The Spirit Orb couldn't be formed in a single day. That small, bright white glass bead was still very fragile at this point.
So fragile that, in the eyes of the two Spirit Cultivation Masters, it dissolved into light, inch by inch, and vanished.
"Old Wang, did you see that clearly?"
One Spirit Cultivation Master asked, his neck nearly twisted at a ninety-degree angle.
The other,
Old Wang, with his beard, still had his eyes bulging forward. He paused for a moment, replaying the scene he had just witnessed in his mind.
After a long while, "It's not spiritual energy solidification. Whether it's mental energy solidification is hard to say, but regardless, that Dream Moth is only at the Elite level..."
"Hey, Old Lü, wait a second!!"
Before Old Wang could finish his sentence, he saw Old Lü, with agility that defied his age, leap out in one swift motion, heading straight for where the Dream Moth was.
"Old Lü, you sneaky bastard!"
He too vaulted over the guest table and ran over there.
At that moment,
Su Hao cleared his throat. "So, uh, another orb?"
"Gu no?"
"Don't touch it, don't touch it."
With experience under her belt, Die Xiaodie handled it smoothly the second time. In just over half a minute, she used the crystal ball to construct a Spirit Orb inside.
Bright and white, visible even through the crystal ball.
The fully matured Fire Velvet Crow, without needing instructions, extended its feather blade.
With a swift slash, it cut a clean opening at one-third of the crystal ball.
The Spirit Orb flew out from inside, circled twice around Die Xiaodie's tiny body, and then stopped in front of her.
It hung silently in midair, with no energy leaking out, like an ordinary white glass bead.
But the bead's texture was translucent, akin to top-grade jade.
Die Xiaodie stared at it for a few moments, feeling quite satisfied.
It looked like it was worth a lot~
"Gu no~?(???)? "
Just then,
A finger reached out and poked the white glass bead.
The bead wobbled.
Die Xiaodie was about to drag the bead away when another person's finger came to poke it.
Poke after poke.
Crack~
The translucent bead fissured, and the next second, it shattered with a bang.
Like shards of glass scattering on the ground, then vaporizing into nothing.
"Gu! No! No——!!!"
Su Hao raised his hands: It wasn't me who poked it.
Die Xiaodie turned her head, glaring, and spotted two gray-haired old men nearby.
They wore sheepish grins.
"We... we really couldn't help it."
Old Wang, the Spirit Cultivation Master, felt guilty, but he couldn't suppress his burning thirst for knowledge.
"Is it mental energy solidification?"
As he spoke, he slapped his forehead.
Feeling like he'd gone stupid, asking a spirit creature that question?
Master Wang then turned to look at Su Hao.
His gaze was intense.
Master Lü was the same.
Su Hao pondered for a moment. "Probably... yes?"
He added, "After listening to the masters' discussions earlier, I had some inspiration. I had my spirit creature try it out, and then... so I'm not entirely sure either."
Master Wang: "!!!"
Master Lü: "!!!"
Master Yao, who had just run over: "!!!"
A problem that many masters had debated without conclusion, and you just gave it a try and figured it out?
What kind of luck?
What kind of talent?
Master Yao's gaze dropped to the sheets of paper on the table.
And the complex, messy, almost ghost-scribble-like drafts on them.
But he understood some of it.
"Is that..."
After Su Hao said it was no problem, Master Yao picked up the papers.
Master Wang and Master Lü crowded around.
Ten minutes later...
Around the Whale Island University team, a circle of masters and experts had gathered.
Lin Xueguang, the freckled girl, and the others were pitifully pushed to the outskirts—they couldn't understand anyway.
A group of middle-aged or elderly figures, big names in the Dragon Country's spirit cultivation circle, held Su Hao's drafts as if they were treasures.
Their faces were full of excitement.
Occasionally, they showed expressions of sudden realization.
"Yes, yes, that's it!"
"So that's how it is! Using pure mental energy to layer it one by one—doing it this way is indeed possible!"
"Student, student, have your spirit creature demonstrate it again."
"I have a piece of marrow jade here that can nurture and restore mental energy. I'm giving it to your spirit creature."
"I also have a treasure that can replenish mental energy without side effects..."
"Wear this, it helps stabilize externalized mental energy..."
"Ran out of crystal balls? Xiao Chen, hurry, buy a box!"
Today was the day Die Xiaodie received the most gifts.
With all these gifts in mind, she tirelessly continued to demonstrate the 'Spirit Orb' secret technique.
Su Hao provided supplementary explanations on the side.
Occasionally, he also spoke up:
"I think it could be done like this..."
"Make the orb a little smaller..."
Indicating that he was constantly learning and improving.
Countless masters and experts nodded repeatedly.
In just this short time, they had nodded more than they had throughout the entire Spirit Cultivation Cup.
"Who would've thought that a problem that stumped us for over a year would be solved by a freshman."
Master Zhuang from Dragon Capital University had a complex expression.
In his estimation, the Spirit Cultivation Cup setting should have provided some inspiration.
If things went smoothly, maybe in another half year or a year, they could develop a complete 'mental energy solidification' method.
But why...
Why did it turn out like this?
Why hadn't he thought of this approach?
Master Zhuang fell into deep thought.
...
Night, eight o'clock, at the hotel.
Su Hao finally got to eat a hot dinner.
It had been no easy feat.
"Gu no~"
Die Xiaodie nodded. Those old men were terrifying.
But then she looked at the marrow jade, necklace, and other items on her, her big eyes turning into (????)~
Master Yao picked at his dinner, still mulling over the problem in his mind.
Suddenly, he looked up at Su Hao. "The approach to solidifying mental energy is already very clear. For safety's sake, you need to publish the paper as soon as possible."
"Of course," he added, "there were plenty of witnesses today, so no one should steal your results. But just in case."
Master Yao spoke,
Staring straight at Su Hao, eager to know what was going on in his head.
To have come up with such a flash of insight, with such a clear line of thinking.
Truly the student he had his eye on.
Both talented and undoubtedly having put in countless hours of hard work.
'My Whale Island University's Spirit Cultivation College is finally going to rise!'
...
After dinner, Su Hao returned to his room, planning to start typing up the paper.
He wasn't in a huge rush.
With just a few drafts and Die Xiaodie's demonstration, others could at most grasp the concept.
The real secret was still in his head.
In the short term, no one else could crack it.
He was the undisputed primary contributor to the 'mental energy solidification' research.
The Dragon Capital University team would have to settle for second place.
"Still... since the Spirit Orb is a secret technique perfectly tailored to the little one, it's easy for her to perform, but turning it into a paper is a bit tricky."
Su Hao had to extract key points and modify them into a universally applicable 'mental energy solidification method.'
It was troublesome.
A significant amount of work.
"It'll probably take a few days."