He'd Been Acting All Along!

Wang Feng narrowed his eyes. Then he summoned his Spirit Ring. The deep purple ring shone throughout the room, and the little golden lotus looked exceptionally beautiful.

As the purple Spirit Ring rose, Bishop Jie Ke froze. It really was a purple Spirit Ring?

Even the handsome young man beside him was slightly taken aback. He looked at the child, who was only a few centimeters shorter than him, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"His Soul Power is at level fifteen."

Ma Xiunuo quickly added, "Bishop Jie Ke, this child is a genius. If he joins Spirit Hall, his future achievements will surely be limitless. He'll be wasted in Notting City. I was hoping you could take him to a better academy..."

But before Ma Xiunuo could finish, Bishop Jie Ke interrupted him and said gravely, "Wait. You said his Soul Power is only at level fifteen?"

Ma Xiunuo nodded.

"Child, how did you obtain this Thousand-Year Soul Ring?" Bishop Jie Ke continued.

Wang Feng repeated to everyone what he had told Tang San earlier.

"Two Soul Beasts killing each other? A Golden Light Thunder Leopard and a Star-Moon Fox? That's rather interesting. The Golden Light Thunder Leopard is an extremely rare Thousand-Year Soul Beast, ranging from five to six thousand years old. The Star-Moon Fox could be anywhere from two to four thousand years old. But the Star-Moon Fox has an extremely powerful ability to recover, so it really could fight the Golden Light Thunder Leopard..."

Bishop Jie Ke was indeed a Spirit Saint, well-informed and widely traveled. "Looks like you really were lucky. When the two were fighting and had worn themselves out, you could indeed have taken advantage of the situation!"

Just then, the Mysterious Boy suddenly spoke up.

"Why did you choose the Golden Light Thunder Leopard instead of the Star-Moon Fox's Spirit Ring?"

His voice was clear and exceptionally pleasant, like heavenly music.

Wang Feng glanced at him and gave the answer he had prepared long ago. "Because the Golden Light Thunder Leopard was stronger... So I didn't choose the Star-Moon Fox."

It was a perfectly normal answer for a child.

As soon as Wang Feng finished speaking, the young man shook his head, sighed softly, and fell silent.

Ma Xiunuo and the others were puzzled.

Bishop Jie Ke, however, let out a cold laugh. "How pitiful. What a shame!"

Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao were once again utterly confused.

"On the way here, this Spirit Master from your branch hall told me about the child."

Bishop Jie Ke glanced at Su Yuntao and said calmly, "This child has Innate Full Soul Power, outstanding aptitude, and an exceptionally strong constitution. He only enrolled at Nuoding Academy yesterday. I assume no one has taught him much yet. And yet, he eagerly rushed off into Soul Hunting Forest..."

"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring is impossible for a Spirit Master to absorb as their First Soul Ring! If they force themselves to absorb one, the weak will only explode and die! He has Innate Full Soul Power and outstanding aptitude, so perhaps he has a one-percent chance of absorbing it. But if he had absorbed the Star-Moon Fox's Spirit Ring, he might actually have had some chance of surviving."

Bishop Jie Ke walked over to Wang Feng, looked him over, and shook his head again. "What a shame. He chose the Golden Light Thunder Leopard in his ignorance. That Golden Light Thunder Leopard was at least five thousand years old. Even a level-thirty Spirit Master wouldn't dare absorb a Spirit Ring like that!"

Hearing this, Master Ma Xiunuo's expression changed. "Your Holiness, do you mean..."

"He won't live much longer." The Mysterious Boy spoke again, in a voice like heavenly music. "Innate Full Soul Power made his constitution far stronger than an ordinary person's, but he forced himself to absorb the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Spirit Ring. Even if he succeeded, his body can no longer hold up."

"Besides, every time he uses his Spirit Ring, the strain on his body will increase! Then his Soul Power will rapidly dissipate, because his body can't withstand the Soul Power brought by a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"

The Mysterious Boy walked over to Wang Feng. His star-bright eyes met Wang Feng's.

For some reason, this child held a strange fascination for him.

"So that's why his Soul Power is only at level fifteen," Bishop Jie Ke said coldly. "If he really were an unparalleled genius, then after absorbing the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Soul Power, he would be completely unharmed and possess full Soul Power at level twenty! That's what a true unparalleled genius looks like-one in a million!"

"But he isn't!"

Bishop Jie Ke pointed at Wang Feng. "He has decent talent, but he's too foolish and knows too little. He made the wrong choice. If he'd chosen the Star-Moon Fox, which had recovery abilities and was younger, he might still have had a sliver of a chance to survive."

"Now his Soul Power will slowly decline, and his body will gradually be unable to withstand the immense impact of the Thousand-Year Soul Power! Until, in the end, it slowly fades away..."

Bishop Jie Ke looked at Wang Feng and asked, "Child, does your body suffer excruciating pain every time you use your Soul Power?"

At that, Ma Xiunuo's heart jolted. He remembered that Xiao Feng had mentioned this earlier, but he hadn't taken it to heart.

Could it be...

Wang Feng nodded.

Seeing this, Ma Xiunuo's heart sank.

"So now he has no potential at all," Bishop Jie Ke said, shaking his head. "We made this trip for nothing."

Meanwhile.

In the room where Grandmaster stayed at Nuoding Academy.

"What? Grandmaster, you're saying Brother Feng will slowly die?"

Tang San listened to his teacher, dumbfounded, his face full of shock. "How could that be? Brother Feng's First Soul Ring is a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. How could he die?"

