In other worlds, cultivating for a hundred years was already considered a long time. At the thousand-year level, one would be regarded as an old monster, and those who cultivated for ten thousand years were practically guaranteed to be bosses.
Entire settings would have changed multiple times by then—some cultivation novels would even shift from the mortal realm to the immortal realm, and that would be perfectly reasonable.
But what about the Douluo world?
Hundred-year Spirit Beasts were as common as stray dogs by the roadside. Thousand-year Spirit Beasts were everywhere. Ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts might even lounge at crossroads, casually exhaling—but if they picked the wrong target, they could still be kicked to death without much effort.
Only at the level of Titled Douluo could one claim territory like a wild beast. Yet even then, if they provoked a truly powerful figure, they could still be killed with little more than some extra effort.
Most importantly, even gods in the Douluo world did not possess infinite lifespans—they simply lived longer.
The reason the Gods of the Divine Realm appeared immortal was due to the slowed flow of time there, combined with the replenishment of celestial spiritual energy produced by the Life Tree, the embodiment of the Goddess of Life.
With one factor extending time and the other sustaining vitality, it created the illusion of eternity.
But if one ascended to godhood alone, without such external support, even Gods in the Douluo world had limited lifespans. In fact, in Soul Land IV, ordinary god-level beings could not exceed a thousand years—their limit was nine hundred and ninety-nine.
"…." Qian Daoliu found himself at a loss for words.
The Angel God had already become little more than a legend among humans. Yet for most Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Forest that had lived for over ten thousand years, they had personally witnessed the moment of the Angel God's ascension. Even for hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts, it was not something so distant in the past.
For the first time, a faint glimmer of hope—something he had never even dared to expect—began to take root in Qian Daoliu's heart
...
Chen Ming's final plan was that among the four pills, Golden Crocodile Douluo would take one to consume, restoring him to his peak state to attempt a breakthrough. Of the remaining three, Chen Ming would take two, and Qian Daoliu would take one.
The medicinal power of the Dragon-Tiger Great Restoration Pill was too violent. Even though his meridians were fully cleared and his constitution was powerful—making his physical quality far surpass that of a normal Spirit Master—Chen Ming still couldn't handle it if he took it now. He would have to wait until at least after obtaining his third Spirit Ring before he could slowly dissolve its power.
But if Golden Crocodile Douluo could return to his peak or even break through after digesting this pill, things would be different.
Currently, even the aging Level 98 Golden Crocodile Douluo could go out and slaughter at will; even the current Slaughter King couldn't defeat him unless Tang Chen himself was in control.
As long as he didn't go to the ocean to fight Bo Saixi or trade blows with Qian Daoliu, even the current, withered Golden Crocodile Douluo remained an invincible powerhouse.
If he could return to his peak state, even without a breakthrough, Golden Crocodile Douluo could single-handedly wipe out one of the Upper Three Sects. Such a top-tier combat force—one who could move at any time and was willing to move for his sake—was extremely useful.
Dugu Bo would handle the weaklings, while the experts would be left to Golden Crocodile Douluo. With this, Chen Ming could go anywhere in the world. Even if he dug out Ah Yin's Spirit Bone right in front of Tang Hao, Tang Hao wouldn't be able to defeat Chen Ming's lineup.
And if Golden Crocodile Douluo could break through to Limit Douluo...
Well, a Level 99 short-tempered Limit Douluo with hundred-thousand-year Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones, possessing a true dragon-type Martial Soul in its prime—such a scene would be enough to make anyone in the Douluo Continent who opposed Chen Ming despair until they couldn't breathe.
Anyway, all the medicinal materials this time came from the "gold coins" dropped by Golden Crocodile Douluo and the unconditional support of Spirit Hall. Chen Ming only spent time and energy; the cost wasn't particularly high for him.
Forget completing it—even if he had botched the refinement halfway through, Chen Ming wouldn't have felt too much heartache... at least, not too much.
Moreover, as long as Golden Crocodile Douluo could recover even a little, the favorability of the entire Consecration Hall toward him would skyrocket. In the future, even if he did something against the rules, someone would cover for him.
...
When he met Golden Crocodile Douluo and told him about the medicinal power of the Dragon-Tiger Great Restoration Pill, Golden Crocodile's first thought was disbelief.
After explaining for a long time, Golden Crocodile Douluo finally swallowed the pill with skepticism. As the medicinal power dissolved and blood essence surged through his body, his originally wrinkled and withered skin became visibly smoother. In just a few minutes, he looked several years younger.
Ignoring everything else, Golden Crocodile Douluo sat directly on the ground in extreme excitement to absorb the power, his Spirit Power and blood essence surging violently.
In just one hour, Golden Crocodile Douluo had transformed from an old man with white hair and beard into a middle-aged man with black hair streaked with a bit of white.
In Chen Ming's view, the fact that such a massive amount of vitality didn't turn Golden Crocodile's hair completely black was primarily because his remaining life force had been mere dregs, and the pill's power hadn't yet fully dissolved.
Once fully dissolved, Golden Crocodile Douluo would likely recover to the appearance of someone in their fifties, or perhaps even their forties.
After all, the vitality of a Spirit Master at the Titled Douluo level doesn't have a dimensional gap, and Golden Crocodile Douluo had never used any means to extend his life before, so the difficulty of replenishing his vitality was relatively low.
"I... I've actually become this much younger?" Golden Crocodile Douluo felt the blood essence filling his body once again, and he was in disbelief.
If the previous Golden Crocodile Douluo's endurance in every strike was extremely short—only able to explode with the majority of his power for a brief moment before weakening due to lack of stamina—then now, he could explode with his full strength for a period of time without pressure. He could even act like a young man, surpassing his normal limits in short bursts through pure explosion.
Although his endurance and stamina couldn't compare to his youth, they were vastly superior to when his blood essence was decaying.
Even the Level 99 bottleneck—which he had already given up hope on—reappeared in his perception.
One shouldn't fear sensing a bottleneck; what one should fear is when, along with the gradual decline of strength, the bottleneck that once seemed reachable becomes distant, eventually transforming into some invisible rule.
As long as it is observable and perceptible, there is a chance for breakthrough. True despair only comes when one weakens to the point that even the conditions for advancement can no longer be seen.
Take Yu Xiaogang, for example; the upper limit of his "container" was just that small—he couldn't see how to break through to Level 30 even if his life depended on it.
A normal Spirit Master's situation is sensing the bottleneck but being unable to break through, whereas Yu Xiaogang's situation makes one wonder if he thinks there are only twenty29 levels in total for Spirit Masters.
Seeing how effective the pill was, Qian Daoliu decisively handed over his own share to Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"It should be fine to take another one, right?" Qian Daoliu showed no reluctance in giving it up—in fact, he was genuinely happy for him, though still slightly worried about potential side effects from taking too much.
After all, if he hadn't personally participated in the refining process, he would have thought this was some divine artifact crafted by a god.
For something like this to be created by human hands… surely there had to be limits? It felt far too unlike anything a Spirit Master should be capable of.
"It's fine. My teacher's foundation is still there—it's just dried up. With his cultivation level, as long as he doesn't treat it like food, there won't be any issues. Although the second pill won't lose much effectiveness, the external results won't be as immediate. It'll mostly accumulate life force within his body and be slowly absorbed."
"Good… good!" Golden Crocodile Douluo's heart pounded with excitement.
All he needed was one more chance. Just let him remain at peak physical condition for ten years—no, five years… five years would be enough!
At most, with five more years at his peak, he was absolutely certain he could shatter that barrier and step into level 99.
...
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