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Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat... odd.
Ning Rongrong blinked her large eyes, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Rank 68... Spirit Emperor?"
Xiao Wu tilted her head, looking at Tang San: "Little San, have you... been so busy establishing the Tang Sect these past few years that you haven't been Cultivating properly?"
Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, a trace of doubt flashed in her cool eyes.
Tang San was stunned by their reaction. Was Rank 68 Spirit Emperor not astonishing enough? One must know that his father, Tang Hao, did not achieve what he had at this age.
Just then, a dazzling nine-colored light suddenly shone from Ning Rongrong, and a vast spirit power fluctuation was released without reservation! That profound aura was clearly... at the Spirit Douluo level!
"I'm Rank 83, you know," Ning Rongrong said with a giggle.
Immediately after, pink light flowed around Xiao Wu, and an even more powerful spirit power, carrying a resilient Life aura, erupted—Rank 85 Spirit Douluo!
Zhu Zhuqing's figure blurred slightly, and a cool, sharp, shadow-like aura filled the living room—Rank 84 Spirit Douluo!
The three girls, all similar in age to Tang San, some even younger, had all reached the Spirit Douluo Realm in their Cultivation!
And judging by the solidity of their spirit power, it was definitely not forcibly enhanced by medicine, but genuinely Cultivated!
Tang San was completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the three girls with their immense auras, his mind a complete blank.
A Spirit Emperor at twenty-two, with a high probability of Breaking through to Spirit Saint at twenty-three, he had originally thought he was a chosen one, a Peak existence among his peers.
But now... Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, they were all already Spirit Douluo?!
How was this possible?!
Even if Spirit Hall poured all its resources into nurturing them, it would be impossible for someone's Cultivation to make such a terrifying leap in just seven years! This completely surpassed his understanding of Spirit Master Cultivation rules!
Seeing Tang San's dumbfounded expression, as if his Worldview had been overturned, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but let out a chuckle: "Scared, aren't you? Our experiences these past few years... have been quite special."
Xiao Wu also covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "Yes, the assessments on Sea God Island were really tough, but the improvement was also very fast."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, tacitly agreeing.
They didn't explain the details of Sea God Island and the Godly Trials, but these few understated words, along with their genuine Spirit Douluo Cultivation, were enough to explain everything.
Tang San opened his mouth but found himself speechless. An indescribable sense of loss and a huge sense of disparity surged into his heart like a tide. The distance he had thought he had narrowed now seemed so vast.
He looked at Xiao Wu, at her confident and bright smile, a mix of emotions in his heart.
She had become so powerful, what had she experienced all these years? And what role was she playing in the Spirit Empire now? And what was her relationship with that Xuan Ming...?
Countless questions and complex emotions clogged his chest, making him feel a suffocating dullness.
This reunion was far more impactful than he had imagined.
Seeing Tang San's distraught appearance, as if his Worldview had been completely overturned, Ning Rongrong actually felt a little guilty, even secretly glad that she had only shown her spirit power Rank just now and hadn't revealed her spirit rings.
If Tang San were to see her current spirit ring configuration of "four purple, three black, one red," especially that eerie red one symbolizing a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, wouldn't Tang San's mentality collapse on the spot?
And Xiao Wu's "purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, red," Zhu Zhuqing's "yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red"... any of these spirit ring configurations would be enough to shake the entire Spirit Master's world! Especially the hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, which was a legendary existence!
The Sacred Pillar assessments they underwent on Sea God Island, although a near-death experience, yielded astonishing rewards.
Not only did their spirit power Rank soar, but the age of their spirit rings also received a direct blessing and enhancement from the Sea God, allowing them to possess such a Heaven-Defying configuration.
However, seeing Tang San's disheartened look, Ning Rongrong also felt a little sympathetic. Her eyes darted around, and she smiled as she suggested: "Alright, alright, don't just stand there! It's not easy to come to Spirit City, let's take you out for a stroll! Spirit City has changed so much now, it's completely different from when we competed back then!"
Xiao Wu immediately chimed in: "Yes, yes! We haven't been back long either, so let's go explore together and see what's new!"
Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, she also nodded.
Tang San was pulled back to reality by their voices. Looking at the three girls' sincere smiles, the disappointment and shock in his heart were slightly diluted. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his turbulent emotions, and nodded: "Good... good."
He indeed wanted to see what Spirit City had become now.
The group walked out of the embassy and onto the streets of Spirit City.
As Ning Rongrong said, today's Spirit City was vastly different from seven years ago.
The city's scale had expanded several times, and a more magnificent outer city area had been built beyond the original city walls.
The streets were wide and clean, meticulously planned, and lined with many new buildings that incorporated spirit tool technology, exuding a unique metallic and energetic luster.
Pedestrians bustled about, most with hurried expressions, conveying a busy and vibrant atmosphere.
What surprised Tang San even more was that the patrolling soldiers on the streets were well-equipped, and many of them carried uniquely shaped spirit tools, clearly not just for show.
"Look over there," Ning Rongrong pointed to a towering pagoda in the distance with a huge blue crystal embedded at its Peak, "That's the newly built spirit tool Communication Tower. Through it, messages can be quickly transmitted throughout the Empire, much faster than using carrier pigeons or Spirit Masters like before!"
She then pointed to the occasional horse-less vehicles on the street, driven by spirit power: "Those are spirit tool cargo trucks. They have a large carrying capacity and run fast, making them very convenient for transporting goods."
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, pointed to small spirit tool devices placed at the entrances of some shops that could automatically clean the streets, as well as constant temperature spirit tools powered by spirit power in some public areas, chattering as she introduced them.
Although Zhu Zhuqing spoke little, she would occasionally pause in front of some spirit tool facilities clearly used for warning or defense, gesturing with her eyes for Tang San to pay attention.
Tang San walked, watched, and listened in silence.
He saw orderly city management, spirit tool technology beginning to integrate into the lives of ordinary people, the practical constraints placed on the Spirit Master class, and the glimmer of hope for the future on the faces of the common folk.
All of this was far from the image of a "tyrannical Empire" he knew, and even greatly diverged from the negative propaganda he had encountered about Spirit Hall.
Ning Rongrong walked and introduced things seemingly casually, but her words always inadvertently revealed the "strength" and "advancement" of the Spirit Empire in areas such as spirit tool technology, livelihood improvement, and institutional innovation.
Tang San was not a fool; he naturally understood the guiding intent in Ning Rongrong's words. But he had to admit that everything he saw before him indeed brought him immense shock.
An Empire founded on military might was actually vigorously developing internal affairs and technology? This completely defied common sense!
But on the other hand, a terrifying thought arose in his mind: if the path the Spirit Empire was taking truly succeeded, then its appeal would far exceed that of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires, which relied on the old aristocratic and Spirit Master privilege systems! In the long run, the Two Great Empires might even lose the hearts of their people!
"How is it, Little San, isn't Spirit City very different now?" Ning Rongrong asked with a smile, a hint of imperceptible expectation in her eyes.
Tang San was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, his tone complex: "Indeed... beyond imagination."
His doubts and vigilance not only did not diminish but deepened. The "soft power" displayed by the Spirit Empire was more unsettling than a simple military threat.
And the unbelievable Cultivation advancements of Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, as well as this revitalized Spirit City, were all like a layer of mist shrouding Tang San's heart, making him feel deeper worries about the prospects of this peace talk and the future direction of the Continent.
He had to be more cautious and find a way to uncover the truth hidden behind all this.