So This Is the Scroll of Seals

"Did you find him?"

A few teachers carrying lamps hurriedly gathered in the corridor, panting. They looked at one another, then helplessly shook their heads.

"We searched this side. Nothing!"

"Nothing here either."

"..."

As they spoke, their expressions grew more and more anxious. Curious students nearby poked their heads out of their doorways, whispering among themselves.

"What are you all standing around for?" Principal Fuqi came hurrying from the other end of the corridor, eyes blazing. He roared at the onlookers, "Everyone, get back to your rooms! Close your dormitory doors!"

He held the restless students in check.

The anxious teachers finally had someone to turn to when they saw the principal. Their hearts eased a little, and they hurried over to briefly explain what had happened: the principal's office had been robbed.

"Damn it, someone's stealing from our Soul Master Academy!" Principal Fuqi spat viciously on the ground, the vein at his temple throbbing. "Do they think our Martial Souls are just decorations? Find him! Drag him out! I'll make him regret it!"

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison,

then hurried off with a flurry of footsteps.

A moment later, when the commotion outside had died down, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared on the battered teacher's desk in the classroom next door, where everyone had just gathered to talk. They furtively scanned the area.

"Phew..."

Naruto let out a long breath.

As expected of the invincible Transformation Technique!

For the past six months, Naruto had never slacked off in his study of the Three Body Technique. He still couldn't transform into a puddle of water, but turning into a teacher's desk was a piece of cake.

As he marveled at his own skill, Bibi Dong's sarcastic voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Well, aren't you a real upright gentleman..."

"I had my reasons! I'll return it as soon as I'm done with it!"

The desk Naruto had transformed into seemed to blush pink. As he argued in his mind, he sent his consciousness into the Sealing Space and fired back, "Besides, if you hadn't deliberately held me back just now, how would I have been caught?"

"As the Pope of Spirit Hall, I encountered a child who had lost his way at such a young age. I couldn't bear to see him go astray, so I intervened. What's wrong with that?"

Bibi Dong spoke righteously, washing her hands of her earlier act of selling out her teammate.

"Oh, come on! Since when did you start talking in such a roundabout way?"

"I learned it from you."

"You don't learn from my noble character, only the bad stuff!"

"And a thief dares to call himself virtuous?"

"Things scholars do can't be called stealing!"

"..."

The two bickered as usual.

Over the past six months, Bibi Dong had picked up most of the internet's dregs. Since Naruto was in the wrong this time, he was actually starting to lose ground in their verbal sparring!

Seeing that he couldn't win, Naruto cleared his throat and tried to change the subject.

"Ahem! Could Tang Hao detect the Soul Power you just let out?"

"What are you thinking?" Bibi Dong rolled her eyes at Naruto, confidence in every word. "A Titled Douluo's mental power is sharp, but he doesn't have eyes that can see a thousand miles. He's just more sensitive to fluctuations in Soul Power."

"I only released a little Soul Power at the Spirit Master level to alert the teachers patrolling outside. This kind of Soul Power is everywhere in a junior academy like this. How could he pick it out?"

"Oh~"

Naruto's consciousness in the Sealing Space nodded slightly. He caught on at once.

A Titled Douluo's mental perception wasn't precise. It was more like "hearing."

The higher one's Soul Power Level, the sharper one's "hearing," and the "sound" given off by one's own Soul Power grew "louder." But when "sounds" from different sources had the same "volume" and blended together, they could provide a layer of cover.

This kind of interference, rooted in the underlying rules, couldn't be stripped away just by having sharper "hearing."

More accurately, even if one's mental power was strong enough to pick out every person's "voice" in a "noisy market," a Titled Douluo still wouldn't bother spending the effort to distinguish the Soul Power of people who were only around level twenty or thirty.

"So, in that case..."

Naruto rubbed his chin and cautiously ventured,

"Maybe my Transformation Technique could even fool a Titled Douluo?"

The Pope gave Naruto another eye roll and said irritably, "That depends on how well you can conceal your aura."

"Besides, at your current level, that chubby principal would've spotted you already if he had the strength of a Spirit King or a Martial Soul related to mental power."

"I see."

Naruto nodded to himself. He'd learned something new.

