After a few years, Ji Tongxuan's appearance had also changed significantly.
His body had become extremely thin, with little flesh visible on his hands beneath his cloak, only shriveled skin covering his finger bones. His cheeks were deeply sunken, and only his eyes were remarkably prominent.
However, a rough resemblance to his childhood self could still be seen on his face. Coupled with the familiar blood-red wings on his back and the familiar spirit power fluctuations from his body, Wang Nan still recognized him as Ji Tongxuan, whom he had encountered in the finals of the freshman assessment a few years ago.
Yet, the most significant change in him was not his appearance, but his spirit rings.
Purple, purple, purple, black, black, black.
Ji Tongxuan's ability to enter Shrek Academy indicated that his innate talent was not poor. After years of the Holy Spirit Cult's unreserved "nurturing," his cultivation now surpassed Wang Nan's, making him a six-ring Spirit Emperor.
He even had three black spirit rings, symbolizing ten thousand years. Moreover, his previous two yellow spirit rings had somehow turned purple.
Beside Ji Tongxuan, the other two also had a pair of black wings on their backs, which seemed to be a type of crow Spirit.
Although they also possessed five-ring Spirit King cultivation, their spirit rings appeared much more normal, and Wang Nan did not detect any Evil Soul Master Energy from their Spirits. It seemed that not everyone in the Holy Spirit Cult possessed Evil Spirits.
Or perhaps these two were not Disciples of the Holy Spirit Cult, but merely "support" prepared for Ji Tongxuan's Crying Blood Raven Spirit.
Wang Nan wore a mask, and his Spirit had also undergone some changes, so Ji Tongxuan did not recognize him immediately. He only glanced at the two corpses on the ground before looking up at Wang Nan.
Due to poor visibility at night, Ji Tongxuan had not seen how Wang Nan defeated the two Spirit Kings. The only thing he witnessed was the moment Wang Nan shattered a Spirit tool shield with a single rod strike and beheaded the Evil Soul Master.
Being able to so decisively defeat an opponent of similar strength, Ji Tongxuan couldn't help but take Wang Nan seriously, secretly assessing his strength.
Wang Nan had recognized Ji Tongxuan, but he had no intention of catching up with an old classmate. He never wasted words when fighting. Since he had already determined the opponent was an enemy, it was better to strike first.
Facing three opponents, Wang Nan showed no fear. He twirled the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand, and the blue light of his Spirit tool thruster on his back lit up, propelling his body forward.
The two Spirit Kings beside Ji Tongxuan attacked simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right, assailing Wang Nan.
Wang Nan crossed his arms, and with a simple left and right swing of the Coiling Dragon Staff, he parried both attacks aside.
Ji Tongxuan reacted quickly. Wang Nan's brief pause gave him an opportunity to strike.
His first spirit ring lit up, and an eerie purple stream of light appeared on his body, extending along his arm to his fingertips.
Ji Tongxuan extended his right hand. His withered palm resembled a true bird's claw, and purple light covered his fingernails. Just looking at it brought a sense of discomfort to Wang Nan.
Wang Nan wondered what Ji Tongxuan had experienced in the Holy Spirit Cult; his Spirit Ability was not like this before.
Wang Nan dared not let Ji Tongxuan get close. He gripped one end of the Coiling Dragon Staff with both hands, pushing Ji Tongxuan outwards.
Ji Tongxuan grabbed again with his left hand. His five fingers made contact with the Coiling Dragon Staff, and the strange purple light began to invade the Coiling Dragon Staff from his fingers.
However, his attack had no effect. The giant Dragon on the Coiling Dragon Staff slowly moved, and the purple light was completely dispersed.
This series of changes actually happened in a flash. Gongyang Mo only saw that as soon as the three landed, Wang Nan had already charged forward, and in the blink of an eye, he was already engaged in battle with the three.
Seeing Wang Nan fighting against multiple opponents, Gongyang Mo finally released his Spirit. Brilliant rainbow-colored wings, accompanied by five spirit rings, appeared before everyone.
"It's you!"
Seeing Gongyang Mo's Spirit, Ji Tongxuan immediately took two steps back, squeezing out a harsh sound from his throat. The voice was low and hoarse, completely unlike that of a teenager in his teens.
A memory flashed through Ji Tongxuan's mind, causing his eyes to turn red. Looking at Wang Nan again, he finally discerned a hint of familiarity from the Coiling Dragon Staff.
"It's you two!"
Everything that happened during the freshman assessment came back to Ji Tongxuan, causing an uncontrollable surge of resentment in his heart.
"Perfect, let me show you my strength after Spirit Ascension."
'Spirit Ascension?'
Wang Nan caught the two words from Ji Tongxuan's mouth. Some fragments from his past life's memories were also triggered by these two words.
The Holy Spirit Cult would hold a Spirit Ascension ceremony for Disciples who reached Rank 60, transforming them from Holy Servants into official Holy Spirit Disciples. Although the specific details were unknown, it would undoubtedly significantly enhance the strength of the Holy Spirit Cult's Disciples.
Could it be that Ji Tongxuan's strange spirit ring configuration was the result of that Spirit Ascension?
"Ugh ah—"
Ji Tongxuan suddenly let out a painful growl. His fifth spirit ring suddenly shone brightly, his bones constantly creaked, his sternum suddenly protruded high, and dark red light condensed in his chest. Immediately after, the red light spread throughout his entire body like blood.
No one would wait for an opponent to complete their transformation before attacking.
"Spirit!"
Wang Nan shouted, and then his fifth spirit ring also lit up.
Gongyang Mo understood immediately. His second Spirit Ability was released, and an orange halo landed on Wang Nan.
Like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the Rainbow Dragon Spirit provided a greater boost as the Spirit Master had more spirit rings.
At this moment, Gongyang Mo already possessed a fifth spirit ring, capable of increasing Wang Nan's spirit power by over fifty percent.
The golden giant Dragon reappeared, clashing with Ji Tongxuan, who was enveloped in blood-red light, on the other side.
The next moment, the red light on Ji Tongxuan's body rapidly melted away like snow meeting sunlight.
Wang Nan repeated his trick, the Coiling Dragon Staff naturally "pointed" forward, landing on Ji Tongxuan's chest under his astonished gaze.
Ji Tongxuan's chest rapidly caved in, his ribs breaking one after another, and blood constantly overflowed from his mouth. However, that was as far as it went.
The moment Wang Nan's Coiling Dragon Staff landed, he already felt that something was wrong.
He couldn't accurately judge Ji Tongxuan's spirit power Rank, so he wasn't sure if he could successfully seal Ji Tongxuan's Spirit with Gongyang Mo's assistance. Therefore, he held nothing back with this subsequent rod strike, which was his self-created Move, the "Point" style.
However, even after Wang Nan successfully sealed Ji Tongxuan's Spirit, this rod strike was still blocked.
After Wang Nan's attack, the other two Spirit Kings had quickly entangled him. He could only retract his rod and retreat, swinging and sweeping the Coiling Dragon Staff left and right to repel the two again.
Looking at Ji Tongxuan again, his chest was completely shattered. Wang Nan could even see a broken rib piercing into his heart.
But he did not fall. Something in his chest was flashing with blood-red light, flickering on and off, replacing his heart in pumping blood throughout his body.