'After you defeated me, I kept replaying the spar in my head. Slowly, I stopped limiting the repetition to the spar itself. Everything from the moment you entered the room to the moment before the spar also became part of that loop.'
'From those two pieces of memory, I reached two conclusions. First, if we only judge the spar itself, I admit I am inferior to you. Just as you said, within the range of this house, I cannot defeat you.'
'But the second matter concerns me more. It is your attitude toward me. You hid it very well, but your careless tone and movements gave me the feeling that you are incredibly familiar with me.' As Aurelia said those words, she stared straight at Wu Ling's expression, as if she wanted to read a flower out of even a single blink.
Inwardly, she wondered whether her identity as Xue Qinghe had been exposed. But that matter should only be known to Spirit Hall's Elders and higher-level leadership. Even if the person in front of her was a monstrous genius and the current Pope's disciple, she still rejected that possibility.
'No. You sensed wrong.'
Wu Ling said one thing aloud and thought another in his heart.
'Ha. Familiar? I know what you do for the rest of your life.'
After saying that, Wu Ling went back to drinking tea. Aurelia ignored his denial and copied his earlier behavior, staring at him without blinking. The two of them stayed locked in that stalemate.
Being stared at by a girl like Aurelia for that long made Wu Ling unable to keep drinking. Only after the tea in his hand had gone cold did he put the cup down. He weighed the pros and cons and decided that exposing part of the truth would not matter much.
Then Wu Ling sighed helplessly. 'Are you sure you want to know, Brother Xue?'
'Of cour...' Aurelia had just opened her mouth when she reacted. Wu Ling had not called her Miss Cross. He had called her Brother Xue.
Aurelia stood up in shock. But after one glance from Wu Ling, she felt the pressure on her body gradually increase. Gritting her teeth, she sat back down.
Since things had reached this point, if Wu Ling knew, then he knew. With his talent and status, learning this in the future was probably already inevitable.
But knowing was one thing. Leaking the secret was another. Her infiltration of Polaris could not be allowed to fail. She needed to know who had revealed it.
'Who told you? Elder Ghost? The Pope? Or my grandfather?'
If it was some Elder or the Pope, she would need to remind her grandfather. If her grandfather had personally leaked the secret, then he must have had his own considerations.
'None of them. Would you believe me if I said I guessed it myself?'
Aurelia froze. Then visible anger rose across her face. 'You are playing with me. My disguise is a heave... Spirit Bone skill. Even a Titled Sage cannot see through it. How could you?'
Just as Aurelia had nearly said, her disguise ability actually came from an Angel Spirit Bone. When all six Angel Spirit Bones were gathered, they would become the Angel Divine Armament.
If Wu Ling's claim was true, it meant the Angel Divine Armament, even if only a partial ability, had effectively been 'defeated' by him. To Aurelia, who worshiped the Angel God, that was practically blasphemy.
Facing Aurelia's fury, Wu Ling did not use his arrays to suppress her this time. He did not care much about Aurelia herself, but he did care about Lucius Cross. Once or twice could be excused as sparring. If he overused that method and Aurelia told Lucius, Wu Ling might end up being suppressed in return.
So this time, Wu Ling released his Spirit Rings and reasoned with her.
'A Titled Sage? Can a Titled Sage have a Spirit Ring configuration like mine? Can a Titled Sage build a room full of arrays like this?'
'Can a Titled Sage create a cultivation method that improves training efficiency?'
Aurelia was angry, but not so angry that she could no longer listen. After Wu Ling's three questions struck one after another, she came back to herself. The fellow in front of her could not be judged by common sense. Things Titled Sages could not do might really be solvable for him. With that thought, her mood gradually calmed.
Wu Ling immediately released Rose and explained for a while. Using 'everyone's Spirit Power is different' as the excuse, he said that when Aurelia had still appeared as Xue Qinghe, he had sensed that her Spirit Power aura was extremely similar to Lucius Cross's. When they met earlier, he then discovered that her aura was almost identical to Xue Qinghe's, leading him to this conclusion.
Of course, all that talk about Spirit Power aura had been improvised on the spot by Wu Ling and Rose. But with their rich experience, Aurelia was successfully fooled.
Following Wu Ling's line of thought, Aurelia somehow found herself waved out of the house. When she came back to her senses, she was already outside the door and walking toward the Elder Hall.
'...Was I just disliked?'
Thinking about how angry she had been earlier, Aurelia assumed she had annoyed Wu Ling. She considered going back to apologize, but after looking at the sun already slanting westward, she decided to wait until tomorrow. For now, she could go ask her grandfather for clarity.
Spirit Hall, Elder Hall.
'Spirit Power aura? Wu Ling really said that?'
'Yes. That is exactly what he said.'
Lucius Cross stroked his beard, then reached out. A cluster of pure Spirit Power condensed in his palm. 'That boy's explanation is believable. This cluster of Spirit Power of mine is full of purifying power. Even simple contact can purify certain evil Martial Souls.'
'Good. Then I will go over tomorrow and apologize for my rashness today.'
Lucius nodded in approval. 'Mm. That boy's talent is no lower than yours. When he grows, he will surely become your right-hand man. I can see that he dislikes restraints, but he understands gratitude. Building a good relationship now is a good thing.'
After receiving her grandfather's approval, Aurelia nodded. She had already begun thinking about what she should say when she went to see Wu Ling the next day.
Meanwhile, Wu Ling paid no attention to Aurelia's situation at all. In front of him, four clones stood in a row, while Wu Ling and the first three clones stood around the fourth, observing him.
'Ah, how pitiful. He was given Madness Enhancement before his will even formed. I am afraid he will never get to enjoy good food in this life.' The one speaking was Ember. As he talked, he lightly tapped the fourth clone's black armor with his knuckles.
Wu Ling flicked Ember's forehead three times with Swallow Reversal. Ignoring Ember's resentful little gaze, Wu Ling, Rose, and Azure began studying the fourth clone.
'Calling him Fourth all the time is too annoying. Look at him, all dressed in black. From now on, you are Shade.'