By the time Dugu Bo brought Feng Lingtian back to Godwind Academy, night had fully fallen. They stood outside the old training ground, and the corners of Feng Lingtian's mouth lifted involuntarily as he looked at the familiar door. He was about to push it open when he suddenly remembered Dugu Bo beside him. Hastily turning back, he lowered his voice. "Senior Dugu, this is an internal academy facility. It might be a little inconvenient for you to just walk in..."
Dugu Bo frowned and snorted. "I'm a Titled Douluo. Other academies might not manage to get me to visit even if they invited me, yet here you are, shooing me away?"
"I'm not shooing you away," Feng Lingtian said hurriedly. "Of course you can come in if you want, but-" He looked up at Dugu Bo and lowered his voice. "I want to surprise my teammates. Could you conceal your presence and follow me inside? Let them notice me first, then show yourself."
Dugu Bo looked down into Feng Lingtian's shining eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched. This brat started bargaining a second after compromising. Concealing his presence took no effort for a Titled Douluo, and playing along with this little trick did seem somewhat amusing. He reined in his Soul Power and stepped into the shadows, his presence instantly diminishing to almost nothing.
The corners of Feng Lingtian's mouth lifted slightly as he quietly pushed the door open.
On the training ground, his teammates were warming up with their backs to the entrance. Feng Xiaotian stood at the front, instructing Su Ran on correcting his movements. Feng Lingtian tiptoed up behind Zhong Yue, who was closest to him, and tapped his shoulder. Zhong Yue instinctively turned around. First, he saw Feng Lingtian's face and jumped back a step. Then his gaze swept over the emerald-green figure who had followed silently behind Feng Lingtian and now stood with his arms folded, and his pupils suddenly widened.
"Lingtian! When did you get back-and you brought Senior Poison Douluo?!"
Zhong Yue's words alerted everyone else. Feng Xiaotian strode toward his younger brother, briefly meeting Dugu Bo's gaze. Dugu Bo's emerald-green eyes swept over everyone, his tone flat.
"Don't mind me. Carry on with whatever you were doing."
Feng Xiaotian withdrew his gaze and reached out to ruffle his younger brother's hair. "You're back."
Feng Lingtian paused when he saw his older brother-Feng Xiaotian's Soul Power had grown more substantial than it had been over half a month ago, faintly holding down a force on the verge of spilling over.
"Brother, you've reached rank fifty?"
"I reached it half a month ago," Feng Xiaotian said. "I was waiting for you to get back before going."
Feng Lingtian nodded. His brother had always been like this-holding back his rank rather than rushing to break through, first honing his foundations until they were solid. From holding back his rank for two years back then to create Gale Flash Step himself, to now remaining at rank fifty without obtaining his fifth Soul Ring, Feng Xiaotian never rushed. He believed that the deeper the foundations, the farther one could go.
Feng Xiaotian briefly explained the team's situation. In the half month and more since Feng Lingtian had left, none of them had neglected their cultivation. Feng Xiaotian himself had broken through to rank fifty but held back from obtaining his fifth Soul Ring. Bai Yu had finally crossed the threshold of rank twenty. Everyone else had risen by one rank, all making steady progress.
After listening, Feng Lingtian asked Zhong Yue to bring over a low table, then took all the jade bottles out of his storage pouch and arranged them in a row on it. "From left to right, in order." He pointed to the first bottle. "This one is for Shi Yan. Impurities have suppressed his Bell Martial Soul for many years, so he needs improvement most urgently." He pointed to the second bottle. "This one is for our three Support System members, Ye Qingyu, Bai Yu, and Su Ran. How long you can hold out in a prolonged battle directly determines the entire team's staying power." Then he pointed to the third bottle. "This one is for Su Mei'er. I want to test something." Finally, he pointed to the remaining bottles. "These are for everyone else. Each of you will get a pill suited to you."
His teammates exchanged glances. No one spoke, but all their eyes brightened a little.
Feng Lingtian picked up the first bottle from the low table. "Shi Yan, you first. This contains an Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill. It can remedy flaws in a Martial Soul."
Shi Yan took the jade bottle and sat down on the ground, tipping his head back to swallow the pill. Moments later, the phantom of a large bronze bell appeared behind him, its surface covered in impurities and uneven bumps. As the medicinal power of the Origin-Returning Flaw-Mending Pill seeped into his Bell Martial Soul, those impurities began to crumble and spin, forming a small vortex. With each revolution, the bell's phantom grew a little brighter. Its originally dull bronze color began to fade, replaced by an extremely faint layer of blue-green wind patterns. Shi Yan opened his eyes, feeling the Soul Power within him surge upward, firmly breaking through to rank twenty-seven.
