Soul Sage
Next, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and the others tried again in turn.
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and climbed to the forty-third step, barely meeting the requirement. Zhu Zhuqing steadily climbed to the thirty-fifth step. Xiao Wu struggled to the thirty-third step, her legs were weak when she came down, but she finally passed the line. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling also met the requirements.
Everyone passed the First Trial.
Bo Saixi stood before the stone platform, observing the group of young people's disheveled yet stubborn appearance. A faint hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand and said, "First Trial, all passed. However—"
She changed the subject, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. "The Sea God's Light First Trial requires you to complete the traverse within a year. You have passed it today, but for the next year, the Sea God's Light will continue to shroud Sea God Mountain, and the pressure will not subside. I suggest you make good use of this year."
Tang San keenly grasped the meaning behind her words: "Does the Grand Worshipper mean that the pressure of the Sea God's Light is itself a form of cultivation?"
Bo Saixi nodded slightly. "The Sea God's Light suppresses the circulation of Soul Power, forcing Soul Master to mobilize every bit of Soul Power in a more efficient way. One day of cultivation under pressure is equivalent to three days under normal conditions. If you are willing to endure hardship, this year is enough to transform you completely."
The group exchanged glances, then their eyes lit up.
Li Xun turned around and walked towards the steps again.
Tang San was taken aback. "What are you doing?"
"Cultivation, huh?" Li Xun said without turning his head. "While the pressure is still there, I'll climb a few more times. The Asura God Fourth Trial requires reaching the Soul Sage within six months, so I'll use this as a whetstone."
Golden Crocodile Douluo shouted gruffly from behind, "Hey kid, take it easy, don't wear yourself out!"
Li Xun waved his hand and stepped onto the stairs.
Having learned from his first experience, this time he no longer blindly charged forward. Instead, he suppressed the circulation of his Soul Power to the minimum, using the least amount of energy to resist the pressure and repeatedly testing his limits. With each level he advanced, he would stop and adjust his breathing for a moment, using the repulsive force of the Sea God's Light as a forging hammer to temper his Soul Power, repeatedly cleansing his meridians.
Tang San watched for a while and then followed. His Soul Power consumption was greater than Li Xun's, and he didn't climb as high as Li Xun, but he also found that under pressure, the speed at which his Soul Power condensed was much faster than usual when he circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
In the following days, everyone treated Sea God Mountain as a training ground.
Ning Rongrong initially struggled and cried out in pain as she climbed, while Zhu Zhuqing calmly pulled her along. The two of them, competing with each other, actually made rapid progress. Xiao Wu accompanied Tang San as he climbed, supporting each other. By the time Tang San reached the forty-fifth step, Xiao Wu was able to grit her teeth and reach the thirty-eighth. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, under the pressure of the Sea God's Light, figured out a rhythm to coordinate their movements.
Sea Horse Douluo would come to inspect the area every day, watching the group of young people climb up and down, and he would click his tongue in amazement. "The Grand Worshipper was right, these kids are all more reckless than the last."
Time flies, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Xun's Soul Power climbed from the 65th level to the 68th level. He climbed Sea God Mountain at least three times a day. He had started by retreating from the 60th level, but now he could stand steadily on the 65th level for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The efficiency of his Soul Power circulation was much more refined than it was three months ago, and his meridians were becoming more and more resilient through repeated cleansing.
Tang San's progress was equally astonishing. His Soul Power broke through to level 55, and his Mysterious Heaven Skill became increasingly smooth. As a result, the control precision of his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and Blue Silver Domain also improved.
The others also made breakthroughs. Ning Rongrong's support abilities improved significantly; Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat became even faster, and under the pressure of the Sea God's Light, she developed extreme explosive power; Xiao Wu's soft skills found a new way to exert force under pressure, making her close-quarters combat even more tricky.
When the six-month period was up, Li Xun stood at the foot of Sea God Mountain, stretched his limbs, and felt his Soul Power surging like a tide. He was at the peak of level sixty-nine, just one step away from level seventy.
