Proving My Innocence (Part 2)

"Sister Zhuqing, why so much nonsense? Could it be that you are afraid of the clone of a mere child?"

As Li Tianyi finished speaking, his Peerless Domain expanded; he had yet to test whether combat with his clones would strengthen or extend his domain.

Li Tianyi's current domain range could not yet reach Zhuqing, but if his clone took the initiative to attack, it would be a perfect way to verify this hypothesis.

The clone's small figure suddenly split into ten sub-clones at 10% of his strength, and a hundred phantom images instantly occupied the entire arena.

Zhuqing gave a disdainful smile; she refused to believe that Li Tianyi's clones could do anything to her.

"Flashy and useless. Fourth Soul Skill—Nether Shadow Clone!"

Two versions of Zhuqing, each possessing 80% of her original strength, appeared amidst the hundred phantom images, her hands transforming into sharp claws as she lunged at Li Tianyi's ten clones.

Zhuqing's clones moved with great speed, and relying on the agility inherent to her Nether Cat martial soul, even Li Tianyi's main body could only catch glimpses of their afterimages.

"It seems I am still too young! There is still much I need to learn."

Li Tianyi carefully observed Zhuqing's fighting style; aside from the advantages brought by her martial soul, her agile footwork was also something he needed to study.

Zhuqing's clones attempted to attack the phantom images, trying to prevent Li Tianyi's clones from swapping positions with them.

However, this was all in vain.

Things as ethereal and illusory as phantom images could not be dispersed by simple attacks. These phantoms were born from the characteristics of the clones interacting with light; in essence, they were nothing more than light and shadow.

"Relying on phantom images to swap positions means he leaves no footprints along the way!"

Tang San analyzed with a serious expression. Their initial suspicions toward Li Tianyi had lessened significantly, but now... they were getting closer and closer to the truth.

"Indeed, a clone like his leaves no footprints. But Xiao San, what is his purpose in doing this?"

Dai Mubai stared fixedly at Li Tianyi. He had never seen such a bizarre child, nor could he fathom the thoughts hidden within his mind.

Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up at this moment.

"Could it be that he wants to resurrect the dead?"

Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai slapped Ma Hongjun across the forehead.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Never mind whether he can resurrect people, just look at those 4,000 graves—most of the people inside are already bones. If you were given this ability, could you resurrect all 4,000 of them?"

Ma Hongjun scurried away, holding his head after being scolded, while Ning Rongrong covered her mouth and giggled on the side.

On the field, Li Tianyi's clones dissipated before long. However, this was well within Li Tianyi's expectations.

The clones had already consumed most of his soul power while traveling, and now, in a combat state, their soul power consumption was even faster.

Seeing the dense mass of phantom images vanish instantly, Zhuqing calculated the time; the duration of Li Tianyi's clones was no more than the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense.

Zhuqing looked back at Tang San and, seeing his grave expression, sent a voice transmission.

"It might be intentional. We should take him back to Shrek and let the teachers have a look."

Tang San was also unsure if Li Tianyi was the grave robber, but he agreed that they should bring him back to Shrek for Yu Xiaogang and the others to vet.

Receiving Tang San's reply, Zhuqing walked toward Li Tianyi. But after only a few steps, her face turned ashen, and she looked at Li Tianyi in disbelief.

"This is... a domain?"

Feeling her total attributes drop by 41%, Zhuqing was so shocked she couldn't close her mouth.

What kind of concept was this? Her clones could only exert 39% of her strength when facing Li Tianyi. What would happen if she used a soul skill within his domain?

Taking 100 points of strength as an example, Zhuqing would first be weakened to 59 points by the Peerless Domain, the strength inherited by her clone would be reduced to 47.2, and if the clone appeared and was reduced by the domain again, it would only have 19.352 points left.

The thought was terrifying, and the reality was even more so.

She had originally thought she was going easy on a child, but looking at it now, it seemed more like Li Tianyi had been going easy on her.

"I know you won't let this go. Let's go, I want to meet my future dean."

Li Tianyi got straight to the point. He was not merely a grave robber; he had left clues for Yu Xiaogang and the others, and whether they could discover them depended on them.

He did not wish to see a one-sided slaughter.

Because the casualty ratio for both sides would be massive; Martial Soul Hall had dispatched a full ten thousand soul masters. Li Tianyi didn't claim he could wipe them all out, but he could at least significantly weaken the strength of Martial Soul Hall.

From a moral standpoint, Li Tianyi had done all he could. He had not instigated the Soul Hunting Operation; the most he could do was provide a warning.

He was just a 16-level child; expecting him to use his own strength to protect the two great sects would be nothing but empty boasting.

"Future dean? Do you really think Shrek Academy will accept you after what you've done?"

Zhuqing gave a disdainful smile, but Li Tianyi remained indifferent.

"As long as there is no conclusive evidence proving it was me, I believe you will accept me."

With that, the two left the arena. After regrouping with Tang San and the others, Li Tianyi accompanied them to Shrek Academy.

The journey was smooth and unobstructed, and the trio of Yu Xiaogang finally laid eyes on this legendary child.

"You are Li Tianyi?"

Flender circled Li Tianyi with curiosity; no matter how he looked at him, he didn't seem like a child who possessed a domain.

Yu Xiaogang impatiently pressed him back into his seat, then locked his gaze firmly onto Li Tianyi.

"I hope you understand one thing: even if you have high talent, if your character is not up to standard, the Heaven Dou Empire will not allow the birth of a demon!"

Yu Xiaogang's warning was clear enough, yet Ling Chen did not back down; a biting sword intent swept through the entire office.

"Do you really think I'm that easily intimidated? If this so-called Master is such a foolish man, then I can only feel pity for your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"

The two were at daggers drawn, so Flender hurriedly stood up to ease the tension.

"No need for such hostility, come now, let's discuss things slowly!"

The two were pushed into their seats by Flender, and Tang San and the other four took the opportunity to stand behind Yu Xiaogang, recounting everything they knew. Flender, meanwhile, went to Ling Chen's side to pour a pot of tea.

Ling Chen caught sight of a portrait on the desk, which featured a life-sized footprint of his own.

"Interesting!"

Ling Chen picked up the portrait, wanting to see if there was any other evidence related to the grave robbing.

To his surprise, the portrait felt somewhat thick in his hands, and his fingers subconsciously rubbed against it.

Seeing this, Flender and the others exchanged glances; it seemed they had missed an important clue.

Yu Xiaogang snatched the two portraits away and carefully examined the second one.

It was a depiction of the Graveyard Mountain of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, with specific areas marked—the very graves Ling Chen had excavated.

Yu Xiaogang didn't understand it at first, but Tang San, standing to the side, saw three words from his angle.

"Martial Soul Hall!"

As soon as Tang San spoke, Yu Xiaogang suddenly realized, and a brainstorm immediately erupted in his mind.

What did this mean? Martial Soul Hall... grave robbing... no, it should be digging graves... was Martial Soul Hall planning to dig their graves?

The nature of the matter seemed to have changed due to Yu Xiaogang's conjecture.

"Is this your goal?"

Yu Xiaogang's brow relaxed significantly, though his tone remained somewhat stern.

"No comment!"

Ling Chen first pointed to the ceiling, then held up three fingers.

Yu Xiaogang was no fool and understood immediately. This kind of matter could not be brought out into the open, especially when one of the parties involved was still a child.

"Teacher, he..."

Before Tang San could finish his question, Yu Xiaogang waved his hand to interrupt him.

"I was merely testing him; there is no problem with him. You all head out first; I need to have a proper talk with him!"