After much effort, Xiao Wu successfully condensed a spirit ring of about sixty thousand years, significantly surpassing the forty-thousand-year fourth spirit ring. Due to the effects of the immortal herbs she absorbed, she reached level fifty earlier than expected. Otherwise, her fifth spirit ring could have been even more powerful.
Following Su Ming's advice, Xiao Wu chose a spatial-related spirit ability for her fifth ring, rather than following her mother's choice of Soft Bone Lock. Although she initially hoped her new ability would be offensive, it turned out to be a control-type ability with spatial properties.
Her fifth spirit ability, Spatial Lock, can briefly seal off a small area, immobilizing anyone within and allowing her to attack with spatial rifts. Although Xiao Wu felt slightly disappointed, Su Ming was thrilled. Spatial-related abilities rarely fall short in power—any limitations usually stem from the user's skill.
Xiao Wu's skill offers powerful control: if the opponent is unable to break free from the spatial lock, they are essentially doomed. Once they're immobilized, Xiao Wu can use her Eight-Stage Explosive Throw for close-range combat or launch her self-created Tempest Kick from a distance. Alternatively, she could coordinate with her teammates for a group attack. It's practically a god-tier ability!
This Spatial Lock is far superior to Soft Bone Lock. The longer Xiao Wu's spirit power reserves last, the more she can extend the control duration. Later, with increased spirit power, the lock's effect will only grow stronger.
In recent news, rumors circulated through Heaven Dou City that the fourth prince, Xue Beng, collapsed from overexertion with a woman. If not for timely intervention, the consequences could have been disastrous. This scandal only heightened his reputation as a hedonistic prince—the first in history to faint from indulging too much. Furious, Emperor Xue Ye issued a decree banning Xue Beng from leaving his palace for a month.
Privately, Prince Xue Xing hired investigators to look into potential foul play. However, nothing conclusive emerged. Relieved, he ruled out the crown prince as a suspect, though the scandal had major repercussions. Xue Beng's chances at succession were now slim unless the crown prince committed a grievous offense—such as evidence proving he wasn't Emperor Xue Ye's biological son. However, that scenario was virtually impossible, given the royal family's spirit power lineage.
What Xue Xing never realized was that after Qian Renxue's message to Bibi Dong, the Spirit Hall's alchemists had worked tirelessly to concoct this unique aphrodisiac, which operated as a slow-acting energy drain. Bibi Dong, impressed by Qian Renxue's cunning, lent her the Ghost Douluo for support, keeping the Snake Spear Douluo as a backup aid for herself.
While Snake Spear Douluo's tasks became relatively light, Ghost Douluo's were far from easy. His job required close surveillance of Xue Beng, administering the drug discreetly at the right moment, whether in his water or in the air while he was asleep. Ghost Douluo found it grueling, having to watch over Xue Beng constantly without proper rest, until Xue Beng's confinement gave him a brief reprieve.
Given the drug's gradual effects, a mere month of rest couldn't restore Xue Beng's drained energy, despite his usual reliance on fortifying supplements, which now offered no relief.
Su Ming, aware of the developments, suspected Qian Renxue had taken his hint and set her plan in motion. Since Xue Beng enjoyed his façade as a debauched prince, why not let him perish within that role?
Early one morning, Su Ming arrived at the woods by the mountain to train with Ye Lingling. Now familiar with each other, Dugu Yan no longer joined them, leaving Ye Lingling's training in Su Ming's hands while she went with her grandfather to the Star Dou Forest to hunt spirit beasts.
Seeing Su Ming already there, Ye Lingling smiled. "Su Ming, you're always the first to arrive. It's almost embarrassing. I'm the one who needs to improve the most."
Su Ming shook his head. "Not at all; I just got here. With only six months until the Soul Master Tournament, we should take every opportunity to train. Word is that Spirit Hall may field a Spirit Emperor-level competitor, and I'm only a Spirit King. We have to work hard to stand a chance."
Ye Lingling:
She felt self-conscious. Though she'd been training hard these four months, she had only reached level thirty-nine, even with Su Ming's help—without him, her progress might have been half as fast.
Meanwhile, Su Ming thought to himself, "Ye Lingling's affection for me seems quite high, yet our spirit fusion still hasn't succeeded. We've tried merging our spirits, but each time, we just barely miss the mark and fail. Maybe we need one final push, a genuine shift in our bond, to reach that breakthrough."
Looks like it's time to use the ultimate move—after all, "you can't catch the wolf without sacrificing a sheep!"
