Sword Intent Ability, One Flower Bodhi

"Is that... a breakthrough?" Ning Fengzhi exclaimed from the sidelines, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

That fleeting aura had clearly been Uncle Sword successfully breaking through the bottleneck of rank 97.

Ning Fengzhi froze at first, then overwhelming joy surged into his heart.

What a wonderful son-in-law he had.

Ning Fengzhi secretly decided that once they returned, he would take out a Spirit Bone treasured by the sect and properly thank Chen Ling.

The favor of helping Sword Douluo break through was truly an immense one.

Ning Fengzhi also glanced at his daughter, who was drooling, and fell into thought.

Should I pick a few more Seven Treasure disciples as Rongrong's dowry?

As always, as long as someone was strong enough, Ning Fengzhi would come around on his own.

"So handsome." Ning Rongrong drooled from the corner of her mouth, clutching Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing's hands with her own as she squeezed her legs together, nearly going limp on the ground.

Looking at Ning Rongrong like this, Xiao Wu found her somewhat familiar. Then she remembered something, and her little face instantly flushed red.

She really did look a little similar. The last time Xiao Wu had watched Chen Ling fight Tang Hao, she seemed to have looked just like this.

Thinking of that, Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks, feeling slightly jealous, but unable to say anything.

She had always been clear about her place.

While everyone at the sidelines marveled in astonishment, the two in the arena were currently deadlocked.

Chen Ling's attack was not particularly powerful. After all, he had never intended to hurt Sword Douluo; a spar was only a spar.

Besides, his goal had already been achieved. Chen Ling chuckled inwardly.

[Special mission objective achieved. A true old man teasing a child—no matter if the opponent uses the power of the mind, you can still defeat him in battle.]

[Congratulations, Host, for comprehending the third level of Sword Intent: Condense Delusions.]

[Unlocked Sword Intent ability: One Flower Bodhi. You've understood your true heart, right? Then I'll make one for you.]

The Sever Delusions Sword Intent abruptly changed. Chen Xin, who had been using his Soul Power breakthrough to resist Chen Ling's offensive, suddenly froze.

However, Chen Xin broke free from that sensation again after only a moment.

"Sure enough, it seems these two moves can't be linked seamlessly." Chen Ling withdrew and retreated, slowly returning to where the two had previously faced off.

"What is this move called?" Chen Xin's expression was exceedingly grave, and his gaze at Chen Ling was filled with astonishment.

He was clearly a dual martial soul master with a Sword Martial Soul, so why did he keep dragging people into illusions?

Just then, he had once again fallen into a special illusion. Yet because he had experienced it before, had just understood his true heart, and for one other special reason, he had managed to break free.

As he thought this, Chen Xin's gaze toward Chen Ling became somewhat strange.

You used the soul skill yourself, yet I relied on you to break it.

"This move is called One Flower Bodhi." The corners of Chen Ling's mouth rose. It was not a confident smile; he simply could not hold it in.

Previously, Sever Delusions could at most attack a person's obsessions, making it particularly effective in certain respects. But this move was absurdly powerful—it directly manifested the thing the opponent feared most.

Just now, Chen Xin had seen the destruction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Yet the way he broke free from the illusion was equally bizarre.

Chen Ling found it odd. The reason the other man had escaped the illusion was that Chen Ling had come to his rescue? He really regarded Chen Ling as one of his own.

Still, when Chen Ling thought of the effect of this move, it was downright insidious. One Flower Bodhi created an object of fear, while One Leaf Delusion Wheel controlled the target on the spot. It was forced crowd control. Any child with inner demons would be hit directly; and if they had none, that was fine—he could make one for them anyway.

Chen Xin nodded, then cupped his fists in salute.

"You let me win."

After this battle, Chen Xin had thoroughly acknowledged the person before him.

"You let me win."

Chen Ling likewise cupped his fists. He felt the Soul Power within him suddenly surge, though it did not leak out because of the system's concealment.

Rank 98.

This was one of the most important reasons Chen Ling had helped Sword Douluo break through. Only now could he truly be considered one of the strongest people on the continent. Even if his Soul Power temporarily fell short, his overall combat power was inferior to no one.

Chen Ling's Soul Rings had also changed from purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red, red to purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red, red, red.

There was nothing to be done about that. Even if others had absorbed them, the first and second Soul Rings would not have had especially high age limits. It would be somewhat difficult to turn them black simply by fighting these people.

But it did not matter. His current strength was already sufficient, and he still relied more on those soul skills granted by the system.

No wonder Clear Sky Hammer soul masters loved using Haotian Nine Absolutes and the Great Sumeru Hammer.

Once the battle ended, the students dispersed one after another, leaving only the people from before and the members of the Blue Tyrant Team whom Chen Ling had asked to remain.

Chen Ling took one look and shook his head slightly.

This was far too shabby.

Aside from those from the original story, most of the Blue Tyrant Team members had only just broken through to Soul Elder.

But it did not matter. He had never intended to keep this group anyway.

"Chen Ling, are you planning to form a soul master team?" Ning Fengzhi stood nearby, smiling warmly.

By all rights, the matter was already over and he should have left. But he had stayed to see whether he could offer any help, while also fostering the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law.

"Yes, Uncle Ning is right. Since I have taken over this academy, I will naturally develop it properly in the future."

"In that case, why not let Rongrong join directly?"

"That was exactly my intention." The two exchanged a glance, understanding everything without words.

"Even so, we still don't have enough people." Chen Ling sighed. The system only wanted women, and there was only Jiangzhu here. Her strength was not particularly good either, and she could at most serve as a substitute.

After all, compared to the healing ability of the Nine-Hearted Begonia, the Healing Scepter was indeed not worth mentioning.

But when those words fell into the ears of Xue Qinghe, who had been listening intently nearby, they immediately took on a different meaning. She began observing him, trying to discern Chen Ling's intentions.

Chen Ling's gaze fell upon several relatively strong members of the former Blue Tyrant Team, including Tai Long and the others.

Everyone's hearts tightened. However, Tai Long's eyes occasionally glanced to the side, as though he wanted to look at someone.

"You can leave first. Jiangzhu, stay behind." Chen Ling waved his hand, signaling for them to depart.

The moment he said this, the atmosphere became somewhat strange.

Why was he sending all the male students away?

Chen Ling coughed awkwardly. His skin was not actually thin, but he could not withstand Sword Douluo's scorching gaze.

Sword Douluo seemed convinced that Chen Ling had cultivated such unusual sword techniques through this very method. There were already precedents right before him.

First he had taken Xiao Wu away, then he had taken Liu Erlong with him last time, and now Princess Ning Rongrong had practically delivered herself to his door.

Sword Douluo was not the only one thinking this way; everyone else wore different expressions as well.

Liu Erlong blushed as she recalled Xiao Wu's appearance that morning. The shyness in her heart gradually turned into anticipation.

Could it really be because of that?