"So what if it's not my true form?"
"With such talent, you should practice my true-form secret arts!"
And that wasn't all. Mu Ye grabbed Arthur in one swift motion and vanished with him, leaving Su Wuyan standing alone in the sea breeze of the night.
Su Wuyan stood there for a moment, stunned.
Where's my nephew? How did my giant of a nephew just disappear?
An instant later, the abandoned factory collapsed with a thunderous roar. A massive Light Dragon Sparrow shot into the sky, appearing once again over the skies of Tianhai City.
The Light Dragon Sparrow swept its gaze across the surroundings, locked onto a distant figure, and gave chase in a fury: "Mu Ye, you old fox! Put my nephew down!"
Watching the enormous martial soul true form, the Light Dragon Sparrow, with golden patterns on its wings radiating a sharp killing intent so powerful that even the air trembled under its oppressive aura, Mu Ye set Arthur down, feeling a twinge of guilt.
It seemed he had pushed Su Wuyan to his limit; the man had even summoned his martial soul true form.
He had gotten too excited just now and lost his head. He had completely forgotten about Su Wuyan standing right there, thinking only of bringing Arthur back to awaken his body's latent potential.
After apologizing repeatedly to both Su Wuyan and Arthur, Mu Ye explained, "Regardless, Dragon Sparrow, Arthur must join my Body Sect."
"Actually, joining isn't strictly necessary. As long as he accepts my guidance and cultivates the Body Sect's secret arts, that will do."
Mu Ye assured them, "Arthur's talent doesn't end there. I can sense that there is still a powerful force hidden within him that has yet to be awakened."
"I'm not deceiving you. Even without intervention, that force will gradually activate and grow alongside Arthur as he grows stronger."
"But I have a way to awaken it ahead of time, with no side effects whatsoever."
Hearing this, Arthur furrowed his brow slightly. Since when was he this impressive, with Mu Ye practically begging to teach him?
He thought carefully back.
A flash of inspiration crossed his mind.
Surely there can't be a dragon's power inside me, can there? Did the Holy Lance actually raise me to be a King Arthur?
"I have no objections." The Light Dragon Sparrow dispersed, revealing Su Wuyan's figure. He replied, "This is Arthur's decision to make."
Feeling the weight of expectant gazes, Arthur did not hesitate. He bowed to Mu Ye in the formal gesture of discipleship. If this could truly help him awaken the dragon's power, taking on a teacher was the least he could do.
"Master."
Mu Ye's face lit up with delight. He hadn't felt this happy in years. "Good, very good! From now on, just call me Teacher."
"Greetings, Teacher."
Calming his excitement, Mu Ye began mentally mapping out various training methods. No one understood better than he did what kind of physical talent Arthur truly possessed.
With the right cultivation plan, Arthur would surely reach the ultimate pinnacle of the True Form path!
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind before Mu Ye instructed, "Arthur, I need some time to prepare."
"Come find me once I'm ready."
After settling down, Mu Ye realized there was no great rush. He still needed time to gather medicinal ingredients and lay the most perfect foundation possible.
"Understood, Teacher." Arthur nodded obediently.
Walking back to East Sea City with Su Wuyan, Arthur was still in something of a daze.
Too much had happened tonight.
First, he had killed a Spirit King-level evil spirit master. It was his first time killing someone, yet he felt nothing in particular. Perhaps in his mind, evil spirit masters simply didn't count as people.
After that, a Holy Spirit Cult member at the Spirit Sage level had surfaced and been dispatched instantly by Su Wuyan.
Then came the possibility that he harbored the power of a dragon within him, followed by taking Mu Ye as his teacher.
The night was already late, and his roommates were likely already resting. Not wanting to disturb anyone, Arthur followed his great-uncle back to the Soul Transmission Tower to spend the night.
Back in his room, he reviewed the gains of the day before entering meditation.
The days that followed slipped by quietly in cultivation.
The day of the Class Promotion Tournament arrived quickly. Arthur's level had long since broken through to thirty-four.
Tang Wulin had reached level twelve, and Xie Xie was already at level nineteen.
The remaining Gu Yue had quietly risen to level twenty-nine, not far from Spirit Elder now; it seemed as though she could break through at any moment.
The weather that day was pleasant, with a vast, cloudless sky.
The matches were scheduled to begin after school, so as not to disrupt the students' studies.
When the bell rang, few of the students who poured out of the teaching building bothered to come watch the competition.
It was just a first-year bout, and between Class Five and Class Four at that. In their eyes, it held little interest.
Still, students from the other three first-year classes did show up.
In particular, the three representing Class One, Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng, had a hint of anxiety in their hearts.
Others might not know, but how could they not?
Class Five had Arthur!
Even though they had asked Arthur in the dormitory and gotten an answer that he wouldn't be participating, what if his teacher demanded he take the stage? What teacher could resist putting such a talented student in the match?
The time arrived.
Long Hengxu stepped onto the competition stage and announced the proceedings: Class Five versus Class Four.
The preparation phase began.
From Class Five, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue took the stage.
Scanning the three of them, Long Hengxu glanced at Wu Zhangkong in surprise. He knew Class Five had Arthur, a Spirit Elder, yet Wu Zhangkong hadn't put him on the field.
That aside, Class Five had fielded three fighters. Setting Arthur aside, Class Five still had three capable competitors to show?
He shook his head. Seeing both sides ready, Long Hengxu, acting as referee, declared the match begun.
What followed was entirely unexpected.
Neither Tang Wulin nor Xie Xie got a chance to act. Gu Yue dominated the field with overwhelming elemental control, ending the fight in just a few moves.
Amid the surrounding uproar, Gu Yue hopped off the stage and bounded over to Arthur, who had been watching from the sidelines, grinning at him: "How was that? Wasn't I amazing?"
"Truly amazing." Arthur was lost in thought. To everyone else, Gu Yue's moves had simply looked powerful, but to Arthur, who also commanded elemental power, the subtle brilliance in her technique was unmistakable.
Even Wu Zhangkong hadn't caught it; he had only noted that Gu Yue's control was quite good.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you."
"Really?"
The Silver Dragon King is going to teach me how to use elemental power? Is this actually happening?
"Heh heh." Gu Yue's eyes shifted, and she said, "Keep me company while I go shopping, and I'll teach you."
"Actually, let's leave right now."
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, who had done nothing and simply coasted to victory, looked at each other in speechless disbelief.
"How about we all go out?" They also had plenty of free time now that special training had been suspended.
"No, I'm heading to the cafeteria." Tang Wulin had food on the brain.
Xie Xie was utterly baffled.
You finally get a break, and you're spending it on eating?
"I've been going stir-crazy lately. Here's the deal: come out with me, and I'll treat you to a meal." Xie Xie played his trump card. He knew Tang Wulin could eat, but one meal was nothing; he could afford it, and today was a rare day off.
The move worked like a charm. Tang Wulin immediately agreed: "All right then."
In the distance, Gu Yue eagerly took Arthur by the hand and headed toward the academy gates.
As she walked, she cast an offhand glance in the direction of those two.
A cold flicker rose in the depths of her eyes.
The aura of the Golden Dragon King grows heavier by the day.