Finally, Ma Xiaotao's aura completely erupted. The golden-yellow light barrier around the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Bed instantly shattered, and a golden-red Phoenix phantom soared into the sky, dyeing the entire Sea God Pavilion red.
The most obvious sensation was experienced by Wang Nan, who was sitting opposite Ma Xiaotao.
Because he needed to help Ma Xiaotao dispel the evil energy within her body, his mental force had been focused on her. As the evil energy in her Spirit and spirit power gradually disappeared, the ultimate attribute of the Phoenix slowly emerged.
By the time the last trace of evil energy vanished from Ma Xiaotao's body, her Spirit seemed to have undergone another awakening. Spirit power surged through her entire body, cleansing her meridians and marrow, and her spirit power rank also rose to sixty-seven.
It looked quite similar to when Wang Nan's Dragon Spirit awakened.
In Wang Nan's mental force perception, the spirit power within Ma Xiaotao's body gradually became dense and viscous. If her previous spirit power was like ordinary water flowing through her meridians, now Ma Xiaotao's spirit power was like heavy mercury.
The weight of the same volume of water cannot compare to mercury. Similarly, although the total amount of spirit power had not changed, with the transformation of Ma Xiaotao's internal spirit power, its quality was now incomparable to before.
Having witnessed the entire process of Ma Xiaotao's transformation, Wang Nan vaguely understood why ultimate Spirits possessed such high combat power.
Spirit Masters with ultimate Spirits have spirit power that is different from ordinary Spirit Masters. Just as different liquids have different densities, their spirit power has undergone further compression. In the same form, both its quality and total amount exceed that of ordinary Spirit Masters.
Therefore, their cultivation speed slows down after their spirit power rank exceeds thirty, and thus their spirit power is much denser than that of ordinary Spirit Masters.
A flash of inspiration was fleeting, but Wang Nan had already grasped it.
Since obtaining his sixth spirit ring, the spirit power within his body had become even denser than before. He could clearly feel that every bit of spirit power he gained now required absorbing more elemental energy from heaven and earth, then further compressing and transforming it before it could smoothly integrate with his original spirit power.
This process undoubtedly increases the demand for the concentration of elemental energy from heaven and earth and one's own mental force during cultivation. Therefore, almost all Spirit Masters find their cultivation speed becoming slower as their spirit power rank gets higher.
But with Wang Nan's current mental force, he was fully capable of further compressing the spirit power within his body.
He knew that Spirit Masters need to compress the spirit power within their bodies into a solid state, forming a Spirit core, when breaking through to the Titled Douluo Realm.
However, it is not only Titled Douluo who can form a Spirit core; as long as one's mental force is sufficient, one can compress their own spirit power into a Spirit core in advance.
It was naturally too early for Wang Nan to condense a Spirit core with his current cultivation, but simply compressing the spirit power within his body to make it denser was something he could attempt.
With the awakening of the Dragon Spirit, Wang Nan's mindset also underwent some changes; some higher realms seemed attainable now. He wanted to make the form of his spirit power even closer to the ultimate.
Wang Nan's consciousness sank into meditation, but the Evil Breaking Dragon circling him did not disappear.
Watching the Phoenix phantom ascend higher and higher, it somewhat defiantly raised its Dragon head and flew toward the high sky.
"Look, what's that?"
In the Outer Courtyard of Shrek Academy, many newly enrolled students gathered by Sea God Lake, admiring the scenery. Someone shouted, and everyone looked up, seeing a Dragon and a Phoenix flying up from Sea God Island, circling and intertwining in the high sky until they slowly dispersed after a long while.
…
It was another morning, with the eastern sky showing a hint of dawn, when Wang Nan was startled awake from his meditation, only to find himself sitting on the ground.
After a brief recollection, he realized he was still in the quiet room, but the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Bed beneath him had vanished without a trace at some unknown point.
The quiet room opened, and a figure rushed in. Wang Nan looked up and saw Ma Xiaotao, but she had changed significantly compared to before.
She seemed to have grown taller, her figure more slender, and her original light pink eyes had turned golden-red.
Her red hair cascaded behind her, complementing her red school uniform. Every strand of hair seemed to be coated with a delicate luster, and under the light, a faint golden glow seemed to flow slowly.
As her hair swept up, tracing an arc in the air, Wang Nan felt a soft body embrace him, followed by Ma Xiaotao's whisper in his ear.
"Thank you."
A moment later, Ma Xiaotao released her arms and stood up.
"You're welcome," Wang Nan finally replied.
"Let's talk outside." Ma Xiaotao pulled Wang Nan up and led him out of the quiet room.
Upon arriving in the main hall on the first floor of the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En was sitting there, with Yan Shaozhe behind him, his brows slightly furrowed.
"It seems you also gained a lot during the process of purifying Xiaotao's Spirit."
Wang Nan nodded. If anyone could see inside his body, they would find that the spirit power in his meridians was divided into two streams. One stream was still in its original state, while the other, though temporarily weak, had a quality that far exceeded the original.
This was a good start. Although Wang Nan knew that his spirit power could not become exactly like an ultimate Spirit, as long as he continued to compress it, his strength would constantly surpass his previous self.
Not to mention the mountain peak that appeared out of thin air in his mental force sea. Its appearance meant that Wang Nan's mental force was developing in the direction of "quality."
"That's good. You've also worked hard for several days. Go back and rest."
Only then did Wang Nan realize that the process of helping Ma Xiaotao purify her Evil Phoenix Fire had lasted so long, and after it ended, he had meditated in the quiet room for another four or five days.
"Then I'll be going."
Wang Nan left the Sea God Pavilion and walked down the mountain, only to see Beibei walking towards him.
Since he went to the Outer Courtyard, the number of times he came here had decreased significantly.
Wang Nan nodded slightly, about to leave, but then he heard Beibei speak, calling out to him.
"Senior Brother Wang."
"What is it?" Wang Nan looked at Beibei upon hearing him, seeing him staring at his eyes.
"I have something to ask you."
Although Beibei often saw Wang Nan training in front of the Sea God Pavilion, this was the first time he had sought him out for something.
"Senior Brother, do you still remember the girl next to me at the east gate of the Academy a few days ago?"
"Are you referring to Tang Ya?"
"Senior Brother, do you two know each other?" Beibei's eyes widened slightly.
"Not exactly. I remember encountering her having an argument with the registration teacher in the Outer Courtyard before, and I heard her name from her." Wang Nan's mental force was outstanding, and his memory was naturally excellent. At the mention of it, the scene of Tang Ya registering back then appeared in his mind.
"I… have you two met before?"
Wang Nan shook his head. "Just tell me what you need to say directly."
Seeing Beibei's expression, Wang Nan knew that he definitely had other things he wanted to ask.