Preparing to Leave

After Su Mo summoned his Martial Soul, Broken Sword, it became tangible and solid, but it was not particularly sharp.

Without the enhancement of a Soul Skill, it had no ability to pierce armor at all.

If it were forged from refined iron, its power would increase severalfold.

So why not use one?

Su Mo received the finished refined iron sword the very next day.

Taking the Refined Iron Longsword handed over by the blacksmith shop owner, Su Mo felt his wrist sink slightly.

The blade was about one and a half meters long, broad and thick, its entire surface a bluish-black. Its edge had been sharpened to an extreme thinness, gleaming with a cold light beneath the afternoon sun.

Su Mo lightly flicked the blade with a finger. With a clear, lingering "clang," the resonance trembled through the air for a long while.

"Good sword," he praised.

It was far better than his Martial Soul, Broken Sword.

The blacksmith shop owner grinned. "You've got a good eye, little brother! This sword was made from top-grade hundred-forged refined iron. It's absolutely hard and tough enough!"

Su Mo nodded and paid the remaining balance.

After leaving the blacksmith shop and reaching an unoccupied spot, Su Mo summoned his Martial Soul as well.

The two swords were exactly the same size.

Su Mo held the iron sword in his left hand and the Martial Soul Broken Sword in his right, slowly bringing them together.

Ding~

The two swords soon collided, producing the ring of clashing metal.

"Can't they fuse together?"

Su Mo frowned.

He knew that, ten thousand years later, someone called Ji Juechen could completely turn his Martial Soul into energy and merge it into a weapon.

"Looks like the ability to merge a Martial Soul into a weapon needs to be developed too!"

"But this shouldn't be too difficult. A Martial Soul is energy to begin with; it only becomes materialized after being summoned. That means it should be possible to reverse the process and merge it into a weapon."

"If I can refine the weapon and turn it into part of my Martial Soul, letting the Martial Soul evolve, that would be even better."

Su Mo stared at the two swords in his hands, inspiration suddenly bursting forth.

However, no one in this world had accomplished either of these things yet. He could not speed up the process through observation and could only slowly create them himself.

"Xiao Wu, I'm leaving the academy."

After returning to the academy, Su Mo spoke directly to Xiao Wu as she came up to him.

"Huh?" Xiao Wu cried out, her big eyes filled with confusion. "Where are you going, Su Mo?"

"Leaving Nuoding City."

"What?" Xiao Wu looked at Su Mo and asked urgently, "You're leaving? Why? Isn't it nice here?"

"Nuoding City is too small," Su Mo said calmly. "There's no Soul Fighting Arena, and not enough Soul Masters fighting for me to observe. If I stay here, my cultivation progress will be slowed."

Xiao Wu opened her mouth, only to realize she could not find any reason to argue.

Su Mo continued, "I need to go to a larger city. There will be Soul Fighting Arenas, all kinds of Soul Masters, and countless battles to observe. Only by constantly observing the fighting styles of different Soul Masters, the traits of different Martial Souls, and the principles behind different Soul Skills can I more quickly create Soul Skills of my own."

Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment before lifting her head. She stared firmly at Su Mo's profile. "Then I'm coming too!"

The corner of Su Mo's lips rose. "Alright, then we'll go together!"

He had been planning to bring this Rogue Rabbit along anyway.

After all, he still wanted to keep plucking rabbit fur from her!

He had already learned from Xiao Wu that when she condensed her own Soul Rings, she could choose which Soul Skills to add.

Her original plan had been to add Soul Skills step by step, from the lowest quality among those she had mastered to the highest, so as not to draw too much attention.

Su Mo had already suggested that she directly add Teleportation as her second Soul Skill. Then he could observe it to his heart's content.

The two soon returned to the academy dormitory.

They prepared to pack their things and leave.

The other work-study students had not gotten out of class yet. Only Tang San sat on his bed, cultivating.

Hearing footsteps, Tang San opened his eyes. When he saw Su Mo and Xiao Wu enter together, his gaze darkened slightly.

Ever since Xiao Wu had called him out for meddling last time, Tang San had never again taken the initiative to speak to her.

Su Mo ignored Tang San and walked straight to his bed, beginning to pack his things.

"Su Mo, what are you doing?" Seeing both Su Mo and Xiao Wu packing, Tang San finally could not help asking.

Without even turning his head, Su Mo said, "There's something going on at home. I need to go back for a while."

He did not explain much, nor did he say that he had no intention of returning to the academy after leaving.

"...Oh!"

Tang San silently watched Su Mo, then glanced at Xiao Wu, who was following behind Su Mo with a bundle on her back. An indescribably complicated emotion rose within him.

What he truly wanted to ask about was Xiao Wu.

But the words reached his lips before he swallowed them back down.

Xiao Wu had already made it clear that his concern was meddling.

"Little San, goodbye!"

Xiao Wu cheerfully waved to Tang San, then followed Su Mo out of the dormitory without looking back.

She still had a fairly good impression of Tang San. It was just that Su Mo interested her more.

Besides, Tang San was really far too ordinary-looking. He could not compare to Su Mo at all.

Tang San stood where he was, staring at the empty doorway without moving for a long time.

Only after the footsteps had completely faded did he slowly clench his fists, his knuckles turning faintly white from the force.

"Xiao Wu!"

Tang San silently called her name in his heart.

For some reason, he felt as though the two of them would never return!

The thought that he might never see Xiao Wu again made his chest feel stifled.

"No, they're still students. They'll definitely come back."

Outside Nuoding Academy.

Just as Su Mo and Xiao Wu stepped out through the gates, a group of people approached them.

At the head of the group was an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in the robes of an honorary elder of Spirit Hall. He carried himself with elegance and solemnity. He was Elder Yun Shuo, who had come to Nuoding City on Bibi Dong's orders.

Several Spirit Hall deacons followed behind him, along with two guards whose auras were deep and steady. They made quite an imposing procession.

"Student, may I ask whether Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang is in the academy?" Seeing Su Mo emerge from the academy, Elder Yun Shuo politely asked.

Su Mo swept his gaze over the old man and noticed the Martial Soul Hall Badge on his chest. His heart stirred slightly.

Spirit Hall? They came to see Yu Xiaogang?

And they did not look like people from a branch hall. Could they be from Spirit City?

This scene did not seem to exist in the original story, but this was no longer the original world. Soul Beasts had gone extinct, so any changes were possible.

"He is. Second floor of the Teacher Building, first room on the left." Su Mo answered casually, then passed by with Xiao Wu.

Only after walking some distance away did Su Mo stop and turn back to watch the Spirit Hall group enter the academy.

"Su Mo, those people must be from Spirit City. Let's hurry and go!"

Seeing this, Xiao Wu quickly urged him on.

She had been terrified just now, afraid that there might be a Title Douluo among them.

She could not understand why people from Spirit City had come to such a tiny place as Nuoding City.