At that moment, Nanmen Yu'er leaned in close.
She was clearly much bolder than Zhu Lu. After approaching Feng Piaoling, she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned her upper body forward slightly. Looking at Feng Piaoling's handsome face from inches away, she winked her right eye and asked with a hint of curiosity:
"So, does that mean you've seen through the weakness of my Jasper Slash as well?"
"You could say that." Feng Piaoling suddenly detected a unique, fresh maidenly fragrance. After a brief moment of being dazed, his expression quickly returned to normal.
Nanmen Yu'er caught that split-second of unnaturalness in his expression, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "I see. Well then, in the future, could I trouble you, Class Monitor, to guide me in my cultivation?"
For the vast majority of girls on this "Continent of Romance," these words were essentially a direct confession.
The expressions of those around them varied. Mu Jin immediately wore the "auntie smile" of someone who had seen it all before. Zhu Lu's brow furrowed instinctively, but then she thought of her engagement to Dai Huabin and sighed softly, her knitted brow relaxing out of helpless resignation.
Ning Tian also raised an eyebrow, but unlike Zhu Lu, she wasn't thinking of romance. Instead, she thought of the pressure from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—a pressure so heavy it left her gasping for air. If a genius like Feng Piaoling could share that burden with her, the rest of her life would surely be much easier.
Wu Feng, for reasons unknown—perhaps because she knew her young mistress favored Feng Piaoling's talent, or perhaps for another reason—found her mood turning inexplicably irritable. She wanted to step forward to stop the interaction, but the words died in her throat.
As for the rest of Class Nine, had Mu Jin not been present, they likely would have started jeering and cheering already.
"We'll see if there's an opportunity in the future."
Facing Nanmen Yu'er's invitation, Feng Piaoling gave a small smile and walked straight forward, brushing past her.
He left the crowd standing there in stunned silence. Only Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Zhu Lu—each with their own hidden thoughts—inexplicably felt a weight lift from their hearts, faint smiles gracing their lips.
Being women themselves, how could Nanmen Yu'er not understand their thoughts? Seeing their "schadenfreude" expressions, she gave a cold snort and said nothing more.
"Alright, alright, stop standing around. Since everyone is here, let's start the lesson. From now on, I want to understand your actual combat capabilities, Martial Soul characteristics, and Soul Skills. Then, I will provide targeted guidance based on your specific situations..."
It had to be said that, setting other factors aside, Mu Jin was a very responsible teacher when it came to instruction. Since they were already at the Great Soul Arena and the entrance fee had been paid, there was no point in letting it go to waste.
On the other side, after leaving the Soul Arena, Feng Piaoling went alone to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground.
"It's time to meditate on my sword techniques."
By yesterday, he had mastered the Soul Power circulation route for activating the Dark Golden Dreadclaw and had completely fused the left and right palm bones of the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear with his body. Now, he could finally attempt to create a new style of sword strike. This was destined to be an arduous process.
Presenting his one-year rental token for the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, Feng Piaoling entered Room 36 and habitually swapped in a specialized iron stake. Feng Piaoling had purchased dozens of such stakes and stored them in a separate, large-scale Soul Tool. They could be used for crafting Soul Tools or for cultivation.
Raising his right hand, cyan light surged in his palm as Feng Piaoling closed his eyes.
Recalling the Soul Power circulation route from the Dark Golden Dreadclaw Bear's right palm bone, Feng Piaoling suddenly snapped his eyes open. The Cyan Lotus Sword flashed into his hand, slicing through the void.
Clang!
A piercing, sharp sword cry rang out. A sword beam—though lacking the dark golden radiance—flew through the air with an unstoppable, domineering aura. The specialized iron stake, which even a Soul Saint would find difficult to destroy completely, gained a shallow mark on its surface.
"I seem to have a lead, but the power is still far from enough."
Feng Piaoling was not satisfied with the power of this strike. In terms of sheer lethality, it was even inferior to the sixth form of the Nine Hurricane Sword Styles. However, the first step is always the hardest; as long as he had a direction, it was a good start.
In the afternoon, there was a knock on the door of Mimicry Cultivation Room 36. Jiang Nannan, having just finished her day's classes, arrived as promised to accompany him in his cultivation.
Feng Piaoling retracted the Cyan Lotus Sword, opened the door, and welcomed her in. He asked her to help him practice his "Shadow Clone."
Currently, the Shadow Clone was all style and no substance. Not only was its speed unremarkable—merely surpassing Agility System Soul Masters of the same level—but the clones it produced were merely afterimages.
With Jiang Nannan's help, things were different. Feng Piaoling had her continuously apply her second Soul Skill, Gravity Control, on him. Then, he had her use her first Soul Skill, Waist Bow, and her third Soul Skill, Teleportation, to engage him in full-force melee combat.
During this time, Feng Piaoling corrected non-standard movements in Jiang Nannan's attacks to achieve better force exertion and efficiency. Simultaneously, by observing the Soul Power circulation when Jiang Nannan used Teleportation, he sought to improve the speed and evasion capabilities of his Shadow Clone technique.
The days passed one by one.
Feng Piaoling began living a disciplined life between three points: the dormitory, the classroom, and the cultivation ground.
Every day at the first crack of dawn, he went to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground to practice the Nine Hurricane Sword Styles several times. After breakfast, he would head to the Class Nine classroom to check in.
In the mornings, he studied his newly created sword strike. When his Soul Power was exhausted, he would sit cross-legged in the cultivation ground to recover.
At noon, after lunch, he would meditate for half an hour. This meditation did not refer to cultivating Soul Power, but rather to his comprehension of the sword.
In his previous life, Feng Piaoling had read many martial arts and fantasy novels. Whenever they mentioned the "Way of the Sword," they never failed to mention "Sword Intent." That power—capable of cutting through the void, repelling all evil, and massively increasing attack power—was something Feng Piaoling had long yearned for. Unfortunately, he currently had no real leads.
Even so, the meditation was not in vain. After spending half an hour every day in meditative comprehension, though he had not yet grasped Sword Intent, his progress in sword techniques was much more efficient than simply practicing blindly.
In the afternoons, he sparred with Jiang Nannan to improve his Shadow Clone footwork. In the evening, he took Jiang Nannan to dinner, returned to the dormitory to shower and change, and sat on his bed to cultivate and increase his Soul Power. Then, he woke up the next morning and repeated the same routine. As for the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye, Feng Piaoling had already made it a habit to cultivate it at all times.
The days continued to pass.
Seven days later, Ning Tian delivered the Spirit Ascension Pill. It seemed they hadn't just purchased one from Shrek. Originally, Wu Feng's Soul Power was around Rank 24.5, but now she had reached Rank 26. Although Ning Tian was still at Rank 31, she was very close to Rank 32. One could infer the situation from this.
That afternoon, Feng Piaoling gave the Spirit Ascension Pill to Jiang Nannan and let her refine it in the neighboring Mimicry Cultivation Room 35.
Meanwhile, he focused on the results of his recent cultivation, continuing to hone his newly created sword combat technique. He could feel that he had already touched the threshold. Once this move was completed, it might even surpass the original version of the Dark Golden Dreadclaw.
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