Chapter 54: Six Months Later, A Pleasant Surprise  

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Six months later, Li Luochen had turned thirteen. His soul power cultivation had progressed slowly, increasing by only one and a half levels, bringing him to level forty-five and a half. 

However, his mastery of staff techniques had improved significantly. During these six months, Qianjun Douluo had visited twice to guide Li Luochen in his staff techniques. Qianjun Douluo would instruct through sparring sessions. 

Each time they sparred, Li Luochen felt as though he had gained sudden clarity, and he became more certain about the path he had chosen for his staff techniques. 

As for Dugu Yan, she had broken through two and a half levels during these six months, reaching level thirty-nine and a half, just shy of level forty. Before leaving, Dugu Bo had mentioned that he would return in six months, so he should be back within the next couple of days. 

During these six months, aside from Zhao Wuji, who had reached level seventy-eight (thanks to the torso bone adding half a level), none of the teachers at Shrek Academy had made any breakthroughs. 

Oscar and Ma Hongjun's main focus during this period was mastering the rapid increase in their soul power. After all, Oscar was only nine years old, and Ma Hongjun was just seven—both were already Great Soul Masters. 

Such rapid progress wasn't necessarily a good thing. For the past six months, they had been working on strengthening their foundations. Oscar focused on enhancing his physical strength and combat skills—it wasn't easy to become a Battle Soul Master. 

Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, worked on controlling his flames. He had jumped directly from level fourteen to level twenty-two, which was an incredibly fast progression. He needed time to properly adjust to his newfound power. 

Li Luochen gave them three years to consolidate and refine their strength, which would be enough time for them to gain full control over their abilities and take their soul power mastery to the next level. 

Three years from now, they would head to the Soto Grand Spirit Arena to participate in spirit battles. To pass the duo spirit battle test, they would need to achieve the Silver Spirit Badge rank. 

The time limit was two years, meaning they had to obtain the Silver Spirit Badge before Tang San entered Shrek Academy. 

It would be interesting to see if Tang San still had the confidence to claim that there were no useless spirits, only useless soul masters. 

Even though Oscar and Ma Hongjun hadn't actively cultivated their soul power during these six months, their levels had still increased by one level. At this rate, by the time Tang San enrolled, both of them would likely be high-level Soul Honors, and Oscar might even break through to Soul Sage. 

The two youngsters were currently sparring with each other. Oscar's close-combat abilities had improved significantly; his hand-to-hand combat skills were on par with those of Great Soul Masters at the same level—he just lacked offensive soul skills. Once Oscar reached level fifty, he would gain substantial combat ability. 

The Silver-Winged Beast and Mirror Image Beast would mark the turning point in Oscar's journey. 

As for Ma Hongjun, he had begun experimenting with creating his own soul skills—a claw-based technique infused with his Phoenix Flames, which he called "Phoenix Claw." This greatly enhanced his close-combat capabilities. Li Luochen planned to find a five-thousand-year fire-attribute spirit beast skilled in close combat to further aid Ma Hongjun's development. 

After observing their sparring session, Li Luochen went to look for Dugu Yan. Dugu Yan was now fifteen, and her figure had become increasingly curvaceous. It seemed that soul masters matured early—here, girls could bear children as young as twelve. 

At the moment, Dugu Yan wasn't cultivating. Instead, she was sitting on the swing Li Luochen had built for her, gazing absentmindedly at the sky. 

"Yanzi, what's wrong? Are you missing your grandfather?" Li Luochen approached her gently, speaking softly as he pushed the swing from behind. 

"Chen, it's been six months since Grandpa left. He's never been away from me for this long before—the longest was only three days. Do you think something happened to him on the way?" Dugu Yan hadn't seen Dugu Bo for six months, and she missed him dearly. Being emotional by nature, she was prone to overthinking at times like this. 

