Sitting at the Foot of the Mountain, and Soul Saint Cultivation Comes Knocking!

Yu Luomian glanced up, raised an eyebrow, and asked in puzzlement, "Set off a Firework, and he'll come?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded earnestly.

"That's what my teacher said."

The elders exchanged glances. One was about to speak when Yu Yuanzhen suddenly raised his head, his gaze snapping toward the foot of the mountain.

"This is..."

In front of the thatched cottage.

Almost the instant the Firework rose into the sky, Li Qingshan sprang into action.

He sat cross-legged on a wooden stool, eyes closed. His mind had long been prepared, and he instantly drew upon that wisp of Limit Douluo Spiritual Power in his Sea of Consciousness!

The next moment, an invisible force surged from between his brows and swiftly gathered before him.

First came a hazy human outline. Then its features, robes, and hair sharpened one after another. In the blink of an eye, another Li Qingshan stood before the thatched cottage!

The black hair, youthful face, and posture with hands clasped behind his back were identical to the original seated on the stool.

If not for the faint sheen flowing around him, no one could have told that he was formed entirely of Spiritual Power.

Li Qingshan wasted no time.

Three breaths left no room for experimentation. At a thought, the Mental Body shot away, turned into a streak of light, and raced straight up the mountainside!

In the courtyard.

Yu Yuanzhen had just risen when a streak of light swept over the courtyard wall and stopped abruptly before them.

The light faded.

A black-haired young man

stood in the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back.

His robes hung loosely, his expression calm, as though he had been standing there all along.

"Teacher!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up at the sight of him, and he hurried forward.

Yu Yuanzhen stared fixedly at Li Qingshan. He sensed none of the aura of flesh and Soul Power intertwined that ordinary Soul Masters possessed.

That meant the figure before him was made of Spiritual Power through and through. Yet he was so solid that even the tiny creases in his robes were perfectly clear.

"Spiritual Power... condensed into a physical form?"

Yu Yuanzhen's heart jolted.

As a Titled Douluo, he could naturally use Spiritual Power to sense his surroundings.

But releasing Spiritual Power from his body and condensing it into a figure almost indistinguishable from a real person was beyond anything he dared imagine. And this man had come all the way from the foot of the mountain.

His true body had not arrived. With Spiritual Power alone, he had crossed the mountain path and appeared right before him!

When Yu Yuanzhen looked again at that youthful face, much of his lingering doubt fell away.

Love Sword Douluo.

Level ninety-nine!

Could everything Xiaogang had said be true?

Yu Luomian's expression had changed as well. His senses were not as keen as his elder brother's, but he had heard every word his brother blurted out.

"Spiritual Power condensed into a physical form!"

"So the man before us hasn't even come in person?"

The elders rose one after another. The questions they had been about to ask died on their lips.

The figure released no deliberate pressure, yet the Spiritual Power within him made them instinctively restrain their auras. They no longer dared look at him as casually as before.

At the foot of the mountain.

System notifications appeared one after another in Li Qingshan's mind.

[Yu Yuanzhen has witnessed the host's power firsthand and now fully believes he is a Limit Douluo!]

[Manifestation progress increased by 10%, reaching his individual contribution limit!]

[Yu Luomian has witnessed the host's power firsthand and now fully believes he is a Limit Douluo!]

[Manifestation progress increased by 5%, reaching his individual contribution limit!]

[The other elders and disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan present have witnessed the host's power firsthand and now fully believe he is a Limit Douluo!]

[Combined contribution to manifestation progress: 10%. All relevant individuals have reached their contribution limits!]

[Yu Xiaogang has witnessed the host condense an Incarnation from Spiritual Power and heard his father and the clan elders praise the host without end. He firmly believes the host is a Limit Douluo!]

[Manifestation progress increased by 10%.]

[Yu Xiaogang's cumulative contribution to manifestation progress: 30%, reaching his individual contribution limit!]

[Total manifestation progress gained this time: 35%.]

[Current manifestation progress: 60%.]

[System notice: The above individuals' belief in the host's current identity has reached its limit. They can no longer contribute additional manifestation progress to this identity.]

Sixty percent?!

Li Qingshan's heart gave a violent leap.

He had never expected a single appearance to raise his manifestation progress by thirty-five percent!

But he had no time to study the rewards.

Almost all three breaths had passed. He immediately turned his focus back to the Mental Body.

In the courtyard, Li Qingshan's Mental Body gave a slight nod and looked at Yu Yuanzhen.

"Sect Master Yu, a pleasure."

Yu Yuanzhen quickly suppressed his shock and cupped his hands solemnly. "Greetings, Love Sword Douluo!"

Li Qingshan did not wait for further pleasantries. He glanced at Yu Xiaogang beside him and said calmly, "I'll be taking Xiaogang out to gain experience."

At those words, Yu Yuanzhen had none of his earlier doubts left. He answered at once:

"Thank you for looking after him, Senior!"

"Think nothing of it. We'll talk another day."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint glow spread across Li Qingshan's figure.

Yu Yuanzhen wanted to say more, but the solid figure had already dissolved into motes of light and vanished before them.

From his arrival to his departure, only an instant had passed.

The courtyard fell quiet again.

The elders remained standing where they were. For a moment, no one spoke.

Yu Luomian stared at the spot where Li Qingshan had stood. After a while, he could not help turning to his elder brother. "Big Brother, was that really an Incarnation condensed from Spiritual Power?"

Yu Yuanzhen nodded slowly.

"It was."

His gaze settled on Yu Xiaogang, and the joy in his eyes was becoming impossible to hide.

"Xiaogang, I'm afraid you've found yourself a truly extraordinary teacher this time!"

In front of the thatched cottage.

Li Qingshan's eyes flew open, and he let out a long breath.

In his Sea of Consciousness, that wisp of power had fallen dormant again. It would need twelve two-hour periods of recovery before he could summon it once more.

Fortunately, he had managed to say everything he needed before it dissipated.

Li Qingshan wiped his brow, then turned his gaze to the screen before him.

"Sixty percent?"

At the sight of that gleaming number, he could no longer hold back his grin.

"Taking this disciple was worth it!"

Li Qingshan was still staring at the sixty percent manifestation progress when the screen before him suddenly lit up again. Several new notifications appeared in succession.

[The current identity lie's manifestation progress has reached 60%. Stage rewards are being issued!]

[Reward obtained: The host's Soul Power rises by thirty levels, from level forty to level seventy!]

[Stage ability manifested: Partial mastery of Spatial Power belonging to a Limit Douluo!]

[Ability currently available: Short-Distance Spatial Traversal.]

[Maximum uses: three per twelve two-hour periods.]

Li Qingshan's grin widened. He read the second notification twice.

"A whole thirty levels?!"

He had only been level forty before. Now this reward would carry him past Soul King and Soul Emperor in one leap, straight to level seventy—a Soul Saint!

Before he could recover from his delight, a vast power flooded into his body, driving his level-forty Soul Power rapidly upward.

Level forty-one, level forty-two...

Soul Power that once would have taken constant cultivation to accumulate now poured into his meridians without pause.

Level fifty!

As he broke through that threshold, his connection to the Passionate Sword suddenly grew clearer. In his perception, a pitch-black Soul Ring slowly took shape.

[The Passionate Sword's fifth Soul Ring has been unlocked!]

[Fifth Soul Skill: Traceback.]

[While in the Traceback state, the user is immune to all energy-based attacks. The instant an energy attack strikes, the user can travel along its trajectory to appear before the attacker.]