The Five Elements Kirin Pearl could be compared to a dragon's Dragon Pearl.
Once given, it would mean that Tong Yu himself had also brought his own life to an end.
Tong Yu wasn't ready to give up just yet, so he couldn't give Xu Yuan the Five Elements Kirin Pearl. However, he could condense a portion of his bloodline essence and the essence of the five elements into a quintessence.
(T/N: A quintessence is the refined essence or extract of a substance. Yes, I'm flexing big words lol)
"I don't know if this quintessence will solve your problem," Tong Yu said, his voice slightly weak.
He had condensed a part of his bloodline essence, leaving him somewhat drained.
"Brother Yu, this is more than enough," Xu Yuan said gratefully as he accepted the Five Elements Pearl formed from the quintessence. "Brother Yu, thank you."
Tong Yu gave a faint smile.
"It won't harm me too much; some quiet cultivation will suffice to make up for it."
After speaking, he waved his hand.
"Well, it's time for you to go. These past few days, I've been feeling increasingly stronger. It's time for me to enter seclusion and break through to the Lingyu Realm."
His breakthrough didn't come from any sudden epiphany that directly propelled him into the Lingyu Realm.
Xu Yuan had only guided him, helping him slowly dissolve the knots in his heart, rather than enlightening him on any profound truth.
It was a shift in mindset, not an instantaneous revelation.
"Brother Yu, take care."
Xu Yuan left the Five Elements Lake with Yun Ming and Mu Ye, heading toward the spot where they had disembarked earlier.
Among the three, both Xu Yuan and Mu Ye had mecha, while Yun Ming, even when flying, moved at an incredible speed. It took them only a day to reach their destination.
Others gradually arrived as well.
Soon, thousands of people from the Federation gathered in a hotel arranged by the Star Luo Imperial Family.
Elder Cai also arrived after meeting with Yun Ming.
"Pavilion Master."
"Hmm, this exchange program has yielded significant results," Yun Ming remarked as his gaze swept over the group from Shrek Academy.
Although he hadn't personally seen Wu Siduo and the others before their departure and wasn't fully aware of their initial state, a simple scan with his spiritual power now allowed him to sense the changes in these students.
They had gained some initial social experience.
From being completely sheltered students in an ivory tower, they had gained some exposure to the outside world.
Of course, it was still minimal.
After waiting in the hotel for three days, an official representative finally appeared.
"Fellow citizens from all walks of life in the Federation, our exchange program has now come to a successful conclusion. We sincerely thank all of you for your contributions to strengthening the friendship between the Federation and the Star Luo Empire."
"The great ship has docked, and as per the rules upon arrival, please board the ship in an orderly manner."
This time, there was only one giant ship, and the boarding process remained largely the same.
"It's time to depart," Yun Ming said indifferently.
The group from Shrek Academy boarded the ship along with the others.
Pan Wen, the Secretary-General of the Federation and the official in charge of this exchange program, looked in Yun Ming's direction with a respectful expression.
"Master Yun."
Yun Ming responded with a faint acknowledgment.
Pan Wen didn't show any signs of dissatisfaction.
He knew that tensions had arisen between the Federation and Shrek Academy, and he could only do his best to avoid further escalation.
In this return arrangement, the treatment of the Shrek group remained the same as when they arrived—nothing had changed, except for the addition of Yun Ming, who was assigned the highest-grade suite on the ship.
The giant ship set sail.
As with their journey to the Star Luo Continent, the return trip lasted three months.
Before returning, Xu Yuan had already broken through to level 59 at the Five Elements Lake.
Since entering the Dragon Valley once, his soul power cultivation had become much easier. However, after breaking through to level 59, the benefits of the Dragon Valley seemed to have nearly run out.
But Xu Yuan wasn't worried.
Once he broke through his current bottleneck and condensed his first soul core, his rate of soul power cultivation would skyrocket.
Even without the Dragon Valley's boost, he could still rapidly increase his soul power.
Now, at sixteen years old, he was already at level 59.
If he could break through the bottleneck and condense his soul core within a year, he would become a Soul Emperor at just sixteen!
This would be a monumental milestone in the history of soul masters.
Even in the era thousands of years ago, when soul masters could devote all their energy to cultivation without the distractions of spirit souls or auxiliary professions required for battle armor, no one had achieved such a feat.
Even Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo from ten thousand years ago, hadn't reached the Soul Emperor stage at sixteen.
And let's not forget—Xu Yuan was also condensing his first soul core.
---
Onboard the ship
Xu Yuan tied a thick rope around his waist, with the other end secured to the stern of the ship.
Taking a deep breath, he leaped off and landed on the surface of the ocean.
With his soul power surging, he controlled his body and adjusted his posture to avoid sinking into the water. Instead, he allowed the force of the waves to impact him as he stayed atop the water.
Under the immense pulling force of the ship, he continued moving forward while enduring the relentless impact of the water.
The upward diagonal pull of the ship, combined with his body weight and the force of the water, kept him in a relatively balanced state.
He didn't use his soul power, and he even avoided relying on his blood qi as much as possible.
The seawater washed over every part of his body evenly.
When one side was thoroughly battered, he turned around to expose the other side.
Additionally, he would deliberately break his balance, allowing himself to be flung into the air by the force of the water before landing back on the surface.
This cycle repeated endlessly.
It was safe to say that this was an excruciating form of training.
Water might be soft, but it could also be unyielding, as Xu Yuan came to deeply understand.
The results of this training were also evident.
His physique rapidly improved, and the constant external pounding caused his soul power to become increasingly condensed, nearing a solid state.
About a month into the return journey, Tang Wulin "discovered" Xu Yuan's training and expressed his desire to join in.
Xu Yuan had no objections.
They staggered their training times.
It was unclear how Tang Wulin dealt with the aftermath of such intense physical training without Mu Ye's nutritional support.
However, considering that Tang Wulin was the son of the Sea God, it was unlikely that the ocean's forces would damage his foundation. With that thought, Xu Yuan stopped worrying.
Time always passed quickly during training.
When the three-month voyage ended, Xu Yuan reluctantly stopped this love-hate training regimen.
---
Shrek Academy
"We're finally back," Wu Siduo exclaimed, throwing her arms wide as if embracing the academy.
After being away from the academy for a year and three months, she had genuinely missed her studies and life there.
Over this period, she had grown significantly.
At this moment, her soul power had reached level 49.
She was joined by Yuanen Yehui and Le Zhengyu. However, Yuanen Yehui and Le Zhengyu had initially progressed faster, but due to the difficulty of breaking through the bottleneck at level 49, Wu Siduo had caught up with them.
Aside from these three, everyone else who participated in this activity also made significant progress.
Ye Xinglan was now at level 47, Fang Yuan at level 45, Xu Lizhi at level 43, and Tang Wulin had rapidly caught up to reach level 47!
Yes, level 47!
He had surged ahead later on.
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