In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since the hunt for Soul Rings in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Early this morning, the sun had just poked its head out.
The back mountain of Spirit Hall.
Golden Crown sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, his palms overlapping at his dantian while he muttered under his breath.
"Let him be strong; the cool breeze brushes the mountain ridge!"
"Let him be fierce; the bright moon shines over the great river!"
"..."
This was exactly the mental mnemonic for the Nine Yang Divine Art.
Since returning from the last Soul Ring hunt, Golden Crown had begun practicing this technique in earnest.
In just one month, he had achieved some success.
As he recited the mnemonic, a warm current arose in his dantian, passing through the eight extraordinary meridians and washing through his entire body.
Golden Crown's face turned red as if he were being steamed, with wisps of heat rising from him.
This warm current began to merge with the spirit power in his body.
The spirit power that was originally like a small stream had now turned into a vast, mellow river.
The purity of his spirit power had also been greatly enhanced, becoming extremely refined.
Before long, powerful spirit power fluctuations erupted from his body.
Golden Crown opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing through his pupils.
"This Taoist Master has succeeded!"
"As expected of the Nine Yang Divine Art, it truly lives up to its reputation. Only a month has passed, yet my spirit power has actually increased by two levels in a row."
"Moreover, the purity of my spirit power has also been significantly improved."
At this moment, Golden Crown's level had already reached level thirty.
This meant he could continue to absorb Soul Rings.
However, he would definitely not hunt for a third Soul Ring before consuming Whale Glue to strengthen his physique.
As for the Whale Glue that the Star Dou Empire had compensated him with, Jin E had set off early this morning to retrieve it.
"Once Grandpa brings back the Whale Glue and I consume it, I can go absorb the third Soul Ring."
"I've been practicing all morning and I'm starving. Time to eat."
Golden Crown glanced at the rising sun, stood up, and headed down the mountain.
He soon arrived at a steamed bun shop.
After eating twenty baskets of meat buns in a row, he finally filled his stomach.
His appetite left the owner stunned.
Whose kid eats this much for breakfast?
Was he a pig spirit reincarnated in his past life?
Regarding his sudden increase in appetite, Jin E's explanation was that he was only six years old and it was normal to eat more while growing.
To ensure Golden Crown ate well and was full, Jin E had specifically tripled his usual pocket money.
"*Burp~*" After letting out a satisfied burp, Golden Crown handed the money to the owner and left.
Just as he was about to head home...
...while passing by a training ground, he was blocked by three people around his age.
These three were two boys and one girl; one boy had red hair and the other had silver hair, each wearing clothes that matched their hair color.
The girl was very cute, but there was a hint of fox-like charm in her brow.
They were Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, who had been taken as disciples by Bibi Dong and were hailed as Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.
Golden Crown naturally recognized the three of them, but only in a one-sided manner.
They had no prior interaction with each other.
"Do you need something?" Golden Crown spoke calmly, looking at the three with a neutral expression.
Xie Yue stepped forward and questioned, "So you're Golden Crown? I heard that you refused the Supreme Pontiff's personal offer to take you as a disciple a few days ago?"
Golden Crown replied, "That's right, it's me. What about it?"
Hu Liena took over the conversation, "What an honor it is to be personally recruited by Her Holiness the Supreme Pontiff. What right do you have to refuse?"
This made Golden Crown laugh in anger. "Who says I can't refuse that brain-dead woman's request to take me as a disciple? As for the three of you, blocking my path like lunatics just to ask about this?"
"You... how dare you insult Teacher like that!" Hearing Golden Crown call Bibi Dong brain-dead, Hu Liena's eyes widened in disbelief.
In her heart, her teacher Bibi Dong was the most perfect woman in the world and the goal she aspired to reach.
But now, this kid in front of her was evaluating her teacher like this, which made her very angry.
"Xie Yue, Hu Liena, why waste your breath?"
"Today, let's give this ignorant brat a good lesson!" Yan said irritably.
He turned to Golden Crown and said arrogantly, "Kid, do you dare to come to the arena and play with us?"
Seeing the three of them using such obvious words to provoke him...
...Golden Crown immediately understood their true intention. "Did Bibi Dong send you to test my strength?"
As soon as he said this...
...the three of them were momentarily stunned.
The expressions on their faces were extremely awkward; clearly, they hadn't expected their purpose to be seen through so quickly.
Ever since her personal offer to take him as a disciple was rejected, our Supreme Pontiff had been brooding over it.
Upon hearing that Golden Crown had finished hunting for his Soul Ring and officially become a Soul Master, she wanted to test his strength.
But because of Jin E's presence, she couldn't easily act directly or indirectly.
So she waited for an opportunity.
Learning that Jin E had gone out on business, she immediately sent her three disciples. First, to test Golden Crown and see the age of the Soul Ring he had absorbed.
Second, to give him a good lesson to vent her frustration, while also letting Golden Crown witness the strength of Hu Liena's trio, making him realize what a mistake it was not to take her as his teacher.
Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Golden Crown said, "I don't have time to play with you. Move aside."
"Hmph, you're just scared. You know you're no match for us, so you're in a hurry to run away," Yan mocked.
Golden Crown crossed his arms and looked at the three of them. "Wrong. I'm afraid I'll beat the three of you until you start calling me 'Daddy'."
"What did you say?!" x3
Hearing Golden Crown's arrogance, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan immediately flared up in anger.
"Fine then. I'm a bit too full from eating just now, so I'll play with you for a bit."
"Didn't you say we're going to the arena? Let's go."
With that, Golden Crown walked toward the arena.
"This kid is too arrogant. We must teach him a lesson today."
"Exactly. We need to let him know that our Golden Generation isn't just for show."
"Let's go."
The three followed closely... Arena No. 3.
Quite a few people had gathered here to watch.
Simply because they had received news that someone was going to challenge the 'Golden Generation'.
Inside the arena.
Golden Crown stood calmly on the left side, watching the three opposite him do their warm-up exercises.
Seeing Golden Crown so composed, Yan said disdainfully, "Tch, this kid really knows how to put on a show. I'll definitely let him see what I'm capable of later."
He looked at Hu Liena and Xie Yue. "Let me be the first to teach this guy a lesson."
The two had no objections to this.
The warm-up soon ended.
Yan stepped forward with an arrogant stride and said, "Let me be the first to test your skills."
"Wait," Golden Crown raised his hand to interrupt.
Yan was momentarily stunned, then mocked, "What? Scared already?"
Golden Crown pointed at Xie Yue and Hu Liena. "What I meant was, all three of you should come at me together. I don't want to waste too much time."
"..."