198: Chapter 198 All Members Break Through! Ready to Launch!
Zhenhai City Demon Slaying Division Branch, Eastern Radiance First Team's exclusive courtyard.
Unlike the massive uproar in the outside world caused by the sea-calming pillars' abnormality and the "Top Secret · Epic" mission evaluation, the courtyard was currently filled with an unusual tranquility.
But this tranquility was not a dead silence; rather, it was a settling after a storm, a suppression of highly restrained energy before a volcanic eruption.
The five of them sat cross-legged in their respective meditation rooms,
their auras fluctuating as they fully digested the massive gains brought by the sea-calming pillars' inheritance.
Inside Zhou Heng's meditation room, the purple-gold Wind and Thunder Power no longer surged wildly as usual, but instead circled and permeated his body slowly like a docile roaming dragon.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the core of the [Omniscient Eye] heated up slightly, not because it was actively activated,
but because it was autonomously organizing, analyzing, and imprinting the massive torrent of information in his mind—
fragments of laws accumulated by the sea-calming pillars over a thousand years, echoes of the martyrs' wills, and the profound trajectory of that final, heaven-shaking spear strike that gathered the power of heroic spirits.
His consciousness sank into his body, focusing on the bones of his right arm.
There, a segment of complex and mysterious patterns shimmering with purple-gold thunderlight—the already inscribed portion of the "Nine Heavens Responding to Origin Thunder Pattern Record"—was undergoing subtle yet profound changes.
Under the light from the sea-calming pillars that contained the true meaning of "existence," this segment of thunder patterns seemed to have been injected with a soul,
becoming deeper and more agile, and its connection with the origin of thunder in heaven and earth became even tighter.
"Buzz..."
A slight tremor emanated from within Zhou Heng's body, not the roar of a realm breakthrough,
but rather the consolidation and expansion of some deeper foundation.
The aura around him began to climb steadily, and the bottleneck originally stuck at the peak of the Three-Star Transcendent Realm,
under the impact of this extremely profound foundation, quietly melted like ice and snow under the sun!
Four-Star Transcendent!
The aura did not stop, still surging upward under the push of his vigorous foundation!
Mid-stage Four-Star Transcendent... late-stage... peak!
Finally, upon touching the threshold of Five-Star, this momentum slowly calmed down, becoming harmonious and restrained.
Zhou Heng opened his eyes, a flash of purple-gold thunderlight passing through them, deep as a sea of stars.
He lightly clenched his fist, feeling the ceaselessly surging Wind and Thunder Sacred Origin Essence within him, its quality far exceeding before,
as well as the deeper sense of resonance with the laws of thunder coming from the thunder patterns on his right arm, a satisfied curve hooking his lips.
"Five-Star Transcendent... my foundation has been consolidated more than several times over! This gift from the sea-calming pillars is truly domineering!"
He thought to himself,
"Especially these thunder patterns... it seems my control over the Evil-Slaying Divine Thunder has become even more effortless."
He could feel that he was only one opportunity away from truly breaking through to Five-Star,
but now, his combat power was more than twice as strong as before entering the sea-calming pillars!
This was not just an improvement in realm, but an expansion of his Dao foundation and a leap in potential!
At the same time, earth-shattering changes were also taking place in the other four meditation rooms.
In Ji Cang's meditation room, malevolent energy soared to the skies!
The White Tiger Battle Body manifested autonomously, a solid, lifelike phantom of a platinum giant tiger roaring towards the sky, its terrifying Conquest Saber Intent almost tearing apart the meditation room's protective formation.
His aura soared like a rocket, the barrier of the Six-Star Condensing Spirit Realm peak breaking at a touch, directly stepping into Seven-Star, then continuing irresistibly through Eight-Star, Nine-Star...
until reaching the ultimate limit of the Spirit Nurturing Realm—Peak Nine-Star!
One foot had already stepped across the threshold of the Transcendent domain!
Within the malevolent energy permeating his body, there was an additional tragic and heavy battlefield will, a fusion from the ancient conquest Dao laws.
Lu Chenxin's meditation room was a scene of clarity and emptiness. The azure sword intent was no longer sharp and overbearing, but had transformed into a soft yet incredibly tough halo enveloping him.
His [Azure Sky Sword Heart], after being baptized by the thousand-year guardian sword intent, became even broader and more transparent.
His aura climbed steadily and firmly, Sword Heart Clarity pointing directly to the source, likewise breaking through all the way to Peak Nine-Star Spirit Nurturing Realm!
His sword had lost some of its edge but gained some of the heaviness and inclusiveness of protection; the sword intent was restrained, yet appeared even more unfathomable.
In Chen Ye's meditation room, the temperature plummeted, and ice crystals silently climbed the walls.
