Chapter 250 Third Evolution! Three Eyes Merged into One!
On the training ground, everyone's eyes were fixed on the direction halfway up the mountain.
The aura was still rising, but its speed had slowed down.
It's not a weakening, but rather like climbing a hill to the very end, where every step is steady and solid.
Chen Lu lowered his fist, his hand still in the same position as when he threw the punch, but he had forgotten to pull it back.
His eyes were fixed on the bamboo grove, and his mouth was slightly open.
"Senior Brother Liu Yuan's aura... it feels completely different from before?" Chen Lu's voice was a little dry.
Wang Yanfeng stood beside him without answering.
His brows furrowed. He could sense that the texture of that aura had changed; it wasn't just a simple fluctuation of soul power, but something deeper.
Long Aotian stood still, his hands hanging at his sides.
His expression had changed from initial shock to serious concern.
"The third evolution," Long Aotian said, his voice not loud, but everyone heard him.
Chen Lu turned to look at him.
Long Aotian didn't repeat himself, but just looked towards the mountainside.
Vina stood in the shade of the tree, her gaze never leaving that direction.
Her fingers were no longer clutching the hem of her clothes; they hung limply at her sides, trembling slightly, but her eyes were bright.
"He can do it," Vina said softly.
The disciples in the training ground began to whisper among themselves.
It wasn't a noisy clamor, but a suppressed, reverent whispering.
Everyone was talking about the same thing—Senior Brother Liu Yuan's aura, and the possibility of his martial soul evolving.
"My martial spirit is resonating. It's not fear, but the feeling of a subordinate meeting a superior."
"Me too. My martial spirit is trembling slightly, but not from fear, it's an instinctive submission."
Discussions spread across the training ground.
The disciples stood in small groups, some whispering to each other, some looking up at the mountainside, and some closing their eyes to sense the changes in the aura.
Elder Chen came out of his room.
His left hand was still wrapped in bandages, but he walked quickly.
He walked to the edge of the training ground, stopped, raised his head, and looked towards the mountainside.
His brows were slightly furrowed, but there was a barely perceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.
Elder Zhang strode over from the library, a book in his hand.
He walked to Elder Chen's side, stood still, and looked up at the mountainside.
"Is this Liu Yuan's aura?" Elder Zhang asked.
Elder Chen did not answer, but simply nodded.
Elder Zhang remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice.
"What kind of trouble is this kid going to cause now?"
Elder Li walked over from the other side of the training ground.
His steps were steady, with his hands behind his back.
He walked over to the two elders, but didn't ask any questions. He just stood there, looking at the mountainside.
More elders came from different directions.
Some came out from the side hall of the main hall, some rushed over from the cultivation room on the back mountain, and some walked out quickly from the direction of the canteen.
They were wearing different clothes, some even in practice clothes, others in aprons, but at this moment, everyone was doing the same thing—looking up at the mountainside.
The main hall door was still closed.
Du Bu Si was still in seclusion. There were no disciples on duty outside the gate, only two elders guarding the hall standing on the steps, also looking up at the mountainside.
The discussions in the training ground gradually subsided, not stopped, but went from loud to soft, and from soft to whispers.
The aura in the air was still slowly rising, but the rate of ascent had slowed down, as if it were approaching a peak.
Elder Chen withdrew his gaze and glanced at Elder Zhang and Elder Li beside him.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Elder Zhang adjusted his glasses and pondered for a moment.
"The aura of a martial soul evolution. It's not a second awakening, but a deeper evolution. Liu Yuan's martial soul was originally a product of the double pupil mutation, and no one knew where its upper limit was. Now it seems that it is much higher than we expected."
Elder Li nodded. "His soul power is also improving. Not by leaps and bounds, but with solid, steady growth."
Elder Chen didn't ask any more questions. He turned around, looked at the disciples in the training ground, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.
"Everyone, disperse. Go about your business. Liu Yuan will naturally come out when he finishes his seclusion."
The disciples did not disperse immediately.
They were still looking towards the mountainside, still sensing the change in the atmosphere.
