The man finished speaking, stood up, and turned to leave.
Yun Luo glanced at him but didn't stop him. Only after he had left did Yun Luo rise, gazing after the man's retreating figure.
Meanwhile, in the man's spiritual sea, Chen Ye stood motionless, his expression dark as could be.
He hadn't altered the man's memories or influenced him in any way.
The goal of this virtual personality was simple: find the man's accomplices, the higher-ups in the Holy Spirit Cult.
Part of his plan targeted the Demon Empress. He intended to graft the Hanged Man's madness onto her.
So naturally, he had to prepare and begin infiltrating the entire Holy Spirit Cult, one step at a time.
The afternoon classes flew by. With everyone so fired up, Wu Zhangkong unusually canceled their evening makeup lesson.
As soon as school let out, Na'er and Gu Yue disappeared. No one knew where they had gone.
Xie Xie and Wei Xiaofeng were also planning to go out for dinner again.
At that moment, only Chen Ye and Tang Wulin were in the cafeteria.
They chatted as they ate, both smiling.
Chen Ye's gaze kept drifting toward Tang Wulin. He wasn't looking at Tang Wulin himself, but at Old Tang inside him.
Although Old Tang's consciousness had been taken away, it was recovering as the first Seal was undone. It was just extremely faint.
After recovering for the past few days, Old Tang had managed to regain his will.
Chen Ye could already sense Old Tang's consciousness stirring, but compared to before, it had grown even weaker.
"'Weak' didn't even begin to describe it. His consciousness had faded so much that he could barely maintain the level of a God King."
"What's going on? Why is my divine sense so weak?"
"Wulin is clearly fine, and I've already undone his first Seal. So why is this happening?"
Hearing Old Tang's thoughts, Chen Ye remained calm.
Tang Wulin had also slowed his eating. It was clear he, too, had sensed Old Tang beginning to awaken.
"Old Tang, are you awake?"
"I just woke up. What's going on? Did I fall asleep before?"
"Yeah, Old Tang. Ever since the first Seal was undone, you haven't appeared. No matter how I called for you, there was no response."
Tang Wulin spoke in his mind, curiosity in his tone.
Old Tang, on the other hand, fell silent.
His divine consciousness was filled with confusion. He couldn't understand why his consciousness had inexplicably weakened after the first Seal was undone, when it should have grown stronger.
It was beyond his comprehension. He also no longer remembered his earlier clash with Chen Ye, because Chen Ye had taken those memories too.
Looking at the bewildered Old Tang and Tang Wulin, Chen Ye smiled faintly. A glimmer passed through his pale golden eyes.
He had stripped away his Dragon of Imagination Martial Soul and the Authority within his body, keeping only the Dragon of the Mind.
And even that Dragon of the Mind was incomplete, with a serious flaw.
Since Chen Ye had been acting strangely, he had already guessed that once Old Tang awakened, Tang Wulin would ask him about Chen Ye.
Sure enough, after exchanging a few words, Tang Wulin sneaked a glance at Chen Ye, then asked Old Tang in his mind:
"Old Tang, this is Chen Ye, my big brother. His Martial Soul is a little strange. Can you tell what kind of Martial Soul he has?"
"His Martial Soul is really strange. He says it's a Dark Phoenix, but I have a feeling that's not what it really is."
As Tang Wulin asked, he kept sneaking glances at Chen Ye. His guilty expression was almost impossible to hide.
If Chen Ye hadn't kept his head down, pretending to eat instead of looking at him, Tang Wulin would have given himself away by now.
As Tang Wulin asked, Old Tang's gaze also turned toward Chen Ye from within him.
A divine sense at the God King level descended. It was so subtle that an ordinary student wouldn't have detected it. Only Chen Ye could.
When he sensed that divine sense sweep over him, a faint smile crossed Chen Ye's face. Then he heard Old Tang say to Tang Wulin:
"His Martial Soul is somewhat strange, but its potential is extremely low."
"It's a very peculiar dragon-type Martial Soul. It seems to have no physical form. I've never encountered this kind of dragon-type Martial Soul before, but I imagine it has little potential."
"Wulin, you can rest easy. His potential can never compare to yours. With the Golden Dragon King, you have the strongest dragon bloodline. No matter what kind of dragon-type Martial Soul he has, you'll suppress it!"
Old Tang's voice was firm and unequivocal.
Hearing this, Tang Wulin froze, then sneaked another glance at Chen Ye.
"Could Chen Ye really have Twin Martial Souls? That would explain it. If Chen Ye weren't born with full Soul Power at level ten, how else could he cultivate so quickly?"
Hearing Tang Wulin's thoughts, Chen Ye calmly continued eating.
To be honest, listening to other people's thoughts was pretty satisfying.
But just as Chen Ye was enjoying himself, someone suddenly kicked open the cafeteria door.
At first, Chen Ye paid it no mind. But the next moment, several sets of footsteps headed straight toward them.
Tang Wulin looked up at the sound. His seat faced the cafeteria entrance, giving him a clear view of the newcomers.
Seeing them approach, Tang Wulin's brow furrowed deeply.
Noticing the helpless irritation in Tang Wulin's eyes, Chen Ye turned slightly and looked toward the door.
At the front stood a girl with long orange hair. She wasn't stunning, but she was certainly a beauty in the making.
She stood there with her arms crossed, exuding confidence. Three boys followed behind her.
The three boys didn't hesitate. They walked straight toward Tang Wulin.
Seeing this, Tang Wulin stood up. Golden scales slowly spread over his left hand, and anger glinted in his eyes.
The atmosphere was growing tense, so Chen Ye stood too and placed a hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder.
Tang Wulin froze. Then he saw his always-admired big brother Chen Ye smiling warmly as he gently pressed him back down into his seat.
"Wulin, let me tell you something. You can't always think of fighting when a problem comes up. If it can be settled peacefully, settle it peacefully."
"Before we solve it, we should ask what the other person thinks. Just jumping straight into a fight isn't a good choice."
Chen Ye's smile left Tang Wulin puzzled. The Chen Ye he knew wasn't usually this friendly.
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