"There's no chance of that. With Grandpa's strength, only a handful of people in the world could stop him. He probably got delayed by something." Li Luochen could only offer gentle reassurance. 

"Grandpa, please come back soon. I miss you so much," Dugu Yan murmured softly, looking up at the sky. 

"Oh~ Does my little Yanzi miss her grandpa so much? Come here, let Grandpa give you a hug." Suddenly, Dugu Bo appeared, his hearty laughter snapping Dugu Yan out of her melancholy. 

"Grandpa!" Dugu Yan exclaimed joyfully, throwing herself at Dugu Bo and hugging his neck tightly, a bright smile spreading across her face. 

"Hehe, is my little girl this clingy after just six months? Hahahaha!" Dugu Bo teased, patting Dugu Yan's head affectionately. 

"Grandpa, it's been so long!" Li Luochen greeted Dugu Bo warmly with a smile. 

"Yanzi, and Luochen, come with me to a quiet place. I have something for you two," Dugu Bo said, leading them to the most secluded spot in the academy. 

This place had been prepared by Flender for Dugu Bo's use. Though Dugu Bo rarely stayed here, it was cleaned daily. 

Once inside, Dugu Bo gestured for them to sit down. Then, using his soul power, he created a barrier to isolate their presence and muffle any noise. 

"Grandpa, why are you being so mysterious?" Dugu Yan asked, puzzled. 

Li Luochen also had no idea what Dugu Bo was up to. Had he found some rare medicinal herb? 

Dugu Bo took out two boxes from his storage soul-guiding device. The boxes were forged from lead blocks. 

"Open them," Dugu Bo instructed. 

Li Luochen and Dugu Yan exchanged glances before opening the lead boxes. A powerful surge of soul power emanated from within. Inside each box lay a crystal-clear, deep blue bone fragment—a head bone. Judging by its appearance, it was a head bone of extremely high age. 

The soul bones were identical, and their soul power fluctuations were the same, indicating that the two spirit beasts were of the same species and similar age. 

"Hehe, this is the greatest reward from my travels. These are two ninety-thousand-year-old Spirit-Crushing Demon-Breaking Head Bones, originating from a pair of married sea spirit beasts—two ninety-thousand-year-old Sea Dragon Kings. These are top-tier head bones. 

Since they were a married couple, and you two will eventually marry as well, I've decided to treat these as an early dowry. I did some research on the Sea Dragon Kings—they're the strongest spirit-attribute sub-dragon species among sea spirit beasts. Their most powerful attack is the blue light emitted from their eyes. 

I personally witnessed a Sea Dragon King pierce through a Soul Douluo with a single strike—even a Title Douluo would suffer severe injuries. The soul bones dropped by their species are usually head bones. In my opinion, the quality of these head bones rivals that of ten-thousand-year limb bones. 

You two should absorb them immediately to avoid any unforeseen complications. Remember, do not reveal the existence of these head bones until you reach the Soul Douluo stage—I'm worried some desperate individuals might resort to extreme measures." 

Dugu Bo spoke at length, constantly reminding them of this and that. He sounded just like an overprotective parent—which, of course, he was. 

Simultaneously, Li Luochen and Dugu Yan placed the Spirit-Crushing Demon-Breaking Head Bones on their foreheads. A cool surge of soul power entered their spiritual seas, causing their mental strength to soar. 

Among the six types of soul bones, head bones ranked second only to torso bones—extremely rare and highly sought-after treasures. Ninety-thousand-year-old head bones were almost unbelievable, especially ones of such pristine quality. The sheer abundance of soul power they contained was unparalleled. 

Dugu Yan immediately broke through to level forty, reaching the bottleneck of a Soul Sage. With the boost from the soul bone, the duration of her fourth soul ring would increase significantly. 

As for Li Luochen, his soul power surged by three levels, bringing him to level forty-eight and a half. His mental strength approached the level of a Soul Douluo, and his physical strength also increased thanks to the integration of the top-tier soul bone.

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