Breakthrough

It was a thick and powerful vitality that nourished all of Bai's body and mind. His injures were healed and even his damaged mind space was repaired by it. It even directly shot his spirit energy, increasing his spirit rank to rank 89. The problem was that it was too much, like too much medicine could become poison.

Bai focused his control over the energy, controlling it's released speed to not burst him, but the pressure was too strong to even last.

"I will help you, big brother!" In Bai's mind space, the little Mayi started absorbing a great quantity of energy. Mayi started shining and Bai could sense a warm feeling over his left hand.

Unconsciously, over Bai's left hand, his spirit Oreo appeared. Somehow it had changed a little, over the black cookie it was drawn an ant and a wolf leaning in each other filling the round cookie. Surrounding the Oreo, 5 red rings appeared.

"I will give you strength, big brother!" the energy inside Bai quickly was directed at the Oreo spirit, another red ring started forming, quickly followed by another two. Just like this, Bai's Oreo equaled his sword spirit in the number of rings and it even surpassed in the quality of them.

The creation of the spirit rings from Mayi had absorbed some of the surplus energy, but it was only a short relief. The energy quickly threatening him to explode.

When it seemed that he couldn't last more, Bai's chest shined with a pink and green light. His flowery pattern created by Lingling came alive, beautiful pink flowers blooming from it.

"Bai!" Bai could listen Lingling's voice in his mind, it was full of worry and concern, with a mix of fright.

"I used our connection to help you with the energy. I am directing it towards my own spirit" Lingling was touching the big tree that was her spirit. A powerful thick green aura surged from her, directed at the tree. The tree shined as it was growing bigger, pink sprouts appearing over the green leaves, some of them blooming in beautiful pink flowers, exactly the same at Bai's chest.

"The flux is too strong, I can't keep with it much time. If this continues, you would die. Even if I can keep it up, you would be crippled all killed by the flux of energy" Lingling informed, she was clenching her teeth, her face twisting in pain, but even then her voice didn't show it, not wanting to worry Bai of her health.

"What could I do?" Bai's body convulsed, even diverting his attention to ask a question it could cost his life.

"You need to breakthrough to titled douluo. Then not only your body would become stronger and resist more, but you could even use the energy to nourish yourself, boosting your rank" Lingling explained.

It was a plan, but Bai knew that it was impossible. Breaking through titled douluo was one of the most important stages of spirit cultivation, he needed to focus his own spirit energy and condense it, creating a soul core. This process was very difficult, it needed a great control, strength, and precision, something wrong could cost the life. In Bai's state, needing to use all his mind strength to control the energy, he couldn't focus on creating a soul core. He would explode immediately.

"Lil-" Just as he was about to explain to Lingling, she interjected "I will take care. I will redirect all your energy to me, as it's too much for me, I won't last too much. In this time, you need to breakthrough!"

"Lili, would you be fine?" Bai was really worried about her, even if her spirit could resist better the vitality energy, it was really too much. He was worried about her.

"Don't worry, I have a better endowment in Life energy" Lingling answered.

"Okay" Bai finally accepted "But, at the minimum hint of overbust, you must stop!"

"Okay. Be ready. I would start now" Lingling focused all her mind and strength over her tree, the aura around her becoming much thicker and powerful, unstoppably flowing to the tree.

"BOOOM!" A green pillar shot from the tree, piercing the sky. Green particles came out from the pillar and rained all over the area, filling it with great spirit energy and vitality.

Seeing the phenomenon, the spirit beasts couldn't help to be awed by it. They all closed their eyes and started cultivating as this energy was highly effective for cultivation. Moreover, absorbing the energy it could lower a little the burden under Lingling.

Bai found the pressure of the energy completely disappear. Most of the energy was hungrily absorbed by the flowers at his chest, leaving him a easily controllable energy.

Bai sat in lotus position entering deep meditation. He needed to create his core quickly before Lingling tired herself. Bai started circulating his spirit energy, increasing the speed at each revolution, trying to create a vortex, the previous step to the core's creation.

He quickly discovered that it wasn't so easy. Normally, it about controlling your own energy, condensing to the core, the difficult part being the control. However, Bai found himself another big problem. Like most people in his realm, his spirit power had completely transformed following the characteristics of the user, Bai's spirit power acquiring a myriad of different elements. To create a core, Bai should use all of it and joining when creating the core.

The problem was Life and Death. He could join the others under one of them, but both of them wouldn't join, forcing them would cause Bai's mind and body to break as they were too incompatible.

Bai had already thought about this problem long before and searched for a solution. After much thinking, talking with his family, and some tests, he concluded that creating one core was impossible for him, at least normally, even focusing only on one element would provoke the other to go rampant, affecting the core's creation. For a special method to do it, he found none. There might be some treasure or strange technique to do it, and he planned to experiment more when he reached that state, but he didn't expect to arrive so forcefully.

Without any time to even think, Bai could only try the solution that he had thought before. Theoretically, it was possible, but it would be very difficult especially in his first try. His idea was that if creating one core with his spirit power was impossible, he would create two. At the same time and speed, he would create both his Death and Life cores, each one not affecting the other. Of course, controlling two opposed energies at the same time, creating two cores, increased the difficulty exponentially, it was close to suicide, but it was the only actual option.

