Chapter 34: Two Years Later
In the months that followed, Ruo Ling officially joined Spirit Hall Academy.
However, his daily routine didn't change much.
He still alternated between the secret cultivation grounds and the library—though far less frequently than before.
He had read nearly every book there; with the mental acuity strengthened by the Desire Soul, his reading speed was unmatched.
As for reducing his time in the secret realm, that was a deliberate decision.
Ruo Ling's soul power had grown too quickly—most of it coming from the rings of soul beasts, leaving it somewhat impure.
So he focused more on sparring with Hu Liena's group and deepening his control over his martial spirits and energy flow.
Time passed quietly.
Two years later.
At Spirit Hall Academy's training grounds, Ruo Ling stood locked in combat against Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan.
In the center of the arena, countless black raven feathers floated around him.
There were no visible soul rings circling his body, yet he was clearly using soul skills.
This was a new ability Ruo Ling had developed through two years of intense study—by manipulating spiritual energy, he could conceal his soul rings.
He was very pleased with this discovery—it allowed him to freely use his twin-origin martial spirits without exposing them.
The Desire Soul was part of his own spirit and had little physical manifestation when released.
With the rings hidden, no one could tell he possessed two martial spirits.
Unfortunately, the concealment failed when the two spirits fused; only once their rings completed fusion could he hide them again.
At this moment, in the training arena, Ruo Ling kept his soul rings hidden.
Without the visual cue of rings or his invisible dark threads, his control attacks were nearly impossible to detect.
Once entangled by those dark silk threads, an opponent would be helpless—unless their soul power vastly outclassed his—otherwise, they could only serve as his energy battery.
Over the past two years, Hu Liena's team had sparred against Ruo Ling countless times.
It had started as simple one-on-one matches. Then, gradually, Ruo Ling began taking all three of them at once.
He never used his Martial Spirit Fusion technique, nor did he augment himself with Desire Soul abilities—he only fought through his Crow Shadow Puppet.
It was how he perfected his mastery of the dark threads.
Now, in the middle of the fight, the three of them scrambled to dodge the relentless black feathers.
"Xiao Ling, can't you be a little gentler with your Senior Sister?" Hu Liena yelped as she barely escaped a volley of Night Raven's Feathers, her voice full of complaint.
Over a year ago, she had reached the Soul Elder level—but even now, fighting Ruo Ling, who was only a Grand Soul Master on paper, she stood no chance.
At the beginning, she could occasionally land a hit on him, but over time—even with Xie Yue and Yan helping—she couldn't keep up.
Against both Ruo Ling and his Crow Shadow Puppet, identical in strength and skill, the three were always defenseless.
And this was without him activating the Desire Soul—let alone using the fusion of both spirits.
Ruo Ling ignored her grumblings, focusing completely on manipulating his threads.
After years of training, he had truly mastered dual control—fighting with his body while commanding the puppet simultaneously.
However, managing the dark threads on multiple enemies still strained his mental energy. His limit was three opponents at once.
The Crow Shadow Puppet could engage one, while he personally fought and used dark threads to control two more—that was his maximum.
But this was only his limit—not the puppet's.
After all, the Crow Shadow Puppet could use soul skills independently, meaning it too could deploy Dark Threads and Night Raven's Feather attacks.
Ruo Ling, however, was not yet strong enough mentally to maintain such synchronization.
With a sigh, he flicked his fingers—and the dark threads immediately coiled around Hu Liena's team, binding all three in an instant.
"Xiao Ling wins again!"
"Wow, not even Senior Na'er and her brothers together can beat him!"
Exclamations rippled from the crowd of students watching nearby.
"Xiao Ling! Let go already!" Hu Liena shouted, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Losing three-on-one—against someone still technically a Grand Soul Master—was humiliating beyond words.
Seeing her expression, Ruo Ling drew back his dark threads, allowing them to collapse away.
The moment she was free, Hu Liena stomped up to him and grabbed him by the waist.
"You could at least show your Senior Sister some mercy! How embarrassing!"
"It was you who insisted on sparring, Senior Sister," Ruo Ling said helplessly.
"Still! Couldn't you have gone easier on me?"
"Fine, next time I'll hold back," he said, sighing.
"There better not be a next time! I'm done fighting you, you monster!" Hu Liena pouted angrily.
Ruo Ling just shrugged, saying nothing more as the four of them left the arena surrounded by admiring students.
Not far away, Qian Daoliu observed silently, eyes gleaming with admiration.
He had occasionally stopped by to watch Ruo Ling's duels, and every time, his astonishment grew deeper.
"It seems I'll have to mention this boy to little Xue," he murmured thoughtfully, stroking his beard.
...
"Xiao Ling! Let's go walk around Spirit City this afternoon!" Hu Liena said eagerly as they walked down the busy streets.
But Ruo Ling barely paid attention. His mind was preoccupied—with how he should convince Bibi Dong to let him leave Spirit City for training.
Six months ago, he had already brought up the request, intending to obtain the immortal herbs—but Bibi Dong had refused outright.
Her excuse: she feared outside factions might target him.
Despite his persistent reasoning, she had not relented.
He could only give up… temporarily. But now, the urge had returned.
During today's battle, he'd realized just how hard it was to fully unleash the Crow Shadow Puppet's potential.
Either he had to greatly strengthen his spiritual power—to naturally handle more simultaneous control—or obtain some external method to assist him.
The immortal herbs at the Icefire Yin Yang Well or the Spirit Pagoda's Split Mind technique from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could both help him achieve it.
With that thought, his resolve hardened. He turned toward the Pope's Hall.
"Xiao Ling! Are you even listening to me?" Hu Liena huffed, chasing after him.
He paused briefly and gave a faint, apologetic smile. "Sorry, Senior Sister. We'll have that date next time. I need to visit Teacher right now."
"D-Date?" Hu Liena's face turned crimson instantly—the rest of his words completely vanished from her mind.
For years she hadn't hidden her feelings for him, yet he continued to call her "Senior Sister."
"Na'er! Na'er!"
Her brother's voice jolted her back to reality.
"Little Ling's already gone," Xie Yue teased, glancing at his smitten sister.
Hu Liena blinked, looked up—and sure enough, Ruo Ling's figure had disappeared entirely.
(END CHAPTER)
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