Cleared to Leave

After Yun Ze gripped the Halberd of Destruction, his aura surged higher and higher, becoming almost incomparable to what it had been before.

Yun Ming sensed the power of destruction radiating from the Martial Soul Fusion Skill and was immediately taken aback.

Yun Ze looked at Yun Ming, then raised the Halberd of Destruction in his hand.

The elemental power of destruction instantly drained the surrounding heaven and earth energy, then sealed off the entire room, keeping out the vast energy bestowed by the Tree of Life.

Yun Ming grew more serious. For the first time, his expression turned solemn as he studied Yun Ze.

Yun Ze pointed the Halberd of Destruction at Yun Ming. The purple gradually faded from his eyes, replaced by their normal color.

He swung the halberd, sending a slash of destructive power toward Yun Ming.

For the first time, Yun Ming used power on the level of a Soul Saint, completely dispelling the slash.

After Yun Ze landed, the Halberd of Destruction vanished on its own, reverting to the Heaven-Propping Spear and the Heaven-Surpassing Spear.

What astonished Yun Ming was that using an ordinary Martial Soul Fusion Skill—especially one with such tremendous power—would inevitably deplete one's Soul Power.

But Lin Ze's Soul Power showed no sign of depletion. In fact, it was even more abundant than before he had used the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Yun Ze also seemed to be in much better spirits. It was as though the power of destruction had not only been used to injure his enemy, but had also replenished some of his Soul Power.

In Yun Ming's view, replenishing Soul Power from nothing like this was probably a divine ability.

After all, replenishing a low-level Soul Master's Soul Power out of nowhere was no great challenge for a high-level Soul Master. But doing so without Yun Ming noticing—

That was practically beyond the capabilities of any human.

Yun Ze was now reflecting on the sensation the Halberd of Destruction had brought him.

He seemed to glimpse a sharp-edged core deep within his body.

It was a purple, six-pointed star that radiated a pure violet glow. He could sense pure power of destruction emanating from it.

It looked very much like the Source of Destruction from an anime he had watched in his previous life.

At the same time, as this "Source of Destruction" glimmered, another place within him began radiating pure life force from a warm, comforting source of energy.

During the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the two energy clusters had resonated with each other. The one radiating life force replenished the Soul Power he had spent on the skill.

It had even reinvigorated his mind.

But now that Yun Ze had exited the fusion state and tried to examine his body again, he could no longer sense either energy source.

It was as if they had never existed.

After searching for a long time without success, Yun Ze could only give up for now.

Yun Ming did not interrupt him. He had no idea what Yun Ze was examining and assumed he was simply thinking over the Martial Soul Fusion Skill he had just used.

Once Yun Ze finally looked up, Yun Ming said to him,

"Come outside with me. You each get seven points for this test. Move on to the next one."

Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui nodded in relief, then hurried off to the next testing room.

Yun Ze looked at Yun Ming, about to speak, but Yun Ming raised a hand to stop him. Then he led Yun Ze quickly back to the Inner Court.

Once they reached Sea God Island, Yun Ming took Yun Ze into his office.

"Have you really made up your mind? You want to venture onto the mainland this early?"

Yun Ze nodded, then replied,

"Even if I'm going out into the world early, the only disadvantage I really have is my age."

"Aren't there plenty of students in our Outer Court who go out and make their own way once they reach around the third ring? I'm already close to the fourth ring, and my actual combat strength is even greater. Someone wearing One-Word Battle Armor at the fifth ring might not even be able to hold their own against me."

"I'm already strong enough to go out on my own."

Yun Ming nodded and said,

"You may have a point. After all, I'm still alive, so the hardships you face will be limited. Your life won't be in danger. No one wants to provoke me while I'm still alive and strong enough to fight."

"If you want to go, then go. It'll be good for you to see the world and find out just how capable you really are."

As he spoke, Yun Ming took out a Soul Tool that looked like a wristwatch.

"But you have to promise me you'll wear this at all times. Don't take it off, not even for a moment."

Yun Ze took the wristwatch-like Soul Tool and asked curiously,

"What is this?"

Yun Ming didn't hide anything from him. He calmly explained,

"It's a monitoring Soul Tool developed by the academy's Soul Tool Department. It can track changes in your Soul Power in real time."

"If your vital signs or Soul Power suddenly drop, it will immediately send me your location."

"And if I want to know where you are, I can use this watch to find out at any time."

Hearing that, Yun Ze immediately put it on and said,

"That sounds pretty good. If I run into someone I can't beat, I can just give my wrist a smack."

Yun Ming: "..."

Seeing that Yun Ming was about to pull out the Seven Wolves, Yun Ze smiled and said,

"I was just joking, Father. I didn't mean anything by it."

Yun Ming waved a hand and said,

"Fine, fine. In any case, wearing this doesn't mean you can let your guard down. I may be able to monitor your situation in real time, but it'll still take time for me to reach you."

"When you're out in the world, stay alert at all times. You've already managed to go on a long journey by yourself once, so I believe you have some experience with that."

Yun Ze nodded, then asked Yun Ming,

"Then should I set out tomorrow?"

Yun Ming nodded and said,

"Just don't stay away all the time. Come back whenever you have a chance, like any other Inner Court student."

Yun Ze nodded to show he understood.

The next morning, just as Yun Ze was preparing to leave, Ye Xinglan stepped in front of him.

"Aren't you coming to class with me?"

Ye Xinglan didn't yet know that Yun Ze was going out. Seeing him head toward the school gate, she asked curiously,

"I don't have to go to class every time. I'm heading out to train for a while."

Ye Xinglan immediately perked up and said to Yun Ze,

"Can I come with you?"

Yun Ze shook his head, refusing, then told her,

"You're not strong enough to go out and train on your own yet, and I'm not strong enough to take someone with me. You should stay here and focus on your studies for now."

Ye Xinglan frowned at his answer, displeased with his attitude. She clenched her fist and said...