Upon arriving at the Star Dou Forest, Ge Yue and Flender parted ways with Zhao Wuji and the others. The spirit beast Flender needed for his eighth ring was deep within the forest, on a different route entirely.
Oscar didn't insist on staying together—after all, for both him and Ge Yue, time was more valuable than money, perhaps even more precious.
So, once they reached the Star Dou Forest, the group split, each setting off toward their own destination without delay.
After separating from Ge Yue and Flender, Oscar and Dai Mubai followed Zhao Wuji straight to a location Dai Mubai had specified.
This was within the territory of the Star Dou Forest, but on the border between the outer and core regions, inside the borders of the Star Luo Empire.
There, a clan of Diamond White Tigers lived, numbering over a hundred. Among them, the strongest had been cultivated for more than twenty thousand years.
This Diamond White Tiger clan was the only place Dai Mubai knew of within the Star Dou Forest where such beasts could be found.
It took the three of them another week of travel to arrive, and sure enough, what they found matched Dai Mubai's description exactly.
The strongest tiger of the group had over twenty thousand years of cultivation, and the clan of over a hundred ranged from a hundred-year to ten-thousand-year levels.
If Zhao Wuji had to take on the entire group at once, even he might not prevail. But Zhao Wuji wasn't foolish—he only needed to single out one suitable for Dai Mubai's third spirit ring, then capture it.
According to Dai Mubai, this Diamond White Tiger clan was actually one of the sources the Star Luo royal family used to capture and raise Diamond White Tigers for themselves.
This group here was wild-born, while the ones in the royal family's keeping had been taken from places like this. It served as one of the royal family's backup resources.
Oscar couldn't help but feel envious. Only those with true power could control such vast resources.
Without wasting words, Zhao Wuji locked onto a target—a Diamond White Tiger that had been cultivated for 2,900 years, perfectly suited to Dai Mubai's current body.
After identifying the target, Zhao Wuji swallowed one of Oscar's Swift Rain Swallow Sausages, which gave him flight speed on par with a ten-thousand-year Sharp-Tailed Swallow. Using that, he swiftly captured the 2,900-year-old Diamond White Tiger.
The three of them quickly withdrew to a cave far from the clan. There, Dai Mubai personally finished off the weakened beast, while Oscar and Zhao Wuji stood guard as he absorbed the spirit ring.
Looking at the dying Diamond White Tiger, Dai Mubai was overwhelmed with excitement. With this ring, he would officially become a Spirit Elder.
And from this moment on, he would surpass his elder brother Dai Weisi in foundation. From here, the gap between them would only shrink, until one day Dai Mubai surpassed him entirely—turning the tables, becoming Crown Prince of Star Luo, and perhaps even Emperor himself…
Letting out a roar, Dai Mubai summoned his White Tiger Martial Soul. His claws extended into ten razor-sharp blades, piercing through the head of the Diamond White Tiger and ending its life.
A purple spirit ring condensed above the beast's body. Dai Mubai immediately sat cross-legged, circulating his spirit power to begin absorption once the ring fully formed.
With his current physique, he could handle this spirit ring. But this was still his first time absorbing a spirit ring above his limit, which meant enduring significant pain.
Yet despite being only thirteen, Dai Mubai had grown tremendously over the past year. His decision to return and rescue Zhu Zhuqing showed his willpower.
So even though the pain was intense, Dai Mubai did not waver. Instead, he pushed forward—because only this way could he grow stronger.
Only then would he have the strength and confidence to one day defeat his brother and become the ultimate victor.
The absorption process lasted an entire day. Not until the next morning did the purple spirit ring fully settle into Dai Mubai's body.
When his third purple ring joined the two yellow ones, his aura surged. A spirit power fluctuation of level 32 erupted—proof that the leap in strength from absorbing this ring had pushed him up by an extra level.
After some time, Dai Mubai finally opened his mismatched eyes, light flashing within them before excitement and joy took over.
Clearly, he was extremely satisfied with his gains. His first successful leap in absorbing a higher-level spirit ring had indeed granted him immense power.
Glancing first at Zhao Wuji, then at Oscar, Dai Mubai said solemnly:
"Teacher Zhao, Brother Ao, my strength has grown tremendously. My spirit power has reached level 32."
Both Zhao Wuji and Oscar nodded calmly. Having been through this themselves, they weren't particularly surprised. Zhao Wuji asked instead:
"What about the spirit skill? Did you get the one you wanted?"
Dai Mubai nodded, then described the ability:
"My third spirit skill is indeed White Tiger Vajra Transformation. After activating it, my attack, defense, and strength all increase by one hundred percent. The effect lasts until my spirit power is exhausted."
Hearing this, Oscar was pleased. In the original timeline, this ability was the same—but with one key difference.
In the original, Dai Mubai could only maintain it for thirty minutes. But now, the effect would last until his spirit power ran dry.
Early on, the difference wasn't much. But in later stages, when spirit power reserves were vast, this version would be far more practical.
Even such a small change would drastically alter Dai Mubai's future strength.
Oscar didn't comment much further but sincerely congratulated Dai Mubai. The extra level of spirit power meant saving at least two or three months of training—clear proof that the Whale Gel had paid off.
Still, even with this progress, he remained far behind Oscar and Ma Hongjun. Both had long since taken Whale Gel, absorbed spirit rings above their level, and benefited from immortal herbs and divine pills.
Dai Mubai, though improved, could not compare to them.
But he did have the advantage of age. Reaching Spirit Elder at thirteen put him on solid ground. Though weaker in talent, he had narrowed the gap in spirit power.