This time, Chen Zhou wasn't planning to stay long after returning, but Na'er still needed to be left in Su Xin's care.
Su Xin naturally had no objections to this.
Na'er wasn't very happy about it. She even felt wronged and wanted to resist.
But when Chen Zhou made up his mind, Na'er could only obey.
Chen Zhou planned to return to Shrek City, to the Qiangu Clan's residence, the next morning.
Before leaving, he also planned to improve his strength first.
His strength had stalled at level 19, and he could advance whenever he wanted.
Then he could have Chen Lengjing grant him his second Soul Ring.
After all, Chen Lengjing had already reached a thousand years of cultivation and could grant three Soul Rings.
So after dinner, Chen Zhou shut the door, quickly climbed into bed, and began to sleep.
In the Dream World, Neuvillette glanced at him but made no move.
"I thought you wouldn't come today. This kind of pain is very hard to endure."
"Teacher, I'm planning to advance to the second ring today. Tomorrow, I'm going back early—to my clan."
As Chen Zhou spoke, his fingers curled slightly, and his face brimmed with fighting spirit.
Neuvillette looked at his student. He hadn't paid Chen Zhou much attention today, so he hadn't known about this.
"Then let's begin. Your bodily transformation has already reached seventy percent."
"Once the transformation is fully complete today, you should be able to break through to the second ring."
Neuvillette's voice was calm, but Chen Zhou didn't break through right away. Instead, he eagerly sidled up to him.
"Hehe, Teacher, is that authority ready?"
"What's my second authority?"
Chen Zhou blinked, looking at Neuvillette with eager anticipation.
Neuvillette didn't answer. Instead, he lightly tapped Chen Zhou's body.
A stream of pure water flowed into Chen Zhou. He froze for a moment, then sat cross-legged.
This time, however, the Water Dragon Martial Soul appeared behind him, and it was no longer in that form that looked neither like a giant dragon nor a Divine Dragon. It had become a complete Divine Dragon.
The scales on the Water Dragon's body seemed to still, and it curled up where it was.
The Water Dragon seemed to be undergoing the transformation along with Chen Zhou.
Neuvillette's expression grew complicated as he watched it.
The Water Dragon had begun evolving toward a higher form. Once it was granted the second authority,
it should be able to pass quickly through the Water Dragon King stage and evolve into the Primordial Dragon.
"If you can become the Primordial Dragon, then you're destined to wield a portion of the authority."
"Then the burden on my shoulders will be much lighter."
Watching his disciple cultivate with his eyes closed, Neuvillette murmured to himself, then rose to his feet.
Faint streams of water gathered in his hand, forming a complete shield of light.
It protected Chen Zhou, while Neuvillette's Martial Soul appeared behind him as well.
As the seconds ticked by, Chen Zhou's body began to tremble slightly.
His skin grew increasingly fair, until it turned a clear, translucent white.
The color was so luminous that he looked like a flawless piece of porcelain.
Then Chen Zhou's eyes snapped open, and his irises had turned azure. Those azure eyes wavered slightly.
The Soul Power in his body abruptly broke through to level 20, and in the real world, Chen Zhou's eyes snapped open.
Terrifying power surged around him, and a layer of watery-blue light enveloped his body.
As this power continued surging, something seemed to emerge within him.
It was something that had appeared after he gained a Soul Ring before—the authority belonging to Neuvillette.
But unlike the last time, this authority was much heavier.
Chen Zhou felt his body sink. Then the Water Dragon Martial Soul behind him let out a mournful cry.
A feeling of command washed over him, followed by a terrifying pressure.
Chen Zhou's expression didn't change. He closed his eyes and began meditating. The cultivation art circulated within him.
The twenty-four acupoints began frantically absorbing the power around them.
Behind him, the Water Dragon let out a roar, then abruptly collapsed.
Seeing the Water Dragon collapse, Chen Lengjing leaped out and began circling in the air.
A second purple Soul Ring slowly condensed around Chen Zhou, settling onto him.
Behind Chen Zhou, from within the Water Dragon Martial Soul lying on the ground, "dead," a longer, more upright Water Dragon Martial Soul slowly emerged.
The Water Dragon King let out a thunderous roar, but Chen Zhou's expression remained unchanged.
He hadn't changed to a different Martial Soul. This was a case of surviving against all odds.
At the brink of death, it had forcibly evolved into the Water Dragon King Martial Soul, while what had fallen away was the limitation of the Water Dragon Martial Soul.
The change was so violent that even with Neuvillette concealing it,
the surroundings still began to tremble. Chen Zhou's bed had already started to collapse.
His body was even beginning to crash down through the floor to the level below.
The door suddenly flew open. Su Xin stood there, shock in her eyes.
But she reacted just as quickly, raising one hand slightly.
A Shy and Angry Grass appeared, specks of green light glimmering above it.
The light enveloped Chen Zhou, steadying his mind and stabilizing his condition.
As a secretary who preferred to keep quiet, her specialties were healing and powers of restraint.
So under Su Xin's control, Chen Zhou remained suspended in place instead of continuing to crash downward.
No one knew how much time passed. Only when a pale gleam of light slowly descended from the sky did Chen Zhou's eyes finally open.
His clear black eyes had turned pale blue.
And that wasn't all; the aura around him had grown much stronger as well.
Chen Zhou stared at his hands and sensed the changes within himself.
His second authority was called Primordial Sea: Authority of the Sovereign.
With this authority, he would command part of the Primordial Sea.
He could control the currents of the Primordial Sea without limit, using them to restore himself.
He could even control the Primordial Sea in battle.
However, because Neuvillette had granted Chen Zhou this authority ahead of time, he couldn't yet summon the real Primordial Sea.
But as his strength increased, he would be able to project the Primordial Sea from another world into this one, and even truly summon its currents.
And that wasn't all this power could do. If Chen Zhou really managed to reach a sufficiently powerful level,
he could overturn the entire Primordial Sea onto the Douluo World, turning the world upside down beneath it.
It was a power capable of destroying this world outright.
Of course, this power could also help the Douluo World ascend into a god-level world.
It was a terrifying authority that could both destroy a world and help it rise.
But for Chen Zhou as he was now, the greatest improvement was that he could control the Primordial Sea's currents without limit.
This meant that, after gaining his first authority, he wouldn't die for lack of water.
In other words, he had more or less gained a nearly immortal body.