Training Plan Begins

"Uncle Qie, are you really not going to Spirit City with me?" Wu Ling asked Qie Si for the third time the next morning.

"Ling'er, I already told you there's no need. Xingyue Village is the place where I was born and raised, and I'm also the village chief. There's no way I can go to Spirit City.

Besides, I wouldn't know anyone there. Starting a new life there would surely mean more trouble for you, so don't worry about me. Just take good care of yourself."

Qie Si shook his head and firmly refused Wu Ling's invitation.

"All right, then. Whenever you change your mind, Uncle Qie, go to the Martial Soul Branch Hall in Nuoding City and have someone send me a letter. As soon as I receive it, I'll come back immediately. I'll go tell them later.

If you don't go, Uncle Qie, I'll probably come back once every two or three years. If I don't return, there may be something important going on, like reaching a critical point in my cultivation. So don't worry about me, and take good care of yourself too."

Qie Si had looked after Wu Ling for six years, and Wu Ling had long since regarded him as true family. That was why he cared about him so deeply.

"Of course. I'm still waiting to hold my grandson. Before that happens, I'll definitely take good care of myself." Qie Si grinned and patted Wu Ling's shoulder. The boy was already nearly as tall as him. While reassuring Wu Ling, he also subtly urged him to get married.

Sure enough, no matter the world, elders all have a talent for urging people to marry. But I'm only eight years old. Even in another four months, I'll only be nine. Isn't this a little too early?

Wait, I remember Ma Hongjun was only twelve, or maybe even younger, when he went to a brothel in the original story. Is it because of Martial Souls? The children of the Douluo Continent really do seem a little precocious.

Faced with an elder urging him to marry, Wu Ling could only brush it off with a smile. After their final farewell, he finally left.

Watching Wu Ling's receding figure, Qie Si smiled with satisfaction.

"The young eagle has reached the time to spread his wings and soar. I can't be the one holding him back. Now then, what was going on in the village today..."

After leaving home, Wu Ling went alone to the Martial Soul Branch Hall in Nuoding City. Using an Elder Token, he met the current master of the branch hall.

After Wu Ling finished giving instructions to the branch hall master, whom he did not know, Gui Mei silently appeared beside him beneath the man's horrified gaze.

"Let's go, Grandpa Ghost."

With a gust of black wind, Wu Ling and Gui Mei vanished before the branch hall master.

The branch hall master, a man in his forties, stood there blankly for quite some time before coming back to his senses. Remembering Wu Ling's instructions, he immediately shouted outside, "Someone! Prepare a carriage! We're going to Xingyue Village. I need to visit someone."

Wu Ling knew nothing of what the branch hall master did, because before dawn the next day, Gui Mei had already brought him back to Spirit City. The speed made Wu Ling marvel at the power of a Title Douluo once again.

It's nearly three thousand kilometers. An ordinary carriage would need half a month to get there, yet a Title Douluo made it in just over half a day.

Of course, that has a lot to do with Grandpa Ghost being an agility-type soul master, but he didn't stop even once along the way. That's just incredibly impressive.

If my physique hadn't already been so strong, I might not have been able to withstand that speed even while being carried along.

Still marveling, Wu Ling returned to his room, intending to take a short nap before beginning the day's cultivation.

Gui Mei also returned home at this time. In truth, it had not been as easy for him as Wu Ling imagined. The journey of more than ten hours had drained ninety percent of his Soul Power. If not for the Pope's plan, he would never have pushed himself so hard.

"I'll rest today and recover my Soul Power. Then I'll confirm the plan with the Pope. We can begin tomorrow."

As the sun rose, the vast Spirit City, having rested through the night, began turning through another day like an enormous machine that had finished cooling down.

Meanwhile, in Wu Ling's courtyard, three Wu Lings sat together eating breakfast.

Xiao Hong: "Wow, three bowls of zhajiang noodles for breakfast really hit the spot!"

Wu Ling: "Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Hong, why are you, a clone, eating so much?"

Xiao Hong: "You can't say that, main body. A day's plan begins in the morning. Only by eating well and eating until full can we cultivate better!"

Wu Ling: "Honestly. Eat well in the morning, eat your fill at noon, and eat less at night. Don't you know that? Look at Xiao Lan. He's eating very well."

Following the direction of Wu Ling's finger, Xiao Hong saw Xiao Lan continuously stirring a cup of murky soybean milk with a straw.

Xiao Lan: "Look, a world is like this cup of soybean milk. Our world may only be a marble belonging to God, or perhaps merely a cell within some living creature.

Relatively speaking, humanity is like parasites of the world. Why do we exist? What is our purpose? And why does this world contain humans..."

Xiao Hong: "Main body, he hasn't eaten anything at all, okay?"

Wu Ling: "No, he ate."

Xiao Hong: "But—"

Wu Ling: "I said he ate!"

Xiao Hong: "...Ahahaha, as expected of the main body. What sharp eyes. I almost didn't notice. Mm-hm, all right, breakfast is over. Time to cultivate. Main body, carry on."

After saying that, Xiao Hong impatiently ran toward the Training Grounds. Watching his diligent back, Wu Ling was so moved that tears streamed from the corner of his mouth.

"Seriously, setting Xiao Lan aside for now, he even ate my bowl too. Doesn't he, as a clone, know how much I love zhajiang noodles? The worst part is that he didn't leave me even one bite!

And Xiao Lan, stop playing around. Xiao Hong has already gone to train. Aren't you going?"

Xiao Lan: "...Sigh, eating or working? That is the question."

Just as Wu Ling had planned, Xiao Hong was responsible for training the body, Xiao Lan for practicing sword techniques, and Wu Ling for studying theory. At least half of each day was devoted to cultivating Soul Power.

Wu Ling's cultivation plan was proceeding in an orderly fashion, but the plan on the other side suddenly encountered a slight complication.

After Bibi Dong finished reading the urgent letter in her hand, a burst of Soul Power reduced it to dust.

"Elder Ju, please bring Elder Gui here."

"Yes." Seeing the change in Bibi Dong's expression, Yue Guan did not say anything more and immediately agreed.

A moment later, Gui Mei and Yue Guan arrived before Bibi Dong together.

"Your Holiness the Pope, has the plan changed?"

Bibi Dong nodded. "The search party sent me word that they have new intelligence. They have confirmed the target's location, but they were also discovered. We must leave now."

"Understood!" ×2

"I'll have someone notify Ling'er. Now then, depart!"