Late into the night, Song Weihan finally returned to his quarters. Huang Jialong"s breakthrough to become a Soul Saint had taken much longer than he expected, but considering how much stronger the latter got after his Spirit Essence evolved, it was well worth its time.The next day, Sheng Feilong"s training under Song Weihan"s supervision continued. As he still wasn"t fully familiar with his own True Avatar"s abilities, Song Weihan had him use it, meditate to understand it better and many more exercises that were meant to help Sheng Feilong.
They finally called it a day, long past sunset, but still early enough to get a good night"s sleep. Sheng Feilong was tired after the training and hurriedly left the training hall lest Song Weihan changed his mind and decided to have him train any longer.
Song Weihan himself went back to his office for a little while longer after Sheng Feilong left. He had asked She Meixiao to give him a few updates on Huang Jialong"s situation; The latter had returned to meditating to stabilize his cultivation even after Song Weihan left the night before, spurred by the possibility of obtaining a 100.000-years-old Spirit Soul for himself.
According to She Meixiao, Huang Jialong had been cultivating the whole night and all of the next day. Somewhen in the evening, he opened his eyes again for the first time; Hungry and worn out from all the mental strain, so She Meixiao sent him back to his quarters.
Song Weihan could only shake his head with a wry smile; He didn"t expect Huang Jialong to take his words this seriously. Although he indeed intents to only give the 100.000-years-old Spirit Soul to Huang Jialong if the latter reached the Spirit Abyss Realm in Spirit Power, but he didn"t need to be this hasty!
"...It seems Feilong and Yehui advancing in their cultivation so quickly put a lot of pressure on him. Well, it"s not a problem; He"s talented enough and with She Meixiao watching over him, there won"t be any complications." tapping his finger on the table, Song Weihan thought out loud, then grabbed a few pieces of paper and started scribbling a training plan for Huang Jialong, later reviewing and reworking the ones for Sheng Feilong and Yuanen Yehui as well.
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Sheng Feilong met up with Yuanen Yehui the next morning, wanting to grab breakfast together with her. Another day of strenuous training would await both of them afterwards, so they wanted to make the most out of the peaceful time in the morning.
Compared to Sheng Feilong, Yuanen Yehui"s training was somewhat more relaxed. She Meixiao had brought one of the Soul Douluo ranked Elders of Daedalus over the day before to instruct Yuanen Yehui. The latter being fond of Yuanen Yehui"s talent, gladly volunteered to help with her training for the time being.
Although the Elder was strict, he wasn"t on the same level as Song Weihan, who knew every bit of information about the bodies and Spirit Power to train them to their limits. Sheng Feilong sighed when Yuanen Yehui told him about what her training implied, mentally preparing himself for what he could expect from Song Weihan"s training.
The two of them talked for a while while enjoying their meal when Yuanen Yehui noticed a dishevelled figure entering the dining room through the door behind Sheng Feilong, making a beeline for their table. Her eyes widened a little when she recognized the person. "Jialong..?"
Sheng Feilong turned around at her words, facing a Huang Jialong in an unusually sorry state; His hair was dishevelled and his eyes bloodshot, but with a bright expression in them, a confident smile on his lips. "Jialong, what happened to you-"
A startled expression showed on Sheng Feilong"s face at first, but he stopped talking after a moment, his expression morphing into a smile, realizing what was up when he felt Huang Jialong"s aura. "You broke through...? You"re a Soul Saint now?"
Likewise, the smile on Huang Jialong"s face grew wider, unconsciously, he struck his chest out proudly. "It was only a matter of time to begin with... And just breaking through rank 70 isn"t all..." His voice trailed off at the end while his aura rose further. His bloodshot eyes turned into green, vertical slits, while his sclera turned black – a clear sign that he was using his Spirit Essence.
Yuanen Yehui and Sheng Feilong stared at him in shock. Both of them were familiar with Huang Jialong"s Five-Headed Black Hydra Spirit Essence and its strength, but what they felt now was on a completely different level; The ferociousness and bloodl.u.s.t mixed into the aura itself were enough to have both of them tense up.
Sheng Feilong looked at him, quickly calming down as he understood that Huang Jialong wasn"t planning on attacking them or anything; It was truly just the innate ferociousness of his Spirit Essence. "How is your aura so powerful..? It"s completely different from before."
"Shouldn"t you know it quite well? Your eyes went through the same process..." Huang Jialong replied with a light chuckle, his words mystifying the matter, causing Sheng Feilong to frown. "My eyes..? Wait, don"t tell me... Your Spirit Essence went through a Second Awakening?!"
