The shock and questions nearly spilling from Tang San's eyes hung like tangible pressure over the space between them.
Even the night breeze seemed to have stopped.
Thoughts raced through Ling Feng's mind.
His remark just now had been a deliberate hint, as well as a risky probe.
It had worked surprisingly well.
Tang San's reaction had told him clearly just how important this secret was to him.
That was enough.
He could not let him keep dwelling on it.
At just the right moment, a trace of "realization" and "uncertainty" appeared on Ling Feng's face. Before Tang San could question him, he continued in a speculative tone, "It was just a feeling... When we exchanged blows, that block of yours was unusually resilient. Ordinary Blue Silver Grass shouldn't have been able to deflect my force so easily."
He deftly turned "knowing a secret" into "a deduction based on details of their exchange."
It sounded perfectly reasonable.
Tang San's taut expression faltered slightly.
The shock and suspicion in his eyes eased a little.
Was that it?
Just keen observation and deduction based on combat instincts?
Not knowledge of the truth?
He carefully recalled their lightning-fast exchange.
The strength and force delivery of that punch had been extremely peculiar. He had barely managed to neutralize it using the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and the characteristics of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had indeed shown themselves in the process...
It was not entirely impossible that a trace had been noticed.
The explanation was barely plausible.
But...
Was that really all?
The string of suspicion in Tang San's heart remained taut.
He gave Ling Feng a long look, seemingly trying to find even the slightest flaw in his expression.
Ling Feng controlled his expression perfectly, showing nothing but post-battle calm and a hint of fact-based analysis.
There was nothing unusual to see.
Silence fell again.
This time, however, the atmosphere shifted from a confrontation ready to erupt at a touch to a kind of unspoken wariness and scrutiny.
"Your strength and the way you deliver it are unusual too," Tang San said slowly. His tone had regained its calm, but its probing quality had not diminished at all.
He lightly tossed the question back.
Ling Feng smiled inwardly, knowing he had cleared this hurdle for now.
He shrugged, his tone relaxing a little. "I was just born a bit stronger. As for how I deliver force... I figured it out by messing around. It can't compare to your exquisite footwork."
He steered the conversation back toward Tang San, taking the opportunity to "praise" his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
It both displayed his "candor" and hinted that the other party had secrets too; they were no different from each other.
Sure enough, Tang San's gaze shifted slightly, and he stopped questioning him.
Some things only needed a hint.
Digging down to the roots would do neither of them any good.
"It's late." Tang San glanced at the open window on the library's second floor, then looked back at Ling Feng. "We should head back."
He turned first, and after a few bounds, his figure merged into the academy's shadows and soon vanished.
Ling Feng stood where he was, gazing deeply in the direction he had disappeared.
His first proper clash with Tang San could be considered a draw.
Both had grown suspicious, but neither had torn away the veneer of civility.
This delicate balance could hold for now.
He withdrew his gaze, turned, and quickly returned to Dorm Seven.
Over the next few days, life at the academy seemed to return to normal.
Classes, meals, cultivation.
Ling Feng continued to keep a low profile.
But he could feel more eyes watching him in secret.
Tang San's occasional scrutinizing glances.
Xiao Wu's increasingly undisguised curiosity.
Even some older students pointed and whispered when they passed him.
Word of his "Innate Full Soul Power" and "rejection of Grandmaster" had clearly spread within a small circle.
Ling Feng paid it no mind.
He followed his plan step by step.
He attended classes during the day and made the most of his nights cultivating Soul Power and absorbing the system's rewards.
He constantly rehearsed and worked through the complete Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique in his mind.
Although he could not actually practice swinging a hammer, its force-delivery techniques and methods of circulating Soul Power were gradually becoming instinctive.
He needed a new check-in location to obtain more resources and accelerate his growth.
One morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Ling Feng rose early as usual and went to the academy's training ground.
The vast training ground was deserted, with only the thin morning mist drifting slowly.
The air was fresh and crisp.
He took a deep breath and began jogging along the track to warm up.
