[Shooting Star Sanctuary].
As a Yu-Gi-Oh card effect: When an effect of a Spell, Trap, or monster that destroys cards on the field is activated, this card can be released to negate the activation, destroy that card, and revive Stardust Dragon during the End Phase.
Judging by its description, this was by no means merely a defensive skill; it also possessed the ability to turn the tables and destroy the opponent. If fully adapted to this world, it should have been a Spirit Ability suited for both offense and defense.
Reality, however, was different.
This was a purely auxiliary and defensive Domain skill! As a defensive and protective Domain Spirit Ability, its effect was that whenever Youshen took damage while the domain was active, Soul Power would accumulate within the domain. It could also mark friendly units within the domain, redirecting the attacks and damage they suffered to Youshen himself, which similarly accumulated Soul Power.
By consuming a large amount of Soul Power all at once and releasing the domain, one could gain a period of absolute invincibility and resistance, or a recovery effect.
Even attacks at the Spirit Emperor level could be weakened by over fifty percent, and this weakening effect also applied to poisons, curses, spiritual attacks, and other such methods! Simply put, once this domain was activated, the defensive resistances of both Youshen and his allies would be significantly enhanced.
This was undoubtedly a powerful Spirit Ability!
Yet compared to Spirit Abilities, Youshen had always cared more about the enhancement of his spirit.
The strength of a Spirit Ability was only temporary; the evolution of a spirit represented just how far he could truly go! The change in his spirit was so remarkable that the increase in sheer physical power alone was at least double what it was before! Stardust Dragon had always been renowned for its speed, so the boost in strength was merely the icing on the cake!
He glanced sideways slightly. Under his previous Spirit Avatar Integration, only sparse white scales would appear on his arms; but now, his entire hand had transformed into a thick, powerful, and sharp dragon claw! Feeling the changes after the Spirit Avatar Integration, Youshen's eyes shone brightly.
Evolution! Such a massive change and enhancement placed it at the absolute pinnacle even among advanced-grade spirits! This was genuine, unmistakable evolution! He had instinctively grasped the new name of his spirit.
"Advanced-grade spirit — Starchasm Dragon!"
Youshen had read quite a few Douluo fanfictions, and in the process of acting as a scholar and researcher, "borrowing" things was naturally inevitable.
He was particularly fond of the spirit attribute judgment method based on the spirit's six-dimensional radar chart found in the book *Ultimate Conductor Tyrannosaurus Rests Upon Douluo Continent*.
At the age of thirteen, after making some slight modifications, he published it in a research journal of Spirit Hall.
The six indicators were: [Strength/Destructive Power], [Speed (including attack speed and agility performance)], [Toughness (defensive resilience, or strength as a tool-type spirit)], [Range and Endurance], [Energy (attribute-free Soul Power, Spiritual Power, attribute enhancement)], and [Other Special Abilities (bonus points)].
Each indicator was scored from 0 to 6 points, with a total score of 30 (+6) points.
The reason bonus points were listed separately was that the special abilities of many spirits did not involve actual combat scenarios, or were difficult to evaluate rigidly.
For instance, special attacks purely targeted against certain attributes, such as the evil attribute. Or, for another example, the Blue Silver Emperor's ability to communicate with its subjects.
If these were directly quantified into intuitive scores and included in the total score, it would easily lead to the unreasonable scenario where an advanced-grade spirit's score rivaled that of a top-tier spirit, only to be crushed by the latter in actual combat.
Beyond that, certain special abilities inherently influenced the other five dimensions. Each point on the 0-to-6 scale actually represented a threshold of transition:
0 (no relevant performance); 1 (possessing only the most basic performance of that tier, the average standard of a low-grade spirit);
2 (mediocre performance, the average of an intermediate-grade spirit);
3 (relatively strong performance, the average of an advanced-grade spirit, the advantage item of an intermediate-grade spirit, such as the speed of an intermediate agility-attack spirit or the strength of an intermediate power-attack spirit);
4 (top-tier performance, the average of a top-tier spirit, the advantage item of an advanced-grade spirit);
5 (super performance, the average of a super spirit; most super spirits belong to the hexagonal all-rounders. In terms of attribute energy, 5.5 is the ultimate level);
6 (breakthrough level, the advantage item of an extremely small minority of super spirits or god-tier spirits).
