By the time all the elders had received their immortal herbs, few jade boxes remained on the table.
Only a handful of immortal herbs remained, including the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, aromatic silk beauty, cockscomb phoenix sunflower, aromatic silk beauty, Snow-Colored Swan Kiss, and Great Sun Golden Sunflower.
These were all incompatible with the Body Sect elders' martial souls.
Or,
like the Snow-Colored Swan Kiss and aromatic silk beauty, they were immortal herbs that could not be consumed at all.
Du Busi put these immortal herbs away for future use.
As for the spirit medicines a grade below them, Du Busi planned to distribute them later to the sect's Soul Douluo and talented young disciples.
"All right, let's begin."
After distributing everyone's immortal herbs, Du Busi clapped his hands. "I'll stand guard for you. Absorb the medicinal power of the immortal herbs as quickly as possible."
Elder Wei was the first to rise, but instead of heading outside, he glanced at the other elders and cupped his hands. "Sect Master, you should consume your immortal herbs first. We'll stand guard for you."
At his words,
the other elders rose to their feet as well.
Jin Peng spoke first. "Sect Master, Old Wei is right. Whether old fellows like us advance one level or two is a minor matter. You're the priority."
Elder Chen shared his view. "Sect Master, you're the pillar that stills the seas for the Body Sect. Your consuming the immortal herbs and breaking through to Level 99 matters more than all ten of us combined."
"Exactly!"
"Sect Master, refine your immortal herbs first. We'll begin after you break through!"
All ten elders stood in unison, their eyes fixed on Du Busi.
Watching this scene, Long Aoyu and the other two felt somewhat moved.
This was their Body Sect.
Few in number, but united in heart!
There were no internal conflicts or factional struggles within the sect. They were as close as family.
Sitting at the head of the hall, Du Busi looked at these old brothers who had followed him for decades, even a century, and fell silent for a moment.
"I appreciate the sentiment."
"But breaking through to Level 99 isn't something that can be done in a day or two. Even with the nine-grade dragon ganoderma and purple radiance immortal ginseng, I can't condense a second soul core in such a short time. It can't be rushed."
Du Busi paused. "Refine your own immortal herbs first."
"I'll stand guard for you. Once you've all finished refining them and the sect's strength has increased greatly, I can enter seclusion with peace of mind and make my push for Level 99."
Elder Wei opened his mouth to say something, but Du Busi raised a hand to stop him.
"That settles it!"
After a moment of silence, Jin Peng was the first to nod. "All right. Then we'll consume the immortal herbs here and refine them together. The Sect Master can watch over us alone, so we won't waste time going one by one."
"That works."
Du Busi looked over the ten elders and nodded. "All of you can refine them here. I alone am enough to stand guard."
"Then let's begin!"
The ten elders exchanged glances, each finding a spot in the council hall to sit cross-legged before taking out the immortal herb he had received.
Ten different immortal herbs released their auras in the council hall at once.
The cool clarity of the Silver Frost Listening Sound Grass, the penetrating clarity of the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, the scorching heat of the Blazing Sun Fire Dragon Vine, the weightiness of the earth dragon golden melon, the restraint of the ink jade divine bamboo...
The ten auras intertwined without clashing.
All ten elders released their martial souls.
Among them, Jin Peng's torso martial soul was the most powerful!
Du Busi stood in the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping over the ten elders one by one as he sensed the changes in each aura.
"The elders' auras are all so powerful!"
Long Aotian sighed in admiration.
Long Aoyu shot him a glance and quipped, "Brother, isn't that obvious? The elders are Titled Douluo, and they've all undergone silver-grade second awakenings. It'd be strange if they weren't powerful."
Anyone who could become a Titled Douluo had been a favored child of heaven in their youth.
A silver-grade second awakening was merely the threshold!
And precisely because of this,
the Body Sect's Titled Douluo were usually stronger than other Titled Douluo of the same level!
Whether in sustained combat strength or explosive power, the Body Sect's experts who had undergone martial soul second awakenings held a certain advantage.
Half an hour later.
The ten elders opened their eyes one after another.
All ten were veteran Titled Douluo with solid foundations, and the immortal herbs they had refined were relatively compatible with their martial souls.
Moreover, since they were simply increasing their soul power, they had no need to condense soul cores.
This made their absorption of the medicinal power even faster.
"That felt great!"
Elder Jin Peng was the first to stand, laughing heartily. "The medicinal power of immortal herbs really is formidable. I broke through so easily."
"Level 97? Not bad!"
Du Busi patted Jin Peng on the shoulder, happy for him.
"The ink jade divine bamboo cleansed and tempered your sinews and bones and honed your physical origin. You absorbed its medicinal power very well. Level 97 isn't your limit-"
"Your foundation is even more solid than before. There's hope for you to reach Level 98 in the future!"
"Let's hope so."
Jin Peng grinned, unable to hide the delight in his eyes.
A Level 98 Super Douluo!
In the past, that had been a realm Jin Peng had not even dared imagine.
Elder Wei and Elder Zhao also stood up.
A faint silvery-white sheen flowed over Elder Wei's ears. His sensory range had doubled, and his spiritual power had grown even stronger.
"I actually reached Level 94!"
Elder Wei's face was filled with delighted surprise. Perhaps because the Silver Frost Listening Sound Grass was so compatible with his ear martial soul, his soul power had risen by two whole levels.
"We're at the same level now."
Elder Zhao was now also a Level 94 Titled Douluo, though his soul power had only risen by one level.
But the explosive power of his legs had increased by more than seventy percent, and every exertion of his foot martial soul carried a more solid impact.
"Although the Blazing Sun Fire Dragon Vine wasn't quite as compatible, it still took my strength up a notch."
When Chen Yuan opened his eyes, tiny specks of light slowly revolved deep within his pupils. His spiritual perception had become deeper and sharper than before.
"Level 95."
"The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew tempered my eyes and spiritual power. Combined with my brain martial soul, my spiritual power is nearly twice as strong as before!" Elder Chen was very satisfied with this gain.
Boom!
Demon Fist Douluo Elder Zhou rose to his feet and clenched his fists, producing a series of explosive cracks.
It was as though he had crushed the very air!
The medicinal power of the earth dragon golden melon had made his fist body martial soul even sturdier, with visible improvements in both bone density and muscle strength.
Elder Zhou sensed his soul power, then grinned.
"I'm Level 95 too!"
The other five elders also stood up, each having advanced one or two levels from where he had been.
More importantly, all their foundations had become more solid, and their martial soul origins had been strengthened to varying degrees.
Their futures were bright!
Du Busi stood in the center of the hall, his gaze passing over the ten elders' faces one by one.
"Good. You've all improved greatly."
"Now, even without me, our Body Sect is the strongest force on the entire continent apart from Spirit Hall!"
The ten elders exchanged glances. None spoke, but light shone in every one of their eyes.
[Ding!]
Suddenly, a system notification sounded in Long Aoyu's mind.
[A major increase in the sect's strength detected. The host has received system rewards: 20,000 sect contribution points, self-created soul skill "Heaven-Prison Finger," Martial soul enhancement trait-immortality!]
Before you continue