The extreme cold domain was restrained to the limit, as if freezing the entire space into a world of Absolute Zero.
After his Xuanming Ice Prison Body fused with that "Extreme Cold Ice Soul" Dao law, it underwent a qualitative leap, the artistic conception of the Ice Prison becoming even deeper and more terrifying.
His aura soared amidst the extreme cold, from Five-Star Spirit Nurturing to Peak Nine-Star, as natural as water flowing in a channel!
His eyes were like ten-thousand-year-old profound ice; beneath the calm was an absolute majesty that would freeze everything.
Bai Qianer's meditation room was filled with a dreamlike, lustrous glow.
Seven-colored illusion butterflies danced gracefully, scattering peaceful and auspicious rain of light.
After her [Spirit Butterfly Illusion Heart] crossed over countless lingering thoughts of heroic spirits, her soul power received unprecedented nourishment and sublimation, becoming purer and stronger.
The improvement of her realm became the most natural thing, from Five-Star Spirit Nurturing to Peak Eight-Star, without any obstacles.
Her temperament lost some of its worldly innocence and gained some compassion and clarity,
and within her illusions, there was a trace of the true meaning of the laws of healing and prayer.
After just three days of rest, the strength of the five members of Eastern Radiance First Team had undergone earth-shaking changes!
When the five gathered in the courtyard again and looked at each other, they could all see the hard-to-conceal sharp light and more stable, heavy auras in each other's eyes.
"Holy crap!" Zhou Heng was the first to break the silence, exaggeratedly patting his chest,
"You guys almost scared me to death! Every one of you is like you've taken some ultimate tonic pill. Peak Nine-Star Spirit Nurturing? This breakthrough speed, even chasing the moon on a meteor wouldn't be this fast, right?"
Though he spoke exaggeratedly, his eyes were full of joy.
The stronger his teammates were, the greater the challenges they could face in the future,
the bigger the messes they could make... ah no, the more awesome the missions they could complete!
Ji Cang clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, and said in a deep voice, "The sea-calming pillars' inheritance is no small matter. Especially that Conquest Saber Intent... I have benefited greatly from it."
He looked at Zhou Heng, "Old Zhou, you... are at Five-Star Transcendent?"
Although his realm was higher, facing the currently restrained yet bottomless aura of Zhou Heng, he instead felt an even stronger sense of pressure.
Zhou Heng chuckled and snapped his fingers, a wisp of purple-gold electric sparks jumping at his fingertips: "Just luck, just luck. I'm a step slower than you guys, just touched the threshold of Five-Star."
Lu Chenxin smiled slightly, his temperament even more ethereal: "Consolidating the foundation is the right path. Brother Heng's gains this time are probably far beyond what a realm can measure."
Chen Ye was concise: "So strong."
Two words said it all.
Bai Qianer blinked her large azure eyes, looking at her companions,
her small face full of happiness: "Everyone has become so much stronger! This way, we'll have more confidence for the World Youth Competition!"
Zhou Heng walked up to Qianer and deliberately pulled a long face: "Qianer, speaking of which, I'm fully recovered now and in urgent need of nourishment! That bowl of ultimate... er, tonic soup of yours, shouldn't it be heated up?"
Bai Qianer was stunned for a moment, then her small face turned red as she remembered that bowl of soup whose appearance and taste were both extremely 'touching,'
and hurriedly waved her hands: "Ah! That... Brother Zhou Heng, you've just broken through, your body is too weak for such heavy nourishment! Yes, too weak! I... I'll go see what delicious food the cafeteria has today!"
After saying that, like a frightened little rabbit, she turned and ran.
"Hahaha!" Zhou Heng, Ji Cang, and the others couldn't help but burst into laughter, and even the corner of Chen Ye's mouth twitched slightly.
After the laughter and joking, the atmosphere became serious again.
Lu Chenxin looked at Zhou Heng: "The Division Master said there will be a new mission in three days; it must be no small matter."
Battle intent rose in Ji Cang's eyes: "Just right, I'll use this battle to hone my newborn White Tiger Blade!"
A cold light flashed in Chen Ye's icy eyes: "Adapting to the power."
Zhou Heng put away his playful expression, his gaze sweeping over his four companions,
his eyes sharp as knives: "Brothers, Qianer, the sea-calming pillars' inheritance is a gift the martyrs exchanged their lives for. This power isn't for us to enjoy life in the city."
He looked towards the depths of Zhenhai City, where invisible dark clouds seemed to be gathering.
"In three days, no matter what the mission is, even if we have to poke a hole in the sky..."
"Our Eastern Radiance First Team will... poke it beautifully!"
An invisible sharp aura and confidence, enough to make the winds and clouds change color, permeated the courtyard.
The settling was complete; the sharp blades were waiting to be unsheathed...