Time flows like water, and years fly by like a shuttle. In the blink of an eye, a full year has passed.
For Xu Tianhao, this year was a crucial year for breaking through realms and establishing his foundation.
For the likes of Ye Guyi and Long Aotian, it was a period of growth spent chasing the light and racing against time.
During this year, all seven members of the squad achieved astonishing breakthroughs and transformations on their respective paths of cultivation.
First, regarding Xu Tianhao, this year was a golden stage for him, where his talent manifested and his foundation was solidified.
Xu Tianhao's spirit power broke through steadily during his day-after-day bitter cultivation.
Currently, Xu Tianhao already possessed a cultivation efficiency far exceeding that of ordinary people due to the enhancement of the moon reading space.
Furthermore, the resonance of the source brought about by the integration of the seed of the body's sub-seed made his Body Martial Soul cultivation speed thirty percent faster than in previous years.
Every day before dawn, when the morning dew had not yet dried, Xu Tianhao would begin cultivating the True Body Secret Manuals.
The power of the seed of the body circulated within him, blending with the source of his Body Martial Soul.
Under the guidance of the seed of the body, the originally obscure and difficult methods of spirit power circulation within the Body Secrets became increasingly clear and smooth.
Thus, from morning till night, through winter and summer, he never ceased.
After a year's time, Xu Tianhao had not only cultivated the profound True Body Secret Manuals, but his spirit power had also naturally reached Level 50.
Eleven years old, Level 50 spirit power, the realm of a quasi-Spirit King.
Such numbers were an unprecedented miracle in the long history of the Douluo Continent.
For an ordinary Spirit Master, being able to reach the rank of Spirit King before the age of twenty would already mark them as a gifted genius.
Even at Shrek, the continent's number one academy, most of the geniuses there would be fifteen or sixteen at the earliest when they reached the Spirit King rank.
Yet Xu Tianhao, at the age of eleven and at a rate of six levels per year, had broken through all the way from the peak of Level 44 to the threshold of Level 50.
This cultivation efficiency, even with the enhancement of the moon reading space, was enough to shock the entire Spirit Master's world of the continent.
After all, while the moon reading space was powerful, it still required the cultivator themselves to possess extremely strong talent and a foundation to receive that power.
If talent was insufficient, even with ample time, it would be difficult to break through bottlenecks.
That Xu Tianhao could still maintain a growth rate of about six levels a year under the enhancement of the moon reading space...
...was enough to prove that his Martial Soul talent and potential had long since reached a terrifying level.
However, during this year, besides the breakthrough in spirit power, the most important event in Xu Tianhao's life was inheriting the core legacy of the Body Sect—the seed of the body.
Even now, Xu Tianhao had a fresh memory of Poison Immortal's words at that time.
"The seed of the body is the core of our Body Sect's inheritance. It is the foundation of the legacy, forged from the essence, Spirit, Martial Soul source, and bloodline power of successive Sect Masters."
"It is not a physical entity, but a source mark that condenses the power of all inheritors. It is the only key to unlocking the treasures of the Body Martial Soul."
After speaking, Poison Immortal raised his hand to condense spirit power. A faint golden stream of light slowly emerged from between his brows; that was the Mother Seed of the seed of the body.
The stream of light rotated slowly in the air, emitting a gentle yet domineering aura, then split off a wisp of spiritual light that flew toward Xu Tianhao's brow.
Xu Tianhao sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut, releasing his own Body Martial Soul and allowing that stream of light to merge into his sea of consciousness.
The moment the light touched his Martial Soul source, a vast power instantly flooded into his body.
Within his meridians, his originally surging spirit power suddenly came to a halt, followed immediately by a resonance that quietly rose from the depths of his soul.
The seed of the body contained the mental imprints, Martial Soul truths, and bloodline inheritance of the successive Body Sect Masters.
It began to automatically match the most suitable cultivation path for Xu Tianhao.
It took the obscure chants and methods within the Body Secrets and deconstructed them bit by bit, instilling them into his consciousness.
"The seed of the body is only passed to Body Martial Soul Spirit Masters, and there are strict rules," Poison Immortal's voice rang out from the side.
"A complete seed of the body can only be inherited once in a person's lifetime. Either the previous owner dies, and the source power naturally flows on to be inherited..."
"...Or, the inheritor breaks through to the rank of Level 99 Limit Douluo, or comprehends the Divine Rank Third Awakening and completes the third awakening of the Body Martial Soul, before they can actively strip away the seed of the body to pass it down."
"But currently, the Divine Rank Third Awakening is nothing more than a legend, so I can only separate a sub-seed for you."
Xu Tianhao clearly felt that source power merging into his body, transforming into a tiny golden seed hidden within his Martial Soul source, closely linked to his soul.
Although this sub-seed was not as complete as the Mother Seed, it was enough for him to master the True Body Secret Manuals that only the Sect Master could cultivate, giving him the qualification to inherit the complete seed of the body in the future.
Even the eldest disciple, Long Aotian, did not enjoy such treatment.
Although Long Aotian had joined the sect earlier and his talent was quite outstanding, in terms of the inheritance of the seed of the body, he was ultimately a step behind Xu Tianhao.
After inheriting the seed of the body, Xu Tianhao's path of cultivation became increasingly smooth.
With the enhancement of the seed of the body, he quickly understood and mastered the methods in the Body Secrets regarding physical strengthening and the excavation of the Martial Soul source.
He could clearly perceive every single change in his body.
The power of his Martial Soul was also imperceptibly permeating every inch of his skin, flesh, and even his bones.
Currently, he was only one spirit ring away from advancing to Spirit King.
Once he absorbed his fifth spirit ring and officially advanced to Spirit King, he would set about completing the second awakening of his Body Martial Soul.
At that time, the sub-seed of the seed of the body hidden within him would also fully awaken, taking the strength of his Body Martial Soul to another level.
Besides Xu Tianhao, the improvement of the others also did not lag behind; their progress was very rapid.
Currently, Ye Guyi was already a Level 57 Spirit King, possessing the highest spirit power level in the Seven-Person Squad.
Next were Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen.
The two of them had also just broken through Level 50, and were only one spirit ring away from advancing to become five-ring Spirit Kings.
Now, the level gap between them and Xu Tianhao had been completely erased.
After absorbing the fifth spirit ring, Xu Tianhao would begin to surpass them bit by bit.
Then there was Xu Tianzhen at Level 48, Meng Hongchen at Level 47, and Nana at Level 45.
Over the course of this year, with the help of the moon reading space, everyone had increased their spirit power by an average of about five or six levels.
Meng Hongchen, because she shared a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Xiao Hongchen that could accelerate cultivation, was almost catching up to Xu Tianzhen.
Although Nana's spirit power level was the lowest, given her current age of only fourteen, this talent was already not low.
Moreover, the quality of Nana's Ghost Martial Soul was also quite good; if it could be improved in the future, she would have the makings of a top-tier genius.
Furthermore, regarding the improvement of Nana's Ghost Martial Soul, Xu Tianhao already had his own ideas.
Now it would depend on whether his subsequent plans could succeed.
If they did, it would definitely provide Nana with an epic-tier enhancement.
For example, evolving from a Ghost into a Nether Spirit Lord, or a Lord of the Undead, or something similar.
Not only would her prestige go up, but her talent and potential would increase exponentially.
At that time, Nana would certainly possess talent no inferior to Ye Guyi's.
Of course, those were matters for later.