After returning to the academy, Tang San had gone to see Grandmaster first and told him about Brother Feng's Spirit Ring.

He never expected to hear such a shocking answer!

Grandmaster sighed.

"Xiao Feng was still too impatient. He was so lucky, and so clever, but his competitive streak was too strong. He should have absorbed the Star-Moon Fox's Spirit Ring. That might have given him a chance to survive. Instead, he absorbed the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Spirit Ring... He has Innate Full Soul Power, and from your description, Xiao Feng's constitution is exceptionally strong, but even so, he couldn't withstand the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Spirit Ring..."

"That was at least five thousand years old... I've never encountered a case like this, but no matter how talented he is, it will be very difficult for him to survive. Now that he's forcing himself to bear the Spirit Ring, using his Martial Spirit even once will probably cause him excruciating pain, and his Soul Power will slowly dissipate... He won't live much longer..."

After Grandmaster finished speaking, his face was full of sorrow.

If only that child had had a teacher to guide him. Perhaps he wouldn't have ended up like this!

"Then, teacher, is there any way to save Brother Feng?" Tang San stood up, his expression anxious.

Brother Feng was a friend he had grown up with!

"It'll be difficult!"

Grandmaster shook his head. "First, rare celestial treasures could be used to lessen the impact of the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Spirit Ring. But such treasures are exceedingly rare, something one could only hope to encounter. Perhaps Pope Palace has some. But even if he were saved, Xiao Feng's Spirit Ring would be downgraded to a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring instead of a Thousand-Year one. His strength and potential would also plummet... Spirit Hall would never do something so thankless."

"Second, a Spirit Master of at least Spirit Saint rank could suppress the Golden Light Thunder Leopard's Spirit Ring for him. But that would be just as thankless, and even if he recovered, Xiao Feng's Spirit Ring would still be downgraded. His strength, potential, and even his ceiling would all fall. Spirit Hall wouldn't do that either..."

After hearing his teacher, Tang San froze too.

He never expected things to be like this!

"Brother Feng, how... how long can he live?" Tang San asked in a trembling voice.

Grandmaster fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "At most... six or seven years. And that's if he doesn't use his Martial Spirit. If he uses it for a long time, that will greatly shorten his life! There's also the possibility he'll die suddenly!"

Tang San stood rooted to the spot.

Inside Spirit Hall in Notting City.

It was very quiet.

Ma Xiunuo looked at Wang Feng, his face filled with pain and tears glistening in his eyes.

Su Yuntao was looking at Wang Feng too, feeling a trace of sadness in his heart.

No one had expected things to turn out this way!

Just then, Wang Feng suddenly spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

"Uncle Bishop, doesn't Spirit Hall have a way to save me? Spirit Hall is so powerful. Surely you can save someone in my situation, right? If you can save me, then I'll be fine, won't I?"

Silence.

"Save you?"

Bishop Jie Ke let out an amused laugh. "The price of saving you would be too great. You couldn't bear it. And even if you were saved, your strength and aptitude would be far inferior to what they were before. You'd be lucky just to still become a Spirit Master!"

"So, child, I'm sorry, but you can't join Spirit Hall. I suggest you stop studying too. Go back to your village, don't use your Martial Spirit again, and live out the rest of your life in peace."

Bishop Jie Ke waved his hand.

"But if none of you even try, how will you know?" Wang Feng walked up to Bishop Jie Ke and said pleadingly.

He seemed a little afraid, as though he had understood what Bishop Jie Ke and the Mysterious Boy had just said.

Seeing this, Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao felt their hearts ache.

"There's no need to try! Even if His Holiness the Pope were here, he wouldn't waste resources and manpower on you!"

Bishop Jie Ke looked at Wang Feng with impatience. "You really are a waste of my time! Child, you're luckier than anyone, but also more unlucky than anyone. If you have anyone to blame, blame the heavens for not favoring you! Move aside!"

As he spoke, Bishop Jie Ke was about to push Wang Feng out of the way.

But the Mysterious Boy beside him stopped him. "Jie Ke, enough."

The Mysterious Boy's expression darkened. It seemed the words "His Holiness the Pope" from Bishop Jie Ke had displeased him.

"Yes." Bishop Jie Ke was taken aback, then replied respectfully.

The Mysterious Boy walked up to Wang Feng. Looking at the child, who was only a head shorter than himself, he took a token from his robe and handed it to Wang Feng.

"Child, Spirit Hall can't help you. But this token can provide you with some help in daily life. If you manage to survive, I'll give you a chance."

Seeing the token, Bishop Jie Ke was slightly taken aback. "Your Highness..."

"Don't say any more." The Mysterious Boy waved his hand. "It's just a Spirit Hall token."

Bishop Jie Ke gave a bitter smile.

That token was no ordinary token. It was a special token of the third rank in Spirit Hall. On it, besides a longsword and a hammer, were three pairs of wings on either side!

It was exceedingly mysterious!

But the Token could also grant access to Soul Hunting Forests in the vast majority of cities and to Spirit Main Halls. The holder could also use it to collect a generous amount of Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall!

That was enough to let a child with no future live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Wang Feng looked at the special token and said nothing.

"Enough. Let's go."

The Mysterious Boy gave Wang Feng one last, deep look.

She had a vague feeling that perhaps she would see this child again. It was just that she didn't know what things would be like then.

However, when Wang Feng saw Bishop Jie Ke and the others leave, his face looked extremely disappointed.

But a flicker of amusement passed through his eyes.

That's right. From the moment Wang Feng had revealed his Thousand-Year Soul Ring in front of Ma Xiunuo and Su Yuntao...

He... had been acting all along!