Angel Sanctuary!

The past two months flew by in cultivation.

Li Long's daily life maintained a highly regular rhythm: he practiced the Guidance Method at dawn, trained with the staff in the morning, tempered his body in medicinal baths in the afternoon, and meditated at night to recover.

The lingering effects of the Aptitude Cleansing Fruit continued to release over those two months. Every week, he could feel his meridians becoming slightly smoother. The time needed to complete a cycle of the Guidance Method grew shorter and shorter, and his Soul Power recovery speed rose accordingly.

The barrier between level thirty-five and level thirty-six was gradually worn away over those two months.

There was no violent breakthrough and no risky gamble. He simply advanced bit by bit every day. The quantitative changes accumulated over two months finally completed their last qualitative transformation that morning.

Li Long slowly exhaled a breath of stale air beneath the eaves. When he opened his eyes, the Soul Power gathered in his palm was more condensed than it had been yesterday. He had firmly stepped across the threshold of level thirty-six.

He rolled his shoulders and adjusted his breathing rhythm. Just as he was about to get up and retrieve the Iron Rod, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

When Qian Yaoting pushed the gate open and entered, his gaze first settled on Li Long's face. His footsteps were lighter than usual, yet his aura was steady. After two months of adjustment, his level sixty-one Soul Power and the twenty-five-thousand-year spirit ring he had absorbed had completely fused together. The Six-Winged Angel martial soul lay quietly dormant within him.

He had originally intended to say, "Junior brother, I've finished consolidating it," but before the words could leave his mouth, he sensed something first.

"You broke through?"

Li Long nodded. "Yeah, level thirty-six."

Qian Yaoting blinked, then sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard in a relaxed posture.

"I've finished consolidating my sixth spirit ring too. These past two months were mainly spent getting it fully acclimated to my body. I came to find you today because I promised last time to let you see my sixth spirit skill. Come on, let me open your eyes."

He rose to his feet and stood in the center of the courtyard. Glancing back at Li Long, he said, "Stand by the courtyard wall. Don't get too close."

Li Long retreated beneath the eaves, his eyes fixed on Qian Yaoting.

He truly was curious about what level the Six-Winged Angel martial soul's sixth spirit skill had reached.

Qian Yaoting did not delay. He closed his eyes for an instant. As Soul Power surged out from within him, six spirit rings rose beneath his feet in sequence: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black.

The two black spirit rings rotated silently at the end of the six, radiating the dense luster unique to ten-thousand-year spirit rings.

The sixth spirit ring lit up, and its light abruptly spread outward.

A circle of golden radiance spread from beneath Qian Yaoting's feet in every direction. With him as its center, it formed a translucent golden domain spanning a radius of thirty zhang.

The light within the domain became gentle and even. The Soul Power flowing through the air seemed to have been reordered by some kind of law, and even breathing became smoother.

Angel Sanctuary.

Standing at the edge of the domain, Li Long immediately felt the change.

The recovery speed of the Soul Power inside his body noticeably increased within the domain. Although he was not the master of the domain, merely standing at its edge allowed him to feel the warm, gentle saturation brought by that layer of golden radiance.

Qian Yaoting's figure turned into a streak of golden light within the domain. In an instant, he appeared at the other end of the courtyard, leaving no visible trace of movement in between.

He came to a stop on the far side of the domain, a longsword already condensed in his hand. Yet the blade was not pointed toward Li Long, merely hanging casually at his side.

"Within the domain, I can lock onto any target. As long as it's in range, I can launch one unavoidable attack." Qian Yaoting's voice carried through the golden radiance, firmer than usual. "At the same time, enemies within the domain have their speed reduced by thirty percent, while allies recover Soul Power twice as fast."

After hearing that, Li Long quickly ran through the possible applications of the spirit skill in his mind.

Battlefield control in group fights, suppression in one-on-one combat, and team support—a versatile spirit skill combining all three.

