Inside the training field, Bibi Dong withdrew the spiders that had filled the sky and sighed.
"What powerful strength."
That was her sixth Spirit Skill after the fusion. It could summon a Death Spider Emperor and a Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor at the same level as Bibi Dong herself. With Bibi Dong now at level ninety-seven, those two spider summons were at least five hundred thousand years old.
Furthermore, the two spider summons could split. By dividing half of their level, they could become four identical spiders. Most important of all, this ability had no upper limit. As long as Bibi Dong became familiar enough with the operation, splitting them into one hundred thousand ten-year little spiders would be possible.
It was a perfect combination of single-target and large-group attack.
Aside from that, several other slashing, defensive, and special abilities formed from fused Spirit Rings had also been greatly amplified. The results had far exceeded Bibi Dong's expectations.
Of course, there was one more extremely important matter. After the Martial Soul fusion, her Queen of Blades Martial Soul had shed the bloated body that appeared during Martial Soul True Form. Aside from the jointed appendages on her back, the whole form was humanoid.
It still looked fierce, but that unusual appearance carried a different kind of charm. Like a rose covered in thorns, it was beautiful, alluring, and dangerous.
After withdrawing her Martial Soul, Bibi Dong walked toward Rose, who was recording data. Looking at Rose's serious, adorable expression, she thought of her daughter again.
Bibi Dong's eyes changed several times. Then she gently pulled Rose into her arms.
Rose felt the sudden pressure from behind her head, but the pen in her hand did not stop moving at all. She said calmly, "Teacher, when a clone returns, the main body will feel it too."
After resolving part of the knot in her heart, Bibi Dong was in an exceptionally good mood. Her gaze was full of affection as she gently stroked Rose's head.
"It is fine. Right now, I simply want to hold you."
"...That works too. After all, there will be a period in the future when you cannot hold me."
Hearing Rose's words, Bibi Dong paused. Then her gaze gradually sharpened. At this point, she no longer doubted Wu Ling at all. Based on experience, Wu Ling should spend the next half year in closed cultivation. If Rose could say something like that, there had to be some external force involved.
"Rose, did someone offend you and Ling'er? Tell me. I will deal with them for you. Even if that person is the Grand Elder, I will make him lose a layer of skin!"
Rose shook her head and explained, "No. After the last encounter with that god, Wu Ling seems to have triggered some kind of Divine Trial. He needs to leave this place and go somewhere for a while."
The Divine Trial Rose mentioned was only an excuse. The real reason was that Wu Ling was preparing to cross into another world.
For Wu Ling, who could not produce concrete evidence, explaining this to Bibi Dong would be no easier than explaining to an ancient emperor that the planet was round.
Because the Divine Realm existed, explaining the existence of other worlds to Bibi Dong would probably be easier than explaining heliocentrism to an ancient emperor. But Wu Ling disliked trouble. If a simple excuse could cover the matter, why explain it the hard way?
Besides, as Rose said, going to other worlds really did resemble part of a Divine Trial. After all, only gods could cross worlds.
As expected, once the matter was linked to a Divine Trial, Bibi Dong stopped asking. As someone who also had a Divine Trial, she understood that there were things where she could offer no help. Besides, she believed that with Wu Ling's talent, he would pass.
"Then before you leave, tell me whatever you need prepared."
"All right. Thank you, Teacher."
Two months passed.
Wu Ling slowly stood inside the cultivation room.
"Is it time?"
He pushed open the door and saw Rose and Blair standing together. Blair had heard that Wu Ling would be leaving today, so she had been waiting there early. Rose, meanwhile, was making marks in the notebook in her hand.
Wu Ling first comforted Blair with a few words. After sending her away, he turned to Rose and discussed the serious matter.
"How are the preparations?"
"Acceptable. I strengthened Azure and the others' Saint Graphs and the arrays on their bodies. For one year, there basically should not be a problem. They will stay here and continue cultivating, while I will go with you so you do not fail to set up a Magecraft array when the time comes."
"The planned duration is about one year. In other words, we should return before the Soul Land I plot begins. But since the time difference is uncertain, from the eighth to the tenth month, no matter how exploration of those two worlds goes, we must begin the return trip."
"I also packed Spirit Power blocks and the energy conversion device. Since we do not know whether that world's energy can be absorbed, the energy conversion device is necessary. If that device fails, we immediately use Spirit Power blocks to return, so we do not end up dying in a foreign land because we lack enough Spirit Power to come home."
"Food, equipment, medicine..."
Listening to Rose calmly list the preparations, Wu Ling nodded in satisfaction. For something unknown like world travel, they had to assume the worst. Everything needed three portions: one to use, one as backup, and one as backup for when the backup was used up.
As Rose spoke, the two arrived at the secret chamber behind Rose's room. Shade and Berserker sat on either side of the door like guardian statues. Inside, Ember watched from the side while Azure adjusted the array.
"The world-crossing Magecraft array has been reinforced and given self-charging Spirit Power. It can let us return anytime and anywhere. But to prevent outside interference, I arranged for Shade and Berserker to guard it day and night."
Wu Ling nodded in satisfaction at Rose's caution. As for Shade and Berserker's opinions, what were those? Did Berserkers need opinions?
"Last thing. Here. Put this on."
As she spoke, Rose took a black one-piece suit from her storage ring and handed it to Wu Ling.
Wu Ling accepted it, examined it carefully, then pulled hard. To his surprise, even with his strength, he could not damage the clothing in the slightest.
"What is this?"
"A Mystic Code for crossing space-time turbulence, the void, Imaginary Number Space, and similar places. Of course, I engraved a large number of Magecraft arrays on it for defense, so its speed and portability are terrible. Aside from wearing it during crossing, it is basically useless."
"Naturally, the main reason is that main body is not strong enough. Your Spirit Power quality is still a little low, so you cannot defend yourself in the void. Once you become stronger, you will not need it."
Wu Ling indicated that he understood. Then, like putting on a tin can, he changed into the Mystic Code and returned Rose to his body.
Wu Ling nodded to Azure. After Azure performed a series of operations, the Magecraft array on the ground gradually lit up. Enormous Spirit Power condensed into a small tornado above the room.
If Wu Ling had not kept the Magecraft array surrounding the house active, this momentum alone would have drawn the eyes of the entire city.
Drops of liquid even appeared on the walls around Wu Ling. The Spirit Power had become so dense that it liquefied.
Under that enormous compression of Spirit Power, the space around Wu Ling gradually collapsed. Yet when the collapsing space touched him, it was blocked outside his body by the Mystic Code he wore.
Finally, Wu Ling waved toward Azure.
"Then, I am off!"
The moment he finished speaking, the Magecraft array was empty.