When Caelus pushed open the door, the sounds of laughter and conversation inside the room came to an abrupt halt... Inside the room of the Dragon Slumber Residence, Ma Xiaotao and the others were gathered together. The opening of the door drew everyone's gaze.
When they saw clearly that it was Zhang Lexuan and Caelus standing at the door, having returned safely, smiles of "as expected" appeared on their faces.
"Sister Lexuan, Caelus, you're finally back."
Ma Xiaotao was the first to greet them, enthusiastically patting Caelus's shoulder.
Bei Bei also stood up and smiled gently:
"Hard work, Eldest Senior Sister. It looks like everything went smoothly."
To them, this was an operation with no suspense at all.
Zhang Lexuan, an eight-ring Spirit Douluo and the head Disciple of the Shrek Inner Court, leading an exceptionally talented prospective Spirit Ancestor to hunt for a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring—wasn't that a sure thing? How could there be any accidents?
However, that natural sense of calm was completely shattered the next second after they saw Caelus's current appearance clearly.
"Whoa... holy crap!"
The first to cry out in surprise was Xu Sanshi. His eyes were wide and round, and the sunflower seeds in his hand fell all over the floor.
He dashed in front of Caelus, looking him up and down, left and right, as if he were looking at some rare treasure.
"No way, Caelus? Did you... go out and swap yourself for someone else?"
Xu Sanshi's exclamation caused everyone to focus their attention entirely on Caelus.
The room instantly fell into an eerie silence.
Ma Xiaotao was also stunned at this moment, her eyes filled with disbelief.
A visible look of shock appeared on Ling Luochen's cold face.
Bei Bei's gentle smile froze on his lips.
Even Gu Yuena, who had been sitting quietly, turned her head at this moment. For the first time, a violent fluctuation appeared in those deep purple eyes.
Compared to before he left, the Caelus before them had changed too much.
First was his height.
He was already tall for his age, but now he had grown even taller, almost catching up to Bei Bei.
His figure was no longer the thin frame of a youth; he had become tall and lean, his shoulders slightly broader. Every inch of his silhouette seemed to have been carved to perfection, filled with power and beauty.
But the most eye-catching thing was his eyes.
Those once uniformly brilliant gold eyes had now become completely different heterochromatic eyes—the left eye was still that familiar, brilliant gold that seemed to contain endless time, warm and deep.
The right eye, however, had turned into a translucent emerald green, like ice crystals from the Far North—cold, sharp, and carrying a sense of "keep away."
One warm and one cold, one gold and one green; two completely opposite temperaments merged perfectly within him, forming an indescribable, heart-pounding charm.
"Caelus, your... your eyes..."
Ye Guyi spoke stutteringly, her small face flushing red from shock.
"It's not just the eyes; Junior Brother Caelus's temperament has also changed."
Bei Bei remarked with a sigh.
With his reminder, everyone suddenly realized it.
Yes, the temperament.
If the previous Caelus gave people a feeling of being gentle, sunny, and polite yet with a hint of distant mystery, then now, while that gentleness still existed, his entire aura had gained... something indescribable.
It was an innate nobility and majesty, a cold indifference that treated all things as straw dogs, and a lonely loftiness that stood at the peak of the World.
He just stood there quietly, without releasing any Soul Power, yet he naturally exuded an aura that was captivating, even making one want to subconsciously submit.
"It's... it's..."
Ye Guyi struggled to find a word to describe this feeling, her pretty face turning red from the effort.
"It's that... it's just... ugh!"
She stamped her foot in frustration, simply unable to think of it.
Just then, a cold and calm voice rang out clearly in the room.
"It is the air of a king."
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice; the one speaking was actually Gu Yuena.
She had stood up at some point and was walking over slowly.
Her gaze didn't linger on Caelus's appearance like the others; instead, she gazed deeply into the depths of Caelus's eyes, as if trying to see through to the Origin of his Soul.
"The air of a king?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Ye Guyi nodded repeatedly.
"That's it, the air of a king. Caelus, the feeling you give off now is like... a natural-born monarch."
Once this description was out, everyone deeply agreed.
That's right, a monarch.
That feeling of controlling everything and looking down on the World was exactly the air that only a king possessed.
Xu Sanshi patted Caelus's shoulder with exaggerated force, though the actual power was light:
"Not bad, kid. You went out to hunt a fourth spirit ring, so why does it feel like you've been enthroned? Even your eyes changed color—one gold and one green, quite unique."
Caelus was amused inwardly.
He naturally knew where this extra bit of temperament came from.
The Ice Empress, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North and the monarch of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion clan—how rich was the kingly aura engraved in her Soul's Origin?
Having perfectly fused with her and inherited her power, he naturally became tainted with this majesty belonging to a monarch.
This was even with him deliberately restraining it; otherwise, the violence and dominance belonging to a monarch of Vicious Beasts would likely be even more shocking.
On the surface, however, he remained calm, only smiling gently. In response to Xu Sanshi's teasing, he replied half-jokingly:
"Perhaps the Soul Beast I hunted this time had quite a kingly demeanor, so I picked up a bit of its aura."
"By the way, is your fourth spirit ring really ten-thousand-year?"
Ye Guyi asked curiously at this time; she knew just how difficult it was to absorb a spirit ring beyond one's level.
Although she hadn't crossed many years when absorbing her own spirit rings, under Qian Renxue's requirements and training, she had also exceeded the theoretical limits.
So she knew the difficulties involved, let alone Caelus absorbing a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring.
"Then I'll let you see."
Caelus smiled, then his mind moved.
Hum—
Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black—four spirit rings emerged one by one, radiating a powerful aura. Especially that fourth black spirit ring, it even carried a cold chill that made the air in the room turn cold.
"It really is a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring."
Seeing Caelus's spirit ring configuration, Ma Xiaotao and the others all raised an eyebrow. Although they had guessed he would succeed, seeing it with their own eyes was still surprising.
In the Spirit Ancestor Realm, the fourth spirit ring was already at the ten-thousand-year level.
In the entire history of the Douluo Continent, such an occurrence was as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns.
Even in the Shrek Academy Inner Court, where geniuses were as common as clouds, those who could achieve this were few and far between.
"So powerful. I certainly couldn't do it."
Ye Guyi felt a bit discouraged. She considered herself a Genius—possessing the Sacred Angel Martial Soul and becoming a Soul Elder before the age of twelve—but compared to Caelus, she was still a huge step behind.
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