Half a year later.
Lu Ling had just finished his training as an exchange student in the Imperial Capital, utterly trouncing Imperial Capital Academy and getting to know Jiang Yu as well.
The magic college entrance examination was approaching, and this was also a crucial point in time.
Riding the Heavenly Star White Dragon, he flew to the outskirts of Bo City, then slowly descended, arriving at the place most familiar to him in this life.
The home where he had lived for ten years.
"Master, I'm back."
He had been away for two years, yet the house still looked just as it had before he left. A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the dining table; clearly, no one had used it in those two years.
Ye Xin Xia was not here. His master would never look after a wheelchair-bound cripple, so before leaving, Lu Ling had entrusted Ye Xin Xia to Mu Zhuoyun's care.
To think his master really had slept for two whole years. Was she actually an immortal?
In more than ten years, he had never seen his master display any ordinary human habits, other than sleeping.
Lu Ling shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. He walked to his master's bedroom door and knocked softly.
"Master?"
"Come in." His master's languid voice came from behind the door.
Only after hearing his master's voice did Lu Ling feel reassured.
He opened the door, and the first thing he saw was his master's smooth, jade-like calves. Wearing a long nightdress, she lay lazily on her side on the bed, her long, pale-golden hair covering almost the entire mattress. Her eyes were somewhat bleary; she looked every bit as though she had just woken up.
"You've grown up, Ling'er."
After casually looking him over, his master found Lu Ling more mature than she had imagined.
"Yes. Those two years were quite eventful." Lu Ling nodded.
"Intermediate Level Two, a Soul Seed..." The blonde girl saw through Lu Ling's current cultivation at a glance.
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened, and a suspicious look crossed her face.
"Try casting some Black Magic?"
"Black Magic? All right."
Lu Ling did not understand, but obediently did as she asked.
Of the magic he currently possessed, naturally, only the Shadow Element fit.
With a thought, a blood-colored ripple spread out like splashed ink.
Blood Shadow Dark Domain was the new ability his Shadow Element had gained after its transformation. Originally, Lu Ling's Shadow Element had contained a strange red hue. After it fully awakened, that red had directly transformed into a domain exclusive to his Shadow Element.
He casually traced a Star Path. Empowered by the Star Path's magical energy, sharp, blood-colored spikes burst from the ground, seemingly capable of piercing through anything!
Just as I thought, his master said inwardly.
It looked exactly as she had guessed.
"How... do you have my power?" his master asked.
"Your power?!" Lu Ling was dumbfounded. He had never imagined this was his master's power! The only time he had ever seen her act, she had used that single Demon Judgment Sword move, nothing more.
Could the blood-red hue attached to his Shadow Element be a characteristic imprinted on a magic element, just like the Ice Crystal Bow and Vermilion Bird Fire?!
Over the years, he had indeed had plenty of contact with his master, fulfilling the condition he had previously hypothesized: contact.
Both the forbidden Ice Bow and Vermilion Bird Fire were things he had come into contact with before.
His master said nothing and simply closed her eyes.
The next moment, an even stronger blood-colored ripple spread out. An endless aura of darkness filled the room, and blood-red spider lilies slowly grew, one after another, along the edge of the pristine white bed. They represented death, represented destruction.
They were of the very same nature as Lu Ling's blood-colored spikes just now!
"This is my power. I'm the only person in this world who can use it." His master's gaze was certain, without the slightest hesitation.
"It really is... exactly the same." Lu Ling found it equally unbelievable. He then slowly recounted to his master how he had awakened his domain half a year ago.
"Inconceivable. There really is no end to the mysteries of this world. This is my first time encountering a... monster like you, too."
She, whom Uriel called a witch, was now calling the disciple she had picked up on the cheap a monster.
"Come here." His master beckoned, motioning for Lu Ling to sit beside the bed. "Let me see just how much potential a freak like you really has."
Then she gently pressed her forehead against Lu Ling's.
With a flash of light, she entered Lu Ling's spiritual world once again.
"This... really is magnificent. I wonder what a splendid palace this place will become when you reach the Forbidden Curse level."
Gazing at the Nebula here, the blonde girl's soul spoke slowly.
"Rumor has it that the Mu Clan in China's Imperial Capital is using forbidden arts to nurture a magic tool. I presume this belongs to that girl Mu Ningxue. Totem fire-this must be the fortuitous encounter you had during those two years. And this... the Parthenon Divine Soul."
"Ye Xin Xia actually carries the Parthenon Divine Soul? Could she be Wen Tai's daughter? You really have stumbled upon a treasure, boy."
As his master revealed more and more secrets, all Lu Ling felt was fear!
How does Master know so much!!!!? Just what kind of existence is she!?
"Master... how do you recognize all of them?"
"I've simply lived a little longer." The girl shook her head.
They returned to reality.
"I think you must be an existence even more powerful than a Calamity. You can 'learn' any power you've come into contact with, and keep accumulating them. The reason you didn't show this talent before was probably that your cultivation wasn't high enough."
What his master said was more or less the same as Lu Ling's own conjecture. As for any other characteristics, he would have to wait until his cultivation improved to discover them!
Hm?
Lu Ling was taken aback for a moment.
He discovered that his master had already drawn him into her arms, holding him like a child and gently stroking his back.
"Ling'er, don't display power that defies reason too much before the world. At least, not before you reach the Forbidden Curse level."
Lu Ling fell silent, feeling his master's warmth-the warmest haven he had known when he first arrived in this world.
"I know... Mother."
"Mm..." The blonde girl smiled in comfort and held him a little tighter.
Mu Family Manor.
On a bench, a black-haired girl sat with her eyes tightly shut, a faint glow circling between her hands. Clearly, she was meditating.
A mass of shadow crept to the girl's side, slowly revealing its original form.
White hair appeared. The youth sat quietly beside her, his gaze resting on her as he waited in silence for her cultivation to end.
After two years apart, Xin Xia had become even prettier.
Lu Ling studied her closely. She seemed to have grown a little plumper than two years ago. Hmm... a cup size plumper?
An hour later, Ye Xin Xia opened her eyes and saw a white-haired young man with a familiar face sitting on her bed, leafing through a book.
"Brother? Have I missed my brother so much that I'm hallucinating?" Ye Xin Xia murmured in disbelief.
"You're not hallucinating." Lu Ling raised his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Brother?!" Realizing that the person before her truly was Lu Ling, Ye Xin Xia's expression instantly shifted from calm to delighted surprise.
She stood straight up from the bench, letting her powerless legs send her falling into Lu Ling's arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as though she would never let go.
"I missed you so much!"