"Damn it!" The blue-robed man began thinking of escape. With a sweep of his hand, more than a dozen Cursed Black Beast Demons leaped out of the darkness.
"Space Rhythm, Time Lag."
Invisible spatial ripples instantly spread outward, enveloping the blue-robed man and all the Cursed Black Beast Demons. They lost all ability to move at the same time.
Such powerful Space Element magic!
The blue-robed man inwardly sensed trouble.
"Mind Ripple, Stillness."
Just as the blue-robed man was considering his options, waves of pink Mind Ripples swept toward him, and drowsiness welled up within him.
"Wha..."
"Just putting this bastard to sleep would be letting him off far too easily."
So... Lu Ling crippled his Star River.
"Li Fire Domain."
"Ever-Burning Fire Seal."
All the Black Beast Demons burst into flames at the same instant, slowly perishing.
Meanwhile.
"My god, this young man's Summoned Beast is actually a... lesser dragon?" Arriving late, Night Hawk stared down in horror at the Black Vatican's miserable state. The methods used had been truly brutal; severed limbs and remains littered the scene as far as the eye could see.
The white dragon's aura was so formidable that even his heart quailed!
"Lu Ling, how are you?" Leng Qing rushed over and immediately began feeling him over.
"What could possibly have happened?" Lu Ling gave her a reassuring smile and caught the hand she had placed on him.
Leng Qing froze. Only then did she realize that her anxious concern seemed to have led her a little beyond the boundaries, and she hastily withdrew her hand.
"As long as you're all right."
"Here, I left you a live blue-robed man. I've already crippled his magic."
Leng Qing noticed the blue-robed man lying on the ground nearby.
Even though she had prepared herself, storm-tossed waves still surged through her heart!
This student, only nineteen years old, had actually destroyed most of the Black Vatican's strongholds in Magic City all by himself, and had even captured a blue-robed man alive?!
"You really are incredible." Leng Qing gave a helpless smile. Though she had a thousand words to say, at this moment she expressed herself in only the simplest terms.
During tonight's sweeping purge of the Black Vatican, the entire Magic Association's Enforcement Union had been supporting Lu Ling alone, merely handling the simplest cleanup and maintaining order!
"Leave the cleanup to the Magic Association's Enforcement Union. You won't be shortchanged on any of your bounties."
"I'm counting on you."
Jinyuan Apartment.
"That was awesome! We really caught the shadow beast! Let's celebrate properly tonight!"
It was already late at night when Ye Xin Xia and the other two returned. Following Lu Ling's tip, they had found the shadow beast and gone through a long capture operation before finally succeeding. That was why they had only returned so late.
"Aren't you tired at all? Why don't we rest first and celebrate tomorrow..."
"..."
"..."
Silence. Endless silence.
Seeing the living room lights on, the three had assumed it was Ding Yumian or Lu Ling. But what was going on with these twin sisters?!
They did not look like thieves, nor did the three sense any ill intent...
"May I ask... who you are?" Ye Xin Xia asked uncertainly, smiling.
"Lu Ling brought us back," Liu Ru said.
"...Lu Ling?" Ye Xin Xia's smile gradually stiffened.
Brother!!!!
Why do you always bring home women of unknown origins!!!
Some time later.
Click.
"What are you doing? Why's everyone gathered here?" Lu Ling returned with Netherworld to find a lively living room, with six women exchanging looks.
Hearing him, Ye Xin Xia immediately put on a cold expression and stared fixedly at Lu Ling, trying to find an answer on his face.
The look Ding Yumian gave Lu Ling was not quite right either.
Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu, the two later arrivals, were comparatively calm.
"Who are they?"
"We asked them, but they wouldn't tell us anything except that you brought them back!"
"Hmm?" Lu Ling raised an eyebrow and glanced at the sisters.
Liu Ru and Liu Xian looked hesitant, as though holding something back.
So that was it. Lu Ling had given them too little information before leaving, and they had never revealed that they were vampires.
"I did bring them back. They're vampires, and right now they have no way to survive in human society."
"Vampires?!" Everyone looked at the Liu sisters again, their faces filled with surprise and doubt.
"Mm... we thought Lu Ling didn't allow us to say anything before." Liu Xian nodded and said timidly, "We used to be human."
"...Why is there always something bizarre?" Ye Xin Xia slumped helplessly onto the sofa, as though life had lost its color.
The Main Campus assessment ended.
Much to Lu Ling's surprise, Ye Xin Xia and the others had actually won this Main Campus assessment!
From beginning to end, he had only given them a clue that the shadow beast liked beef. He had not interfered in anything else! It seemed they were quite capable.
Ding Yumian (Demon King's Protection): "?"
A few weeks later.
Inside the Three-Step Tower.
Lu Ling's cultivation in every element had reached saturation, while his mental strength still led the pack.
Aside from that, he had finally broken through the Advanced Level barriers of his various elements.
"Light, Shadow, Fire, Space, Chaos, Ice, Water-seven elements at the Advanced Level in total. Ambushing a few minor Super Level mages should be no problem now!" Lu Ling secretly rejoiced, already imagining certain scenes of himself looking dashing.
"Human, what is the meaning of this? Why hasn't your Summoning System broken through to the Advanced Level yet?!" Long Zhanye's voice thundered through his mental world.
"I've already done my best!" Lu Ling fell silent and sighed helplessly.
"I don't believe you! Why have all your other elements broken through to the Advanced Level? Only the Summoning System hasn't! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Long Zhanye refused to let it go. Clearly, seeing his other elements break through to the Advanced Level one after another had completely shattered her composure.
"I'm not lying to you. The Summoning System is what I cultivate most seriously. Besides, don't I still have three types of White Magic that haven't broken through to the Advanced Level?"
"Hurry up and break through!"
"I know, I know. Let me figure out the reason first..." Lu Ling sank into his memories.
Previously, apart from his Water Element with its innate Calamity, every one of his other elements had been stingy to the extreme, stubbornly refusing to break through. Yet now they had all broken through together... There was only one thing that had changed!
"Mental strength!?"
That was right. Although his cultivation had remained stagnant, the growth of his mental strength had never slowed!
By his estimate, it had already reached the Eighth Realm Middle Stage, and before long he would attain the Ninth Realm Stage. Under normal circumstances, even Fifth Realm mental strength might have been enough for him to cultivate to Advanced Level Third Tier, yet that was not the case.
But he was no ordinary person to begin with. His constitution was extremely unusual. Who else could draw a prize once a year like him?
There had already been signs when his Summoning System was at the Basic Level. Back then, he had only successfully connected to the Summoning Plane after reaching the Fifth Realm. That meant he might need even stronger mental strength to break through to the Advanced Level this time.