As everyone was astonished by Gu La's actions, Xu Xiaoyan reached her most critical moment. Her Starwheel had completely transformed, turning into a crystal scepter about one and a half meters long. The staff was as transparent as ice, but within it seemed to seal a miniature galaxy, with starlight flowing ceaselessly.
"Has her martial soul… evolved?" Na'er's eyes widened.
Xu Xiaoyan slowly opened her eyes. Her originally pale blue eyes now resembled two stars, shimmering with a mysterious glow.
She lightly touched the gem at the top of the staff, and three soul rings appeared in succession—aided by the stellar tide, she had broken through three levels consecutively, reaching Level 37!
"Star Staff Martial Soul," Xu Xiaoyan's voice sounded ethereal, her eyes filled with joy, finally showing a relieved smile.
While everyone celebrated Gu La's breakthrough, Xu Xiaoyan reached her crucial moment. Her Starwheel had fully transformed into a crystal staff, transparent like ice, yet seeming to encapsulate a miniature galaxy with ceaseless flowing starlight.
"Starwheel... evolved?" Na'er's eyes widened.
Xu Xiaoyan slowly opened her eyes. Her once pale purple pupils now shone like stars, twinkling with mystical light. She gently tapped the gem atop the staff, and five soul rings emerged in succession—assisted by the stellar tide, she also broke through to Level 50, gaining a ten-thousand-year fifth ring just like him!
"Star Staff Martial Soul." Xu Xiaoyan's voice was ethereal, not human-like. "Skill: Star Guidance."
"He's going to condense a soul core," Bai Yuan hoarsely revealed the truth. "Not an ordinary soul core—a unique one imbued with starlight."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan's evolved Star Staff unconsciously pointed towards Gu La. The star energy within the staff began to flow autonomously, pouring starlight towards that direction as if paying homage to a king.
"This... I'm not controlling it..." She was startled, her voice trembling.
In the center of the observatory, Gu La was already floating three feet off the ground. His golden short hair stood on end, the tips dyed silver-blue by the starlight.
The most astonishing change occurred in his chest—underneath the skin, a speck of light was forming, akin to nurturing a miniature star within.
Cracks appeared on the surface of his skin. Even a body comparable to a Title Douluo couldn't withstand the pressure caused by such a high-quality soul core rotation. Under the potent life force granted by the Gold of Life, it struggled but steadily repaired the backlash from the soul core.
"Earth Plate, lend me your strength!"
Gu La activated the Earth Plate within him. The brown-yellow energy symbolized 'stability,' with an ancient unwavering essence. He slowly brought his hands together in front of his chest; the soul power cultivated by his twin martial souls and absorbed starlight began the most perilous fusion.
Boom—
Boom—
Heartbeat-like pulses emanated from the speck of light, growing stronger with each beat. Each pulse caused the observatory floor to tremble, and the stored essence of starlight uncontrollably flowed toward Gu La. Gold and silver energy formed spiral patterns on his body, resembling celestial orbits.
"Xiaoyan, help stabilize the array!" Gu Yue shouted to Xu Xiaoyan. "Release your martial soul to act as the array's core, guiding the excess energy for him!"
Xu Xiaoyan immediately understood, leaping near Gu La. With a wave of her Star Staff, she guided the starlight, acting as a defense line for Gu La's soul core condensation, filtering the rampant stellar energy—easy for someone with an astrological martial soul.
The overflowing energy was skillfully directed skyward, forming silver bands of light swirling around Gu La.
Gu La's consciousness was immersed in a wondrous state. He "saw" within his dantian, above the ocean of soul power.
The "sun" and "stars" were merging. Extreme heat and domineering star power intermingled. Forces that should have repelled each other achieved balance under the suppression of the Earth Plate.
"Condense!"
With a sharp shout, the speck of light in Gu La's chest contracted infinitely small, then burst forth in the next instant—a perfect gold and silver dual-colored soul core formed in the center of his chest!
Alternating patterns of sun and moon flashed on the surface of the soul core, while inside, it contained a miniature nebula made of pure light energy.
Boom—!
The heavens and earth changed color. A column of intertwined gold and silver light shot up from Gu La's crown, piercing through the clouds.
Even more astonishingly, virtual images of both the sun and moon appeared simultaneously in the night sky. The spectacle of the sun and moon shining together made all the residents of Tian Ding City stop and look up.
"Thus, I shall call you... the Radiant Star Soul Core..."
Gu La opened his eyes, galaxies seemingly flowing within them. He gently landed, leaving glowing footprints on the stone slabs with each step. Substantial golden star sand surrounded him, each grain containing a microcosm of starlight.
Gu Yue couldn't help but step forward: "How do you feel?"
Gu La didn't answer immediately. Instead, he lightly touched a hovering grain of sand. It instantly expanded into a fist-sized sphere of light, with clear projections of stars inside.
"Marvelous." He finally spoke, his voice carrying a strange echo. "The stars seem alive, communicating with the Earth beneath my feet through me."
Gu La decisively severed this connection. The current Plane Lord was Tang Hao, who could not be trusted.
Moreover, his breakthrough wasn't complete yet.
Xu Xiaoyan retracted her Star Staff, feeling her trembling martial soul. She sensed a sense of affinity from Gu La, similar to the connection in a martial soul fusion technique, yet something was missing.
At this moment, Bai Yuan suddenly grunted, retreating several steps. His Devouring Martial Soul spontaneously activated, forming a layer of black light on his surface, resisting the starlight emitted by Gu La's soul core.
"Are you alright?" Na'er worriedly supported him.
Bai Yuan shook his head, confusion flashing in his eyes: "His power... is repelling me."
But how could this be? They were supposed to share a unified fate!
Gu La noticed the anomaly and voluntarily suppressed the aura of his soul core. The phenomenon of the sun and moon shining together dissipated, but the deep connection with the stars was permanently imprinted in his soul power.
"The Radiant Star Soul Core grants me two abilities," Gu La explained to his teammates. "One is 'Star Trail Guidance,' where all offensive soul skills will automatically track targets until their kinetic energy is depleted. The other is 'Starlight Recharge,' allowing me to absorb starlight to restore soul power during nighttime battles."
For him, these were merely additional enhancements, not as significant as the soul core itself.
Wu Sido playfully whistled: "Soul cores naturally accelerate recovery, often formed by Title Douluos, serving as a major pillar of their combat strength. Your soul power was already abundant, making you practically a perpetual motion machine now."
Being unfamiliar with Gu La, she assumed he relied on the Earth Authority to recover soul power due to his naturally high purity of soul power, though the difference wasn't substantial.
Gu Yue, however, looked at Bai Yuan thoughtfully: "The repulsion between two primal forces... this might imply some cosmic faction relationships."
Xu Xiaoyan suddenly exclaimed: "Wait, Boss Gu, you haven't absorbed your fifth soul ring yet!"
Everyone remembered their original purpose.
But Gu La revealed a mysterious smile: "It's already prepared."
He pointed to the sky—his Sun Elf spirit soul had already appeared when he broke through to Level 50, circling high above, waiting.
"Now, it's time to complete the final breakthrough."
As Gu La sat cross-legged, the Sun Elf spirit soul transformed into a streak of light, diving down. The entire observatory was once again submerged in dazzling brilliance.
This time, the newly formed Radiant Star Soul Core would serve as the perfect medium, aiding him in achieving a flawless fusion.
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