But Elder Chen's words had an effect, and the murmurs subsided. Some disciples slowly walked back to the center of the training ground, picked up the weapons they had just put down, and continued their sparring.
But their attention was still focused on the area not far away.
Elder Chen did not leave.
Elder Zhang and Elder Li did not leave either.
They stood at the edge of the training ground, looking at the hillside, in silence.
Inside a sealed room.
Liu Yuan sat cross-legged on the futon, and the air around him no longer vibrated.
The overflowing energy began to contract inward, like the receding tide, slowly gathering back into the body.
His eyes were closed, but he could "see" everything in the secret room.
It's not with the naked eye, but with mental power.
He could feel every crack in the wall, every speck of dust on the ground, and the trajectory of every grain of sand falling through the hourglass.
His mental strength more than doubled.
Liu Yuan silently assessed the situation in his mind.
After his martial soul underwent its third evolution, his total mental power at least doubled.
This is not superficial growth, but a solid, fundamental improvement. Every strand of spiritual energy is more condensed, purer, and easier to control.
He opened his eyes.
Within his eye sockets, three pupils floated silently, arranged in a triangular pattern. With a thought, the three pupils simultaneously converged towards the center, overlapping and merging into a single, dark golden pupil.
At the center of that single pupil was a tiny bright spot, like a distant star.
The three pupils merge into one.
Liu Yuan carefully sensed this state.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and his single pupil split into three pupils once more.
He tried it several times, and each switch was incredibly smooth, without the slightest delay.
He focused his inner vision on his dantian.
The soul core is still spinning, but at twice the speed of before its evolution.
The output and recovery speed of soul power have also doubled, and the soul power flowing in the meridians is thicker and more solid.
After the evolution was completed, the soul power level increased by one level, from level 68 to level 69.
I'm just one step away from reaching level 70.
But he didn't rush to break through that threshold.
He knew that his body needed time to adapt after just completing his martial soul evolution. Forcing a breakthrough was not a wise choice.
Liu Yuan took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
The fluctuations of soul power around him completely subsided, and the overflowing aura was also completely withdrawn into his body at the same moment.
The secret room returned to silence, and the soul-guiding lamps on the walls lit up again, their steady light illuminating every corner.
He stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff body.
A faint cracking sound came from the bones, and the tension in the muscles slowly dissipated.
Outside the sealed room.
Elder Chen stood before the stone gate, neither knocking nor speaking. His left hand, still bandaged, hung at his side. His gaze remained fixed on the closed stone gate; he was quiet and made no attempt to urge him on.
Elder Zhang stood beside him, adjusted his glasses, and then lowered his hand.
"The aura has dissipated," Elder Zhang said.
Elder Li nodded.
"It has converged. This means that evolution is complete."
Long Aotian stood behind several elders, his hands hanging at his sides, his palms devoid of light.
His gaze also fell on the stone gate, his expression calm, but his eyes held anticipation.
Chen Lu stood beside Long Aotian. He swallowed hard, wanting to say something, but after glancing at Elder Chen, he swallowed his words back.
Wang Yanfeng stood on the other side, his fingers tapping unconsciously beside him.
Vina stood at the very back of the crowd; she neither went forward nor left. She simply stood there, looking at the stone door, waiting.
Elder Chen withdrew his gaze, glanced at Elder Zhang, and then at Elder Li.
Then he stepped forward, raised his right hand, and knocked on the stone door three times, neither too hard nor too softly.
Knock knock knock.
The sound echoed through the quiet bamboo forest.
The bamboo grove rustled in the wind, and the fragrance of bamboo leaves mingled with the mountain breeze from afar.
Elder Chen withdrew his hand and stood in front of the stone gate, waiting.
Inside the secret room, Liu Yuan heard a knock on the door.
He opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at the stone door.
His gaze passed through the stone door and fell upon the people standing outside.
Elder Chen, Elder Zhang, Elder Li, and Long Aotian and the others.
He took a deep breath and then strode toward the stone gate.
The footsteps were clear in the quiet, enclosed room—one, two, three.
He walked to the stone gate, stretched out his hand, and pressed it against the cold stone surface.
(End of chapter)