Xie Yue and Yan

Ling Yu spent the entire night improving his proficiency with the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

He needed to reduce the activation time of this jutsu to under one second. If it took any longer, using it in actual combat would leave him exposed.

Heavy panting echoed continuously through the spacious room. Although Ling Yu's recovery ability was now very strong, it was impossible for him to cast jutsu without interruption for an entire night.

He could only train his jutsu for an hour, then stop for an hour to recover, before continuing to hone his proficiency, repeating the cycle until dawn the next day.

Ling Yu's eyes gleamed as he pressed together his index and middle fingers, crossing his hands into a seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Poof!

Four plumes of white smoke rapidly rose around him, and four identical Shadow Clones appeared before him in an instant.

"Phew!"

He exhaled a dense breath of white mist. "I finally got it down to around 1.5 seconds. That wasn't easy!"

His exceptional Spiritual Power allowed him to clearly sense the interval between activating the jutsu and the appearance of the Shadow Clones. This was already the limit of what he could currently achieve. To improve further, he would need to increase the energy within his body and continue strengthening his Spiritual Power.

Looking at the four clones before him, an excited smile appeared on his lips.

Though he had trained all night, strangely enough, he did not feel particularly tired. Ling Yu guessed it was likely because he cultivated while meditating. Of course, it was also closely related to the immense improvement in his physical constitution after entering the Blood Refinement Realm.

With a thought from Ling Yu, one of the Shadow Clones before him strode forward. The two exchanged a glance, then clenched their fists and struck at each other simultaneously.

Boom!

The two fists collided, and Ling Yu directly blew up the Shadow Clone, turning it into white smoke that vanished into the air. Yet a broad smile remained on his face.

It had roughly one-fifth of the original body's strength!

That meant that, as long as he wanted to, he could instantly summon four clones with nearly two thousand jin of strength.

Relying on their physical bodies alone, each clone could fight an ordinary two-ring Soul Grandmaster. Once he learned a few more jutsu and stored some within each Shadow Clone, they would not be at a disadvantage even against ordinary Soul Elders.

Naturally, that was only if they were not allowed into close range. Once a Soul Master got close enough to strike a clone's body, no matter how strong the clone was, it would instantly collapse!

Still, that had its benefits. At the very least, in a critical moment, they could help him and his companions block an enemy attack!

Moreover, Shadow Clones could cultivate as well. They could store Soul Power, train jutsu, and practice fist techniques. Once the energy within those Shadow Clones was exhausted and they were forced to disperse, their training experience and insights would be passed back to the caster.

However, along with those returned experiences, a portion of the exhaustion would return as well. That was what they called gains and losses!

Ling Yu gave orders to the remaining three clones. One was to cultivate Soul Power, while the other two were to practice jutsu.

He himself headed outside, sat cross-legged atop a massive rock, and began his daily cultivation once more.

A week later, Ling Yu sat cross-legged on his bed, sensing another clone disperse. As the clone's cultivated Soul Power and experience in practicing jutsu returned to him, his eyes became unfocused while he did his utmost to absorb the knowledge and experience sent back by the clone.

Yesterday, Hu Liena had informed him that they would head to the Star Dou Great Forest this morning. Accompanied by Chrysanthemum Douluo, they would help Xie Yue obtain his third Soul Ring.

Over the past few days, through his own training and his clones' efforts, he had learned three Fire Release jutsu, two Water Release jutsu, and one Earth Release jutsu!

Other than one Fire Release jutsu that had taken him two days to learn, he had already mastered six jutsu.

They were:

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, Fire Release: Flame Bullet, and Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu.

The Water Release jutsu were Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu and Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.

And finally, Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.

Originally, he had wanted to learn Lightning Release, but then Ling Yu reconsidered. He already had the ability to manipulate lightning. Wasn't that far more direct than any Lightning Release? Why bother wasting the effort!

He had also commissioned a hundred kunai and Shuriken. Once he learned the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, a sky full of Shuriken would swarm toward his enemies. Wouldn't that be more impressive than Tang San throwing some hidden weapons? It would be much more thrilling to watch!

More than ten minutes later, Ling Yu's pupils refocused. He changed into a fitted black outfit and headed toward the entrance of Pope's Palace.

Just as he arrived, two youths who looked around thirteen or fourteen appeared before him. One had shoulder-length grayish-red hair and resembled Hu Liena somewhat, though his features were more sinister. The other was extremely burly, with eye-catching red hair and a resolute face that made him look quite formidable.

The two stood where they were. Hearing footsteps behind them, they turned around.

The three stared at one another. In the end, the handsome youth with the sinister aura stepped forward first and said, "You must be His Holiness the Pope's newly accepted disciple. Hello, I'm Xie Yue, Hu Liena's older brother!"

Ling Yu looked at the hand he extended and reached out as well. The two shook hands a few times, exchanging greetings and becoming acquainted.

"You're Nana's junior disciple, right? I heard you have Innate Full Soul Power?"

The red-haired youth also stepped forward, studying Ling Yu with a hint of scrutiny and battle intent in his gaze.

Yan!

Looking at the man who was willing to be Hu Liena's lapdog, Ling Yu found that while his appearance was ordinary, his bearing was quite captivating. Upon meeting him for the first time, Ling Yu could actually sense a scorching aura coming from him.

"Hello, my name is Ling Yu!"

"My name is Yan. How about we spar?"

Upon hearing that Yan wanted to spar with Ling Yu right in front of Pope's Palace, Xie Yue wore an expression that said he had expected as much.

"Yan, stop fooling around. Don't forget where we are. If His Holiness the Pope sees you acting so recklessly, do you still want to live?"

Xie Yue's words made Yan's pupils shrink, and deep fear and reverence appeared in his eyes.

"Fine, then forget it. How about we spar after we get outside? My instincts tell me you're quite strong!"

Yan stared at Ling Yu with burning intensity. Part of it was because Ling Yu was Hu Liena's junior disciple and was so handsome, which gave Yan a sense of crisis. But at the same time, he wanted to see the strength of this disciple whom the Pope had accepted not long ago. As a Soul Master with the exceedingly rare Innate Full Soul Power, Yan wanted to witness his abilities for himself.

"There's no need to wait. I don't think Senior Sister or Grandpa Yue Guan will be here anytime soon, so we can spar right here. Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for everything. Teacher won't blame you."

Ling Yu gave Yan a gentle smile, then nodded at Xie Yue. Both of them were somewhat stunned by his words.

Could it be that he didn't know our strength? No, that couldn't be right. Since he was coming along this time, he definitely knew Yan was a level 29 two-ring Soul Grandmaster. He seemed to have only obtained his first Soul Ring not long ago, yet he was this confident?

Yan seriously looked at the youth before him, who was nearly a head shorter than himself. "Fine. Let's do it!"

His temper was like his martial soul—impulsive, hot-tempered, and straightforward. Since Ling Yu had no objections, if he still refused to fight, wouldn't that make him a laughingstock?

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