Nanmen Yun'er came over just then.
She was clearly much bolder than Zhu Lu. After stepping up in front of Feng Piaoling, she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned her upper body forward slightly. Looking at his handsome face, so close to hers, she blinked her right eye and asked with a touch of curiosity:
"So you saw through the weakness in my Jade Slash too?"
"Something like that." Feng Piaoling caught a distinct, youthful feminine fragrance. He froze for a moment, then quickly regained his composure.
Nanmen Yun'er caught that brief flicker of awkwardness in Feng Piaoling's expression, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "I see. In that case, would you mind guiding me in my training sometime, Class Monitor?"
For most girls in this romance-filled world, those words were practically a direct confession.
The crowd wore a variety of expressions.
Mu Jin immediately put on the knowing smile of an experienced auntie.
Zhu Lu's brows furrowed instinctively. Then she remembered her engagement to Dai Huabin and let out a quiet sigh. The furrow in her brow eased helplessly.
Ning Tian raised her brows too, but unlike Zhu Lu, she thought of something else: the pressure from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It weighed on her so heavily that she could barely catch her breath. If a genius like Feng Piaoling could share that burden, the rest of her life would surely be much easier.
For some reason—whether because she knew her young mistress had taken an interest in Feng Piaoling's talent or for some other reason—Wu Feng suddenly grew irritable.
She wanted to step forward and stop them, but the words died on her lips.
As for the rest of Class Nine, if Mu Jin hadn't been there, they would have been cheering them on already.
"Maybe another time."
Feng Piaoling smiled at Nanmen Yun'er's invitation, then walked straight past her, brushing shoulders as he went.
The others were left staring in astonishment.
Only Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Zhu Lu, each lost in their own thoughts, inexplicably felt relieved. Faint smiles appeared at the corners of their mouths.
They were all women. How could Nanmen Yun'er not understand what was going through their minds? Seeing their smug, gloating expressions, she snorted and said nothing more.
"All right, all right, no more standing around. Since everyone's here, let's start class. I want to assess your combat abilities, Martial Soul traits, and Soul Skills. Then I'll give you targeted guidance based on your individual needs..."
Putting everything else aside, Mu Jin was undeniably a responsible teacher.
They were already at the Great Soul Arena, and the entrance fee had been paid. They might as well make use of it.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Soul Fighting Arena, Feng Piaoling went alone to the Mimicry Training Ground.
"It's time to study the sword."
The day before, he had mastered the Soul Power circulation route for activating Dark Gold Terrorclaw, and fully fused the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's left and right palm bones with his body.
Now, he could finally try to create a new sword technique. It was bound to be a rough road.
After presenting his year-long rental token, Feng Piaoling entered Mimicry Training Ground No. 36 and skillfully replaced the special iron post.
He had bought dozens of iron posts like this and stored them in a large Soul Tool all their own.
They could be used to make Soul Tools—or for training.
Feng Piaoling raised his right hand, green light surging in his palm, and closed his eyes.
He recalled the Soul Power circulation route used to activate Dark Gold Terrorclaw through the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Right Palm Bone. Then he abruptly opened his eyes, gripped the Green Lotus Sword, and cut through the air.
Ying!
A piercing, razor-sharp sword cry rang out. A sword arc, unlit by any dark golden glow, shot through the air with unstoppable force and swept across the iron post. A faint mark appeared on its surface, though the post was so tough that even a Soul Saint would struggle to destroy it completely.
"I think I'm onto something, but the power still isn't nearly enough."
Feng Piaoling wasn't satisfied with the strike's power. In terms of sheer force, it was even weaker than the sixth form of the Nine Gale Swords.
But every beginning was difficult. As long as he had a direction, it was a good start.
That afternoon, someone knocked on the door of Mimicry Training Ground No. 36. Jiang Nannan arrived as promised to train with him after finishing her day's classes.
Feng Piaoling put away the Green Lotus Sword, opened the door, and welcomed her in.
He wanted her to help him train Clone Shadow.
As it stood, Clone Shadow was all show and no substance. Its speed wasn't particularly impressive, only slightly better than that of an Agility Attack System Soul Master at the same level.
The clones could only leave afterimages, nothing more.
With Jiang Nannan there, things were different.
Feng Piaoling had her continuously use her second Soul Skill, Gravity Control, on him. Then he had her use her first Soul Skill, Waist Bow, and go all out against him in close combat, using her third Soul Skill, Teleport.
Throughout their sparring, Feng Piaoling corrected the flaws in Jiang Nannan's movements, helping her generate force more effectively and improve her attacks.
At the same time, he observed the Soul Power circulation route she used when activating her third Soul Skill, Teleport, hoping to improve the speed and evasiveness of Clone Shadow's movement technique.
The days passed like this.
Feng Piaoling fell into a routine of going back and forth between three places.
Every day, at first light, he went to the Mimicry Training Ground and practiced the Nine Gale Swords a few times. After breakfast, he went to the Class Nine classroom to check in.
In the morning, he studied the new sword technique he was creating. When his Soul Power ran dry, he sat cross-legged in the Mimicry Training Ground and recovered it.
At noon, after lunch, he meditated for half an hour.
This meditation wasn't for cultivating Soul Power. It was to deepen his understanding of the sword.
Feng Piaoling had read plenty of martial arts and fantasy novels in his previous life. Whenever they mentioned swordsmanship, they always spoke of "Sword Intent."
The power to cut through empty thoughts, repel all evil, and greatly increase the force of an attack had long fascinated Feng Piaoling. Unfortunately, he still had no idea how to grasp it.
Even so, the meditation wasn't wasted. Although he hadn't comprehended Sword Intent, spending half an hour each day reflecting on the sword made his practice far more efficient than mindless repetition had ever been.
In the afternoon, he sparred with Jiang Nannan, improving his Clone Shadow movement technique.
At dusk, he took Jiang Nannan out to eat. Then he returned to the dormitory, showered, changed clothes, and sat cross-legged on his bed to cultivate and strengthen his Soul Power.
The next morning, he got up and repeated the previous day's routine.
As for the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye, Feng Piaoling had long since made a habit of cultivating it whenever he could.
The days passed like this.
Seven days later, Ning Tian brought over the Soul Ascension Pill. It seemed they had bought more than one from Shrek.
Wu Feng's Soul Power, which had previously been around level twenty-four and a half, had now reached level twenty-six.
Ning Tian's Soul Power was still at level thirty-one, but she was already very close to level thirty-two.
That was enough to show the effect.
That afternoon, Feng Piaoling gave the Soul Ascension Pill to Jiang Nannan, telling her to refine it in the neighboring Mimicry Training Ground No. 35.
As for him, he continued working on his newly created sword technique, building on the results of his training over the past few days.
He could feel that he had already reached the threshold. Once he unleashed this move, it might surpass the original Dark Gold Terrorclaw.
Before you continue