Li Chang'an's process of absorbing the spirit ring went very smoothly. His talent was genuine, without the slightest trace of falsity. With the aptitude of innate full spirit power, absorbing a spirit ring that was only a few hundred years old was, naturally, a trivial matter.
By the time he opened his eyes again, morning had passed, and it was already noon.
The middle-aged Spirit Saint who was guarding nearby immediately stepped forward when he saw Li Chang'an awaken, asking eagerly what spirit ability he had gained. That was his main mission—to observe whether Li Chang'an truly possessed potential or not.
Li Chang'an had no intention of hiding his strength. After all, he currently had nothing. Combined with his natural noble status, if he could gain the appreciation of the Heaven Dou Emperor, he would surely receive abundant resources and cultivation support.
As the saying goes, "It's cooler under the shade of a big tree."
Although the Heaven Dou Empire seemed rather disappointing in the original story, in truth, its cultivation resources were in no way inferior to those of the great sects—perhaps even superior. After all, it was a grand empire. No matter how one looked at it, it couldn't possibly lack cultivation resources.
If Li Chang'an displayed his talent, before he fully matured, the Heaven Dou Empire would undoubtedly provide him protection and try its best to win him over with generous benefits.
As for why he didn't choose to join Spirit Hall or other sect powers like the reputable Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
First of all—he had no connections.
Did he really think those great powers were places one could join just because one wanted to? Even if he somehow managed to enter, how could he be sure he'd gain their trust and receive proper cultivation resources? There were too many uncertainties.
Secondly, he was, after all, a pure-blooded Heaven Dou noble, not a commoner with a clean background. His identity was too sensitive—hard for others to trust.
Of course, if the Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong herself, or some Titled Douluo-level elder, personally accepted him as a disciple, that would be different. Then he could naturally join Spirit Hall, earn their trust, and become a core member.
The same applied to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—if Sword Douluo took him as a disciple, it would be equivalent to personally vouching for him. Naturally, that would allow him to enter the sect's inner circle and become a core figure.
The problem was—he had none of those qualifications right now. Thus, joining the Heaven Dou Empire was the optimal choice.
Even if this "ship" of the Heaven Dou Empire was already creaking and full of holes, even if the Crown Prince had been assassinated and replaced, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. In a situation where high-end combat strength was lacking, a talented genius of noble birth and extraordinary aptitude was precisely what the Heaven Dou Emperor needed most.
What kind of terms the Emperor would offer to recruit him, Li Chang'an didn't yet know—but they were bound to be generous. After all, winning people's hearts required incentive.
At this stage, what he needed wasn't to hide his talent—but to fully display it, draw the Emperor's attention, and secure the Empire's protection and cultivation resources.
"First Spirit Skill: Sword Qi!"
Holding the Jade-Scaled Sword, the yellow spirit ring circling Li Chang'an's body shone brightly. As he raised the sword and swung it—whoosh!—a sharp sound of air being torn apart echoed.
Countless hair-thin strands of sword qi burst forth, sweeping across the area in front of him.
Chi chi chi chi...!
It was like red-hot iron rods piercing through candles—those fine sword qi beams easily punctured a large tree several meters thick, unable to resist even slightly.
In the blink of an eye, the massive tree trunk was riddled with dozens of thin holes. Green smoke began to rise from them—the holes were corroding!
After that single strike, Li Chang'an's face showed traces of fatigue. Clearly, releasing so many strands of sword qi at once consumed a large amount of his spirit power.
One must not underestimate this so-called "sword qi," thinking it was merely spirit power attached to a sword and released, similar to Tang San's Blue Silver Bind—a redundant ability. That wasn't the case at all.
First of all, how could a mere sword naturally release sword qi? Did one think simply condensing spirit power on a sword and shooting it out made it sword qi?
In reality, the energy quality of the sword qi produced through this spirit skill had already changed—it was no longer raw spirit power. It had become a highly penetrative energy imbued with toxins.
This wasn't just a matter of gathering spirit power and releasing it—it was a fundamental transformation, like turning water into gasoline. Without the aid of this spirit ring skill, he couldn't possibly generate such highly penetrative sword qi.
Exhaling softly, Li Chang'an looked toward the middle-aged Spirit Saint, who was staring in astonishment at the tree riddled with holes, and explained:
"My first spirit skill allows me to release sword qi. The number of sword qi strands depends on my spirit power—I can release a single strand, or, like just now, convert all my spirit power into sword qi and fire them at once."
"Moreover, the sword qi I release isn't just sharp and penetrative—it also carries poison!"
The middle-aged Spirit Saint stepped closer to examine the tree. Through the thin holes, he could clearly see the scenery on the other side—the sword qi had pierced straight through the several-meter-thick trunk.
Most astonishingly, the sword qi was poisoned.
He could already imagine how terrifying Li Chang'an would be in future battles—just one wave of his hand, countless sword qi would rain down. Even if his opponent only suffered a small cut, the poison would instantly invade their body.
Terrifying!
The middle-aged Spirit Saint looked in awe at the pale-faced boy before him. Just this first spirit skill alone—by his estimation—could even pierce through the defensive skills of a Spirit Elder!
Could such penetrative power really belong to a first spirit ring?
What he didn't know was that Li Chang'an was still holding back. He hadn't revealed all the changes his Martial Spirit had undergone after absorbing the first spirit ring. After all, the talent he had already displayed was more than enough to draw significant attention—he needed to keep a few cards up his sleeve.
(End of Chapter)
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