Chapter 57: Significant Improvement  

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After Li Luochen and Dugu Yan absorbed the soul bones, their mental strength, physical bodies, and soul power all saw significant growth. 

The key was that the soul bones were an exceptionally good match for them, which was extremely rare. 

It took them a full day to absorb the soul bones, as they were top-tier ones that required time to fully integrate. 

After finishing the absorption process, both opened their eyes. Li Luochen felt his soul power had reached level forty-eight and a half, while Dugu Yan's soul power had undoubtedly broken through to level forty. 

Perfect timing! It had been over six months since they consumed the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. By now, their bodies had fully absorbed the medicinal effects of those herbs. 

They could now consume more neutral-grade divine herbs to further boost their soul power and physical conditioning. 

After Dugu Yan woke up, Li Luochen spoke to her: 

"Yanzi, let's take this opportunity to absorb the divine herbs as well. You absorb the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, and I'll absorb the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum." 

Dugu Yan didn't say anything in response. She retrieved a jade box from her storage soul-guiding device. Inside lay a white, crystal-clear herb that looked as pure and untouched as a lotus flower. 

Dugu Yan picked up the divine herb, first eating the petals and then consuming the stamen. Afterward, she sat cross-legged and began circulating the Limitless Universe Skill to digest and absorb the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone. 

The Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone's effects included nourishing tendons, strengthening bones, and activating the eight extraordinary meridians. This would allow Dugu Yan to break through her eight extraordinary meridians, significantly boosting her cultivation speed. 

Most importantly, the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone enhanced her body's flexibility, making her skin smoother and more delicate than ever before. Dugu Yan was already beautiful, but the herb made her even more stunning (much to the envy of Li Luochen). 

Additionally, Dugu Yan broke through a bottleneck in her Limitless Universe Skill, reaching the fifth stage of "Endless Regeneration," doubling her soul power reserves. 

Meanwhile, Li Luochen consumed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, starting with the stamen and then the petals. Its effects were similar to the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone—a neutral-grade divine herb that circulated energy throughout the limbs, activated the eight extraordinary meridians, and helped cultivate an indestructible body. 

Li Luochen used the Limitless Universe Skill to channel the herb's properties, breaking through his eight extraordinary meridians and achieving the seventh stage of the Indestructible Body. At this point, his physical strength had reached the level of a Soul Douluo, and his soul power had hit the bottleneck of level fifty. He only needed to absorb his fifth soul ring to become a true Soul King. 

Once Li Luochen became a Soul King, he would likely be able to fight on par with a seven-ring Soul Sage in their True Body state. Both his physical strength and mental power had reached the threshold of a Soul Douluo. 

Though his soul power was still at level fifty, thanks to his cultivation of the Limitless Universe Skill, his soul power reserves rivaled those of a six-ring Soul Emperor. A full-strength battle against a Soul Sage remained uncertain. 

At the same time, a faint connection formed between Li Luochen and Dugu Yan's spirits, though it was subtle and not yet noticeable to either of them. 

"You two have finished absorbing the herbs. In a few days, I'll take you to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for spirit beasts. In the meantime, consume the whale jelly. I brought back quite a bit of it this time." Dugu Bo spoke as he took out the whale jelly he had acquired recently. 

Li Luochen: ...… Your luck is really this good? Who's the protagonist here? Even Tang San's fortune can't compare to yours. 

Dugu Bo gave one of the Sea Dragon King's whale jellies to Dugu Yan—it was fresh and would have the best effect. He handed another ninety-thousand-year whale jelly to Li Luochen. 

Using his powerful soul power, Dugu Bo heated the whale jelly. Unlike thousand-year whale jelly, ten-thousand-year whale jelly didn't shrink much in size even when heated, and its soul power energy far surpassed that of thousand-year jelly. 

The two ninety-thousand-year whale jellies Dugu Bo provided were considered top-tier. After consuming them, only hundred-thousand-year whale jelly would have any further use. 

