Relationships Improve Rapidly

The following afternoon, at the training grounds.

Fang Mo arrived a quarter of an hour earlier than yesterday.

The training grounds were empty. He found a corner, sat down, closed his eyes, and began circulating his Soul Power.

His spar with Yan yesterday had confirmed something for Fang Mo.

The Rakshasa Scythe's devouring attribute was useful not only when absorbing Soul Power from soul beasts, but also in actual combat.

The core principle of Shadow Erosion was not merely a Soul Power attack. Through mist imbued with the darkness attribute, it slowly eroded the opponent's Soul Power defenses.

The erosion was not fast, but it could not be stopped by conventional means.

Yesterday, he had used only thirty percent of his strength, yet Yan's Soul Power had already weakened by twenty percent.

If he went all out...

"What are you thinking about?"

A voice came from above him.

Fang Mo opened his eyes and looked up.

Qian Renxue.

She stood before Fang Mo, looking down at him.

Today, she wore a light-gold casual outfit, her hair tied in a high ponytail that exposed her slender neck and delicate collarbones.

The hostility and arrogance from their last meeting were gone from her pale golden eyes.

In their place was a calm, scrutinizing gaze, as though she were weighing something.

Fang Mo was slightly stunned.

He had not expected Qian Renxue to approach him on her own initiative, much less for her attitude to be so calm.

"Miss Qian Renxue."

Fang Mo stood and bowed.

Qian Renxue said nothing.

She circled Fang Mo once, neither hurried nor slow, her gaze sweeping from the top of his head to the tips of his toes as though she were examining an object.

Fang Mo did not move, allowing her to inspect him.

"Your Martial Soul..."

Qian Renxue finally spoke.

Her voice was soft, and every word seemed as though it had been carefully considered for a long time before being spoken.

"Were you the one from that evening?"

Fang Mo's heart skipped a beat, but his expression did not change in the slightest.

"Which evening?"

The corners of Qian Renxue's lips lifted slightly, but it was not a smile.

"Fang Mo, there's no need to pretend."

She took a step forward, leaving less than two paces between them.

"Yesterday afternoon, I saw your Martial Soul outside the training grounds. That humanoid phantom, those dark red eyes, and that aura—"

Qian Renxue's voice trembled faintly, though she struggled to keep it under control.

"They were exactly the same as the person who spoke to me beneath the Silver-Leaf Wutong tree that evening."

Fang Mo fell silent.

His thoughts raced.

Qian Renxue had seen Spirit Dong'er manifest, then connected her to the person she had met that evening.

There was no point in denying it.

Besides, Qian Renxue was no fool. She would not have come to him without being certain.

But he could not tell her everything, either.

Behind Qian Renxue stood the Consecrated Hall and Qian Daoliu. If she told Qian Daoliu about this, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Fang Mo needed an explanation that was half true and half false.

"You're right."

After taking a deep breath, Fang Mo met those pale golden eyes honestly.

"That was indeed my Martial Soul."

Qian Renxue's pupils contracted slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What is she?"

"My first Martial Soul."

Fang Mo chose his words carefully. "A humanoid spirit Martial Soul. She has some kind of inexplicable connection to your mother."

Qian Renxue's breathing quickened for a moment.

"What kind of connection?"

Fang Mo shook his head.

"I don't fully understand it either. But deep within her soul, there truly is an aura very similar to Teacher's."

Qian Renxue stared at him for a long time.

Fang Mo could feel her gaze moving back and forth across his face, as if judging whether he was telling the truth.

The silence lasted a long time.

Then Qian Renxue suddenly lowered her eyes.

"That evening..."

Her voice became very soft, so soft that it seemed like she was speaking to herself.

"She apologized to me."

Fang Mo said nothing.

"She also said... Mother doesn't not love you. She just doesn't know how to face you."

Qian Renxue looked up, and a thin mist of moisture rose once more in her pale golden eyes.

"Is that true?"

Fang Mo looked at her.

A nine-year-old girl who, from the day she was born until now, had never received even a single day of maternal affection.

Qian Daoliu of the Consecrated Hall and several other consecrated elders had treated her like a princess, yet she had always lacked the embrace she wanted most.

All her arrogance, hostility, and sharpness were merely the shell a child starved of love used to protect herself.

Fang Mo sighed inwardly.

"It's true."

Fang Mo's voice was soft, every word carrying unquestionable sincerity.

"The soul within my Martial Soul truly feels guilty toward you. Every word she said came from her heart."

Qian Renxue pressed her lips together.

She slowly lowered her head, golden hair falling along both sides of her cheeks and concealing her expression.

Fang Mo could see her shoulders trembling faintly.

After a long while, Qian Renxue raised her head again. Her eyes were slightly red, but there were no tears.

"Fang Mo."

"Yes."

"I want to see her again."

Fang Mo considered it.

"You can."

Qian Renxue's eyes brightened slightly.

"But not now."

That glimmer quickly dimmed again.

Fang Mo explained, "Her condition is still unstable. If she forcibly manifests away from me, it won't be good for her."

"And someone is following you..." Fang Mo suddenly lowered his voice.

Qian Renxue quickly understood what Fang Mo meant.

Now that her mother, Bibi Dong, had just ascended to the position of Pope, her relationship with the Worship Hall was not particularly friendly.

She was always accompanied by her grandfather from the Worship Hall, so meeting that mother of hers would not be ideal.

In other words.

If she wanted to meet that mother, she would have to send away the grandfather from the Worship Hall behind her in order to create an opportunity.

"Alright, I understand."

Qian Renxue nodded gently, then turned and left.

Qian Renxue's change in stance directly affected the attitude of the Consecrated Hall.

At the same time, Bibi Dong was secretly purchasing Whale Rubber and using benefits to win over the neutral faction in the Elder Hall.

Two paths were converging on the same goal from two different directions.

Over the following period.

Fang Mo appeared at the training grounds every afternoon on time to spar with the students of the Golden Generation.

At first, Yan was thoroughly unconvinced. He challenged Fang Mo once every day and gave it his all each time, but every time, he suffered a narrow defeat.

But those narrow defeats were deliberately maintained by Fang Mo.

The relationship among the four of them gradually changed from open hostility into a subtle kind of tacit understanding.

After training, Yan would take the initiative to review their fights with Fang Mo. Though he cursed and complained the entire time, his attitude was sincere and serious.

Fang Mo also grew increasingly familiar with Xie Yue and Hu Liena.

Hu Liena in particular felt that Fang Mo was not only powerful, but also very handsome.

After Fang Mo spoke with Qian Renxue that day, Qian Renxue also began appearing at the training grounds often.

Hu Liena and the others did not know her identity. They only knew that Qian Renxue came from the Worship Hall.

Compared to Fang Mo, the Pope's direct disciple, Qian Renxue seemed to possess even higher status.

Therefore, when the two girls first came into contact, things were not very natural between them.

But with Fang Mo mediating between them, Qian Renxue quickly blended in.

This also made up for the childhood Qian Renxue had lost in the original story.