"I can't anymore, really not a single drop left!"
"How can you absorb so much?!"
In the Hall of Comprehension, on the massive skull of the Nightmare Demon Dragon, Lang Ya looked utterly drained, collapsed in exhaustion, panting heavily.
His eyes were filled with shock as he looked at the figure seated cross-legged at the very center of the hall. Around that figure, milky-white spiritual energy constantly surged inward, faint rumbling sounds echoing from within.
"Good heavens, it's been over thirty days already! When will this end?!"
Lang Ya groaned, shaking his dizzy head.
From the day Jiang Jue entered the Hall of Comprehension until now, thirty-six full days had passed.
"Lang Ya, you should step down. I'll take your place."
An old voice sounded. A white-robed elder appeared beside Lang Ya out of thin air. His eyes seemed to contain entire worlds within, making it dangerous for anyone to stare too long.
"Elder Xu, you've come! I was about to be squeezed dry."
Lang Ya, seeing his savior, hurriedly stood up, bowed, and finally relaxed.
"The Sect Master has truly brought back a real genius this time."
Elder Xu stroked his white beard as his gaze fell upon Jiang Jue in the center, sighing in awe.
"To think, just entering the Hall of Comprehension… and achieving enlightenment. That's a fortune beyond fortune."
"A genius is indeed a genius… but he's exhausting to serve."
Lang Ya replied with a bitter smile.
Enlightenment—also called the Insightful State of Deep Meditation—was something most soul masters never encountered in their lifetime. To touch it even once was a heaven-defying opportunity.
"The Sect Master really just left this all to us…"
When Jiang Jue first entered enlightenment, Du Bu Si (the Sect Master) had been overjoyed, praising himself for roping Jiang Jue into the sect.
But soon, he noticed something was wrong. Even while enlightened, Jiang Jue kept absorbing the hall's stored spiritual power—faster and faster.
Since enlightenment was priceless to any soul master, Du Bu Si decided not to interrupt. He let the flow continue.
Until… he realized the hall's stockpiled energy wasn't enough.
The Hall of Comprehension was built upon the remains of a 150,000-year-old Nightmare Demon Dragon. At its core was its most precious treasure: a 100,000-year skull soul bone.
Du Bu Si had sealed spiritual power into the hall using a Body Sect secret art, maintaining the skull's effect.
When the reserves ran low, he sent Lang Ya, a spiritual-type soul master, to personally replenish them.
But one man would be drained to death at this rate. So Du Bu Si instituted a two-man rotation—Lang Ya and Elder Xu, alternating like workers on shifts.
Lang Ya, who had lived a pampered life, never thought he'd one day become an unpaid laborer, treated like an ox or horse.
"Bitter! This is bitter beyond words!"
He thought of the endless days of pouring his strength out, with no end in sight, and his mood sank even lower.
"Enough. If this old man isn't complaining, what are you whining for? For the sect's future, this is nothing."
Elder Xu shot him a glare, scolding.
He then picked up the purple-black dragon skull, eyes flashing with memories.
He had once acquired a head soul bone upon reaching his seventh ring. Back then, young and rash, he absorbed it immediately. Who would have thought the sect's great treasure would one day be linked to his choice?
"Alas… to gain it was my fortune, to miss it was my fate. So be it."
Unable to enjoy the blessing himself, Elder Xu chose to see it as his contribution to the sect.
He raised his hands. His eyes began to glow silver-white, crystalline as jade, deep and endless. Pure spiritual energy gathered in his palms.
His martial soul was his own eyes. Now at rank 94, just shy of Super Douluo, he bore the title Silver-Eyed Douluo.
In the next instant, he poured his spiritual energy into the Nightmare Demon Dragon's skull. Deep dragon roars echoed, and the storm at the hall's center grew even wilder, its light dazzling.
"Elder Xu, how many trials do you think Jiang Jue has passed?"
Lang Ya sat cross-legged nearby, asking curiously.
Through years of experimentation, the Body Sect had determined the hall had three trials.
"Hm… I'd say all three. Entering enlightenment isn't something ordinary—it takes ultimate clarity to pass through them."
Elder Xu pondered, then answered slowly.
Lang Ya nodded thoughtfully.
"True. The first trial is facing all the enemies one has slain. The more fear you hold toward them, the stronger they appear; the more contempt, the weaker they become.
A twelve-year-old like Jiang Jue… he's hardly killed humans, maybe just some spirit beasts while absorbing rings. With his good nature, he can't have much blood on his hands. Passing that stage should've been easy."
Lang Ya chuckled at his own reasoning.
"The second trial is confronting what you fear most. If you overcome it, you pass. Fail, and you're forced out of enlightenment, with the trauma only deepening—greatly hindering future cultivation."
Lang Ya shuddered at the memory, lips twitching. Clearly, he'd once suffered greatly at this very stage.
"So sometimes, having fewer life experiences isn't bad. A pure heart can be an advantage."
Elder Xu smiled faintly, eyes flashing.
"Elder Xu, tell me—does my smile look pure?"
Lang Ya grinned at him.
"Not as pure as your brother Yu Tao's."
Elder Xu shook his head, teasing.
"Hah, true. We told him to study more, but he insisted on herding cattle. Knew less, thought less—his mind untainted. Back then, he breezed through that trial."
Lang Ya suddenly laughed, scratching his head.
"Seems like I was punished for being educated."
After so many days of labor, all he could do was joke bitterly.
"The last trial… killing yourself. Only then do you truly grasp your dao heart. I'd wager Jiang Jue has cleared it."
Elder Xu narrowed his eyes, watching the still figure at the hall's center.
"To slay yourself… that takes terrifying resolve."
"If this child doesn't fall along the way, he'll never remain ordinary. With the right storm, he'll soar into a dragon."
"But whether the Sect Master's decision is right or wrong… that, I do not know."
With that thought, Elder Xu silently continued infusing his energy.
"Hey! Elder Xu…"
Just as Lang Ya was about to complain again, a crisp sound rang out—
Pop!
Like a splash of water, echoing clearly through the vast hall.
Elder Xu and Lang Ya glanced at each other, both startled.
"At last! These bitter days are finally ending!"
Lang Ya almost cried from joy.
Jiang Jue's body was now like a whirlpool, sucking in spiritual energy at a frenzied pace, like a whale swallowing the sea.
Pop, pop, pop!
Sharp cracks rang from within his body, as if breaking through seals.
"What? He can still absorb more?"
Elder Xu froze, stunned at how wildly Jiang Jue's intake grew. He shouted to Lang Ya:
"Go call the Sect Master—I'll hold here!"
At the same time, he intensified his output.
"Got it, Elder Xu. Don't overdo it!"
Lang Ya responded, then bolted out of the hall like a freed bird.
He wanted sunlight. He wanted freedom.He refused to be a workhorse any longer!
At that moment, Jiang Jue's statue-like body trembled ever so slightly.
Inside his inner world—
The pitch-black void suddenly bloomed with light. From specks to patches, more and more radiance floated up from the lakebed, rising to encircle him in a warm glow.
"I have wrestled with myself for so long…"
"…I'd rather be me!"
A calm voice resounded. Jiang Jue's eyes snapped open.
Those ashen-gray pupils now brimmed with majesty and ancientness, as if seeing through all beings, comprehending all truths.
(End of Chapter)