Paired with Qian Yaoting's speed and swordsmanship, once this domain was deployed, opponents of the same rank would almost have no room to counter it.

"It really is strong," Li Long said, his tone carrying genuine approval.

Qian Yaoting withdrew the domain, and the golden radiance slowly faded from the ground.

He sheathed his sword, returned to the stone bench, and sat down beside it. Looking at Li Long, he asked, "Well?"

"Nearly invincible in group battles," Li Long said frankly. "The suppression within thirty zhang is too comprehensive. With an opponent's speed reduced by thirty percent, the speed gap between them and you would widen even further. They could only take a beating passively."

Qian Yaoting nodded. He himself understood the power of this spirit skill quite well.

But then he changed the subject and added, "Still, this spirit skill consumes a lot too. At full output, it can only last for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick. It's similar to your situation—something at the level of a trump card."

Li Long gave a soft hum.

The two stood quietly in the courtyard for a while. Morning light slanted in from the eastern wall, completely taking away the lingering golden afterglow on the ground.

"Oh, right." Qian Yaoting suddenly remembered something and turned toward Li Long. "After you get your fourth ring, do you want to go out with me sometime? Before I got my sixth ring, I traveled to quite a few places on my own. Some are worth visiting, and you can broaden your horizons while you're at it. You have plenty of combat experience, but most of it is against people or fixed-target spirit beasts. Wilderness survival and adaptability aren't things you can develop just by training. You have to get out there."

Li Long glanced at him and nodded without much thought. "Alright. You can lead the way when the time comes."

He thought about it. Perhaps he could use that opportunity to search for the Icefire Yin-Yang Well.

His teacher had shown him kindness, and his senior brother treated him well. Spirit Hall in this period was also good. Within an appropriate scope, he could tell the two of them about the Icefire Yin-Yang Well and make proper use of the immortal herbs within, rather than leaving them for Tang San's group.

Besides, he could not consume all the immortal herbs by himself. Even immortal herbs had incompatibilities with one another after consumption, along with issues such as medicinal conflicts.

So he would only take what he needed. The rest could go to his teacher and senior brother, or to his future wife and himself.

Qian Yaoting stood and dusted off his clothes before heading toward the courtyard gate. He paused at the entrance, turned his head, and said, "Hurry up and break through to the fourth ring. I can't wait too long."

Then he stepped out through the gate and left, his pace light as his figure cast a long shadow in the morning sun.

Li Long remained where he was, watching him leave, then returned beneath the eaves and sat down again.

His level thirty-six Soul Power flowed steadily through his meridians. The channels widened by the Cleansing Fruit were far smoother than before, and his Soul Power recovery speed had increased by around twenty percent.

He took the remaining portion of the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber from his storage ring, cut off a piece, and prepared to soak in another medicinal bath that evening.

The Aptitude Cleansing Fruit had changed the foundation of his Innate Soul Power, while the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber continued strengthening his body. With both paths advancing together, his speed of breaking through to the fourth ring would only grow faster and faster.

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Guidance Method again.

The Iron Rod lay quietly across his knees, still retaining the residual warmth from yesterday's training.

The courtyard became quiet once more, leaving only Li Long's long, steady breathing and the faintest hum of Soul Power flowing through his body.

Qian Yaoting walked along the road back to Angel God Mountain, neither hurried nor slow.

When he demonstrated his sixth spirit skill today, he had deliberately not activated it at full power. Yet even so, the instant that golden radiance covered the courtyard, he had seen the change in Li Long's eyes. It was not simple amazement, but the look of someone rapidly analyzing, rapidly breaking down, and rapidly absorbing something new. That look made Qian Yaoting feel that his junior brother's rate of improvement likely far exceeded his imagination.

Once he gets his fourth ring, I wonder whether he'll be able to spar with me for longer...

With that thought, his pace quickened slightly.

He needed to go back and continue cultivating. If a twenty-five-year-old Soul Emperor got caught up to by a ten-and-a-half-year-old junior brother, it would be rather hard to save face.