Defeating Soul Ancestors

In the Training Grounds reserved exclusively for Spirit Hall, Wu Ling's battle against the three people opposite him had reached a fever pitch.

At the very center of the Training Grounds, a tall man gripped an earthy-yellow staff in his hand. It was his Martial Soul, the Mountain-Breaking Staff. The four Spirit Rings around it—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—proved that he was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor.

"Third Spirit Skill, Force Breaking Ten Thousand Juns!"

The staff in the tall man's hand abruptly doubled in thickness and size, then came smashing down toward Wu Ling.

Facing a staff empowered by a thousand-year Spirit Skill, Wu Ling did not even furrow his brow. His calm gaze remained fixed on the woman standing at the very back.

Feeling the impact beneath his staff, the man immediately realized something was wrong. "Lu Fu, watch out!"

The person named Lu Fu was a petite woman. Upon hearing his warning, her hands transformed into a pair of sickles, while a pair of transparent wings sprouted from her back.

Her Martial Soul seemed to be some kind of mantis-type Beast Martial Soul, and the four Spirit Rings on her body—white, yellow, purple, purple—also proved that she was a Soul Ancestor.

Yet even against a Soul Ancestor, Wu Ling swung his blade without hesitation.

As the two clashed, sickles and longsword repeatedly struck against each other. But before even three to five exchanges had passed, and before the tall man could rush over, Wu Ling found an opening in Lu Fu's defense and broke through it.

At that moment, the Martial Soul of the woman at the rear also appeared. It was a Glazed Bottle—simply put, a glass cup. She too possessed four Spirit Rings. When the tall man had issued his warning, she had reacted as well. Now, seeing Lu Fu in danger, she immediately unleashed her Spirit Skills.

"Second Spirit Skill, Glazed Armor!

Third Spirit Skill, Glazed Heart!

Fourth Spirit Skill, Glazed Boots!"

As the three Spirit Rings lit up, an invisible layer of equipment covered the upper bodies and feet of all three people on the field. Since there were no negative emotions for Glazed Heart to clear away, it merely sharpened their focus, allowing them to devote themselves fully to Wu Ling's assault.

Though this support-system Spirit Master's Martial Soul and Spirit Skills were not particularly outstanding, they had still been cast by a Soul Ancestor. Holding Wu Ling off for a few seconds was no problem.

Lu Fu took advantage of those few seconds to retreat away from Wu Ling, while also tossing a Spirit Skill at him.

"Third Spirit Skill, Enemy-Fixing Eye!"

A faint ray shot from Lu Fu's eyes and struck Wu Ling's body. Wu Ling immediately felt as though his legs had been filled with cement, becoming completely devoid of their earlier agility.

"Yi Tai, I've restrained him. Now!"

The tall man Lu Fu called Yi Tai immediately tightened his grip on the staff, and his fourth Spirit Ring lit up.

"Fourth Spirit Skill, Mountain-Opening Rock-Crushing!"

A thin earthy-yellow film covered the staff before it swung down toward Wu Ling once more.

Wu Ling remained unruffled even in the face of this strike. He smiled faintly as a purple Spirit Ring emerged. Then his shadow began to lengthen, and a blue-haired Wu Ling crawled out from it.

Without another word, Wu Ling switched places with Xiao Lan.

After switching positions, Xiao Lan watched the staff draw closer and closer, his heart still incomparably calm. He had long since grown used to this.

"Ah, death is like a droplet vanishing into the sea, unable to stir even the slightest ripple."

After that reflection, Xiao Lan began his ninth death of the week beneath the staff's blow.

"I'll remember you, Xiao Lan. I'll be counting on you again next time!"

As Xiao Lan was smashed out of existence by Yi Tai, Lu Fu's Spirit Skill also came to an end. Wu Ling felt his entire body relax, then immediately ran toward the woman.

"Lu Fu, Bu Ge, watch out! He has Clones!"

Yi Tai's mentality was on the verge of collapse after his Spirit Skill missed again, but he still relayed Wu Ling's information in time.

Lu Fu's eyes narrowed. Her fourth Spirit Ring and sickles lit up at the same time as she stepped forward to fight Wu Ling's true body. She did not intend to let Wu Ling use his clone skill.

Unfortunately, that idea naturally came to nothing.

Because Xiao Lan and Xiao Hong had been hidden in Wu Ling's shadow beforehand, they needed no time at all to appear.

The sturdy Xiao Hong burst from Wu Ling's shadow with a bang, then raised the longsword in his hand and slashed at Lu Fu.

With no other choice, Lu Fu could only slow down and defend. She raised her sickles above her head, blocking the descending longsword in a close encounter.

"Ugh... why is this guy so strong?!" Lu Fu said in shock.

By then, Wu Ling had already passed Lu Fu and charged straight at the support-system woman. Even if Yi Tai gave it everything he had, he could not catch up to Wu Ling's speed.

Facing a support-system Spirit Master who could only stack defenses on herself, Wu Ling easily knocked her off the field with the flat of his blade.

Without the support-system Spirit Master's enhancement, Yi Tai and Lu Fu now faced the combined assault of Wu Ling, Xiao Hong, and Xiao Lan.

Without the heightened concentration from Glazed Heart, Yi Tai and Lu Fu found it even harder to deal with Wu Ling's position-switching tactics.

Simply put, the position-switching tactic used the differences in the three people's heights and movements to continuously exchange positions, eventually defeating the opponent.

In the end, after Lu Fu was kicked off the field by Xiao Hong, Yi Tai had intended to block Xiao Hong's attack, only for Wu Ling's true body, having switched positions, to find an opening and knock him off as well.

Thus, Wu Ling—a level-thirty quasi-Soul Elder who had yet to obtain a Spirit Ring—easily defeated three Soul Ancestors without even using his trump cards.

Watching Wu Ling's departing back, Yi Tai and the other two hurriedly began discussing him.

Lu Fu impatiently asked, "Boss, just who was that guy? How was he so strong?"

Yi Tai shook his head somewhat warily. "I'm not too sure either. When the higher-ups told us to fight someone, I thought I'd misheard.

But looking at that sword, I do have a guess. That guy was probably Wu Ling, our Pope's disciple."

Bu Ge asked in surprise, "Wu Ling? The one who was announced as the Pope's disciple four years ago? He has hardly shown himself these past four years. Was that person really him?"

Yi Tai narrowed his eyes, seemingly recalling the battle from moments ago.

"Wu Ling just doesn't appear before ordinary people like us. He definitely shows himself before the elders. The aunt-by-marriage of the third nephew of the uncle of my relative's friend once cleaned an elder's room. She said the sword described there was almost exactly the same as that one. After all, swords that long are extremely rare."

At that point, Lu Fu suddenly asked, "Come to think of it, how old is he, and what level is he? He suppressed the three of us the entire time. I could tell that clone was a thousand-year Spirit Skill, but why does he only have two Spirit Rings?"

Faced with that question, the three looked at one another, unable to convince each other, until Ito said, "Forget his level for now. He should only be around ten years old. If he can suppress three Soul Ancestors at the age of ten, does his Soul Power Level even matter?"

Once Ito said that, the other two came to their senses as well.

"Enough, let's stop here. Watch what you say; trouble comes from the mouth. And if you see him again, remember not to provoke him. In any case, his future is probably beyond measure."