Advancing to Dou Ling

Under the surging infusion of the Dragon Yuan's vast energy, the Dou Crystal in Ye Chen's Dantian, originally about the size of a pigeon egg, actually began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His mind watched the rapidly expanding Dou Crystal with a trace of astonishment. Ye Chen could clearly feel that the Dou Qi stored within it was also multiplying at a shocking rate. At this pace, even breaking through to a Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster would practically be as easy as turning over his hand.

Bang!

As the energy poured in tirelessly, at a certain moment, an extremely faint, crisp sound finally rang out inside Ye Chen's body...

With that crisp sound, Ye Chen discovered that the Dou Crystal, which had already reached its limit of capacity, had now once again gained an extremely vast amount of room!

Under that strange sound, the Dou Crystal, which had originally swollen from the size of a pigeon egg to the size of a chicken egg, abruptly expanded to the size of a fist. Dazzling, intense light continuously surged out, illuminating the inside of the Qi vortex as brightly as day.

Sensing the many changes inside his body, Ye Chen took a deep breath. He knew this feeling well, because he had already experienced it many times during this recent period...

"I've broken through another star. As I am now, I'm already a Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster..."

Ye Chen was still quite excited.

After all, not much time had passed since he had begun seclusion, yet in this brief span, his cultivation had advanced even more than it had over the past five years!

At this moment, as long as he took one more step forward, he would be able to enter the Dou Ling level!

Dou Ling!

Although in a place like Central State he would still only be a small fry, a Dou Ling who was not yet fourteen years old was anything but simple!

Perhaps because of the Dou Crystal's sudden expansion, Ye Chen noticed that the originally full feeling within the Dou Crystal had once again become much emptier...

With a thought, the pure energy circulating through his meridians instantly poured straight into the empty Dou Crystal, swiftly filling the energy inside it once more.

He sensed the Dragon Yuan energy remaining in his body at this moment. Less than one-tenth had been consumed...

One had to know that this was the most refined energy accumulated over years by a peak sixth-rank Magical Beast. If it were completely refined, even a Dou Emperor-level Strong Person could rise by one or two stars without any problem at all.

This was also the main reason Lin Yuheng had gone to such great lengths...

But the original Ye Chen had merely been a Dou Grandmaster. If he completely refined the energy of this Dragon Yuan, then it could immediately allow him to break through to Dou Wang...!

Unfortunately, a breakthrough spanning two major realms, even with the purity of the Dragon Yuan, would inevitably leave behind the hidden danger of an unstable foundation.

Unless Ye Chen wanted to spend the next few years after breaking through to Dou Wang obediently staying in the Ye Family and cultivating bitterly to consolidate his foundation, he would not dare be so reckless.

This was exactly what Hu Tian, who was guarding him nearby, was worried about.

He was also secretly regretting it. Just now, he should have reminded the Young Master first. Raising one's level by too large a margin in one go brought only harm to cultivation and no benefit...

Unfortunately, the advancement had already begun. Everything now depended on whether Ye Chen himself could withstand the temptation!

Amid such worry, Hu Tian only saw his Young Master's cultivation proceed without obstruction all the way, directly breaking through the shackles between Dou Grandmaster and Dou Ling, then continuing to rise with unstoppable momentum.

Seeing this, Hu Tian grew even more worried. He had already reached Six-Star Dou Ling. Could the Young Master be planning to break through all the way to Dou Wang?

If that was truly the case, then things would really become terrible!

What let him breathe a sigh of relief, however, was that Ye Chen clearly had not gone that mad. After rising to Seven-Star Dou Ling, the aura erupting from him finally stopped growing. Instead, it began to fall back, until it dropped to the level of a One-Star Dou Ling...

"Good, good. Thank goodness he wasn't carried away by power..." Watching Ye Chen struggle to suppress the energy inside his body, Hu Tian rejoiced inwardly.

Just like that, Ye Chen's cultivation rose and fell repeatedly, hovering between One-Star Dou Ling and Seven-Star Dou Ling. The sweat on his forehead also grew heavier and heavier, and his complexion began to change.

No one knew how much time passed before finally...

Ye Chen's cultivation realm stabilized at the level of a Four-Star Dou Ling. It could no longer fall back, nor did it rise again.

"Thump, thump...!"

Low, muffled sounds slowly echoed inside his body, and in the end, they were actually completely in rhythm with the beating of Ye Chen's Main Body heart.

That sound was actually coming from Ye Chen's Dou Crystal, which had already changed beyond recognition!

The instant those two kinds of beating completely merged, the sea-urchin-like Dou Crystal within Ye Chen's Qi vortex suddenly trembled. An extremely powerful Energy Ripple abruptly spread out from it!

The Energy Ripple passed unhindered through the Qi vortex, meridians, and bones within his body, and finally through his skin before suddenly erupting!

Inside the cave, Ye Chen, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, abruptly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam shot out like something tangible...

A vigorous aura surged from his body. As that aura gushed out, Ye Chen suddenly tilted his head back. A clear howl, carrying powerful Dou Qi, exploded through the cave like startled thunder!

Boom!

As the clear howl rang out, a powerful Energy Ripple burst from his body. With a rumble, Starfire scattered in all directions. The cave where Ye Chen stood was instantly ignited by Silver Flame, which then swiftly swept through the entire cave.

As the flames leapt, a Black Shadow slowly emerged from within them, finally standing tall and proud. His handsome face was filled with confidence and high spirits.

"Congratulations, Young Master, congratulations! You've broken through to Four-Star Dou Ling, directly crossing an entire major realm. I imagine the Family Head and Great Elder will surely be happy for you when they find out!" Hu Tian looked at the Youth, who seemed like the Fire God descending to the world, and cupped his fists in excited congratulation.

Although breaking through from Three-Star Dou Grandmaster to Four-Star Dou Ling was also an enormous leap, with Ye Chen's talent, he would only need to spend one or two years consolidating it. Compared to directly breaking through to Dou Wang, the impact could practically be ignored, which was why Hu Tian was so happy.

Ye Chen also smiled at this. There was still nearly four-fifths of the Dragon Yuan energy inside his body unused. Next, he only needed to consolidate his cultivation, and then breaking through to the Dou Wang level would be effortless!

Thinking of this, Ye Chen suddenly remembered that he still had the Spirit Ascension Pill the Old Ancestor had specially prepared for him to break through to Dou Ling, as well as the Honored King Pill for breaking through to Dou Wang.

Now that he had the Dragon Yuan, he no longer had any use for those two pills...

"Forget it. I'll leave them for Xin Lan in the future." Having lost the Yang Fire, from now on, each of these pills would be one fewer after every use. It just so happened that the ones he had saved could be prepared for his Younger Sister Xin Lan in the future.

Seeing that Ye Chen had completely finished, Hu Tian then asked, "Young Master, should we return to Clear Moon City?"

Hearing this, Ye Chen raised his brows, chuckled, and said, "Yes, it is indeed time to go back and take a look. I wonder if those people have all returned already."