Inside the secret cultivation room of the Duke's Mansion, the once-chaotic fluctuations of spirit power gradually settled into order.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged at the center of the Soul Gathering Array. He did not rush to pour all the solidified spirit power within his body into the condensation process. Instead, following the insights Di Tian had passed on through Wang Qiu'er, he carefully extracted a hair-thin strand of solid spirit power from the corner of his meridians.
That crystal-like strand was heavy and razor-sharp. The moment it slipped free of suppression, it tried to burst through the meridians. Liu Yuan immediately mobilized his mental force, guiding it into slow rotation according to the micro-manipulation angles Wang Qiu'er had described.
"One clockwise, one counter-clockwise… rotate and find the balance point…"
He controlled it precisely within his Sea of Consciousness.
The mental force on the left mimicked the tidal rhythm of Primal Kyogre, driving the spirit power to rotate leftward.
The mental force on the right injected the void attribute of Mega Rayquaza, forcing the other half to twist to the right.
When the two opposing rotational force fields collided at the center of the dantian, the originally violent solid spirit power canceled out part of its own impact, transforming into a tiny vortex that began rotating on its own.
"It works."
Liu Yuan's spirits lifted.
After confirming that this method—Vortex Guidance—was feasible, he officially began large-scale condensation. He stopped suppressing the heavy, sapphire-like crystals of spirit power, instead opening a gap and guiding them in an orderly flow toward the center of his dantian.
…
Time passed in silence, minute by minute.
Snow Empress stood guard outside the secret room the entire time. During the first few days, her expression was tense, Extreme Ice aura faintly flickering in her palms, ready to rush in at the slightest sign of danger.
But as the days went by, she sensed that the aura leaking from within was no longer chaotic and on the verge of eruption. Instead, it grew increasingly condensed and heavy.
By the fourth day, Snow Empress detected an extremely stable suction force within Liu Yuan's spirit power.
By the sixth day, the oppressive blockage that had burdened his meridians seemed to have vanished entirely, replaced by a vast vitality like undercurrents surging through the deep sea.
Snow Empress finally relaxed her furrowed brows and exhaled a long breath of cold air.
She knew Liu Yuan had passed through the most dangerous stage.
In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.
On the morning of the fourteenth day, the air above the Duke's Mansion trembled faintly. An extremely pure and profound pressure flashed into existence, then vanished just as quickly, and all fluctuations returned to nothingness.
Inside the secret room, Liu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
Deep within his pitch-black pupils, a faint golden rim flickered—an outward sign of his spirit power purity reaching its peak.
Turning his perception inward, he saw that where his dantian had once been chaotic, a crystal-clear solid core now hovered, rotating at high speed.
As all spirit power flowed through this core, it was refined into denser energy and fed back into his entire body.
"The first Soul Core… it's finally complete."
Liu Yuan murmured to himself.
He could clearly feel that the amount of spirit power he could mobilize with a single movement had more than doubled compared to before.
"Boom!"
The door of the secret room burst open, and Snow Empress rushed in like a blur.
Seeing Liu Yuan brimming with vitality, she asked urgently, "Did you succeed?"
Liu Yuan said nothing. He simply made a light grasping motion toward the air.
Buzz—!
Spirit power surged forth like an endless river, instantly filling the entire secret room. The power was not only heavy but carried an indescribable resilience.
"It's done." Liu Yuan smiled at Snow Empress. "The secret technique Wang Qiu'er brought was extremely effective. All the solid spirit power in my body has been incorporated into the Soul Core cycle. The problem is completely resolved."
Sensing his formidable aura, deep joy appeared in Snow Empress's eyes.
"With this, you haven't just eliminated the risk of your body exploding. Your increase in strength has far exceeded my expectations."
"At this point, even against top-tier Spirit Douluos, you'd probably hold the advantage without using your Martial Soul True Body."
"I also have to thank the key knowledge brought by the Auspicious Beast." Liu Yuan withdrew his spirit power, his aura once again becoming restrained and jade-like.
As they spoke, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
A servant reported respectfully, "Lord Duke, Dean Jing Hongchen, Young Master Xiao Hongchen, and Young Miss Meng Hongchen have arrived. They heard you've been in seclusion and brought gifts to visit you."
Liu Yuan exchanged a glance with Snow Empress.
"So it's them?" He smiled. "Have them wait in the main hall. I'll be there shortly after changing."
…
The main hall of the Duke's Mansion.
Jing Hongchen sat in a lower seat, absently fiddling with the lid of his teacup, worry evident on his face. Beside him, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were even more restless.
"Grandfather, do you think something really happened to Brother Liu Yuan?" Xiao Hongchen asked in a low voice. "Teacher Xuan said his condition in class that day was strange, like a qi deviation. It's been almost a month without any news."
Meng Hongchen clutched her handkerchief anxiously. "The Duke's Mansion guards are too strict—they won't even let us in. Brother Liu Yuan must be facing some kind of ordeal."
Jing Hongchen sighed. "If it truly is Soul Sage Core Condensation, even I can't say how dangerous it is. No matter what, I have to personally confirm his safety today."
As the three spoke, light, steady footsteps sounded from behind the screen.
"I really feel bad for troubling the Dean to come in person."
Liu Yuan walked into the hall wearing a clean set of black martial attire, his bearing calm and spirited.
The moment Jing Hongchen saw him, the words he was about to say stuck in his throat.
He shot to his feet, shock written all over his round old face.
As a level ninety-three Titled Douluo, Jing Hongchen's perception of spirit power was extraordinarily keen. Even though Liu Yuan had deliberately restrained his aura, in his eyes the young man before him resembled a ten-thousand-foot abyss shrouded in mist.
That perfectly natural, endlessly cycling rhythm was something Jing Hongchen had only seen in top-tier experts famous for decades.
"Xiao Yuan, you…"
Jing Hongchen's eyes widened as he subconsciously took two steps forward, cautiously releasing a thread of spirit power to probe him.
The instant it touched the protective energy around Liu Yuan—condensed almost like solid matter—he cried out in shock.
"Your aura… how did it become so heavy? Don't tell me you actually formed that thing without any guidance?"
Seeing Jing Hongchen lose his composure, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen immediately realized something was wrong. They stared at Liu Yuan in disbelief.
Could it be… that Brother Liu Yuan had created yet another miracle?