Standing at the edge of the training ground, Dugu Bo's emerald-green pupils contracted slightly. He said nothing, but his gaze had already shifted from Shi Yan to the remaining jade bottles on the low table.
Feng Lingtian picked up the second bottle from the low table. "This contains Nurturing Grace and Supporting Splendor Pills. They can overcome the cultivation limitations of the Support System and increase cultivation speed." He distributed the pills to the three of them. Ye Qingyu took hers first. The speed at which her fingertips plucked her zither strings improved considerably, and her Soul Power broke through to rank twenty-six. Bai Yu was next. After she took the Nurturing Grace and Supporting Splendor Pill, the lingering resonance of her handbell's chime grew noticeably longer, and the Soul Power within her surged upward again. Like Ye Qingyu, she could feel that her cultivation speed had increased substantially, and her Soul Power circulated more smoothly. As for exactly what rank she had reached, that would have to wait until she obtained her second Soul Ring. Last was Su Ran. The grains on the rice seedling in his palm were plumper than usual, and his Soul Power Level reached twenty-six. The three exchanged glances, each seeing surprise in the others' eyes.
Once the three had finished absorbing the pills, Feng Lingtian turned around, his gaze settling on Su Mei'er.
Su Mei'er was leaning against a wooden post at the edge of the training ground. When she saw him looking over, her lips curved slightly. "My turn? What did you say you wanted to test?"
Feng Lingtian picked up the third bottle from the low table, walked over, and handed it to her. "This is a Primordial Martial Awakening Pill · Fire, refined from Infernal Delicate Apricot-that Immortal Herb itself possessed Ultimate Fire. That fire tail in your Martial Soul-I want to see whether this pill can help it evolve into Ultimate Fire."
Su Mei'er took the jade bottle, pausing for a moment when her fingertips touched his palm. "A pill refined from such a precious Immortal Herb, and you're just giving it to me?"
"I refined it for you in the first place." Feng Lingtian paused after saying this, then added, "-To test the possibility of evolution into Ultimate Fire."
Su Mei'er raised her eyebrows but said nothing more, tilting her head back to swallow the pill. The instant it entered her stomach, the phantoms of two fox tails appeared behind her-the main tail blue-gray, the second scarlet. The medicinal power of the Primordial Martial Awakening Pill · Fire poured into the fire tail, and its scarlet hue began to deepen layer by layer, shifting from scarlet to deep red, then dark red. Finally, an extremely fine strand of crimson-gold patterning appeared within the dark-red flame's core. The fire tail grew somewhat more solid, and its searing heat made the surrounding air warp slightly. The Soul Power within her also broke through amid that wave of heat, reaching rank twenty-eight.
Su Mei'er opened her eyes and looked down at her palm. She channeled her Soul Power, and a cluster of dark-red flames sprang from her palm. That strand of crimson-gold patterning was clearly visible within the flames' core, and the temperature throughout the training ground instantly shot up. Su Mei'er looked at the flames in her palm, her lips curving slightly, then raised her eyes to Feng Lingtian.
"It seems your pill hasn't disappointed me."
Feng Lingtian looked at the strand of crimson-gold patterning within the flames in her palm and thought, This is the embryonic form of Ultimate Fire. Although there's only a single strand of crimson-gold patterning now, given time, as Su Mei'er's rank rises and her control over her fire tail deepens, this golden pattern will slowly spread, eventually allowing the entire fire tail to evolve into true Ultimate Fire. He suddenly thought of Huo Wu-that tsundere fire-attribute Soul Master with her fierce, explosive temper, who always thought herself invincible among those of the same attribute. Once Su Mei'er's Ultimate Fire reached full maturity, he could have her step up and knock Huo Wu's confidence down a peg the next time they met. With attribute suppression right there, she would have to concede whether she liked it or not. At this thought, the corners of Feng Lingtian's mouth lifted slightly.
Standing at the edge of the training ground, Dugu Bo watched that strand of crimson-gold patterning in the flames in Su Mei'er's palm, his emerald-green pupils contracting sharply. The embryonic form of Ultimate Fire. At her age and rank, she could actually manifest flames with an Ultimate Attribute. In all his years, he had seen countless geniuses, but this was his first time seeing anything like this. He suppressed the urge to step forward for a closer look and stayed put. His gaze fell on the two remaining bottles of pills on the low table, and he thought-Could all the remaining ones really work?