Shrek City, Counterfeit Shrek Academy.
In a remote Cultivation room behind Sea God Island.
Xuan Zi sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed, veins bulging on his forehead, and bean-sized sweat beads rolling down his cheeks, soaking his collar.
Around his body, nine Spirit Rings slowly rotated, releasing violent Spirit Power fluctuations.
Inside his body, the newly fused Spirit Bone was exuding a scorching aura, merging with his bones, Meridians, and flesh.
That was taken from Mu En's corpse.
Xuan Zi gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the surging power within his body, attempting to completely fuse that Spirit Bone.
"Give me... a Breakthrough!"
He let out a low roar, and the Spirit Power within his body surged crazily like a breached flood, impacting that Bottleneck that had stuck him for many years.
From level ninety-eight to level ninety-nine, he had felt this threshold for decades, yet he could never step across it.
He thought that with Mu En's Spirit Bone, with that right arm bone containing massive energy, he would definitely be able to achieve a Breakthrough.
However...
Boom——!
The Spirit Power impacted the Bottleneck, as if hitting a copper wall and iron wall, bouncing back and shaking his internal organs to tremble.
Puff——!
Xuan Zi abruptly opened his eyes, and a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out, splashing on the floor in front of him, shocking the eye.
His complexion instantly turned pale, the Spirit Rings around his body trembled violently for a moment, and then slowly stabilized, the Spirit Power fluctuations gradually calming down.
Xuan Zi lowered his head, looking at his slightly trembling hands, his eyes full of disbelief.
"How could this be..."
His voice was hoarse, carrying a bit of raspiness.
"How is it possible... still unable to achieve a Breakthrough?"
He closed his eyes to look within himself; his Spirit Power was much thicker than before, and it had indeed improved.
But he was still at level ninety-eight, with one more Spirit Bone and one more new Spirit Ability.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
That Bottleneck leading to level ninety-nine remained completely motionless.
Xuan Zi fell silent for a long time.
"Why..."
"With my cultivation, I clearly should have broken through to level ninety-nine long ago..."
Naturally, Xuan Zi also knew where his weakness lay.
Spirit Power control, Mental Force control.
These two things had always been his shortcomings.
His Spirit Power was sufficiently thick, his cultivation was sufficiently profound, and he had reached the Peak of level ninety-eight long ago.
However... he was never able to condense a second soul core, because he could not precisely control his Spirit Power and Mental Force.
That Spirit Bone only could enhance Xuan Zi's Spirit Power, and Xuan Zi was also clear on this point, but he still harbored delusional thoughts, thinking that a single Spirit Bone alone could help him Breakthrough to level ninety-nine.
"It was wasted..."
A deep sense of self-blame surged in Xuan Zi's heart.
"A precious Spirit Bone... was wasted by me just like that..."
In his mind, Mu En's aged face suddenly surfaced. If Mu En were still alive and saw that he had wasted a Spirit Bone just like that...
"He would definitely scold me, right..."
"Elder Mu... It would be good even if you scolded me a few times..."
His eye sockets turned slightly red, and he recalled how Mu En looked during his lifetime.
"Elder Mu..."
Xuan Zi's voice trembled slightly.
"You are gone... Who else can scold me..."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Not knowing how long had passed, Xuan Zi opened his eyes again. Now was not the time to sit here and await doom; currently, he had to achieve a Breakthrough to Limit Douluo as soon as possible and become the pillar of Shrek Academy!
"Wait until I successfully condense the second soul core and achieve a Breakthrough to Limit Douluo..."
"My strength will experience a massive increase."
(The condensation time of the second soul core was not mentioned in the original work, but when breaking through to level ninety-nine and encountering Di Tian, Di Tian was surprised, so it should have been condensed during the year and a half of taking the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill)
As for his present self, if he wanted to achieve a Breakthrough, he still needed to borrow external objects, and they could not be ordinary external objects. Xuan Zi quickly thought of the dragon core in Mu En's hands.
"Before Elder Mu passed away, who on earth did he hand the dragon core over to?"
Alas... Mu En had ultimately lost trust in him. If this dragon core had been handed over to him, perhaps it could have allowed him to break the restriction. Mu En had ultimately become muddled before his death.
Of course, regarding the "perhaps" just mentioned, Xuan Zi was not clear how much use it would have either, but for Xuan Zi, even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, he still had to try. Just like that Spirit Bone, it might be useless, but it might also be useful. Even if the final result couldn't let him Breakthrough to level ninety-nine, it could barely be considered enhancing his own strength.
"Someone come!"
Xuan Zi gave a loud shout, and outside the Cultivation room, a figure hurried in.
"Elder Xuan, what instructions do you have?"
"Go notify all the senior elders of the Sea God Pavilion."
Xuan Zi said in a deep voice.
"In one hour, the Sea God Pavilion will hold a meeting."
"Yes!"
That person acknowledged the order and left.