Before the spirit evolution, the six-dimensional chart of Stardust Wyrm was as follows:
[Strength]: 2 (average of an intermediate-grade spirit)
[Speed]: 2 (average of an intermediate-grade spirit)
[Toughness]: 2 (average of an intermediate-grade spirit)
[Endurance]: 2 (mediocre Soul Power and stamina consumption, slight physical vitality bonus)
[Energy]: 3 (relatively strong wind attribute energy, mediocre starlight attribute energy)
[Special Ability]: 2 (dragonified wings, a versatile ability capable of noticeably enhancing combat power)
[Total Score]: 11 (+2)
(Stardust Wyrm.jpg)
Most primary-grade spirits hovered around 5 points, while the scoring range for most intermediate-grade spirits was between 8 and 12 points.
A spirit positioned at the peak evaluation among intermediate-grade spirits, coupled with the higher blessings of the body, mind, and spirit from an over-limit spirit ring — this was the capital that allowed Youshen's stat panel to rival Spirit Masters with advanced-grade spirits of the same rank.
And the stat panel of Starchasm Dragon had now risen to the next level.
Drawing upon his knowledge as a master spirit researcher, Youshen quickly deduced an approximate set of values:
[Strength]: 3 (relatively strong performance)
[Speed]: 4 (top-tier performance)
[Toughness]: 3 (relatively strong performance)
[Endurance]: 3 (Soul Power consumption slightly increased, but Soul Power utilization efficiency improved; control became smoother and more effortless after Spirit Avatar Integration, stamina consumption decreased, and physical vitality increased)
[Energy]: 4 (relatively strong wind attribute energy, relatively strong sacred attribute energy, relatively strong starlight attribute energy)
[Special Ability]: ? (unconfirmed)
[Total Score]: 17 (Starchasm Dragon.jpg)
The scoring range for advanced-grade spirits was roughly 13 to 17 points. Without a doubt, the strength of Starchasm Dragon had reached the pinnacle level of advanced-grade spirits! Especially in terms of speed...
The speed exhibited by the Stardust Wyrm spirit in the past definitely reached 3 points.
Yet in reality, the Stardust Wyrm spirit possessed virtually no enhancement for the strength of the limbs.
A large part of Youshen's previous speed had relied on his manipulation of wind-type power.
It wasn't until he became a Spirit Grandmaster that Youshen gained the special ability to "dragonify" his wings during Spirit Avatar Integration. Relying solely on the blessing of these wings allowed his speed to firmly stand at the peak tier of relatively strong performance.
However, this was not without flaws.
Unlike limbs that were originally present, suddenly sprouting a pair of dragon wings naturally consumed a considerable amount of Soul Power, meaning they could only be used as a trump card.
But things were different now.
If the previous Spirit Avatar Integration belonged to a castrated version, this new enhancement was an all-around, holistic upgrade.
Beyond that, Youshen vaguely sensed that after Spirit Avatar Integration, much like the characteristics of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit, he felt an urge to "dragonify" other parts of his body.
Before Youshen could revel in his joy for long, however, he frowned, realizing something was wrong.
He realized that he could not fully unleash the power of his spirit.
Soul Power, it was Soul Power!
Soul Power... his Soul Power was merely restricted to the 20th rank.
Because of the insufficient output capacity of his Soul Power, the spirit's enhancements naturally dropped accordingly.
Not only that...
"Spirit Ring, appear!"
On Youshen's body, only a single, lonely black spirit ring coiled.
"..."
A tremendous panic surged within him.
He was already at the age of thirty, when his vitality and blood were beginning to wane. If he were required to retrain starting from the 20th rank, even with his spirit's evolution, it would be utterly impossible for him to reach the 70th rank before turning fifty!