Breakthrough to Dou Ling

The energy from the Soul Origin surged wildly into his Spiritual Sea, as if a giant boulder had been thrown into Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea, creating towering waves.

The feeling of weakness receded like the tide, replaced by an indescribable sense of fullness and clarity. Perception became more acute.

With the boost from his Soul Power, Huo Yuhao merged with heaven and earth, fully activating the Heavenly Cycle Art. A powerful suction force surged forth, and the primordial Heaven and Earth Origin Qi continuously poured into Huo Yuhao's body, where it was refined into the purest Dou Qi.

Wu Tian crossed his arms and leaned against the cold stone pillar, watching Huo Yuhao's aura rise steadily, until a much stronger aura erupted, blowing away all the gravel and dust on the ground.

"Dou Ling?" Wu Tian raised an eyebrow.

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, looked inward at the Sea Urchin Dou Crystal inside his body, and couldn't help but complain, "Why is it so ugly!"

"Everyone is in the same boat. During the Dou Ling stage, each time you absorb a Dou Qi spike into your Battle Crystal, you break through one star," Wu Tian said. "By absorbing all nine spikes into your Battle Crystal Battle Crystal, making it highly solidified and transforming it into an inner core, you can become Dou Wang."

Seeing that Huo Yuhao showed some interest in these cultivation basics, Bai Lao took over the conversation and continued explaining, " At the Dou Wang stage, one can draw upon the primordial Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, so only by reaching this level can one truly unleash the power of Earth Grade Dou Technique."

At this point, Bai Lao paused, looking at Huo Yuhao, this prodigy who could manipulate the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi even before becoming Dou Wang, and sighed, "The difference between the Dou Wang and Dou Emperor stages is not significant. Once you reach the Peak Dou Emperor, the accumulation of your inner core reaches its limit."

"Hu Gan at this stage," Wu Tian said.

"At this stage, the solidified Dou Qi has already affected space itself, and to break through to the Dou Zong, one must integrate the power of space into the inner core," Bai Lao continued. "The reason why each star in the Dou Zong stage is so different and so difficult to break through is that one must continuously expand the inner core's capacity to contain Dou Qi qi by integrating the power of space within it."

"What about the Dou Zun?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"To the Dou Zun Realm, one needs to construct a complete small space within their inner core to store Dou Qi." Bai Lao somewhat helplessly, "Old Qian and I are stuck here. It's extremely difficult to transform the spatial power integrated at the Dou Zong stage into a complete small space, and if we fail, there's a risk of our realm dropping."

"Is this true for all cultivators?" Huo Yuhao asked. He had heard Yao Chen say that once Xiao Yi Xian completed the Poison Core Method, she could break through to the Dou Zun level in one fell swoop, which seemed much simpler than the breakthrough method mentioned by Bai Lao.

"That's how it is for ordinary cultivators," Bai Lao said with a wry smile. "Those who are exceptionally gifted, possessing special physiques and talents, are different from us. Alas—they have it much easier."

"By the way, Elder Huo, you could hold your own against Dou Emperor when you were Da Dou Shi, and now that your cultivation has broken through to Dou Ling —doesn't that mean you can go toe-to-toe with Dou Zong?" Wu Tian suddenly asked. Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Bai Lao standing silently to the side. "I can't. Right now, I might be able to stand undefeated against Dou Emperor, but against a true Dou Zong— "

He paused for a moment, then said, "The gap is still enormous. It'll be about the same once I become Dou Wang."

"Then hurry back and have Old Fire refine some pills for you!" Wu Tian said excitedly, "I really want to see what kind of strength you'll have after breaking through to the Dou Wang!"

Bai Lao nodded slightly, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes. He sensed it more clearly than Wu Tian: Huo Yuhao's soul strength at this moment was unmatched even by a slightly weaker Seventh Grade alchemist!

With this profound spiritual foundation, coupled with his endless stream of unpredictable methods, once Huo Yuhao becomes Dou Wang, even low-level Dou Zong would probably be no match for him!

The spatial rift above Jia Nan Academy quietly closed. Huo Yuhao and his group appeared above the giant crater.

The water flowing from the back mountain is inexhaustible, and the giant pit is almost filled. The afternoon sun shines on the water, reflecting shimmering light.

Several elders stood by the water, engaged in a heated discussion about how to modify the watercourses, fill in the giant pit, and rebuild the academy's various buildings and facilities.

"You can all go back now. We'll have a meeting tomorrow morning to sort out the tasks that the college currently needs to complete."

Huo Yuhao landed and dismissed Bai Lao, Wu Tian, and the other elders.

He stood by the lake, gazing at the newly formed lake. His spiritual power silently seeped into the water.

A strange and mixed energy fluctuation was clearly visible in the spiritual vision. It was the energy fragments left behind by the two major formations, mixed with the primordial Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, as well as various energies that Huo Yuhao had attracted when he practiced his sword in the back mountain.

These energies slowly blend and flow in this newly formed body of water, while also constantly attracting the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Qi).

Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"This water—" he murmured to himself, a new idea instantly sprouting in his mind.

That night, in Huo Yuhao's mental world.

Spiritual Sea, Huo Yuhao's spiritual body hovered. Below, however, was not a calm sea, but a perfect replica of the entire Jia Nan Academy, with mountains, lakes, and buildings, all meticulously depicted.

After saving all the teachers and students of the Jia Nan Academy that day, Huo Yuhao felt that his realm, Heart Force, spirit and Soul Power had all made great progress.

The Spiritual Materialization at this moment is enough to demonstrate this. In the past, maintaining such a Simulation environment was already a huge burden for Huo Yuhao.

This time, not only was the entire academy Simulation, but the flow and changes of various energies were indistinguishable from the real world. This burden was as easy for Huo Yuhao as picking up a stone.

Huo Yuhao was like a creator, creating various materials in this Simulation world, quickly constructing arrays, and then modifying, erasing, and rebuilding them at an even faster pace.

"Using this newly formed lake as a base, construct an array covering the entire academy—guiding the chaotic energy..."

Transformation, nourishing the entire college----"

Huo Yuhao was deep in thought.

"The main buildings of the academy can float above the lake and be connected by rainbow bridges. This will maximize the use of the lake's energy—"

"Because the water veins were activated during sword practice, the energy source of this lake is primarily ice-based. Furthermore, an additional formation that guides the cold energy can be layered on top of the lake's formation—"

"And the area surrounding the academy----"

Countless rune lines flickered, intertwined, and collided in the model world, and the entire spiritual world trembled slightly with his deductions.

Soon, a brand-new model of the academy appeared in the mental world. Looking at the model, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's leave it at that for now. We can revise it later if we have any new ideas."