Spirit-Attracting Butterfly, Spirit Gathering Array

Several hours later, the group arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

The two Title Douluo released their spiritual power to its full extent, scanning through a significant portion of the outer perimeter and sweeping past countless spirit beasts.

Before long, they located a spirit beast compatible with Han Yu's second martial soul.

It was a palm-sized butterfly spirit beast with milky-white wings, each marked with four pale gold veins. It was using its silver antennae to sense the flow of spirit power in the air, searching for a safe place to forage.

Gu Rong came to a halt, stopping a short distance away as he introduced, "Han Yu, this is a Spirit-Attracting Butterfly."

Han Yu followed his gaze, curiously observing the petite creature, wondering how something so small could have cultivated into a century-level spirit beast.

"Spirit-Attracting Butterflies are gentle by nature, live in groups, and dislike conflict. The spirit patterns on their wings can stabilize spirit power, and they are extremely sensitive to fluctuations in it. They are auxiliary-type spirit beasts with no offensive capabilities at all. Legend has it that in ancient times, they were often used to stabilize arrays and gather spirit energy; they are natural array-base amplifiers. This Spirit-Attracting Butterfly is just over four hundred years old, right at the limit for a first spirit ring."

Gu Rong spoke in a calm tone, relaying the information he had gleaned from ancient texts the previous day.

Han Yu listened with full attention; his knowledge regarding spirit beasts was truly lacking, especially concerning such rare species.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Han Yu's tone was sincere, his gratitude coming from the heart. It was clear that Gu Rong had specifically sought out ancient records for his second martial soul; otherwise, he could not have been so knowledgeable about a beast so perfectly suited to it.

Gu Rong nodded nonchalantly, placed a hand on Han Yu's shoulder, and in an instant, they were beside the Spirit-Attracting Butterfly.

The poor little butterfly was so terrified by the pressure of the Title Douluo that it landed on a tree trunk, not daring to even flutter its wings.

In front of Gu Rong, this four-hundred-year-old Spirit-Attracting Butterfly was like a speck of dust; with a mere flick of his finger, it fell unconscious on the spot.

A milky-white mass landed in Han Yu's palm, its body curled into a ball, no larger than half a palm.

Ning Rongrong leaned in, her large eyes wide as she examined the adorable creature. She curiously reached out to poke it, her voice tinged with reluctance as she said, "It's so cute, do we really have to kill it?"

She tugged gently on Han Yu's sleeve, her expression soft.

Having grown up with her two grandfathers, she had naturally heard the iron rule that spirit masters and spirit beasts were as incompatible as fire and water—that it was a matter of life and death. Yet, witnessing the killing of such a poor, weak creature in person still made her heart ache.

Gu Rong and Chen Xin silently retreated behind the two, watching quietly and keeping track of the time.

When Gu Rong had personally slain his first spirit beast, he had hesitated for sixty breaths.

Chen Xin, guided by his father, had been much faster, taking only thirty breaths.

A powerful spirit master must possess an iron will; it was an indispensable step on the path to becoming a powerhouse. Spirit masters who were indecisive or lacked resolve would eventually find themselves stuck at a certain realm, haunted by their own inner demons.

If Han Yu truly hesitated for too long here, it would mean he wasn't cut out to be a spirit master—that simply possessing twin martial souls did not guarantee he could reach the pinnacle of Title Douluo and stand invincible in the world.

Han Yu covered Ning Rongrong's eyes with one hand while summoning the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword. He struck the Spirit-Attracting Butterfly on the ground with clean, decisive precision. The Evil-Warding Divine Thunder tore through its skin with ease as the blade passed through.

He watched the lifeless corpse without blinking, his face full of a thirst for knowledge.

It wasn't until tiny yellow specks of light began to appear, gathering above the butterfly's body to form a pale yellow spirit ring that slowly rotated.

Five breaths.

Excluding the time Han Yu spent shielding Ning Rongrong's vision, he had taken only three breaths to make his move.

The usually composed Chen Xin found it hard to stand still. His brows furrowed slightly, and he rubbed his thumb against his palm, his heart churning with shock.

Only three breaths—ten times faster than he had been back then. What did that even mean?

Chen Xin had been a swordsman who, in his father's words, was single-mindedly devoted to the sword without a single distracting thought. For Han Yu to be even more decisive than him—was this kind of killing god really someone he and Old Gu could teach?

"This kid is truly a natural-born spirit master," Gu Rong remarked, having regained his composure, his tone filled with admiration.

To be ruthless toward enemies without a shred of hesitation, yet still considerate of his teammates and protective of the weak—Gu Rong felt deeply gratified to have taken such a genius as his disciple in his later years.

"Han Yu, absorb the spirit ring as I taught you. We will guard you," Chen Xin's voice rang out.

Ning Rongrong jumped back as if electrocuted, quickly hiding behind Chen Xin, her small hands touching her slightly flushed cheeks.

Hearing this, Han Yu sat down immediately.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to circulate his spirit power.

The spirit ring was dragged by an unseen force, stopping precisely above his head before instantly expanding to envelop his entire body.

The fusion process was surprisingly smooth, taking only half an incense stick of time.

Han Yu completed the fusion with ease, a yellow century-level spirit ring circling his feet and pulsing with his spirit power.

Chen Xin smiled, a look of "as expected" on his face.

He had already sensed it when he was instructing Han Yu on how to absorb the ring, though he hadn't expected the process to be this effortless.

"Teacher, I've reached level eleven."

"Oh? Doesn't one need to absorb a spirit ring for both martial souls to level up?" Gu Rong asked, caught off guard.

"I don't know either," Han Yu replied, blinking.

"Never mind. What is your spirit skill?"

Fortunately, Gu Rong only asked out of curiosity and did not press the matter further.

Han Yu's face lit up as he explained, "My spirit skill is an amplification type, but it can only be applied to arrays. It increases the spirit-gathering speed and duration of an array by one hundred percent for half an hour. It cannot be stacked. I call it 'Spirit Attraction'."

The two teachers exchanged a glance after hearing this, feeling somewhat confused; what was the use of this?

They had absolutely no clue about this long-lost path of array formations, yet this soul skill could only be applied to arrays.

Seeing this, Han Yu tapped his fingertip against the Mystic Array Disk martial soul, flicking a few times toward several specific spots, and the long-lost Spirit Gathering Array was brought back into the world.

A moment later, the concentration of soul power in the surrounding area became slightly denser than before. As his first soul ring lit up, the concentration instantly doubled, becoming one-third higher than the initial level of soul power.

Gu Rong and Chen Xin's pupils dilated in shock, their faces revealing utter disbelief.

Increasing the surrounding soul power concentration—was this not the same effect as a simulated cultivation environment? Moreover, Han Yu could set this up for others, making it an indispensable necessity for every soul master.

"Han Yu, you must never use this array in front of any outsiders," Gu Rong said with a stern gaze and a serious tone, staring fixedly into Han Yu's eyes.

Han Yu nodded.

"Next, it is time to find a soul beast for your other martial soul. Considering you have already become a soul master, I will raise the age limit slightly." Gu Rong was clearly well-versed in matters regarding soul beasts; unaware that Han Yu's meridians far exceeded those of an ordinary person, he relied on his experience to fine-tune the planning for Han Yu's soul rings.

He had conceived this idea just now while Han Yu was absorbing his soul ring: if the path of cultivating only one martial soul proved unviable, then it would be better to use the second martial soul as a stepping stone to raise the upper limit of the primary martial soul.