A Turn of the Page Took Him Ten Zhang Away

The next morning, at the Qihong Soul Master Academy's training grounds.

Qin Zhaoye tucked the gilded calling card from last night into his robes and headed for the raised platform.

It was the day of the monthly retest. Students from every year had already crowded around the platform after hearing the news. An obsidian soul-testing stone stood at its center, and Academy Dean Feng Yanqiu waved him over repeatedly:

"Zhaoye, get up here! The branch hall is pressing for the retest records of each academy's top student. Just put your hand on it and go through the motions!"

Qin Zhaoye stepped forward, resting his right hand on the Wordless Ancient Scroll inside his sleeve.

Thanks to yesterday's wagers and the deviation caused by his interception, the group's cumulative turnover had crossed the Tier Two threshold. He pressed a fingertip to the reward claim section on the scroll.

A fierce wind suddenly swept across the training grounds.

Before Qin Zhaoye could put his hand on the testing stone, a purple Soul Ring rose beneath his feet. Then, under the gaze of more than a hundred pairs of eyes, a second deep-purple halo emerged from beneath him out of thin air, fitting perfectly around the first!

The bottleneck that had held him at the peak of level 20 shattered, and his Soul Power crossed into level 21 on the spot, making him a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster!

The clamor below the platform stopped abruptly.

A student in the front row trembled, dropping his water pouch onto his foot. He rubbed his eyes, then pointed at Qin Zhaoye's feet and began to count:

"One purple ring, two purple rings... Maybe I'm still asleep?"

The classmate beside him shoved him aside and counted three times himself, from the inside out, then from the outside in. His voice changed pitch:

"One, two! There really are two! And how come the second ring is another thousand-year purple ring? When did he go hunting for a Soul Beast?!"

Before the cries of astonishment had died down, Qin Zhaoye tapped the exchange section on the scroll three more times with the fingertip hidden in his wide sleeve.

After the first tap, his Soul Power surged to level 22. He tapped even faster the next two times, and a wave of Qi spread outward along the ground, billowing his robes. His Soul Power soared all the way to level 24 before settling!

Qin Zhaoye raised his right hand and pressed it against the obsidian soul-testing stone in front of him.

With a clear hum, the illuminated gauge inside the stone shot to the top. It flickered twice, then went out with a pop, and the reading on the base dropped straight to zero!

Cold sweat poured down the forehead of the equipment instructor on duty. "Why did the reading drop to zero?"

He hurriedly brought over a second, spare testing stone. Qin Zhaoye pressed it again, but the gauge still shot to the top and went dark, and the reading dropped to zero a second time. Gritting his teeth, the instructor switched to a third device. In the end, all three devices were tested in succession, and every reading dropped to zero on the spot after reaching the top!

By now, the hundreds of students below the platform were completely silent.

Feng Yanqiu was the first to recover. He pulled out the ledger he carried, grabbed a charcoal pencil, and doubled the amount under "Qin Zhaoye · stipend budget" on the spot!

"What are you all standing there for?" Feng Yanqiu snapped the ledger shut and shouted. "How could an ordinary soul-testing stone be worthy of testing our academy's own genius!"

After withdrawing his hand, Qin Zhaoye glanced down at the Wordless Ancient Scroll inside his sleeve.

Only now did golden notices pop up one by one on the scroll, confirming the breakthrough and three consecutive level increases he had just made in public.

[Group Hub Announcement: The group's cumulative turnover has exceeded 3,000. Group tier has risen to Tier Two.]

[Golden Notice: Tier Two rewards issued. First, the group leader is granted an exclusive second Historical Records Soul Ring, "Folded Page," with a thousand-year equivalence, breaking through the major bottleneck.]

[Group Hub Announcement: Historical Records Soul Ring exemption clause announced. The historical channel is limited to these two rings and will be permanently closed thereafter. From the third ring onward, rings must be obtained by hunting in reality.]

[Golden Notice: Second, permission to apply for historical betting pools has been unlocked. Members may apply to open pools, subject to the group leader's review. Third, the group leader is granted one nomination voucher.]

[Golden Notice: The "Bibi Dong's first-day real-name disclosure" topic has concluded and been archived. The linked exchange for three cultivation levels has been executed, at a cost of 600 conversation points.]

Should I try out this new ring? With a thought from Qin Zhaoye, the second purple ring beneath his feet glimmered, and his right index finger, hidden in his sleeve, gently turned a page of the Wordless Ancient Scroll.

