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The potency of the Five Elements energy and the bloodline of the Five Elements Qilin contained within the Five Elements Pearl far exceeded Xu Yuan's expectations.
The first soul ring of his Heavenly Origin Brush rapidly turned pitch black, then deepened to the point where it seemed to emit a faint glow.
Finally, within that profoundly dark soul ring, faint streaks of red began to flicker in and out of view.
Nearly a hundred thousand years!
Xu Yuan opened his eyes and looked at the five soul rings swirling beneath his feet. His gaze focused primarily on the faint red patterns flickering within the first soul ring.
"This bloodline power from Tong Yu is indeed formidable. I suspect he invested a significant amount of resources into this Five Elements Pearl," Xu Yuan thought, keeping Tong Yu's assistance firmly in mind.
The bloodline power infused was undoubtedly the most primal essence, and Tong Yu himself had mastered sixteen Five Elements-based soul skills outside of his martial soul's true body. Even if not all of these insights were fully integrated into the pearl, at his level, his understanding of soul skills had subtly imprinted itself into his bloodline.
Though Xu Yuan didn't fully replicate all those soul skills while evolving the Five Elements Rune, he did trigger sixteen different directions of evolution for the Five Elements attributes, making this Five Elements Rune incredibly "rich" in content.
The Heavenly Runes themselves connected heaven and earth with the soul master.
When used as a soul ring, the ring's duration would be nurtured by the forces of heaven and earth. Given that this particular Heavenly Rune was sufficiently powerful, the soul ring's duration naturally became much higher.
This was precisely Xu Yuan's case.
At this moment, he had only just begun fusing this Five Elements Rune and hadn't yet undergone prolonged nurturing by heaven and earth, yet his first soul ring was already nearing the breakthrough to a hundred thousand years.
Even though a hundred thousand years was a significant milestone, Xu Yuan already felt a certain level of confidence.
Perhaps all he needed to do was slowly digest this power—without seeking any additional opportunities—he might still obtain his first hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
Wait!
As long as he waited for some time, his first soul ring would transform into a hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
"No wonder he's the man with nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings—Tong Yu's comprehension of the Five Elements is truly profound."
Xu Yuan couldn't help but marvel.
Just through the insights passed down via his bloodline, which were triggered during the evolution of the Five Elements Rune, this Heavenly Rune had become so powerful.
Of course, along with the changes in the soul ring's color, Xu Yuan felt an even deeper mastery over the Five Elements attributes.
"Soul rings really are incredible things."
It was a familiar sensation.
Clearly, these weren't methods of manipulating the Five Elements that he had developed or personally comprehended, yet they now appeared in his mind as if they were instinctual—as though he had practiced them countless times.
It was akin to inheriting the insights gained from practicing inherited battle techniques after daily cultivation.
After fusing with the Five Elements Rune, Xu Yuan's first soul skill also underwent a transformation. Referring to it as "Five Elements Mastery" no longer seemed appropriate. What was once considered mastery now seemed to be merely a passive effect of this soul ring. A more fitting name for this first soul skill might now be "Five Elements Derivation."
Xu Yuan's thoughts stirred.
His consciousness entered the dream space.
"Huan Xing, try to see if you can activate the first soul ring of my Heavenly Origin Brush."
Although it was inherently part of the Heavenly Origin Brush first soul ring, its essence was a Heavenly Rune, existing in a rather unique form. Perhaps Huan Xing, the spirit soul of Xu Yuan's other martial soul, could directly sense it.
Huan Xing's massive figure appeared in the dream space.
He took a deep breath, his expression one of anticipation.
Huan Xing understood clearly that whether or not he could harness Xu Yuan's Five Elements Derivation soul skill through the Heavenly Rune would determine whether his days ahead would be easy or difficult.
Huan Xing steeled himself for the challenge.
Closing his eyes, he channeled his spiritual power to connect with the first soul ring of Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Brush released in the external world.
No response.
As before, connecting with the soul ring was impossible.
However, Xu Yuan's current first soul ring was in a unique state.
With Xu Yuan's cooperation, the Five Elements Rune within the first soul ring revealed itself. Huan Xing linked his spiritual power to this Heavenly Rune.
Instantly, Huan Xing opened his eyes, starlight flashing within them like meteors streaking across the sky, his spirit invigorated tenfold.
Yes!
It worked!
It could be activated!
Huan Xing cheered inwardly.
Xu Yuan also sensed it—Huan Xing seemed to have successfully begun mastering the Heavenly Rune.
In the dream space, Huan Xing quickly vanished, reappearing in the external world.
The colossal Huan Xing condensed his form, exuding a dreamlike texture. Starlight shimmered around him, and the five elements gathered around his body.
The five elements converged above his head, their five colors forming a dazzling radiance.
The powers of the five colors split apart and then merged, swiftly emitting a fierce burst of light that struck the empty ground of Xu Yuan's dormitory courtyard.
Boom!
A loud explosion erupted, blasting a massive crater into the ground.
As the dust settled, the area around the deep crater still shimmered with dense Five Elements energy, burning the surrounding ground like flames.
Five Elements True Fire.
Huan Xing raised a finger, and the cluster of Five Elements light above his head split into threads of Five Elements energy, intertwining to evolve into lightning of five colors.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five bolts of lightning struck the ground, leaving behind five distinct traces.
He then raised both hands above his head, and the remaining Five Elements energy rapidly swirled around his body, forming an energy shield.
Five Elements Divine Light Shield.
The divine light shield lasted for two and a half minutes before Huan Xing canceled it, appearing refreshed and full of energy.
"This Five Elements Derivation soul skill is absolutely extraordinary," Xu Yuan marveled.
A single soul skill had evolved to encompass almost all forms of Five Elements-based soul skills that Tong Yu had mastered.
In fact, Xu Yuan's initial estimate had been quite conservative.
He had originally thought it would take months, or even years, to evolve his first soul ring to a hundred thousand years.
However, after integrating the Five Elements Rune into his first soul ring, Huan Xing continuously harnessed the Five Elements Rune to comprehend various Five Elements soul skills. The red streaks within Xu Yuan's first soul ring grew increasingly clear.
From initially being faint and barely visible, they became distinctly present after a single day.
By the second day, they had rapidly spread throughout the entire soul ring.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
Red, black, black, black, black.
The five soul rings were arranged in sequence, showcasing Xu Yuan's terrifying potential.
"I never expected my first hundred-thousand-year soul ring to appear on the Heavenly Origin Brush martial soul."
Even Xu Yuan himself found it abrupt.
While Xu Yuan cultivated, the entire Federation underwent earth-shaking changes.
Elder Long seized the opportunity to request an investigation into Li Yong, and the rhythm of the entire parliament fell into his hands.
However, this also ignited the atmosphere at the scene. Regardless of their stance, Zhang Zhongli's neutral faction and the hawkish faction adamantly opposed handing over Eternal Paradise to Shrek.
Elder Long, through various setups, had successfully established his dominance.
But precisely because of this, many parliamentarians saw their own future and realized there was no escape. One by one, they no longer had any concerns about repercussions.
Unlike Li Yong, who had jumped into the fray, they firmly expressed their agreement with Zhang Zhongli's earlier statements.
At this moment, whether neutral or hawkish, their attitudes were resolute.
Shrek Academy had already become so arrogant—it was absolutely unacceptable to hand over Eternal Paradise to them!
Absolutely impossible!
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