Chapter 7: The Operational Difficulty of the Raven Shadow Puppet
The night was dark and the wind silent. The gathering place had finally quieted down.
It was now midnight. The streets were completely empty.
Luo Ling carefully opened his window and slipped out lightly, heading toward the area he had scouted during the day.
…
"The boy just left his room." From outside the window, Ghost Douluo's voice echoed softly.
"So he's making his move? Quite cautious," Bibi Dong remarked as she opened the window. "Let's go take a look."
"Seems like he doesn't have a permit—he plans on sneaking in," Ghost Douluo said faintly.
"Did you find anything about his background?" Bibi Dong asked.
"I circulated his portrait to nearby Spirit Hall sub-branches. No one has seen him before."
"Could he belong to a major faction?" Bibi Dong frowned.
"Doesn't seem like it," Ghost Douluo replied, shaking his head.
Bibi Dong said no more. She and Ghost Douluo soon arrived near the outskirts of the gathering area, where Chrysanthemum Douluo was already waiting.
The three of them extended their spiritual senses toward the figure sneaking in the distance—Luo Ling.
Completely unaware, Luo Ling went about his mission.
Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine that the current Pope of Spirit Hall, along with two Title Douluo elders, were secretly watching him.
If he had known, he probably would've cursed, "Don't you people have better things to do?"
At that moment, Luo Ling crept carefully toward the tall iron fence surrounding the forest.
The nearby guard yawned wearily.
Finding a patch of overgrown bushes, Luo Ling sat down cross-legged. His eyes glowed with a crimson light.
He once again entered his out-of-body state.
His spirit form floated silently toward the guard. When he neared, a faint red gleam flashed in the phantom's eyes.
Within seconds, the guard's eyelids drooped, and he slumped to the ground, falling fast asleep.
…
"Hypnosis?" Chrysanthemum Douluo murmured in surprise.
Bibi Dong's eyes glimmered faintly, yet the next scene startled all three of them even more.
The ethereal spirit drifted swiftly back into Luo Ling's body. Luo Ling then sprinted to the fence, and a pale-yellow soul ring lit up beneath his feet.
Invisible dark threads shot outward, allowing him to climb up the ten-meter-high fence effortlessly before dropping silently on the other side.
"This is…" Chrysanthemum Douluo began, then paused. The dark threads might have been invisible to normal eyes, but not to theirs. Luo Ling was only a Soul Master, after all.
Yet what shocked the three wasn't the threads themselves—but the aura surrounding him, and the black darkness that emanated from his body.
"That's not the same spiritual-type martial soul!" Ghost Douluo exclaimed suddenly.
As a master of pure darkness-type power, he was extremely sensitive to such fluctuations. The energy from those dark threads—and the oppressive black aura—were completely different from the spirit form they had seen earlier.
All three quickly realized the truth.
They exchanged glances before speaking in unison: "Twin martial souls?"
Bibi Dong's face turned serious for the first time. "Elder Ghost, investigate this boy's origins immediately. I want to know who he is!"
Then she turned toward Chrysanthemum Douluo. "Elder Ju, wake Nana. It's time she got some nighttime training. We'll all enter the Spirit Hunting Forest—and meet this boy ourselves."
…
Luo Ling remained unaware of any of this.
After slipping into the forest, he found a relatively safe area and stopped.
From his pack, he retrieved a book—one of the items he had stolen from Yu Xiaogang's office.
He had looted quite a haul that day, including many theoretical papers, most marked with Spirit Hall's insignia. Among them was a record about the soul beasts inhabiting the Spirit Hunting Forest.
Initially, he had planned to hunt for his next ring in the Star Dou or Sunset Forests, knowing that spirit-type beasts were rare. But this record had changed his mind.
It mentioned a particularly rare species—the Phantom Ghost Bird.
This unique soul beast appeared only at night and possessed both dark and spiritual attributes.
It had the ability to temporarily convert its physical body into a spirit form and was incredibly fast, making it difficult to capture.
That was Luo Ling's target—and the reason for his nighttime operation.
After closing the record, he looked into his pack at the stacked books and pouch of gold soul coins, feeling a faint pang of regret.
When he'd fled Yu Xiaogang's office, time had been short. He had cleaned the place out quickly—but hadn't found Tang San's Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to carry so much himself.
Sighing, Luo Ling suddenly straightened.
He summoned the Raven Shadow Puppet and tossed the pack over to it.
How could he forget—he literally had a servant that could carry things for him!
The Raven Shadow Puppet moved using its first soul skill, Dark Weave, but could still function in a limited capacity without it.
It could only follow simple commands, though—like a true puppet.
But carrying a bag didn't need complex control.
Handing the pack over, Luo Ling conjured three shadowy crows to patrol the area.
Crows made ideal scouts—they required little soul power and could follow simple movement patterns easily.
With preparations complete, Luo Ling finally ventured deeper into the forest.
At night, the Spirit Hunting Forest was far more dangerous than by day. But if he wanted the Phantom Ghost Bird, he had to hunt during its hours of activity.
Hidden in darkness, most beasts were difficult to spot—but the crows' darkvision, combined with the Soul of Desire's ability to pierce shadow, gave him total awareness.
That advantage allowed Luo Ling to move effortlessly through the woods.
Controlling the Raven Shadow Puppet, he encountered countless beasts—Striped Cats, Solitary Bamboo, Swift Wind Demon Wolves—but most were only ten-year soul beasts, easily handled.
Through constant fighting, he became more adept at manipulating the Raven Shadow Puppet. But he also discovered a flaw.
Its ability, Dark Weave, could be used by either his main body or the puppet.
He controlled the puppet through dark threads, meaning that while directing it in combat, his own body became difficult to move.
And if he used the puppet to control another creature through more dark threads, the mental strain only multiplied—leaving his real body even more vulnerable.
Of course, if he fought together with the puppet, it would effectively be a two-on-one scenario and his strength would increase dramatically.
But that required split-second dual control—and greatly amplified his soul power consumption.
Luo Ling imagined a future where he fought using his own body, threads controlling multiple enemies, while the puppet simultaneously manipulated others through more dark threads…
That wouldn't just be multitasking—he'd be dividing his mind a dozen ways!
Watching as the Raven Shadow Puppet ensnared a Soft-Bone Rabbit ahead, Luo Ling's lips twitched.
The Raven Shadow Puppet was undeniably powerful, but its complexity was enough to make his head ache.
"Maybe I should consider joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and learn their split-thought control technique," he murmured, recalling what he'd read in the original story.
"With my talent, it wouldn't be hard to stand out in the Soul Master Tournament… joining the clan shouldn't be impossible either."
Muttering to himself, he drew his dagger and casually plunged it into the Soft-Bone Rabbit's skull.
(END CHAPTER)
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