Second Soul Skill, Folded Page!

The students below the platform saw only a blur.

Where was he? Qin Zhaoye had been standing on the raised platform at the eastern end just a moment ago. In the blink of an eye, he was standing firmly at the foot of the steps on the western end, ten zhang away!

"Ten zhang in a single step? What kind of Soul Skill is that?!" someone cried out on the spot.

Qin Zhaoye heard the gasps of amazement filling the grounds, but he didn't turn around. He strode out of the training grounds and, as he went, activated the tier-up red packet rain that came with Tier Two for the group.

[Group Hub: The group has advanced to Tier Two. The group leader has issued a tier-up red packet rain containing function vouchers, intelligence vouchers, and small cultivation bonuses. Once claimed, they take effect only in the recipient's own era.]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Melon Field Contractor: Fast hands get the goods, slow hands get nothing! I grabbed an intelligence voucher and a small clump of bonus Soul Power. Thanks, boss group leader, how generous!]

[The Bystander Sees Clearly: I only managed to grab a small spiritual power bonus, but it took effect immediately in the Second Era. Many thanks, group leader.]

[Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion: I got one too! Did Tier Two unlock permission to apply for a betting pool? If it did, I'll test the waters first!]

The next moment, an application to open a pool popped up in Qin Zhaoye's backend.

Applicant: Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion. Pool topic: "When will the founding ancestor forgive me?"

Qin Zhaoye was amused. He tapped "Reject" without hesitation.

[Group Hub: The pool topic submitted by member "Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion" has been rejected following the group leader's review. Reason for rejection: Indeterminable.]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Melon Field Contractor: Hahahaha! Officially certified indeterminable, so it's confirmed-you're a complete idiot!]

[Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion: Stop roasting me, this kid's already gone to recite the ancestral precepts!]

[Tang San: Without hunting a Soul Beast, the group leader's exemption can directly grant a Thousand-Year Soul Ring? @Group Leader, who exactly are you?]

[Group Leader: Just a historian who keeps accounts by the rules.]

At Nuoding Academy, Tang San stared at the words "group leader's exemption" and sifted through every major sect he knew, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

That afternoon, in a private room on the second floor of Tingfeng Teahouse in Suotuo City.

When Qin Zhaoye pushed open the door and entered, Luo Tan was sitting by the window, brewing tea in a lotus-pink dress. She rose with a smile and offered him a seat, her gaze sweeping over him before she withdrew it.

"Young Master Qin, I'm honored that you accepted my invitation." Luo Tan poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it toward him. "I heard that a few days ago, you defeated a spear in three moves at the Soul Fighting Arena. In all my years of travel, this is the first time I've heard of such a thing. I was hoping to ask you for some pointers."

"You're too kind, Miss Luo Tan. I merely happened to see through my opponent's old injury."

Qin Zhaoye sat down and picked up his tea, his gaze sweeping over her face.

The ever-active Eye of Historical Observation immediately took effect, and a page of the Wordless Ancient Scroll inside his sleeve quietly turned.

This time, however, more than half the golden annotations that surfaced on the page were incomplete. The writing was broken and intermittent, with everything in between shrouded in golden mist:

"Luo Tan... real name... current... level... Martial Soul... origin..."

Although most of the annotations on the scroll were incomplete, Qin Zhaoye's hand held the teacup as steadily as Mount Tai. He already knew perfectly well in his heart.

He had just intercepted Spirit Hall's goods, and now a wandering Soul Master skilled in seduction had come looking for him. Who else could it be but that vixen from Spirit Hall? After all, Hu Liena's life was recorded clearly in the history books.

All afternoon, Luo Tan chatted about everything from Martial Souls to the sights and customs of Suotuo, slipping seven or eight subtle barbs into the conversation to probe him. Qin Zhaoye, however, smiled and played tai chi with her the whole time, deflecting every one without leaving the slightest opening.

That night, in a guest room at an inn in the south of the city.

Luo Tan sat beneath the lamplight and wrote a secret report. She wrote and burned it, burned it and wrote again, until a small pile of ash had gathered at the corner of the table. In the end, only one sentence remained on the paper:

"There is something strange about this young man. Requesting that the case be upgraded."

At that same moment, in the Spirit Hall Suotuo Branch Hall, the branch hall administrator signed a search and seizure order with a heavy stroke in the accountability case file: Perching Swan Academy, Qin Zhaoye.