"Teacher, are you really leaving?"
Clara Vale stood before a massive Magecraft array and looked sadly at Wu Ling, who was standing at its center.
"Of course. Did I not already tell you? I cannot stay by your side forever. Or rather, no two people can remain together for an entire lifetime. Reunion and separation are things every person must experience."
As Wu Ling spoke, he walked up as usual and pinched Clara's cheek. This time, Clara did not resist at all. She simply looked at him quietly, sadness visible in her eyes.
"All right, all right. Why are you looking at me like that? It is not as if I will never come back. It should be about two years."
"Besides, your twelfth birthday was a month ago, was it not? Like you said, you are not a child anymore. Though to me, you are still that little one who followed me around all day."
Wu Ling's hand gradually shifted from pinching to gently stroking her head. Looking at Clara, who had grown graceful and bright, he could hardly imagine that only a few months ago, this girl before him had been as thin as a beggar. Time had truly changed things. Of course, as the instigator, he was quite proud of himself.
Looking at Wu Ling's handsome face, Clara also felt a strange sense of unreality. In just a few months, she had gone from a weakling who could not beat even a ten-year Wind Baboon into one of the top geniuses in the Sun Moon Royal Soulcraft Academy. All of it had begun on the day she met the man before her.
"Come on. Repeat the things I told you. Let me see how well you remember them."
Clara did not even need to think before answering.
"First, I can try participating in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament to broaden my horizons, but I should focus on support and follow the way of survival."
"Second, when the Spirit Master Tournament begins, the auction in Star Stripe City will have Iceburst and the Life-Gold Devouring Spirit Carving Knife."
"Third, I should not participate in the student exchange after the Spirit Master Tournament."
"Fourth, if I meet a person or beast who makes the pendant glow, I must get away as quickly as possible. If I cannot get away, I must minimize contact."
"Fifth, the study contains Magecraft array diagrams for the next few stages, and I need to learn them myself."
After Clara finished, Wu Ling nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. You remembered it firmly."
Then Wu Ling extended his index finger and touched Clara's forehead. A pure stream of Spirit Power flowed from Wu Ling into Clara's body.
"Elder Yi, little worm, little scorpion, while I am away, Clara is in your hands."
Inside Clara's spiritual sea, Tian Meng Iceworm and Jade Frost protested wildly at Wu Ling's forms of address. Elder Yi, who had fully awakened, silently accepted the request.
"Good. That is about everything. Right, if you encounter a fatal crisis, or if something happens to the three inside your mind, smash the pendant I gave you. Do not be reluctant just because it was my birthday gift. It only contains a drop of my essence blood and a mental body. If needed, I can give you another one the next time I come."
Clara nodded silently. She could tell this was probably the last instruction.
"Then... I am leaving."
Wu Ling stood at the center of the Magecraft array and smiled at Clara.
Clara forced a smile and softly answered, "Mm."
Then the Magecraft array activated, and Wu Ling vanished into a dark void.
Divine Realm, Asura God Temple.
Tang San sensed the spatial crack on Soul Land and gave a faint smile.
"So what if he is powerful? In the end, I still drove him out."
His expression quickly turned serious again as he shifted his gaze toward Shrek Academy.
"That boy in the Sun Moon Empire has already deviated from the path of fate too severely. Arthuria Frost cannot go there now. The Emperor Auspicious Beast may still be possible."
"But that fellow left the boy some things. The Emperor Auspicious Beast alone may not be safe enough."
"It seems I can only adjust the path of fate again. If Destruction comes to trouble me over it, then as a last resort, I can split Wutong's soul once more. It has already been split into two halves, so dividing out another piece should not matter too much. I only hope Wutong can understand her father's painstaking intentions."
Wu Ling traveled outside the endless parallel worlds. One world after another passed before his eyes. Every world was broadly similar, yet none was exactly the same. At last, Wu Ling stopped outside one of them.
"Main body, the world ahead is the one I came from. I can already sense the anchor I left behind." Rose reminded Wu Ling from within.
Wu Ling nodded, then plunged forward. As soon as he touched the world, he followed the anchor Rose had left behind and easily found his destination.
"More than a year. A little beyond the plan. At this point, the plot should have already started. But it does not matter. I gained quite a lot this time, enough for me to digest for a while."
With a flash of light, Wu Ling reappeared inside a dark and hidden room.
Azure, who had been guarding the door, turned his head. After confirming the returning person through the soul connection, he came forward to welcome him.
"Welcome back, main body."
Wu Ling walked over and asked, "Mm. Where is the plot right now?"
As Azure opened the door for him, he replied, "It has been one year minus just under a month since you left. Your return is perfectly timed. Yesterday, I received intelligence that Tang San graduated a few days ago. He is already on the road to Shrek Academy."
Wu Ling walked ahead and left the room first. Looking around at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, he took a deep breath.
"Main body!"
A sudden booming voice rang out. At the same time, a palm slapped Wu Ling hard on the back.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Wu Ling turned and realized the one who had startled him was Ember.
"We have not seen each other for a year. Looks like your skin is itching for a beating!"
As he spoke, Wu Ling went up and started fighting Ember.
Three minutes later, Azure walked over and ignored the bruised and swollen Ember.
"Main body, because of the barrier, people outside cannot sense this place. No one knows you have returned yet. Do you need me to have the steward send word?"
Wu Ling lowered his eyes and rubbed his fist, then shook his head.
"Do not notify anyone yet. I will absorb this first."
As he spoke, Wu Ling took out a vivid red Spirit Ring.
Azure examined it and keenly noticed the three golden bars on the ring.
"Three hundred thousand years. As a seventh Spirit Ring, it is acceptable."
Wu Ling also showed interest, but that interest was aimed at his Martial Soul rather than the Spirit Ring itself.
"No matter what the Spirit Ring is like, the seventh Spirit Ring is always the Martial Soul True Form. I wonder what my Martial Soul True Form will be."
End of Volume 5.