Three days later.
Fifty kilometers southwest of Heaven Dou City, at the Royal Hunting Grounds.
The opening ceremony of the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament's promotion matches was held here.
However—
The promotion matches did not involve eliminations; the rankings only affected match pairings in the finals.
Its main significance lay in showcasing individual strength, allowing major factions to recruit talents.
For Li Yu, this wasn't an important matter, so he did not attend.
What truly concerned him was—
Wang Changzhi had returned!
A martial spirit of the body type, awakened for the second time—his return.
Of course—
This information was based on Li Yu's own speculation. He only heard from Qian Renxue that Wang Changzhi had returned.
Besides his spirit power increasing slightly, his martial spirit had reportedly undergone some changes.
From this, Li Yu speculated that Wang Changzhi likely experienced a second martial spirit awakening.
And according to the message Cai Xu passed on to Qian Renxue—
Wang Changzhi's originally declared martial spirit, "Black Hand," no longer showed signs of black mist condensing outside his body.
Instead, it now coiled around his right hand, forming a twisted, black pattern.
When his martial spirit was revealed, the pattern appeared to come alive, slithering across his arm—
Like a black dragon!
Perhaps for this reason, Wang Changzhi had renamed his martial spirit: "Qiu Long Hand" (Twisting Dragon Hand).
Even his spirit abilities seemed to have changed somewhat.
But the specifics—Li Yu did not know.
Still, this made him even more curious about the power backing Wang Changzhi.
There was no doubt—
That force must be none other than the Body Sect.
However, at this point in the timeline, the world of Spirit Masters had little research on body-type martial spirits; there wasn't even a dedicated classification.
The Body Sect might not yet be particularly powerful.
But judging from Wang Changzhi's performance, the current Body Sect clearly had some foundation.
After all—
Wang Changzhi's martial spirit, " Twisting Dragon Hand," was on his right arm, and the soul bone he had obtained happened to also be a right arm bone.
Moreover, judging from the previous match against Elephant Armored Academy, the quality of this right arm bone was clearly very high, and it suited him perfectly.
That was quite rare!
It already gave a glimpse into the depth of the Body Sect.
"Things are becoming more and more interesting."
Li Yu smiled faintly.
At present, Qianyu Academy, while lacking in lower-level talent, had a very interesting upper structure.
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu needed no further explanation.
Cai Xu's martial spirit, "Nine Sunflower," was extremely rare—he even once easily crushed Flender.
And behind Wang Changzhi now loomed the shadow of the Body Sect.
Of course...
There was one more thing.
After the tea was served, Ning Fengzhi had persistently brought up the matter of Ning Rongrong with Qian Renxue.
Once or twice, Qian Renxue declined.
But three times, four times—especially since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, led by Ning Fengzhi, now supported her...
So—
To ease Qian Renxue's position, Li Yu took the initiative and suggested Ning Rongrong join Qianyu Academy.
And after a few months of settling in—perhaps also influenced by fighting alongside Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu—Ning Rongrong's temperament had mellowed significantly.
In fact—
When the incident occurred at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's spirit arena, Ning Rongrong didn't even feel that bonded to Tang San and the others—not to the point of life-and-death loyalty.
Her attitude back then stemmed more from the spoiling she received from Ning Fengzhi and others since childhood, and the rebellion that followed public embarrassment.
Afterward—
She never achieved what she wanted, was repeatedly reprimanded, and was even locked up in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Thus—
Her rebellious heart grew stronger.
To put it simply, she was just a spoiled little brat—Li Yu didn't hold too much of a grudge.
In fact—
When Ning Rongrong saw him again in the East Palace after being slapped by him previously, she still avoided eye contact with him.
Clearly, she was still terrified of Li Yu.
And yet, if this were said aloud, Ning Fengzhi and the others wouldn't believe it...
In short—
Ning Rongrong was now very well-behaved.
Though she had been unwilling at first when joining Qianyu Academy, once she saw Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu again—and realized that both had broken ties with Shrek—
Ning Rongrong's view of Tang San and Dai Mubai began to change.
All the things she had previously ignored due to being close to them—she now clearly noticed.
As the saying goes, "the bystander sees more clearly."
Thus, Qianyu Academy's team lineup now became:
Wang Changzhi, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Yu Xiaoman, Zhong Jiayao, Lin Yi, Lin Ting, and Captain Li Yu.
Yu Xiaoman and the other three were part of the original starting team.
With Li Yu and Ning Rongrong joining, the team expanded from seven to nine members.
However—
This also meant Li Yu didn't need to worry about the promotion matches at all.
He didn't care about the rankings.
Right now—
He was focused on researching the Sea God's Vast Sea Barrier.
Currently, with the Sea God's remnant will removed, the barrier seemed to have lost the divine power it had in the original storyline.
"Can it be fused?"
Li Yu whispered.
Tang San had ultimately fused the Vast Sea Barrier with his head soul bone, enhancing it greatly.
Although Li Yu own "Eternal Spirit Head Bone" was already very powerful, he certainly wouldn't mind further upgrades.
No sooner said than done.
The Eternal Spirit Head Bone emerged—an illusory crown flickering above Li Yu head, while a winged spirit sigil shone on his forehead.
From the sigil, emerald light burst forth, striking the Vast Sea Barrier.
Hummmm—
In an instant—
The Vast Sea Barrier responded.
The originally blue, crystalline barrier suddenly turned gold!
Then, the spirit sigil on Li Yu forehead grew even brighter, its light more blinding.
In the next moment—
The Vast Sea Barrier floated and began approaching Li Yu forehead.
At the same time, Li Yu could feel his Eternal Spirit Head Bonerapidly strengthening!
In just a brief moment, a notification flashed before his eyes:
[Soul Bone]——
Eternal Spirit Head Bone: 150,000 years
…
Eternal Spirit Head Bone: 200,000 years
…
In a matter of seconds, the Eternal Spirit Head Bone had already reached the 200,000-year level!
And it was still getting stronger!
Simultaneously—
The Vast Sea Barrier dimmed and moved closer to the spirit sigil on his forehead!
But—
Just as the two were about to fully merge, an unexpected mutation occurred!
Boom!
The once peaceful, ocean-hued sky suddenly turned dark, blanketed in thick clouds!
Centered around Heaven Dou City, hundreds of miles in every direction grew stiflingly oppressive, with no sunlight in sight!
Then—
Above Heaven Dou City, the heavens seemed to tear open, and a colossal silhouette—like that of a divine being—emerged from the rift.
Brilliant golden light poured down from above!