Clang!
The training ground was covered in broken stone and magma. At the very center, in the only remaining undamaged patch of ground, Wu Ling and Karna clashed violently with identical golden spears. When they collided, a piercing metallic impact rang across the entire field.
In the next moment, fierce flames surged over Karna's spear. He tried to use the power of fire to attack Wu Ling, but Wu Ling ignored flames hot enough to melt stone. Holding the spear in one hand, he summoned Heracles's axe-sword in the other, swung it in reverse, and sent Karna flying.
Of course, although Karna had indeed been knocked back, Wu Ling knew the blow had not harmed him. A moment before the axe-sword struck, the shoulder armor floating beside Karna had moved in front of the blade and blocked it.
In midair, Karna released fire from his back to adjust his posture, then immediately took a guarded stance.
As for Wu Ling, he walked across the ground hot enough to melt into magma with a face full of excitement, holding a golden spear in one hand and the axe-sword in the other.
Halfway forward, Wu Ling's expression stiffened. He glanced toward the door, sighed helplessly, and withdrew all his equipment.
"All right, Karna. You were at a disadvantage, but my Spirit Power is almost empty. Let us call this a draw."
Seeing Wu Ling put away his weapons, Karna also relaxed his battle stance, though he clearly disagreed.
"No, Master. A defeat is a defeat. I can sense that you still have Spirit Power remaining. Furthermore, in this battle, you supplied energy for both of us alone. I held the advantage from the beginning, yet in the end I fell behind. Overall, I lost."
Because Karna had accepted that he had lost, he spoke more than usual.
"But please rest assured, Master. Though I lost this time, I will still prove myself through victory in future battles."
The truth was just as Karna said. With the possession effects of the previous Heroic Spirits, Wu Ling's base ability was already stronger than Karna's. Once he obtained equipment equivalent to Karna's, he could genuinely suppress Karna in combat.
Golden armor combined with Heracles's defense meant all damage was reduced to one-tenth and then judged again. Attacks below the Titled Sage level were now something Wu Ling did not even need to look at.
When Karna used Noble Phantasms, Wu Ling answered with the same Noble Phantasms. Although Wu Ling supplied Spirit Power to both himself and Karna, Wu Ling's Saint Graph had already grown significantly beyond Karna's ordinary summoned foundation.
Put simply, it was like two faucets of different sizes connected to the same water tank. The total Spirit Power was the same, but the output was different. Karna's Noble Phantasms were suppressed by Wu Ling each time. Of course, perhaps it was also because Wu Ling was standing on the right side.
That said, their battle had only been a spar. Neither used the god-slaying spear. If they had used Vasavi Shakti, Spirit City itself might have been erased.
Wu Ling waved casually at Karna's honesty. "It is fine, it is fine. I used your Noble Phantasms. Without those, the outcome would not be certain, so let us call it a draw."
In truth, the base parameters Karna provided were not the most shocking part. His Noble Phantasms were what truly mattered. Most importantly, they filled Wu Ling's lack of wide-area attacks. With his enormous Spirit Power, he could fire the anti-army Brahmastra and the anti-fortress Brahmastra Kundala repeatedly. Consecutive anti-fortress Noble Phantasms. Just imagining it was impressive.
Karna did not argue further. His respect for Wu Ling rose again. "Strong, yet not without humility. He truly is an ideal Master."
Wu Ling left the training ground. Karna originally intended to follow in spirit form, but when he saw Rose enter, he stopped.
Karna knew she was a clone of his Master. By logic, the Master's clone was also part of the Master. After thinking briefly, he asked, "Master... is there anything you need me to help with?"
Rose corrected him. "You do not need to call me that. I may be the main body's clone, but in essence, I am the same as you. I am his employee. Just call me Rose."
"Very well, Rose. Are you rebuilding this training ground? Do you need my help?"
"Mm. With your help, I can save a lot of effort. Thank you, Karna."
Rose accepted happily. Rebuilding the training field was truly a massive project.
Karna and Wu Ling might not have noticed during their battle, but the step formed at the edge of the barrier made it clear that the training ground had sunk by more than ten centimeters compared to the surrounding area. That was after Rose had reinforced it with Magecraft arrays.
Two anti-army Noble Phantasm clashes and two anti-fortress Noble Phantasm clashes were enough. Leaving aside the rest of the battle, without the barrier, half of Spirit City would have been destroyed. After Rose used a large amount of dragon bone to reinforce the surrounding boundary at emergency speed, the field itself became the only victim.
"Forget it. Since it all needs rebuilding anyway, I might as well upgrade it again."
While Rose and Karna rebuilt the training ground, Wu Ling met his teacher Bibi Dong outside for the first time in a long while.
"Greetings, Teacher."
"Mm. It seems Ling'er has improved a great deal. Even I can feel a threat from you now."
"Ah, luck. Just luck. It has been a long time since I cooked for you, Teacher. Please come in and wait. I will make dinner, and we can talk while we eat."
That night, Wu Ling and Bibi Dong spoke at length. However, Wu Ling only talked about his experiences in the Qin Emperor world and the Yin Yang Crown world. He did not mention the Soul Land 2 detour at all.
The next day, Wu Ling also met Serena Ivory, Oscar, and the others, and kindly brought them a long-awaited and generous beating.
On the second night, Wu Ling used the Throne of Heroes to summon all six Heroic Spirits he had called before, including Sasaki Kojirou, Hassan of the Hundred Personas, and Medea, so they could meet one another.
Heracles and Lancelot were under Mad Enhancement, so Wu Ling did not need to spend much effort on them. Sasaki, Hassan of the Hundred Personas, and Angra Mainyu were relatively low-maintenance Servants. Medea was left to Rose. Rose said she fully understood Medea's tastes and that with her collection, she could easily capture Medea's heart. The result was just as she said. Rose captured Medea's heart. The only difference was that she did not use her collection. She used herself.
During this period, Angra Mainyu gave Wu Ling a surprise: the left arm Spirit Bone from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
He had just obtained a left leg Spirit Bone from the Fiery Sun Unicorn while absorbing the Spirit Ring that day. Two Spirit Bones in one day could certainly be called an explosion of luck.
But that was not the important point. The important point was that, if Wu Ling remembered correctly, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger did not have a left arm bone.