"Teacher, your injuries have completely healed!" Yan Shaozhe said, unable to hide his excitement.
"Mm. I've fully recovered to my peak," Mu En replied with a smile.
"That's wonderful!"
When the other Sea God Pavilion Elders heard Mu En's confirmation, they all let out a long breath of relief.
Bei Bei was just as happy. Now that Elder Mu had fully recovered to his peak, he believed that even if they were attacked by Evil Soul Masters in the future, Elder Mu would no longer fight until he was completely spent.
"Medical Immortal Douluo, I have another request I hope you'll grant. Please don't let word of today's events get out," Mu En said to Wang Xian'er.
"This old woman understands." Medical Immortal Douluo nodded slightly.
"You've worked hard today. Xuan Zi, please escort Medical Immortal Douluo and make sure she gets a good rest," Mu En said.
Then, under Xuan Zi's guidance, Medical Immortal Douluo hurried away, eager to try breaking through to the next level of cultivation.
"Bei Bei, you've helped me so much. I have a gift for you." Mu En turned to look at Bei Bei. A pearl as white as jade appeared in his palm.
"This is..." Bei Bei's gaze was drawn to it at once. He could sense the aura of the dragon race and the power of light filling it.
"This is a dragon's inner core with an affinity for light that I found in some ruins many years ago. After I became a Titled Douluo, it helped me rapidly improve my cultivation," Mu En explained. "Now that I've recovered to my peak, it's of little use to me. But it may be of tremendous help to you."
Bei Bei knew very well that a Dragon Core was an energy body that gradually condensed inside a true dragon after it reached adulthood. It contained the bloodline of a true dragon and the power of its origin, making it extraordinarily precious.
Yan Shaozhe, standing nearby, added, "Teacher and I have discussed it. If you can absorb and fuse with this Dragon Core, your Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul may undergo a second evolution and gain the Ultimate Light attribute."
His disciple, Ma Xiaotao, had already broken through to the Soul Ancestor level. As her strength grew, her Evil Fire became increasingly volatile, to the point that she could no longer cultivate for long periods.
But Ma Xiaotao was stubborn by nature and refused to slow down her cultivation no matter what, so her Evil Fire frequently spiraled out of control.
Ma Xiaotao was no longer suited to stay in the Outer Court. If she lost control, she might harm the other students.
For this reason, Yan Shaozhe had brought her back from the Outer Court and kept her in the Inner Court, where she could cultivate under his supervision.
Perhaps Yan Shaozhe cared so much about Ma Xiaotao because he wanted to make up for the regrets of his youth.
When he was young, he had a lover named Feng Ling. They had been together for three months and shared a deep bond.
But Feng Ling's Evil Phoenix Martial Soul had flared up, and its wicked aura had tried to devour Yan Shaozhe's Martial Soul. After the two fought, they went their separate ways, and she fell completely into evil.
Yan Shaozhe didn't want Ma Xiaotao to follow in Feng Ling's footsteps, so he desperately hoped she could overcome her Martial Soul's flaw once and for all.
"Bei Bei, this is a matter of great importance, so you must think it through carefully. If you choose this path, there's a chance you could fail. If that happens, the energy within the Dragon Core will be wasted completely."
Mu En continued, "Of course, you could also choose not to use the Dragon Core's energy to evolve your Martial Soul, and instead absorb it to improve your cultivation. In that case, your strength could rise directly to the Titled Douluo level in a very short time."
Bei Bei had two choices. The first was to stake everything on using the Dragon Core's source power to evolve his Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul. If he failed, the energy inside the Dragon Core would be completely depleted.
The second was to use the Dragon Core's power to improve his Soul Power. This would speed up his cultivation, and he wouldn't encounter a bottleneck before reaching the Titled Douluo level.
After hearing this, a flicker of excitement crossed Bei Bei's eyes. He didn't hesitate at all.
"Mystic Ancestor, I want to use the Dragon Core to make my Martial Soul undergo a second evolution," Bei Bei said firmly.
"Good. Whatever you choose, the academy will give you its full support." Mu En nodded approvingly and handed Bei Bei the Dragon Core. He instructed him, "Bei Bei, you can first store the Dragon Core inside your body and use your own aura to nurture it."
Mu En cautioned him, "But absorbing the Dragon Core won't be easy. The energy it contains is still enormous for you. When nurturing it, don't rush. Take it step by step. If you run into any problems, you can come to me for help at any time."
"Yes, Mystic Ancestor. I'll remember," Bei Bei replied firmly.
After leaving the Sea God Pavilion, Bei Bei returned to his room.
He began to carefully sense the source power within the Dragon Core inside his body.
His own power and the Dragon Core's source power mingled again and again, as if they had always shared the same origin.
The Dragon Core's source energy was pure and gentle. Over the course of a century, Mu En had completely worn away the violent energy within it, leaving it as vast as the ocean.
Bei Bei didn't rush to evolve his Martial Soul. Instead, he immersed himself completely in sensing and communicating with the power inside the Dragon Core.
A thread of gentle source energy seeped out of the Dragon Core and slowly flowed into his body, nourishing his Martial Soul.
The Dragon Core's source power resonated intensely with the light attribute of his Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul. With every fusion, his Martial Soul grew purer and stronger.
In the blink of an eye, several months passed as Bei Bei cultivated in peace.
With the Dragon Core's help, his cultivation had advanced at an astonishing pace during this time.
He was already eleven years old, and his cultivation had broken through level forty. He needed only one more Soul Ring to become a Soul Ancestor.
Bei Bei slowly opened his eyes and felt the surging power within him.
After a year of cultivation, the Dragon Core had become completely attuned to his thoughts.
Bei Bei was also ready to begin the Martial Soul evolution. Over the past year, he had discussed and researched the matter many times with Elder Mu and Dean Yan, and they had finally come up with the best workable method.
For his Martial Soul to evolve again, the Dragon Core had to be completely fused into the origin of Bei Bei's Martial Soul, transforming it from a quantitative change into a qualitative one.
But the origin of a Martial Soul was extremely fragile. If they forced the Dragon Core to fuse with it, it might fiercely resist. If the origin sustained any damage, he would never have another chance to evolve.
So they had decided that Bei Bei would begin absorbing the Dragon Core at the same time as he absorbed his fourth Soul Ring, using the opportunity to complete his Martial Soul's evolution.
A Soul Master could add only nine Soul Rings to their Martial Soul in their entire life. Every time they absorbed a Soul Ring, it strengthened and improved the origin of their Martial Soul.
Bei Bei's Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul already possessed one of the highest bloodlines. Improving it even a tiny bit would be incredibly difficult.
Only by unleashing all the source energy within the Dragon Core at once could they help his Martial Soul's origin undergo a qualitative transformation.
Only then would he have even the slightest chance of advancing to a god-level Martial Soul—the Radiant Dragon King Martial Soul—and becoming a powerful being who commanded the Ultimate Light.
Just then, Zhang Lexuan walked in and said gently, "Bei Bei, Elder Mu sent for you. It seems something has happened."