Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li

After speaking with Phoenix Wang Chuan and Abyss Wang Chuan, Wang Chuan woke up as well.

But what met his eyes was not the transparent glass ceiling of the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, but a simple, spotless ceiling.

The faint scent of disinfectant and calming incense lingered beneath his nose, while soft, comfortable bedding lay beneath him.

Turning his head slightly, he saw Leng Yaozhu sitting in a chair beside the bed, supporting her forehead with one hand. Her eyes were closed in rest, yet her brows remained faintly furrowed.

The Spirit Pagoda's usually radiant and imposing vice tower master now wore an unmistakable trace of exhaustion. Even her fiery red hair seemed less flamboyant than usual, falling softly over her shoulders.

As though sensing movement from the bed, Leng Yaozhu's eyelashes trembled, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

The instant she saw Wang Chuan's clear gaze, delight burst forth in her eyes.

"Xiaochuan! You're awake!"

"How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?"

"Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?"

"Don't move. Lie down first. I'll contact the Holy Spirit Douluo and ask her to come examine you again!"

As she spoke, she turned to retrieve her Soul Guidance Communicator.

The period during which Wang Chuan had remained unconscious after fusing with the Soul Bone had been torment for Leng Yaozhu.

That day, after Zheng Chenggong realized something was wrong, he forcibly severed the connection to the Spirit Ascension Platform and urgently brought out Wang Chuan, who was unconscious with faint traces of blood emerging from his seven orifices.

He immediately notified her.

She had rushed from Shrek City to Eastsea City at nearly the fastest speed possible.

When she learned that Wang Chuan had actually defeated the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform's guardian, the Twin Cyclops, and fused with that extremely special and dangerous eye-type External Soul Bone, Leng Yaozhu's heart sank.

She knew the origins of that Soul Bone better than Zheng Chenggong did.

It had been an exceedingly fortunate acquisition by the Spirit Pagoda many years ago.

The Soul Bone was of exceptionally high quality and contained light and darkness attributes, as well as a trace of Chaos mental attribute.

For that very reason, its demands on the user's Mental Power were so harsh they were practically absurd.

Theoretical analysis indicated that to fuse with it safely, one's Mental Power had to at least reach the Spirit Domain Realm!

What did the Spirit Domain Realm even mean?!

It was the supreme realm of Mental Power that the vast majority of Soul Masters could never touch in their entire lives.

Normally, only Super Douluo above rank ninety-eight, or even Limit Douluo, could possibly reach it after years of refinement and special opportunities.

And for experts who had already reached that level, the allure of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone...

Was far inferior to the risk of mental damage or even collapse should the fusion fail.

After weighing the matter, this top-grade Soul Bone, which could practically be called "useless," had been put to use as one of the most troublesome guardian cores in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.

The Spirit Pagoda's higher-ups had calculated everything carefully.

With the Twin Cyclops' dual light-and-dark nature and the interference of Chaos Mental Power, it was more than enough to stop the vast majority of Six-Ring Soul Emperors.

But no matter how thoroughly they calculated, they had not expected a "monster" like Wang Chuan, someone completely beyond common sense, to appear.

Not only had he slain the guardian across ranks while possessing merely three rings, he had even begun fusing with it directly without anyone warning him!

Once a Soul Bone began fusing, especially an External Soul Bone involving one's mental essence, forcibly interrupting or removing it carried extremely high difficulty and risk...

A single mistake could inflict irreversible mental trauma on the user or even cause immediate death. Even Quasi-Gods would not dare attempt it lightly.

By the time Leng Yaozhu arrived, the fusion process had already begun. All she could do was spare no cost in seeking a sliver of hope for Wang Chuan's survival.

For that reason, for the first time in her life, she set aside her pride and resentment. She personally went to Shrek Academy to seek out Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li, a woman who stood alongside her as one of the continent's foremost female powerhouses, yet had a complicated relationship with her due to Yun Ming and was even her "love rival."

Only Ya Li's peerless healing ability and control over life energy might be able to preserve Wang Chuan's final spark of life at the brink of mental collapse.

To Leng Yaozhu's surprise, after learning of the situation, Ya Li did not hesitate or make excuses. She immediately came with her.

After Ya Li's careful examination, she discovered that although Wang Chuan's condition was perilous.

Something seemed to be helping him share the burden, gradually wearing down the violent Chaos Mental Power within the Soul Bone.

This left his mental core swaying on the verge of collapse under the impact, yet it had never been completely destroyed.

Thus, Ya Li judged that Wang Chuan's own mental resilience, along with that unknown assistance, gave him a slight chance of enduring it and perhaps even successfully completing the fusion.

But during this process, outside forces could hardly intervene directly. He could only rely on himself.

That conclusion allowed Leng Yaozhu to see a thread of hope amid despair. It also made her, for the first time, face Ya Li—the woman she had secretly competed with for years—and speak two difficult yet sincere words:

"Tha... thank you..."

Ya Li was clearly quite surprised, but she soon revealed a gentle, tolerant smile and softly said:

"If this child has any physical issues afterward, you may come to Shrek Academy and find me at any time."

At that moment, an unnatural flush crossed Leng Yaozhu's face, and she merely nodded silently.

Naturally, Wang Chuan knew none of these details.

Seeing Leng Yaozhu's anxious appearance, warmth rose in his heart as he said:

"Master, there's no need to trouble her."

"I feel very good. Better than ever before."

Leng Yaozhu carefully examined Wang Chuan's complexion and eyes.

His gaze was clear and bright, and he looked full of spirit. He did not resemble someone who had just awakened from a mental backlash at all.

Instead, he looked as though he had emerged from deep meditation, utterly refreshed.

"Are you really all right?"

Still unconvinced, Leng Yaozhu insisted that Wang Chuan undergo several basic physical and Mental Power examinations.

The results left her utterly stunned.

Wang Chuan's physical condition was excellent. His blood and vitality were abundant, his meridians unobstructed, and his Soul Power...

Had actually reached the rank-forty bottleneck!

"Rank forty?!"

Leng Yaozhu's beautiful eyes widened.

"Xiaochuan, I remember you only broke through to three rings not long ago, three months ago, didn't you?"

"How...?"

This rate of improvement was simply too fast.

Wang Chuan also revealed an appropriately "confused" expression and shook his head.

"I'm not too sure either. After waking up, I felt my Soul Power rise by a huge amount. It directly reached rank forty."

He attributed the reason to the energy feedback brought by fusing with the Soul Bone.

Leng Yaozhu frowned and pondered for a moment, but could only accept that explanation.

After all, the Soul Bone contained an extremely high level of energy. It was rare, but not unprecedented, for part of that energy to feed back during fusion and cause one's Soul Power to surge.

"It seems that after narrowly escaping death this time, you've gained a blessing in disguise. Your Soul Power has advanced by a huge step."

She relaxed slightly, then asked with concern.

"Since your Soul Power has reached rank forty, have you thought about your second Soul Spirit?"

"Do you need your master to keep an eye out for a suitable one?"

Wang Chuan pondered briefly, shook his head, and voiced his plan.

"Master, I don't plan on obtaining a new Soul Spirit for now."

"I want to raise Rainbow Dragon's age to ten thousand years first."

"Ten thousand years?!"

The heart Leng Yaozhu had just eased again rose to her throat.

"Xiaochuan, a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit places fundamentally different demands on a Soul Master's physical strength, Mental Power, and Soul Power foundation!"

"Although you're extraordinarily talented, you're still only at three rings..."

"The risk is simply too great..."

As his teacher.

The first thing she considered was her disciple's safety.