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--- Chapter 497 ---
Under Han Tianyi's precise control over spiritual power, the Soul Contract ritual between Han Yuan and the two Ultimate Spirit Souls eventually commenced.
Normally, a Spirit Master was required to obtain a Spirit Soul capsule or defeat the entity within the Spiritual Ascension Platform first.
However, with Han Tianyi's authority as the Head Chief of the Heaven Dou Spirit Pagoda, he personally presided over the ritual, bypassing standard procedures to access the Ultimate Spirit Souls directly.
BOOM!
Han Yuan called his God-level Martial Souls—the Underworld Anchor of Heaven and the Star Liberation Crown. In an instant, the fully combined, overwhelming pressure of the heavy underworld and infinite cosmic stars saturated every inch of the underground chamber.
The entire vault shuddered continuously from the sheer energy vibrations generated by the dual Soul Contract.
Fortunately, the layout of the secret chamber had been made from ultra-dense, powerful materials designed to withstand the full damage of Super Douluos, and even Limit Douluos, at least in the short term.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Within the swirling light, a series of bone-snapping sounds echoed from Han Yuan's young body.
Under the immense nourishment streaming from both the Great Evil Orca and the Cosmos Eye Lord, his young body visibly grew, his very posture broadening and strengthening with terrifying speed.
Of course, this physical growth was merely the initial threshold, the first fist-bumping of the contract.
For a Spirit Master to contract Spirit Souls properly, the core origins of both Spirit Souls had to merge with the Soul Master's Martial Souls, and vice versa.
Only after a strong, mutual bond was forged in the Spiritual Sea could the Spirit Souls begin condensing Spirit Rings to break the Soul Master's cultivation bottlenecks.
Because Han Yuan had awakened with an Innate Spirit Power of Level 20, he naturally required two Spirit Rings for each of his twin Martial Souls right from the start.
"This is..."
Upon entering Han Yuan's spiritual sea, both the Great Evil Orca and the Cosmos Eye Lord were struck speechless.
At first, they had assumed they were binding themselves to an extremely talented human child. Yet, it seems, they couldn't have been more wrong.
Deep within Han Yuan's mind lay a vast, boundless silver-green spiritual sea. Suspended high in the celestial vault above was a radiant green sun, a massive chunk of compressed Life Gold, sealed and refined by Alpha and Beta.
It remained one of the few treasures capable of nourishing Han Yuan's human foundation, even alongside the unfathomable energy provided by his origin, the Epoch-Devouring Kun Whale.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Han Yuan had a 'divine' foundation laid for him.
"Prince of Stars... You were actually born with the Myriad Miracle Star Body?!" The Cosmos Eye Lord's gaseous form vibrated in sheer ecstasy as it uncovered the truth.
"This... this isn't just talent! You were literally born with the potential to ascend as a supreme Star God!" It realized that this was the reason an infinite source of stellar energy flowed naturally through Han Yuan's meridians.
His body naturally functioned like a bottomless vortex, rapidly absorbing, containing, and refining stellar energy without any physical limit.
Driven by thrill, the once-star core eagerly absorbed and refined the stray stellar energy while beginning to condense pure, stellar Spirit Rings for the Star Liberation Crown.
On the other hand, the Great Evil Orca felt slightly left out until a giant, yes, even bigger than itself, terrifying presence manifested from behind the dimensional layers of Han Yuan's soul.
A pair of monstrous, silver-patterned eyes locked onto the ancient aquatic predator from across the void. Before the Orca could even tremble, that shadowy titan bestowed a single, shimmering drop of primordial blood into its core.
"ROOOOOOARRR!"
The Great Evil Orca's form shook and raged violently. Its ancient origins shattered, restructured, and evolved into something superior to its ancestral limits.
Its innate potential burned, transforming its base powers to match the terrifying weight of the Underworld Anchor of Heaven as it began condensing its own set of Spirit Rings.
Outside, crisp popping sounds constantly rattled from Han Yuan's young body. His skin cracked and rejuvenated into a bloody yet fair quality. His bones snapped, joined, and regrew stronger. And his blood released a subtle, ethereal silver luminescence.
Yet, Han Yuan barely batted an eye. He felt pain, certainly. However, this level of physical reconstruction and metamorphosis was a walk in the park compared to the agonizing cultivation trials Alpha and Beta had endured across their lifetimes.
"Hold on, Xiao Yuan!" Han Tianyi's deep, anxious voice reverberated through the vault as he poured his spiritual power into stabilizing the ritual.
"Kid, don't give in! Stay calm!" Mu Ye warned, his brows knit tight in concern.
"Xiao Yuan, steel your resolve!" Zhen Hua added, his hands clenched tightly.
What none of the three elders realized was that Han Yuan had hijacked the Soul Contract ritual from the very beginning.
While analyzing the Spirit Pagoda's standard contractual framework, Han Yuan had quickly concluded that it was utterly primitive, a glorified, one-way slavery contract that failed to achieve true spiritual resonance between the Soul Master and the Spirit Soul.
Had he used the Spirit Pagoda's standard formula, the latent potential of both the Great Evil Orca and the Cosmos Eye Lord would have been severely constrained.
Instead, he had substituted it with his own Soul Contract Formula to achieve a perfect, symbiotic fusion.
Painful? Yes. But what mattered was the result!
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, four brilliant halos of light burst forth from Han Yuan's shaking frame. They were none other than his newly condensed Spirit Rings.
However, unlike standard Spirit Rings, Han Yuan's Spirit Rings possessed a completely unprecedented appearance due to the unique nature of his Martial Souls and his Soul Contract.
"What the..." Mu Ye rubbed his eyes in utter disbelief. "Am I seeing things, or are the colors of the kid's Spirit Rings completely wrong?!"
Zhen Hua's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. "What on earth just happened here..."
Han Tianyi frowned, extending his dense spiritual power to probe the four rings. Yet, despite their unique appearance, he detected no instability or defects whatsoever. So, aside from their aesthetic, they were genuine, flawlessly condensed Spirit Rings!
Four Spirit Rings.
Two completely distinct, breathtaking visuals.
Hovering over the Underworld Anchor of Heaven were two thousand-year-class Purple Spirit Rings.
However, unlike standard purple rings, these halos were infused with a deep, liquid Dark Cyan-Purple Gold hue that flowed like the abyssal waters of the netherworld.
On the other side, hovering around the Star Liberation Crown, were two ten-thousand-year-class Black Spirit Rings.
Yet, their deep obsidian surfaces were translucent, swirling with vibrant White Nebula specks that mirrored a miniature galaxy in motion.
The four Spirit Rings shone with an eye-blinding light in the dim chamber, resembling four distinct, celestial suns that dazzled everyone present.
Gradually, the four rings settled and retracted into Han Yuan's body, finalizing his breakthrough.
His cultivation soared from Level 20 straight to Level 30 in one smooth, instant leap! He had stepped into the realm of a Spirit Grandmaster, standing right on the brink of becoming a Spirit Elder.
Han Yuan could have casually asked the Great Evil Orca and the Cosmos Eye Lord to condense a third ring each, but he knew that four rings were more than enough for his current self to digest.
"Phew..." He slowly opened his eyes. His left eye burned with an ethereal cyan-black abyssal flame, while his right eye gleamed with swirling, starlit nebula specks.
"Refreshing~!"
His young, joyful voice echoed in the chamber.