Seeing Naruto's attentive expression, Bibi Dong lifted her head with satisfaction, the corner of her mouth curving almost imperceptibly. In a good mood, she raised her chin.

"Why did you steal that Soul Hunting Permit? Why not just ask that chubby principal for it? You're a student here, and the academy has a duty to hunt Spirit Rings for its students."

"The point isn't what I stole. It's the act of stealing."

Naruto gave a vague explanation.

He was waiting for the moment when the crescent moon reached its highest point and the academy's teachers finally prepared to call it a night.

[Ding!]

Naruto's eyes lit up.

Just as I thought!

[Major Event Witness: You have witnessed an important event in Naruto's legendary life: the theft of the Scroll of Seals! Reward issued! Would you like to claim it?]

"Big sis, can I do anything in this Soul Master Academy without Tang Hao finding out?"

At Naruto's sudden question,

Bibi Dong, leaning against the sofa, froze for a moment, then smiled lightly.

"Hmph. As long as Tang Hao doesn't come here and see it with his own eyes, a little Spirit Master like you, who's barely level ten, can do whatever he likes."

"Even kill Tang San, as long as you survive Tang Hao's pursuit afterward."

Ignoring Bibi Dong's encouragement, Naruto's consciousness in the Sealing Space calmly nodded.

"Good."

Bang!

At the edge of the Training Ground, a window in the otherwise peaceful school building shattered with a crash, breaking the night's silence.

The teachers and even the principal, who were still searching all over the academy for the thief, looked up together and followed the sound. Amid the falling shards of glass, a figure appeared.

Clatter,

the glass shards and the figure struck the ground together.

After a brief moment of shock, every teacher on the Training Ground changed expression and revealed their Martial Souls. White, yellow, and purple Spirit Rings began to spin.

"Stop!"

"Don't even think of getting away!"

Several figures shot forward, lunging straight at the stranger. The thief ignored them completely, scanned the area, picked the direction with the fewest people, and turned to run!

"This person's only at Spirit Master level! Don't be afraid! Everyone, together!"

Principal Fuqi ran with his chubby belly jiggling. He wasn't fast, but his Spirit Ancestor eyesight was still good. After just a few glances, he saw through the stranger's strength and shouted at once.

Hearing how weak the thief was, everyone's spirits soared.

Several Agility Attack Spirit Masters quickly closed in,

and just then,

Bang!

Bang!!

More crashes came from the school building beside them. Several more windows shattered. Everyone below paused and looked up.

Several more figures, wrapped tightly in black, leaped from the windows and landed lightly. They paid no attention to their comrade being chased and scattered in all directions.

Noting the number of thieves who had broken into Notting Academy tonight, one would think there were more of them than rats in the school!

Principal Fuqi's face turned livid.

"Split up and chase them!"

All of Notting Academy descended into chaos.

Not far from Notting Academy, Naruto, having slipped away amid the confusion, stood atop the towering clock tower and looked down at the disorder inside the academy.

A cool breeze swept past.

Feeling utterly pleased with himself, Naruto suddenly laughed.

"Your Holiness, want to make a bet? Let's wager on who'll win when Tang San and I have our Soul Fighting match a few days from now."

"Fine. I bet you'll win!"

Bibi Dong answered without a moment's hesitation, prompting Naruto to shake his head in disappointment.

"You're so crafty."

"Shouldn't you be trembling with gratitude at having earned my favor, then kowtowing to thank me?"

"Hey! What kind of monster are you?" Naruto pointed at her furiously, his sleeve flung back. "The big sis I know isn't like you! She used to call me 'little friend'—'little friend'! She was so nice! You must be an impostor!"

"Of course I'm an impostor. I'm just thinking about how to tear you limb from limb and eat you alive."

Bibi Dong had become perfectly adept at dealing with him.

Naruto got nowhere, so he shrugged and picked up the tattered scroll in his hand, which had only its opening section.

[Reward claimed: Scroll of Seals (fragment)]

And everyone knew that the forbidden technique recorded at the beginning of the Scroll of Seals was...

Naruto's gaze swept over the scroll in his hand. The instructions on how to learn the Ninjutsu were extremely brief, and the technique required just a single Hand Seal. The warning in bright red, however, took up a whole page.

His gaze slowly moved upward, settling on the large characters at the very top.

Multi Shadow Clone Technique!