"Right, I've divided the Spirit Ascension Method into different versions.
All teachers and students who will serve the academy for life can cultivate the initial version of the Spirit Ascension Method. It can raise spirit rings and bones under ten thousand years up to the ten-thousand-year level.
Another version of the Spirit Ascension Method can raise rings and bones to the hundred-thousand-year level, but it is only open to soul masters above level 80."
Mu Yang had lowered the cultivation requirement for version 2.0 of the Spirit Ascension Method, reducing it from the originally planned nine-ring Title Douluo to eight-ring Soul Douluo.
After all, a soul master at the eight-ring level, paired with Spirit Gold battle armor, could reach nine-ring combat strength, and thus wasn't considered weak.
Mu Yang then continued, "The reason I divided it into two versions is also for the sake of the practitioners themselves.
Although the Spirit Ascension Method can increase the years of rings and bones, the process takes an enormous amount of time.
And the cultivation efficiency of low-level soul masters is far inferior to that of high-level ones. By dividing it into versions, we avoid practitioners obsessively pursuing high-year rings and bones while neglecting their most fundamental soul power cultivation.
Moreover, and most importantly, though the Heart Demon Lock can ensure the method doesn't leak, if one's strength is insufficient but they carry multiple high-year bones, they will simply become fat sheep in the eyes of others."
"Indeed, it's absolutely necessary to set versions with different effects."
Huo Lie nodded, fully approving Mu Yang's approach.
Spirit bones were treasures. Thinking from the other side, if other powers on the continent had many weaklings burdened with multiple high-quality bones, he himself might not be able to resist the temptation.
No help for it—the temptation was too great.
Huo Lie prided himself on his character being decent, at least above the continental average. Yet even he couldn't be sure he would resist such temptation, let alone those with poorer morals.
"Ah~, so I still have to reach eight rings? Then doesn't that mean for the next two years I won't be able to obtain hundred-thousand-year rings and bones?"
The elder cousin Huo Wu pulled a bitter face.
The hundred-thousand-year rings and bones she had long dreamed of were right before her, but she couldn't have them. The torment of it was worse than not knowing of the method at all!
"Huo Wu-jie, even if you achieve eight rings, I wouldn't advise you to immediately raise your rings and bones to the hundred-thousand-year level.
Your talent isn't bad. You will absolutely reach the Title Douluo realm in the future. But once past level 90, every level has bottlenecks.
Rather than raising them to a hundred thousand years early, it's better to hold your rings and bones just shy of that mark. When you hit a bottleneck in cultivation, then raise one or more rings and bones to the hundred-thousand-year level.
At that time, borrowing the bodily enhancements brought by the transformation during the upgrade, you will definitely find it easier to break through bottlenecks."
Mu Yang suggested.
"This is brilliant!"
After carefully pondering Mu Yang's words, Huo Lie's eyes lit up.
Though not yet tested, in theory it was absolutely feasible.
Especially for soul masters with lesser talent, it was extremely necessary to make good use of the transformative power produced when rings and bones upgraded to a hundred-thousand years.
After the Spirit Core Method, here was yet another method—the Spirit Ascension Method—that could help break bottlenecks. Huo Lie could foresee that his academy would never lack Title Douluo again.
Moreover, with the Spirit Core and over-standard ring and bone configurations, every Title Douluo of the academy would be a powerhouse among Title Douluo.
Additionally, with the transformation power of hundred-thousand-year rings and bones, Huo Lie himself was certain that his achievements would not stop at his current level 96 Title Douluo.
Perhaps… even the realm of level 99 Peerless Douluo might not be beyond hope.
"Looks like the academy will need to collect some torso bones and skull bones."
Huo Lie stroked his chin as he spoke.
Low-year bones were tasteless, high-year bones rare and basically impossible to buy with gold soul coins. Plus, the academy's funds were limited, so Huo Lie had not paid much attention to bones in the past.
But now it was different. With the Spirit Ascension Method in hand, low-year bones were no longer tasteless. Thus, it became very necessary to complete all six bone slots for himself.
Not just for himself—the other academy leaders would need the same.
And since far more low-year soul beasts were hunted than high-year ones, in the soul master world the stock of low-year bones was much higher than high-year ones. Now, without needing to care about years, they could even pick and choose the bones most suited to themselves.
"Not only that. With the Spirit Ascension Method, bones of awkward mid-years have greatly diminished in value for us. We can trade our high-year bones for a larger number of low-year ones.
If we tried to trade multiple low bones for a high one, no one would agree, even if values matched.
But if we use highs to exchange for lows, believe me—there will be no shortage of forces willing. They might even pay extra for the privilege."
Mu Yang said with a smile.
In Mu Yang's view, with the Ascension Method, whether ten-thousand-year bones or ninety-thousand-year bones, they were not much stronger than hundred-year or thousand-year bones.
With the means to upgrade in hand, trading quality for quantity was absolutely profitable.
Of course, only bones between ten-thousand and ninety-thousand years became "chicken ribs." Hundred-thousand-year bones, or even those from fierce beasts, still retained immense value.
After all, the higher the years, the greater the soul power increase after refining.
A normal ten-thousand-year bone might only help a six- or seven-ring master break through. But a hundred-thousand-year bone could assist an eighty-nine-level peak Soul Douluo—or even a Title Douluo at a bottleneck.
Even someone like Spirit Hall's Second Worship, the Golden Crocodile Douluo, whose soul power had reached level 98 peak—if he still had a vacant bone slot, giving him a top fierce beast bone might let him break through to Peerless Douluo.
Huo Lie's eyes shone. "Trading highs for lows? Yes, that could work!"
In the past, using high-year bones to exchange for many low ones would have been idiocy.
But times had changed. Once the academy mastered the method of raising bone years, what once looked like foolishness became immense profit.
As the head of the Elemental Sacred Academy, Huo Lie felt that while he might not be able to outfit every academy powerhouse with full high-year bones, outfitting them all with full low-year bones was entirely possible.
After all, aside from skulls and torsos being rarer, low-year limb bones were a bit tasteless, so their prices were never too high.