At the same time, he said silently, System, check in at the training ground.
[Ding! Host detected at a new location: Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy training ground. Check in?]
Yes.
[Ding! Check-in successful! Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: Improved Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track (usable without the Mysterious Heaven Skill)!]
Boom!
Another immense torrent of information flooded his mind!
Unlike the fierce, domineering Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, this was a wealth of exquisite insights into steps, dodges, turns, and evasive movements!
How to evade attacks with the smallest movements, how to weave through terrain at extreme speed, how to create illusions to confuse an opponent...
All the mysteries of movement techniques became clear to him in an instant!
Moreover, with the system's improvements, this profound footwork, which originally required the internal power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, could actually be executed perfectly using only Soul Power!
None of its intricacy had been lost!
Awesome!
A brilliant gleam flashed in Ling Feng's eyes!
Just what I wanted, right when I wanted it!
With Chaotic Cloak for offense, a top-tier movement technique was exactly what I lacked!
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!
This was one of Tang San's trump-card lifesaving techniques in the early stages!
And now I'd mastered it so easily!
Unable to contain his excitement, he immediately tried executing it according to the insights in his mind.
His feet shifted, and his body seemed to lose its weight in an instant, becoming incredibly light and nimble.
Soul Power flowed naturally into his legs, circulating along a mysterious path.
Whoosh!
His figure abruptly blurred, leaving a faint afterimage where he had stood while his real body silently glided three meters away!
The movement was fluid and natural, without the slightest hitch!
It was as though he had practiced it countless times!
Delighted, Ling Feng let loose completely.
Driving his Soul Power, he unleashed the Improved Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track at full power!
On the empty training ground, his figure flitted unpredictably like a ghost!
At times, he was like willow fluff borne on the wind, skimming lightly over the ground without leaving a trace.
At times, he turned sharply like a nimble snake, weaving between several obstacles so quickly that he left only a blur of illusory images.
At times, he even split into two or three afterimages, impossible to distinguish from his real body, lunging in different directions at once-enough to dazzle any opponent!
Occasionally, he tried incorporating the force-delivery techniques of his newly acquired Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer into his footwork.
When he pushed off the ground with a sudden burst of force, his speed exploded like an arrow loosed from a bow!
Combined with the exquisite variations of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, it was like giving wings to a tiger!
He became completely immersed in the exhilaration of such speed and agility.
The more he practiced, the more naturally it came.
His figure wove and darted through the thin dawn mist like a phantom.
Just then.
At the edge of the training ground, behind a large tree.
A little head suddenly poked out.
With half a carrot still held between her rosy cheeks, a pair of large eyes widened into perfect circles, staring in disbelief at the ghostlike figure flitting unpredictably across the training ground, trailing afterimages.
It was Xiao Wu!
She habitually got up early to nibble carrots and take a stroll, never expecting to witness such an astonishing sight!
"Wow!"
She could not help letting out a quiet gasp, completely oblivious even when the carrot fell from her mouth.
"What... what incredible footwork!"
An agility-type Soul Master herself, she was extremely sensitive to movement techniques and speed.
At a glance, she could tell that the footwork Ling Feng was using was far more intricate than the movements of her Soft Skill!
It was absurdly fast! Absurdly bizarre!
Hearing the sound, Ling Feng stopped abruptly, going from extreme motion to perfect stillness in an instant as his sharp gaze swept toward its source.
Seeing Xiao Wu, his gaze softened slightly, and he reined in the Soul Power circulating throughout his body.
"You startled me!" Xiao Wu patted her little chest, but her eyes sparkled as though she had discovered a peerless treasure. She sprang out from behind the tree and rushed up to Ling Feng in a few steps.
Tilting her little face up, excitement and longing written all over it, she grabbed Ling Feng's arm and shook it vigorously.
"Ling Feng, Ling Feng! That thing you just did! That footwork where you swayed around and turned into several shadows! It's amazing!"
"Teach me! Please teach me! Hurry and teach me!"