Early morning. Autumn had already arrived, and a faint chill lingered in the air.
Wu Ling opened his eyes from where he sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Hah. At this pace, I should be able to reach Spirit Emperor in about a year, before the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament. That is a little earlier than planned, but it does not hurt anymore."
The door opened soon after. Blair entered with two maids carrying washing supplies. Ever since she and Wu Ling made their agreement half a month earlier, she had spent every moment outside of cultivation at his side.
"Enough, Blair. It is not as if I cannot take care of myself. Hurry and cultivate. That is what you should be doing."
Wu Ling handed the towel to one maid and waved for them to withdraw.
Blair still insisted on following him to the dining room. After breakfast, Wu Ling took the latest internal Spirit Hall intelligence report from her.
"Let me see. After this much time, the Strength Clan and Speed Clan matter should be almost done fermenting. In another half month, people will not even treat it as after-meal gossip. Humans forget quickly. The Fire Leopard Sect is still protesting because of the Flying Sword Sect incident? Heh. Snakes and rats in the same nest. As for the White Tiger Sect's movements, they were probably pushed forward by the Star Stripe imperial family to test Spirit Hall. Ignore them."
This intelligence had all been sent back by Spirit Hall's hidden agents stationed in different cities. By normal rules, only the Pope could read reports like this. But Wu Ling had used three dinners as bargaining chips and easily obtained the right from Bibi Dong.
As for the other elders and worship elders, Wu Ling's battle with Tang Hao had revealed enough of his general strength, even if the details were still unclear. Add his past contributions, and everyone simply pretended not to see this rule-breaking privilege.
By the time Wu Ling finished reading the day's intelligence, about the time needed to drink a cup of tea had passed. Blair had already gone back to cultivate after handing him the documents.
The rest of the morning belonged to research and academic discussion with Rose and Medea.
Flames rose, reducing the documents in Wu Ling's hand to ash. Then he stood and walked toward Rose's room.
When he reached the door, Wu Ling carved several soul-power "keys" onto it before opening it. Beyond the door was no longer a cramped and dark laboratory. Instead, a bright corridor with both technological and mystical aesthetics stretched before him. Several rooms lined either side, and just like the outer door, each required a different "key" to open.
From the outside, this place was still only a small room. Inside, however, the total space could rival half of Spirit City.
That exaggerated ratio was the result of Medea seeing Soul Land's storage tools, combining them with Type-Moon spatial Magecraft, and working together with Rose to create this interior.
Wu Ling walked a few steps forward, then knocked a certain rhythm against the wall. The Magecraft array engraved there activated at once and transferred him directly to the room he wanted.
As soon as he arrived, Wu Ling saw an enormous skeleton and countless bones scattered across the floor.
The Dragon Frame stood at the center of those bones. In front of it, Rose and Medea were pointing at the Dragon Frame and discussing something.
"Ladies, how is the research going?"
With Wu Ling joining them, the discussion grew even more intense. The morning slipped away quietly amid their debate.
When Wu Ling was about to leave at noon, Rose suddenly stopped him. She took out a pair of red embroidered shoes.
"Main body, you should still remember this, right?"
Wu Ling nodded in silence. He still had a strong impression of that place.
After receiving his answer, Rose said with some excitement, "A few days ago, these red embroidered shoes we brought back from that place suddenly reacted. It felt like some kind of medium or signal transmitter. I blocked it in time and traced the signal backward."
Wu Ling's eyes flickered. He was also very interested in that mysterious place.
"Can we go there now?"
Rose shook her head and explained, "That place seems to be controlled by someone. Its location keeps changing. To fully confirm it and establish a connection, I still need some time."
"All right. Watch it closely. Tell me as soon as you get results."
After saying that, Wu Ling left the room for lunch. After all, heaven and earth were vast, but eating was the greatest matter. Even if the Asura God blocked the way right now, Wu Ling would throw a god-slaying spear at him and continue on to his meal.
After lunch, Wu Ling spent the afternoon in consecutive battles against Karna, Heracles, and Berserker Lancelot.
Wu Ling was not a Heroic Spirit. His martial skill was astonishing, but it had not been carved directly into his soul. If he went too long without practice, it would still grow rusty.
Beyond that, Wu Ling's current martial arts were a crude fusion of several Heroic Spirits' skills. They were powerful, but they still felt like a castle built in the air. His constant training was also a way to use the pressure of combat to merge those skills properly and walk his own road.
After an afternoon of high-intensity combat, Wu Ling felt exhausted from head to toe. He badly wanted to soak in a bath, drink a cup of warm red-bean milk, and relax for a while. Later, he still needed to prepare the dinner he had promised Bibi Dong, and Bibi Dong would probably ask him a pile of questions.
But halfway back, the steward, Old Li, suddenly found him and reported, "Your Highness, Venerate Goran Tremor requests an audience."
Wu Ling's steps paused.
"...What a pain. Bring him to the reception room."
After speaking, Wu Ling turned toward the reception room. Goran Tremor followed the steward all the way there.
Once Goran entered, he cupped his hands toward Wu Ling and said respectfully, "Goran Tremor greets Your Highness the Saint."
Even after becoming a Titled Sage, Goran still remembered his status clearly when facing Wu Ling.
He understood that the original him had not even had a five-percent chance of becoming a Titled Sage. He had broken through only because of the cultivation method the Saint gave him and the elixirs created by the Saint's pink-haired clone. Since the Saint had means to let him break through, then naturally he also had means to take everything back.
Facing Goran Tremor, a Titled Sage, Wu Ling asked indifferently, "Mm. Tell me. What is it?"
Goran ignored Wu Ling's perfunctory attitude and said, "Your Highness, the deans of Divine Wind Academy, Blazing Fire Academy, and Heavenly Water Academy sent me letters. They hope to meet you."
Wu Ling laughed softly.
"Hmph. It took them two years to make this decision.
"Even when you became a Titled Sage, they did not hurry to contact you. Now that I have just dealt with the four single-attribute clans, they suddenly rush over. They really refuse to release the hawk until they see the rabbit.
"Leave them hanging for now. Reply in half a month. Tell them I will make a trip there in a month. They should prepare properly. My appearance fee is very high."
"Yes. I understand, Your Highness."