Notting Academy, back hills.
Lin Mo stood where he was, his gaze fixed on Tang San a few meters away.
Tang San's right hand suddenly twitched, and a small black shadow shot out from his sleeve.
Silent Sleeve Arrow!
The arrow flew at incredible speed, heading straight for Lin Mo's chest.
Clang!
Lin Mo raised his hand and slapped it away with a single palm strike.
The clash of metal rang out as Lin Mo knocked the Silent Sleeve Arrow aside with the force of his palm.
At the same time, he stomped hard against the ground, shooting forward like a cannonball.
He moved so fast that even Tang San, who had sparred with Lin Mo many times, still struggled to adjust to his speed.
Before Tang San could react, Lin Mo was already right in front of him.
Tang San's pupils contracted. He instinctively stepped into the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, drifting diagonally backward.
But Lin Mo was faster.
He struck out with another palm, landing it squarely on Tang San's raised arms.
A tremendous force hit him. Tang San slid backward, unable to stop himself, and only managed to steady his stance after skidding seven or eight steps.
Lin Mo withdrew his hand and stood where he was, making no attempt to pursue him.
"That's enough for today. I'm done fighting you."
Tang San steadied himself after several steps back, then took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling a few times.
He closed his eyes and silently circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, calming the churning blood and qi within him.
A moment later, he opened his eyes again, having recovered somewhat.
"You really are a monster. No wonder those teachers at the academy aren't too keen on sparring with you!"
"Not bad. You've improved very quickly," Lin Mo said.
As he spoke, a subtle change took place across Lin Mo's body.
His hair, which had turned white from using Inversion of Three, regained its original black color in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, the faint layer of Body-Protecting Qi around him silently dissipated into the air.
Inversion of Three was released, and his Body-Protecting Qi was withdrawn.
Lin Mo returned to looking like an ordinary young boy, and the imposing aura around him vanished with it.
Hearing Lin Mo's words, Tang San rarely rolled his eyes.
"I still can't compare to you."
Lin Mo smiled but didn't respond.
He studied Tang San before him, unable to help feeling a little sentimental.
After spending more than a year together, Tang San had become much livelier than when they first met.
When they had first met, Tang San had seemed distant, keeping everyone at arm's length. He had been a man of few words, too.
Now, Tang San had become much more easygoing. He not only talked back and traded jokes, but sometimes even cracked a few himself.
Tang San lay on his back in the Blue Silver Grass, letting out a long, slow sigh.
Over the past year, his progress had been astonishingly fast.
This was true of both his Soul Master training and his cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record consisted of several major parts: the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, and Hundred Interpretations of Hidden Weapons.
Over the past year, he had made remarkably rapid progress in both the Mysterious Jade Hand and the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
After so many close-quarters bouts with Lin Mo, his proficiency had naturally improved.
Though in Tang San's eyes, Lin Mo was mostly just relying on brute force to overwhelm him.
Lin Mo outclassed Soul Masters of the same rank in every way, whether in strength, defense, or speed.
Sometimes, Tang San even felt that this fellow wasn't a Soul Master in the conventional sense.
At the same rank, others might have an advantage in one particular area. Lin Mo, on the other hand, had the advantage in every area.
Every spar with Lin Mo put him under immense pressure. How could his progress not be rapid?
What Tang San hadn't noticed was that Lin Mo's footwork and combat skills had also improved considerably over the past year.
A careful observer might even spot traces of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track in Lin Mo's current movements.
As Lin Mo and Tang San traded jokes, someone watched them from the treetop of a large tree not far away.
Yu Xiaogang rubbed his forehead, looking at Flender beside him with an exasperated expression.
Flender stood on a branch, one hand braced against the tree trunk, his eyes fixed on the two boys in the clearing below.
Today, he wore a gray robe, and his signature spectacles perched on his nose. He still looked every bit the crafty merchant.
Yu Xiaogang felt especially helpless about Flender.
He could have gone over and spoken with Lin Mo beforehand.
Yet he had no intention of showing himself now, choosing instead to watch Lin Mo and Tang San in silence from the shadows.
Flender had already dragged him into hiding here for nearly an hour today.
"Well? Are you satisfied?" Yu Xiaogang asked.
Flender kept his eyes on Lin Mo and Tang San and nodded.
"Very satisfied. That boy Lin Mo is even more impressive than I imagined."
"But in my view, he deliberately held back some of his strength while sparring with your disciple, Tang San.
If he'd really gone all out, I doubt your disciple could have taken even one punch from him."
As he spoke, Flender looked at Yu Xiaogang and smiled.
"Lin Mo really may be able to make a run at a thousand-year Soul Ring when he gets his second one, just as you said!
And from the looks of it, his chances of success are extremely high!"
"Of course."
Yu Xiaogang nodded, his voice brimming with confidence.
"My assessments of all kinds of Soul Master data are quite accurate. I'm rarely wrong!"
"But..."
Flender shook his head slightly and looked at Yu Xiaogang with some puzzlement.
"But in my eyes, your disciple Tang San is far weaker than Lin Mo.
He's already exceptionally talented compared with Soul Masters his age and rank, but his Martial Soul is still a serious flaw.
Even with Innate Full Soul Power, a Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass is ultimately unlikely to amount to much."
Flender spoke bluntly, without the slightest reservation.
He didn't think poorly of Tang San.
The problem was that Blue Silver Grass was simply too ordinary—or, to put it plainly, useless!
Yu Xiaogang's expression remained unchanged at Flender's words.
"All I can tell you for now is that, in my opinion, Xiao San's talent is in no way inferior to Lin Mo's!
There's even a very high chance that Xiao San will go further than Lin Mo in the future!"
A look of doubt appeared on Flender's face.
He looked Yu Xiaogang up and down, trying to find some clue in his expression.
Then he reluctantly looked away and said thoughtfully:
"Looks like there are some secrets about your disciple that I haven't figured out."
"But never mind. A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power certainly qualifies as a monster. He'll be a member of my Shrek Academy from now on!"
While Flender and Yu Xiaogang were talking, up in the treetop of a large tree farthest from the two of them,
a disheveled figure in black robes hid among the dense branches and leaves, almost in the same position.