Golden Crocodile Douluo, who was squatting nearby munching on a sea fruit, saw him come down and asked indistinctly, "Not seventy yet?"
Li Xun shook his head. "Almost there. Just one more thin layer of paper is needed."
Light Feather Douluo leaned against the stone wall and said calmly, "The six-month period is approaching. The requirement for the Asura God Fourth Trial is to reach the Soul Sage within six months. You still have some time."
Li Xun didn't reply. He looked up at the Sea God Pillar that pierced the sky, his gaze calm but sharper than usual.
He turned and walked towards the steps.
Golden Crocodile Douluo tossed aside the sea fruit pit and stood up. "Hey, you just came down and you're going up again?"
"Let's break through this bottleneck in one go today," Li Xun said without turning his head.
He walked to the steps, took a deep breath, and suddenly released the restraints on his Soul Power. The blood-red aura and Soul Power intertwined and burst outwards, and the phantom images of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian flashed behind him. The next moment, he stepped onto the steps and shot upwards like an arrow.
He swept over twenty steps in one breath. Thirty, forty steps, his speed barely slowed down. The pressure of the Sea God's Light surged like a tide, but was forcefully pushed aside by the surging Soul Power.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes widened. "Is this kid crazy? Charging forward at full power?"
Light Feather Douluo straightened up, his gaze serious. "He's pushing himself. He's suppressing his Soul Power to the limit, using the pressure of the Sea God's Light to forcibly shatter the bottleneck."
Fifty steps. Li Xun's speed finally slowed down, each step accompanied by a dull thud, the golden mist so thick it almost submerged his figure. His face flushed red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his Soul Power surged through his meridians like boiling water, but it was always suppressed by the pressure of the Sea God's Light, forcing him to the threshold of the sixty-ninth step.
Sixty steps. He gritted his teeth and stepped onto them, his bones making a series of cracking sounds. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but he swallowed it back down.
Level 65 steps. Seventy steps. Seventy-five steps.
With each step he took, the pressure increased exponentially. By the time he reached the seventy-fifth step, his Soul Power circulation was almost brought to a standstill, his vision blurred, and his legs felt like lead. But he gritted his teeth and continued to move upward step by step.
Seventy-eighth step. Seventy-ninth step.
Before the eightieth step, he came to a complete stop. Immense pressure, like a mountain, pressed down on him, squeezing his Soul Power to its limit, every strand of Soul Power in his meridians screaming. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling the sensation of that pressure squeezing his Soul Power.
Then he took a deep breath and stepped onto the eightieth step.
Boom--!!
The Sea God's Light suddenly erupted, and terrifying pressure poured down like a tsunami. Li Xun's whole body trembled violently, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose at the same time. His Soul Power was almost crushed in that instant. But just as his Soul Power was about to collapse, the Asura God Power dormant within him suddenly awakened, and blood-red baleful energy soared into the sky, colliding fiercely with the golden pressure of the Sea God's Light.
Click.
A crisp cracking sound rang out within his body, as if something had been crushed. Immediately afterward, a brand new surge of Soul Power erupted from the broken bottleneck, far more powerful than before. The level 70 Soul Power flooded his limbs and bones like a tidal wave.
In the golden mist, Li Xun straightened up again. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood on the eightieth step for a few moments, then calmly turned around and retreated step by step.
Golden Crocodile Douluo and Light Feather Douluo had already rushed down the steps and were waiting. Golden Crocodile Douluo grabbed him and said gruffly, "You little brat, you're fucking reckless!"
Li Xun grinned, his face pale but his spirits high. "I've broken through. Level 70, Soul Sage."
Light Feather Douluo rarely showed a hint of approval, nodding and saying, "It's good that you've broken through. The Asura God Fourth Trial is complete."
On the distant stone platform, Bo Saixi was standing there again, watching Li Xun descend the steps. A barely perceptible look of amazement flashed across her calm eyes before she regained her composure and turned to leave.