Xuan Zi stood in place, remained silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, pushed open the door of the Cultivation room, and walked out in large strides.
...
One hour later, Sea God Pavilion.
The group of senior elders of the Sea God Pavilion arrived successively until everyone was present.
Elder Song, Lin Huiqun, Elder Zhuang, Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo...
Each familiar face currently carried a bit of solemnity.
The crowd sat around both sides of the long table, their gazes unanimously falling on the chair beside the main seat.
That chair originally belonged to Mu En.
Now, it was empty, with no one sitting in it.
At the very end of the long table, a young teenager quietly sat there.
Bei Bei's complexion was calm, his back was straightened upright, and his hands were placed on his knees.
He looked out of place among these aged senior elders around him.
Yet he did not shrink back; his gaze swept across everyone's faces, while a sense of complexity surged in his heart.
As of now, he had just obtained his fourth Spirit Ring, becoming a Four-ring Spirit Ancestor, while the lowest here were Titled Douluo.
For him, a Four-ring Spirit Ancestor, to sit here... to be honest, it was somewhat laughable.
But he had to come, because he was the next Sea God Pavilion Master appointed by Mu En.
Even if his strength was insufficient, even if his seniority was insufficient, even if no one listened to what he said...
He still had to sit here.
What if... Xuan Zi did something foolish again?
Bei Bei clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves; he had to keep watch.
Elder Song sat at the head of the left side of the long table, her gaze falling on the empty chair beside the main seat, a trace of complex emotion flashing through her eyes.
Elder Mu was gone; that old man who propped up Shrek Academy was gone.
She glanced at Bei Bei at the end seat, then glanced at Xuan Zi opposite her, sighing in her heart.
"Xuan Zi."
"You called us to gather for a meeting; is there something the matter?"
Her expression was complex, and there was a faint bit of anticipation in her heart.
Hopefully... it was a good thing.
For example... Xuan Zi used that Spirit Bone to achieve a Breakthrough to level ninety-nine Limit Douluo?
After hearing this, Lin Huiqun and the others also cast their gazes onto Xuan Zi, hoping that Xuan Zi could bring good news. After all, ever since Mu En passed away, Shrek Academy basically hadn't heard any good news.
Xuan Zi sat at the head of the right side of the long table, feeling everyone's gazes as he slowly opened his mouth.
"I called you all here to tell you about a matter."
"That Spirit Bone... I have already fused it."
Elder Song's eyes lit up slightly.
"What is the result?"
Xuan Zi paused, then shook his head.
"It failed."
After these words were spoken, everyone couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed; this was wasting a Spirit Bone.
Of course, no one dared to bring it up, after all, with an extra Spirit Bone, Xuan Zi also had an extra Spirit Ability, which could be considered enhancing the strength of Shrek Academy.
Elder Song was full of disappointment at this moment. If only she could achieve a Breakthrough to level ninety-nine, but unfortunately... she had no way to do it.
Lin Huiqun frowned and asked.
"Xuan Zi, have you tried calling upon the power of the Golden Ancient Tree?"
If Xuan Zi could mobilize the power of the Golden Ancient Tree, then when facing formidable enemies, he would also have the strength to put up a fight.
"No, after Elder Mu died, the power of the Golden Ancient Tree seemed to be sealed off; I cannot summon even a fraction of it."
Xuan Zi's words could not be said to be good news, and they even made everyone's mood even worse.
"Therefore, convening the Sea God Pavilion meeting today, I hope that you can all lend me a hand."
Elder Song raised her head and looked at Xuan Zi.
"Help you? Help you do what?"
"Help me achieve a Breakthrough to level ninety-nine."
Upon hearing these words from Xuan Zi, everyone couldn't help being stunned, looking at each other in dismay, and then opening their mouths to ask.
"How can we help?"
After receiving the response from everyone, Xuan Zi continued to speak.
"I need you to help me do one thing, which is to search for something—a dragon core. That was Elder Mu's belonging during his lifetime, and now it is not known where it has been placed."
"Elder Mu once told me that that dragon core was discovered by him from an ancient ruin. After a hundred years of nurturing by him, it has already become very gentle."
"If I can obtain the dragon core, perhaps... it can allow me to achieve a Breakthrough to Limit Douluo in one fell swoop."
His gaze swept across everyone.
"I know you might think I am delusional."
"However... even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, I must try."
"Because after Elder Mu's passing, the pillar of Shrek Academy will be me."
"I cannot fall."
"Shrek Academy cannot fall either."
Elder Song remained silent for a long time, and then she slowly nodded. The rest of the Sea God Pavilion senior elders also expressed their stances one after another.
Bei Bei also couldn't help letting out a breath of relief. He had originally worried that Xuan Zi would take advantage of this meeting to propose some excessive matters again.
Now it seemed, it wasn't too bad.
"In addition to searching for the dragon core, I have one more matter that I want everyone to help with, and that is to launch the Dragon Hunting Operation!"
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A/N:
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