Bai started focusing on his energy, he joined Life, Protection, Steel, Wood, Ice, and Wind, separately joining Death, Blood, Fire, Lightning, Space, and Water. This part was easy, he was long used to use them at the same time, perfectly multitasking thanks to his Mind Separation Control at the perfection state.

He started revolving both torrents, increasing their speed and slowly moving them to their position. Soul cores could be located in three positions, between the eyebrows, at the dantian or at the chest. The easier place was the dantian, but creating it there would make it much difficult for a second core to be created, necessary if someone hopes to reach limit douluo. This let Bai with the only option of putting them between the eyebrows and chest, he would create the Life core over his chest and the Death between his eyebrows.

The spirit power left their usual circulation, creating two different vortexes, one pitch black and the other all white, both greatly devouring the surrounding energy, each one absorbing their own elements. Increasing the speed, trying to condense them was incredibly difficult. Since the vortexes creation, each one was affecting the other, they seemed to be fighting between them trying to tear each other apart, it seemed impossible to create a core in this condition, even with thanks to Lingling's help, the Life energy wasn't overbearing and Bai could equal them.

Bai clenched his teeth, he put all his strength in it "Condense!" Both vortexes increased their speed, becoming smaller. Suddenly, Bai shivered, each torrent of spirit energy was affected by the other. Fighting each other, the vortexes breaking.

"BOOOOM!" The energy went out of control, expanding over Bai's body and tearing his body apart in an explosion. Bai's members flying apart and blood raining in a gore scene.

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Lingling's face became pale, she clenched her teeth, her eyes bloodshot as blood leaked over her nose. She would last much more, she already had crossed her limit in mind and body, she was only lasting by sheer willpower.

"Ling, stop!" Mei tried to approach Lingling, her voice full of concern, seeing the bad state of Lingling "You can't last more, stop immediately!" She ordered more forcefully.

"Mei, don't try to stop me" Lingling said with blood over her mouth, staining her teeth "I would fight until my death. Bai is there fighting, I would accompany him. He had risked his life protecting me. This time, I would be the one protecting him."

Seeing so decided, Mei stepped back, unconsciously "Dammit!" She extended her hands, vines surged from her hands surrounding Lingling, beautiful Red-Violet Roses growing around her, absorbing a great of the energy surging from Lingling. It wasn't a great help because Bai's energy was directly appearing over Lingling, then flowing to her spirit. Mei had some healing abilities like all roses, but in this case, what Lingling needed the less was healing as she had too much vitality. This way, Mei could only reduce the burden of Lingling's spirit, not her body. Mei was injuring herself absorbing so much energy, but she needed to help Lingling, Lingling had long become the most important being for Mei, her irreplaceable best friend.

"Bai, fucker!" Mei shouted "You better be alive for me to punish you!"

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A gray light glowed over the area, 8 spirit rings shining brightly at the sky. Countless swords manifested all over the place. All of them shot forward, piercing the same piece of ground. After a blindly light, over the stabbed place, stood Bai in the same position as before. His face was pure white, washed from any color, all his body sweaty.

(Bye to the joker. Now only one opportunity)

Bai truly didn't have time. He started again the cores' creation process. Reaching again the state of vortexes condensing. Bai focused his all, slowly doing, but it didn't matter how much he was focused, both vortexes fought collided against the other, impossible to condense.

(What could I do?)

Moreover, his mental strength was draining and he knew that Lingling would overexert herself, even at the cost of her life. It was her hard work and kind character, always worrying about the others, it was one of the things that Bai loved about her. Bai could only accept this deal because he knew that Lingling would push herself, it didn't mind what he told, he wouldn't be able to stop her. So he would use most of it, both leaving alive from this.

(Maybe...) suddenly an idea crossed his mind, it could work. It was a simple method (Why didn't I tried before. I'm really silly sometimes)

"Burg!" Bai vomited blood, he focused his strength over the black vortex, twisting it and reversing its rotation. For an instant, the vortex almost dispersed, affecting the white vortex, but Bai quickly took control of it, effectively, reversing his rotation. Now, the white vortex was spinning clockwise while the black vortex was counterclockwise.

Bai found the pressure of both greatly decreasing. It was becoming much easier! Each one seemed to help the other vortex forming, almost automatically increasing their speed and starting to condense. It might be even easier than the creation of a normal core!

It was a simple gears application. Each gear transmitted their strength to the other, but this caused them to have opposite spinning directions. If both were to spin the same direction, it would cause a shock in their point in contact, breaking at least one of them. Of course, this couldn't be applied at other cores' creations, it was only thanks to the complete opposition between Life and Death that made capable of them to help each other, never affecting the other, fusing them.

Bai continued the process much easier now, both vortexes spinning faster and becoming smaller, each one helping the other.

"CONDENSE!" Both vortexes shined blindly, revealing two perfect round cores, equals in size, one black and white the other, in their positions, each core spinning absorbing the surrounding energy, each core even helping each other. High comprehension laws written over them.

"I had succeeded," he said in relief. He lifted his left hand, a ninth red spirit ring forming over it, affirming that it was true. Bai had become a Titled Douluo!