Dorian Morrow had never imagined he would be caught by Spirit Hall's Saint under such circumstances. Now that he had been caught red-handed, there was nothing left to say.
"Dorian Morrow, you are bold."
On a large tree outside Polaris City, Wu Ling looked down at Dorian from above and said calmly, "You assassinate genius Spirit Masters with cruel methods and vicious conduct."
"It seems the problem is not limited to you. The whole of Pale Radiance Academy has issues. From the look of it, the academies of the Spirit Master world all need a proper rectification."
"Saint, you actually... came out alone?"
Dorian was frightened when he saw Wu Ling. His act of assassinating genius students from other academies absolutely would not be tolerated, especially now that he had been discovered during the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, which was hosted by Spirit Hall. That meant certain death.
But in that urgent situation, after seeing that there seemed to be no one else beside Wu Ling, a reckless idea suddenly appeared in his mind. Since his actions had been discovered, Spirit Hall would almost certainly not let him go. In that case, he might as well go all the way.
A hint of malice appeared in Dorian's eyes, though on the surface he still pretended to be terrified and fell to the ground. Then, however, he suddenly raised his head. Seven Spirit Rings flashed at the same time, and his eyes lit with an eerie glow. He attacked Wu Ling.
Wu Ling had not expected Dorian to be so bold. Upon seeing Wu Ling, Dorian had chosen not to flee but to attack instead. That courage was admirable in its own way.
After Wu Ling destroyed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his reputation on Soul Land could already stand alongside the most famous Titled Sages. Forget fighting him. There were few people who even dared to steal more than a few glances at him.
"Nightmare Art!"
Facing Wu Ling, Dorian immediately used his trump card. A mass of colored light rapidly filled Wu Ling's vision, spreading with ripples of different colors.
"With this level of illusion skill, you think you can kill me? Dorian Morrow, you are courting death."
Just as Dorian relaxed slightly and prepared to escape, a golden-red beam suddenly pierced through the warped curtain of light and punched through his body. Wu Ling's voice followed it.
"Saint, spare me, spare... ah..."
Dorian looked at Wu Ling, whose eyes burned with flame. His body, pierced by fire, began to burn violently. But Wu Ling had already lost interest in keeping him alive.
This man had repeatedly killed genius Spirit Masters. That alone was enough. On top of that, he had dared to attack Wu Ling. That was a clear path to death.
Under Wu Ling's cold gaze, Dorian was reduced to ash in the flames. When his final scream vanished, his body had disappeared inside the raging fire.
Within the rising flames, a mass of colored light quietly appeared. Wu Ling waved his hand, and that colored light fell into his palm.
He opened his hand. It was a round bone, but unlike ordinary white bone, it glimmered with faint seven-colored light. It looked like a miniature skull. Wu Ling estimated briefly that the Soul Beast that produced this Spirit Bone had possessed at least fifty thousand years of cultivation.
After toying with the colorful Spirit Bone for a while, Wu Ling placed it into his storage ring.
Then he stepped forward and casually kicked the unconscious Tang San once before leaving for the Great Spirit Arena. Wu Ling had always acted decisively. He did not plan to drag out Dorian Morrow's matter. Naturally, he would settle it as quickly as possible.
When Wu Ling returned to the Great Spirit Arena, a match had just ended. One of the two participating sides was Pale Radiance Academy, which had just won. However, their students showed little joy over the victory. Instead, they gradually became uneasy.
Their vice dean, Dorian Morrow, still had not returned. According to his previous actions, he should have come back quickly after succeeding. There should not have been no news for so long. This unexpected change made the victorious Pale Radiance team feel increasingly unsettled.
Their unease soon became reality. Not long afterward, the Spirit Hall knights responsible for maintaining order suddenly surrounded Pale Radiance Academy's station.
"Your Highness Son, what is going on?"
The sight of Spirit Hall's temple knights surrounding Pale Radiance Academy naturally drew the attention of many Polaris Empire experts and nobles. Although Emperor Noctis did not come personally, Prince Sirius and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe both arrived. When everyone saw that the one presiding over this operation was actually Wu Ling, they all froze.
Spirit Hall's Saint, Wu Ling, had already become a figure of enormous weight across Soul Land. His every action was no longer what it had been in the past. Now, every move he made would be interpreted by countless people. Naturally, every operation he led was a major event among major events. No one dared take it lightly.
"Dorian Morrow, vice dean of Pale Radiance Academy, has repeatedly assassinated genius students from other Spirit Master academies. The matter has already been verified. Pale Radiance Academy must undergo a full-school rectification. All team members are stripped of their results."
Wu Ling directly handed down a heavy sentence against Pale Radiance Academy, removing the Pale Radiance team from the tournament. Then he looked around and announced an even stricter measure.
"In addition, to prevent this from happening again, Spirit Hall will dispatch special envoys to inspect and rectify all major academies. I hope every academy will prepare accordingly."
After Wu Ling said this, the academy higher-ups went cold. Those who could become academy leaders were all sharp people. They immediately saw that this matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Pale Radiance Academy might indeed have committed a grave offense, and it was proper for Spirit Hall to punish them. But extending this matter to other academies was clearly forced. It was obviously an excuse to create trouble.
However, Spirit Hall was now overwhelmingly powerful. Even if the various academies knew it was an excuse, what could they do? Had they not seen the calm expressions of the four elemental academies and several famous advanced academies? The academy leaders who had not yet made their choice understood that the time to choose a side had arrived.
The academy leaders left with heavy thoughts, preparing to discuss their future attitude toward Spirit Hall with their own senior staff.
A greater storm was brewing. Meanwhile, at the Great Spirit Arena, the two major figures from the imperial family were also extremely displeased.
Their displeasure was aimed mainly at Pale Radiance Academy. Because of the incident Pale Radiance had caused, Spirit Hall now had an excuse to interfere with every Spirit Master academy. That would damage the imperial family's interests, so of course they could not be happy.
However, Emperor Noctis also understood that the current imperial family had no capital to break openly with Spirit Hall. For now, they could only endure and quietly watch how Spirit Hall handled Pale Radiance Academy's people.
Wu Ling waved Salas to his side and quietly instructed him, "Pale Radiance Academy's dean and other senior staff must be properly investigated and handled. Make sure the process is fair. As for the students, release a few of them so other academies have room to take them in."