Li Luochen and Dugu Yan continued to absorb the energy from the whale jelly. Since their soul power had already reached a bottleneck, it accumulated within them, waiting to burst forth once they obtained their next soul rings. 

Dugu Bo left the room and went to find Flender, tossing him over a dozen fifty-thousand-year whale jellies. As an honorary dean of Shrek Academy, Dugu Bo figured this was a contribution to the academy—after all, he had no use for them himself. 

As for the three eighty-thousand-year and six seventy-thousand-year whale jellies, he left them with Li Luochen to distribute as he saw fit. 

In the following days, Shrek Academy entered another phase of improvement. Though Flender had also purchased whale jelly, most of it was only thousand-year grade. Ten-thousand-year whale jelly usually appeared in auctions in Tian Dou City, while thousand-year jelly had long lost its effectiveness. 

Even so, Flender had managed to acquire some ten-thousand-year whale jelly recently, though its age ranged from twenty to thirty thousand years. Still, it provided a significant boost to him as a Soul Douluo. Now, with over a dozen fifty-thousand-year whale jellies from Dugu Bo, the teachers in the academy could collectively increase their levels by more than one rank. 

After finishing his absorption, Li Luochen visited his grandfather, Li Yusong, that evening. He brought out an eighty-thousand-year and a seventy-thousand-year whale jelly for his grandfather to consume. 

For the past six months, Li Yusong had remained stuck at the peak of level sixty-nine. While the Nine Treasure Purple Zoysia pill had helped break through bottlenecks, his advanced age meant he needed more time to adjust. 

Li Luochen knew his grandfather was stuck at the second of the three major bottlenecks (levels thirty, seventy, and ninety). To help him break through, Li Luochen decided to give him two top-tier whale jellies. 

Once his grandfather absorbed them and improved his physical conditioning, he could join Li Luochen and Dugu Yan on their spirit beast hunt. With Dugu Bo around, finding a suitable sub-dragon species shouldn't be a problem. 

Li Luochen used the flames from his dragon wing soul bone to refine the whale jelly. His dragon wing soul bone had now reached the thirty-thousand-year level, and his control over flames had deepened significantly. The Infernal Delicate Apricot Herb had further strengthened his soul bone. 

His flames were now very close to the pinnacle of fire, though he rarely used them. Li Luochen preferred to rely on overwhelming force to overcome all obstacles. For him, flames served as an enchantment, adding explosive properties to his attacks. 

Especially in his Overlord Dragon Battle Form, when he unleashed his second soul skill, Blazing Flame Explosion Strike, any Soul Emperor without defensive soul skills would die instantly if struck. 

Half an hour later, the whale jelly refinement was complete. Li Luochen handed the refined jelly to Li Yusong. 

Without hesitation, Li Yusong swallowed both pieces of whale jelly and began circulating the Limitless Universe Skill to refine them. 

Powerful energy surged through Li Yusong's body, turning his skin red. However, the flush quickly faded. 

Truly, high-quality whale jelly was remarkable. Originally, Li Yusong would have needed another year or so to break through to level seventy. Now, he succeeded in one go, and his physical conditioning improved dramatically. 

Moreover, the energy from the whale jelly catalyzed the effects of the nine-leaf purple fungus and seven-leaf dragon fungus pills, accelerating their integration into Li Yusong's body. Taking advantage of this, Li Yusong advanced his Limitless Universe Skill to the sixth stage, "Immunity to All Poisons." 

Li Luochen decided to find a powerful, force-type sub-dragon species spirit beast for his grandfather, preferably one with golden bloodline traits. 

The seventh soul ring was critical—not only for its age but also for its quality. If chosen well, it could even evolve his spirit and make ascending to Title Douluo status much easier. 

A week later, under Dugu Bo's leadership, along with Flender, the Soul Douluo, they set out to help Li Luochen, Li Yusong, and Dugu Yan obtain their soul rings.

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