tian immediately set aside his training to accompany her, though the time was rather short, lasting only three days.

"Brother Tian, Brother Tian, I'm back."

Xiong Sheng trotted over to stand before Qin Tian, his face full of smiles.

Qin Tian looked at Xiong Sheng and smiled as well.

"Looking at how happy you are, I assume you've obtained a decent soul skill."

Xiong Sheng chuckled, "Brother Tian, this soul skill of mine is not weak at all; it came from an 8,500-year-old Blazing Mad Lion, and it provided me with a powerful offensive soul skill."

Qin Tian nodded slightly as he listened to the beast's description.

Like him, Xiong Sheng's first and second soul skills were both self-buffs, lacking any offensive capabilities; having an offensive soul skill now could be considered a way to compensate for his lack of combat options.

"Let's go, Tian Yao and the others are at the training grounds."

As Qin Tian spoke, he rose and began walking toward the training grounds, with Xiong Sheng following closely behind him as they headed off together.