Two and a Half Months Later

Li Ruolan's right hand opened, and gray light surged forth. In the next instant, a gray Iron Sword appeared in her hand.

At the same time, four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—rose one after another from beneath Li Ruolan's feet, radiating powerful fluctuations of Soul Power.

"Have your spiders attack me!"

Li Ruolan stood with her sword in hand. After activating her martial soul, her entire bearing had changed.

She gave off an impression of spirited confidence and poise.

"Okay."

Duan Fan immediately ordered all the spiders to attack.

In an instant, six giant spiders charged toward Li Ruolan at incredible speed.

Li Ruolan wasn't the least bit afraid. Holding her Iron Sword, she weaved among the six spiders, keeping them at bay.

A six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast could put tremendous pressure on Wen Xiyue, who had only one Soul Ring, but it posed no threat to Li Ruolan, who had the strength of a Soul Ancestor.

Facing the spiders' attacks, Li Ruolan seemed completely at ease.

It was obvious that she was testing the spiders' agility. She hadn't used a single Soul Skill, relying only on her Iron Sword to block their attacks and drive them back.

They fought like that for a while before Li Ruolan finally began using her Soul Skills.

After knocking back another Giant Spider, the First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring on Li Ruolan's body lit up one after the other.

Gray energy immediately covered both her hands, while a layer of frost appeared over her Iron Sword.

When Li Ruolan swung her sword again, her strength increased noticeably. She easily sent the spiders flying and left deep sword marks on their Spider Spears.

A layer of frost also formed on them, slowing their movements.

After that, the battle was a one-sided rout with no suspense.

In less than a minute, Li Ruolan had cut down every spider.

The spiders left no corpses when they died. Just as when Duan Fan had recalled them himself, they dissolved into silver light and vanished.

When the fight was over, Li Ruolan recalled her martial soul and immediately gave Duan Fan's performance a glowing review.

"You have an excellent grasp of the rhythm of battle. Controlling six spiders at once is impressive."

Duan Fan remained unmoved. He'd already guessed that Teacher Li would bring up his Soul Skill next.

Sure enough, Li Ruolan continued.

"Going back to the Soul Skill itself, yours is the strongest First Soul Skill I've ever seen."

"You can summon three six-hundred-year-old Dream-Weaving Spiders in succession to fight for you, and those three Dream-Weaving Spiders can weave another three Giant Spiders. I can only describe your First Soul Skill as incredible."

"Your First Soul Skill is so unusual that I'll report the matter to my superiors."

"I'll speak with you later to learn more about the specifics of your First Soul Skill."

Duan Fan nodded. He'd expected something like this to happen.

He didn't mind. At most, he'd have to put up with a little attention afterward.

No matter how much the academy's teachers studied it, they wouldn't get any answers.

"This was your first practical class, and you did very well. Keep up the good work!"

Li Ruolan praised Duan Fan once more, then turned to the other students.

"All right, that's the end of today's practical class. Everyone, go to the Mimicry Cultivation Area and train."

At her words, many students immediately groaned.

Training was just too boring for them.

But groaning wouldn't change anything. They still had to train.

They obediently left the Soul Fighting Arena, and every one of them turned to stare at Duan Fan as they went.

The bolder ones even gave him a thumbs-up, showing their admiration and respect for his strength.

Even Wen Xiyue glanced at Duan Fan as she left, though her gaze was complicated.

After all the students had gone, Li Ruolan led Duan Fan out of the Soul Fighting Arena and toward the Mimicry Cultivation Area as well.

On the way, Li Ruolan asked Duan Fan how he'd obtained his First Soul Ring and pressed him for many details about his First Soul Skill.

Duan Fan answered honestly.

Li Ruolan listened carefully. At some point, she produced a notebook and wrote down all the important information.

Duan Fan didn't think any of it needed to be kept secret.

It was only his First Soul Skill. He'd be using it sooner or later.

His future Soul Skills would only grow stronger.

He might as well let the teachers get used to it little by little.

Besides, Duan Fan could tell that Li Ruolan was a true professional when it came to teaching.

The more Li Ruolan learned, the more she might be able to help him apply his skills in actual combat later on.

The Mimicry Cultivation Area at Spirit Hall Academy was located in a stretch of wooded hills.

With Li Ruolan leading the way, Duan Fan arrived there in no time.

A teacher was on duty at the entrance.

Showing his student ID was all it took to get in.

Since Duan Fan's martial soul was rather unusual, the Mimicry Cultivation Environment designed specifically for him had only just been completed. The teacher on duty even took him on a tour.

Duan Fan's training area was a wooden cabin beside a large tree.

Inside, the cabin was covered with all kinds of paintings. He could also clearly see black round stones embedded in the walls and floor.

The black stones radiated Soul Power. They were the key to the Mimicry Cultivation Environment.

Duan Fan glanced around, then quickly began to cultivate.

It didn't take long for him to feel the difference between training here and training in an ordinary environment.

For one thing, it was easier to enter a meditative cultivation state.

And his cultivation speed was slightly faster.

The improvement wasn't especially great, but given enough time, it would add up to quite a lot.

He cultivated until dusk before finally stopping.

He could clearly feel his Soul Power increasing. He was another step closer to level fifteen.

"It feels great to get stronger every day."

"Time to grab some food. Uncle Fang specifically told me to eat well."

In the blink of an eye, two and a half months passed.

At dusk, Duan Fan emerged from the Mimicry Cultivation Area as usual and headed straight for the academy cafeteria.

For the past two and a half months, Duan Fan's daily life had been almost exactly the same as the day before.

After his morning theory and practical classes, he would plunge into cultivation and train until dusk, then head off to grab some food.

At night, he would read books such as the Encyclopedia of Spirit Master Knowledge and the Encyclopedia of Soul Beast Knowledge, draw blueprints for gun parts, then cultivate until the latter half of the night before finally going to sleep.

The next morning, he'd be full of energy again and start the cycle over.

As the days repeated, Duan Fan's Soul Power continued to increase steadily.

His Soul Power Level had now reached seventeen.

Academy cafeteria.

After getting his food, Duan Fan sat down at his usual window-side table on the second floor and began to eat heartily.

Suddenly, someone walked up to him.

It was a six-year-old girl. She had fair skin and was very pretty, but her expression was a little cold.

It was Wen Xiyue.

"Teacher Li asked me to give you this letter."

Wen Xiyue handed Duan Fan a letter, then turned and walked away without looking back.

Duan Fan didn't mind her attitude toward him in the least. He even called after her, "Thanks!"

He opened the letter and took a look.

Sure enough, it was from his uncle again.

Ever since Fang Qingshan had returned to Notting City, he'd sent Duan Fan a letter every so often.

The letters were simple. He'd chat about everyday things, tell Duan Fan that everything was fine, and ask how things were going on his end.

The contents of this letter, however, were a little different.

Fang Qingshan wrote, "Notting City Elementary Spirit Master Academy is about to start its new term. Once it does, your aunt, Qianqian, and I will be able to set off for Spirit City."

At this point, Duan Fan instinctively checked on Tang San's current situation and tried to alter Tang San's fate.

The Notting Academy term was about to begin, and someone extremely important to Tang San was about to appear.

Duan Fan had been keeping an eye on this matter all along.