As he spoke, Tang San took Xiao Wu and headed back to the academy.
"You go on ahead. I'll wait here for a while."
It was Zhu Zhuqing at the front who spoke. The sight made Dai Mubai grit his teeth in frustration, but Tang San had to drag him away by force.
Ning Rongrong was next. She wanted to spend more time with Xia Ran, and she also wanted to know what Chen Xin had said to him in the private room.
"I'll wait here too. I still want to look around some more anyway. Zhuqing, come with me."
"Sure!"
Oscar was still waiting all alone at the academy for them to bring back something tasty.
In the end, a whole group had gone out to participate in the spirit đấu matches, but only three of them returned.
Meanwhile, Xia Ran arrived at a quiet, open woodland.
An unfamiliar energy surged inside him, gradually gathering in his right eye.
He could feel all his Soul Power being drawn into his right eye. It even seemed as if his Soul Power might run dry.
Fortunately, just before all his Soul Power was drained, his Second Martial Soul finished awakening.
[Annihilation Eye: Wielder of the Power of the Elements]
His right pupil had turned completely black, with a deep gray-white glimmer within it, like an endless abyss.
He didn't know whether this was because of his Body Martial Soul or because the system had caused his Martial Soul to mutate.
Now Xia Ran's eyes were one gold and one black, making him look rather eerie.
"I can actually use both Martial Souls at the same time."
"The Power of the Elements!"
He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. Zhu Zhuqing had happened to help him complete the system task, and the reward the system gave him was a Second Martial Soul!
After carefully checking the state of his body, he found that his Soul Power had been depleted by ninety percent, yet his Soul Power Level had jumped straight to level 50!
Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill
He hadn't expected his Soul Power Level to rise when he awakened his Second Martial Soul.
With a thought, Xia Ran gathered a transparent energy in his palm.
It was the Annihilation Eye's ability. He continued by trying to combine it with the Mysterious Cat's Dark Attribute.
As expected, a faint wisp of black mist appeared in the transparent energy, but the two didn't blend together.
Clearly, his two Martial Souls weren't yet at the point where they could fuse, though he could still make them work together in simple ways.
Xia Ran believed that one day, he might even be able to use his two Martial Souls to create a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"A Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill between two twin Martial Souls! Just thinking about it gets me excited."
He took some herbs that helped restore Soul Power from his Storage Ring and munched on them, grinning foolishly as he went.
It took nearly twenty minutes for his Soul Power to recover almost completely.
There wasn't anything else coming up that required Soul Power, so he decided to replenish it as he walked.
As soon as he left the city gate, he spotted the two girls snacking where they stood.
Curious, Xia Ran called out to them from behind.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
"Huh? You're back."
Ning Rongrong still had a candied hawthorn skewer in her mouth, so her words came out a little muffled.
"Of course we're waiting for you! What, you're not happy that two beautiful girls are waiting here for you to go back to the academy?"
He didn't know why they'd waited for him, but they were all about the same age, and Xia Ran didn't mind spending time with them.
He smiled politely.
"Haha, let's go."
On the way, Ning Rongrong asked him question after question, chattering like a little sparrow.
"What were you doing just now?"
"Going to the bathroom!"
"Ugh! If you don't want to tell us, just say so. Do you think we're children? 'Going to the bathroom'!"
"Oh! Then I don't want to tell you!"
"You..."
Seeing Ning Rongrong stumped, Xia Ran felt a little smug inside.
There was no denying that Ning Rongrong was truly pretty. She had a delicate little face, pink hair, and big, watery eyes.
Even the way she puffed her cheeks in annoyance was adorable. It was just that she was rather flat-chested.
"Xia Ran."
Zhu Zhuqing swallowed her food, looking a little hesitant as she suddenly called his name.
"What is it?"
"Could you..."
It seemed the next words were hard to say, and Zhu Zhuqing paused there.
Xia Ran, who had been watching where he was going, couldn't help turning to look at her.
Zhu Zhuqing's face was flushed. Her eyes darted away, and her little hands clutched the hem of her clothes.
Oh no. Judging by the way she looks, is this silly girl about to confess to me here?
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing like this, Xia Ran couldn't help imagining what might happen next.
What if she really does confess? Should I accept or not? She's Dai Mubai's fiancée!
But Zhu Zhuqing is really pretty too, especially with that amazing figure!
But she's practically married... She's someone else's fiancée.
Pretty! Figure!
After a flurry of thoughts, he could feel his brain overheating, and the atmosphere had turned a little awkward.
Zhu Zhuqing was still hesitating, unable to bring herself to speak, so he cut her off first.
"Wait! Whatever it is, tell me later. I'm feeling a little dizzy. Let's get back to the academy first."
But Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't let it go. Her little face was set in a stubborn expression.
"No. This is very important to me. I have to be honest with you right now."
"Ooh..."
Ning Rongrong, beside them, seemed to have caught a huge piece of gossip. She narrowed her eyes.
"You two... don't tell me..."
Seeing Ning Rongrong's mischievous grin, Zhu Zhuqing hurried to explain.
She waved her hands in a panic, her face growing even redder.
"That's not it! You've got the wrong idea!"
"I wanted to ask, Xia Ran, could you teach me how to become stronger?"
"I... I want to be like you, to challenge stronger opponents and become powerful."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and by the end, it was even trembling slightly.
The little gestures she'd made were enough to show just how nervous she was.
But Ning Rongrong looked disappointed when she learned the truth, as if she'd just missed out on a fortune.
"Oh, so that's what this is about."
Xia Ran felt a little relieved, but also somewhat disappointed.
Phew! You scared me to death.
I thought she was going to confess to me. I got all worked up for nothing.
"The academy's teachers are all you need. You won't learn anything else from me."
Now that Zhu Zhuqing's system task was complete, Xia Ran had no reason to spend more time with her in the short term.
He wasn't some saint, and he still had to cultivate every day, so he had no plans to teach Zhu Zhuqing.
But Zhu Zhuqing had made up her mind, and she needed an answer one way or another.
"Didn't you become the way you are now because they taught you?"
"Not really!"
Xia Ran answered casually.
The old-timers had something to do with how he'd become who he was today, but not much.
He had cultivated his Soul Power bit by bit through countless nights;
He had accumulated his combat skills through countless battles;
He had built his physical strength through sweat;
And his Martial Soul was a matter of luck!
The only thing Flender and the others had helped him with was hunting Soul Rings.
"I want to learn from you. I want to fight opponents stronger than me too, Xia Ran."
Zhu Zhuqing knew that those teachers hadn't played much of a role in Xia Ran's growth.
In his battle against Huyan Shun, Xia Ran's combat skills had clearly been far beyond what anyone could grasp through theory alone.
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