Both, he and Yuanen Yehui came to the same conclusion, staring at Huang Jialong in shock. The latter continued to chuckle and held up two finger. "Not one Second Awakening, but two. Two evolutions. My Spirit Essence is now a Seven-Headed Black Hydra."
Sheng Feilong glanced at Yuanen Yehui, who had a similarly shocked expression on her face as he did. He wordlessly used his Spirit Power to observe Huang Jialong"s strength more closely, shocked to find out that the extent of his power would already let him fight on equal grounds with a Soul Douluo, causing him to be unable to hold in a question. "What about your seventh Soul Ring?"
Smiling in response, Huang Jialong lightly shook his head. "I don"t have one yet. Senior Song told me to wait until I break through in my Spirit Power cultivation. Once I reach the Spirit Abyss Realm, he"ll give me a 100.000-years-old Spirit Soul, specifically nurtured to suit my needs."
"Master will...?" Sheng Feilong was obviously more shocked by this than Yuanen Yehui. He understood better than the two of them how difficult it was to create a 100.000-years-old Spirit Soul, yet Song Weihan wanted to gift one to Huang Jialong, just like that?
Huang Jialong nodded in response. "That"s what he told me personally. He actually had one prepared for you as well, though I doubt you"ll get it; The lion king is most likely much superior." He turned to Yuanen Yehui, who was taking all that information in with a conflicted expression. "Senior Song prepared one for each of us, including you... But we both need to reach the Spirit Abyss Realm before we even have the chance to get our hands on them..."
Hearing this, Yuanen Yehui was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded her head. Sheng Feilong remained silent for the time being; He really didn"t expect Song Weihan to go such lengths for them. Noticing the time, though, he face changed and he hurriedly finished his breakfast before heading off. "I gotta go; My training"s starting soon!"
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For the coming months, Sheng Feilong and the others trained day in, day out. Under Song Weihan"s and She Meixiao"s supervision, and personalized training, their strengths increased rapidly during that time.
Huang Jialong"s cultivation didn"t advance at all; Due to Song Weihan restraining him from obtaining another Soul Ring for now, he focused all of his attention to his spiritual cultivation. With much effort and dedication, as well as instructions and pointers from Song Weihan, he managed to make his breakthrough after a bit more than five months, reaching the Spirit Abyss Realm in Spirit Power.
Afterwards, the first thing he did was barge into Song Weihan"s office with a huge smile. The latter understandably didn"t like that, chastising Huang Jialong"s for his respectfulness and for not properly stabilizing his cultivation before he came.
A few days later, he returned to Song Weihan"s office, much more calm now and with his usual collected bearing. Song Weihan nodded contentedly, bringing Huang Jialong to a special ,isolated room where he could fuse with the Spirit Soul in peace.
Huang Jialong"s Spirit Essence had the elements of darkness with a minor poison attribute. Taking this, as well as its power, into account, Song Weihan chose a special Spirit Soul created from an Ancient Beast"s remains for him. Though its true name wasn"t known, Song Weihan dubbed it as a Treacherous Lightning Eel.
Yuanen Yehui, on the other hand, slowed her cultivation down. After hearing about the 100.000-years-old Spirit Souls from Huang Jialong, she asked Song Weihan and She Meixiao about it in private. The former confirmed what Huang Jialong told her, prompting her to ask for a change in her training and to be allowed to empathise her spiritual cultivation more.
By the time Huang Jialong made his real breakthrough to become a Soul Saint, she had only reached rank 67, but her Spirit Power had soared ma.s.sively; Now sitting at an impressive 4.500 points. Song Weihan guessed that, if she continued her training as is, she would reach rank 70 in another half a year, her Spirit Power breaking into the Spirit Abyss Realm even before that.
Sheng Feilong made similar progress to the two of them; He had managed to reach rank 73 during this half a year, while his mastery over his True Avatar increased ma.s.sively. Just measuring from his control, he was also superior to most Soul Douluo"s, and even slightly above them in terms of power, only inferior to t.i.tled Douluos.
As for his spiritual cultivation, there was no need to mention his strength; His already ridiculous Spirit Power has only increased over time, bringing him to the peak of the Spirit Abyss realm at 20.000 points of Spirit Power; Only half a step away from entering the fabled Spirit Domain Realm. However, that last step also wasn"t easy to take.
Moreover, before Sheng Feilong had the chance to consult Song Weihan on the matter, a piece of news found his way to She Meixiao, who told Song Weihan, Sheng Feilong and the others; A spy told her that Tang Wulin, the presumably dead in-name leader of the current generation"s Shrek Seven Monster"s had returned to Shrek Academy after three years.