Su Ming casually asked, "Lingling, you're at level thirty-nine now, so you'll soon be able to absorb your fourth spirit ring. I've always wondered: does your Nine-Hearted Begonia truly only offer one effect—area-wide healing? Is there really no other supportive ability?"
Ye Lingling looked slightly downcast at this. "Yes, that's true. Moreover, Nine-Hearted Begonia has a major drawback: each generation can only have one inheritor. As far as I know, no generation has ever overcome this limitation, which has always puzzled me.
"Although Nine-Hearted Begonia's healing is the best on the continent, these two major flaws limit its appeal to other forces. It's just a single healer with no offensive abilities, so it can't play much of a role. Compared to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda of Ning Rongrong's clan, which balances multiple boosts, the Nine-Hearted Begonia is much less desired. It's even coveted by Spirit Hall, though they've never had the chance to recruit Ning Rongrong's clan due to their alliance with the Heaven Dou Empire."
Su Ming already knew most of this.
There was no way around it—no spirit on the continent was flawless. The more specialized a spirit's strength, the more likely it was to have significant weaknesses. Like the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, for instance: while it has unparalleled supportive power, its wielder could never break through to level eighty because the pagoda itself has only seven floors.
Rongrong had only overcome this by using immortal herbs to eliminate her spirit's flaw. Ye Lingling's best hope to remove her spirit's limitations would likely be through a similar method. But what exactly would become of her spirit after she consumed an herb? Rongrong's spirit had gone from seven to nine floors, which made sense. But what would happen with Ye Lingling?
Su Ming pondered and then said, "Lingling, I happen to have something that might just help you overcome that first flaw. It could grant your spirit additional abilities beyond healing. I can't guarantee what the new abilities might be, and there is some risk, but would you be interested in trying?"
Ye Lingling's eyes lit up immediately, and she answered without hesitation, "Yes! I want to try!"
She was excited—this sounded like a guaranteed gain. Gaining an extra ability, whether it was support or offense, shouldn't diminish her existing healing power. So why not give it a shot?
Seeing her eagerness, Su Ming simply smiled and took out a lotus from his soul tool, presenting it to her. It was an unusual flower, half black and half white.
As she took in its striking appearance, she asked curiously, "Su Ming, what's this lotus called? It's so beautiful yet mysterious—one half is pure white, and the other half is a deep, enigmatic black. I feel an almost reverent awe just looking at it."
Su Ming nodded, "You're spot on with that description. This is the Yin-Yang Twin Lotus. The white half represents purity, much like your Nine-Hearted Begonia, while the black half symbolizes mystery and depth. If you absorb it, it will likely add a new ability to your spirit—what that ability will be, we can't be sure, but it's highly probable it'll lean towards the dark side of the spectrum.
"It's the Yin and Yang balance. Your current healing ability aligns with the 'Yang' side, so the new ability will likely be 'Yin.'"
There was another aspect that Su Ming hadn't mentioned—the lotus's symmetrical black and white petals reminded him of the yin-yang symbol, representing balance. This suggested that the new ability would likely have an offensive or defensive nature rather than merely support, giving her a much-needed self-protection capability.
"Since you're willing to try it, let's begin. I'll guard you while you absorb it. Once you're done, your power should significantly increase, and this lotus will even boost your innate potential," Su Ming said.
Ye Lingling felt a surge of excitement, the desire evident in her eyes as she gazed at the Yin-Yang Twin Lotus. But then, she managed to suppress that urge.
At first, she had approached Su Ming hoping for help with her spirit's limitations. But they'd since become close friends, and that changed things. She'd already received so much help from him without giving anything in return, and it made her feel uncomfortable, almost guilty. She hesitated, feeling a twinge of conscience.
Su Ming noticed her indecision and felt a bit gratified. Since she was having second thoughts, giving her this valuable herb wasn't in vain.
In his past life, Su Ming would never have considered giving away something so precious to someone with no solid commitment to him. Only if a girl had genuinely reciprocated his feelings would he even think of giving something of such value. Otherwise, he'd just end up looking like a desperate fool while the girl would respond with a casual "I didn't promise to date you," accepting the gift without commitment.
The world of Douluo Continent, however, was different—more like the ancient times in his previous world. If someone accepted a gift, it meant they were acknowledging the deeper intentions behind it.
Ye Lingling knew this well, which was why she hesitated now. Su Ming would hardly give her such an invaluable herb without good reason. He'd already told her he had feelings for her, so offering this to her likely meant he wanted to take things to the next level.
Living in the Heaven Dou Empire had taught her that no good deed comes without a price, even from family.
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT