Before Feng Lingtian could even figure out that Su Ran was calling Su Mei'er" sister," Ji Ning's changes had already begun.
Ji Ning channeled his Soul Power, and the Hummingbird Martial Soul appeared behind him—the small, swift, emerald-green phantom transformed into a dark gray swallow, its size increasing. He grew half an inch taller, appearing much more robust, losing his usual sharpness and gaining the solid, ordinary feel of a Agility Attack System Soul Master. He drew his short blade, twirled it in his hand, and then sheathed it, looking at Feng Lingtian: "Will the rhythm of my Soul Skill be affected?"
"The way the Soul Skill itself operates remains the same; only the appearance has changed," Feng Lingtian said. "The pace of the short blade attack remains the same." Ji Ning nodded, and the speed at which he drew his sword was a few degrees faster than usual.
Zhong Yue's transformation was slower than the others. Several breaths passed after he activated his Soul Power before the phantom of the Wind Armor Black Tortoise slowly appeared. The cyan wind patterns that had flowed on the turtle shell turned dark brown, and the patterns on the shell plates were simplified, making it look like an ordinary wind turtle. His shoulders and back were thicker, and his whole body resembled a compacted brick.
Zhong Yue raised his hand and touched the newly formed tortoise-shell pattern on his shoulder, saying, "I don't feel anything."
"As long as the enemy doesn't recognize you," Feng Lingtian chuckled.
Zhong Yue nodded and said nothing more. Su Ran took a deep breath and swallowed the pill.
Su Ran's fingers trembled with nervousness as he swallowed the pill. A moment later, he activated his Soul Power, and a stalk of Wind Grain appeared in his palm—the originally pale blue ears of rice turned into ordinary yellowish-green, looking at first glance like wild rice that could be seen everywhere on the ridges of a field. He tried to release his first Soul Skill, chanting " Wind Grain, live," and a stalk of rice condensed in his palm, its appearance changing from emerald green to withered yellow.
"Even the things produced by Soul Skill incantations can be transformed?" Su Ran stared wide-eyed at the withered yellow ear of rice in her hand, then looked at Su Mei'er, and blurted out, "Sister, my ear of rice has become as ugly as you!"
Su Mei'er raised her hand and slapped the back of his head. "Who are you calling ugly?" Su Ran covered the back of his head, but his mouth was still grinning.
It was Bai Yu's turn. Bai Yu held the Wind Chime, took a deep breath, and deftly swallowed the pill.
A moment later, she channeled her Soul Power, and the Wind Chime in her hand trembled slightly—the faint wind patterns flowing across the pale golden bell disappeared, turning into an ordinary silver-white copper bell. She shook the bell; the sound was crisp and clear. The faint golden luster was gone, but the precision remained. "The precision is still there." Bai Yu a sigh of relief and shook the bell again to confirm.
Feng Xiaotian activated his martial Martial Soul one last time. The phantom of the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf appeared behind him—its two heads became a single head, and the azure wind patterns turned dark gold. He himself had also changed; he had grown taller and looked five or six years older than his actual age. "Two heads to one head, even his size has changed," Feng Xiaotian exclaimed.
Feng Lingtian's eyes shone brightly, " The Gale Twin-Headed Wolf is too conspicuous in Godwind City. If you become a one-headed wolf, no one will guess it's you."
Feng Xiaotian withdrew his Martial Soul: "Where's the Soul Power aura?" Ji Ning closed his eyes and sensed for a few moments, then frowned. "I can feel the Soul Power fluctuations, but I can't tell whose it is. I can't even recognize the captain's."
"How long will the effect last?" Feng Xiaotian asked. Feng Lingtian calculated the rate at which the medicine would metabolize: "One pill lasts about twelve hours. Take one in the morning, and it should last until evening." "That's enough. Let's finish refining the rest tonight, and the whole team can take the pills first thing tomorrow morning and re-enter the Soul Fighting Arena."
That evening, Feng Lingtian returned to the hut, used all the remaining medicinal herbs, and refined two more batches. At dawn, seven emerald green pills were neatly arranged on the wooden table, each one translucent.
On the trial grounds at dawn, thirteen people stood in two rows. Feng Lingtian distributed the pills one by one—thirteen pills this time, one for each person. The effects of the pills on the six people who tested them yesterday had worn off, and they had returned to their original state; they needed to take them again today.
Jiang Lin took the pill, glanced at it with his Spirit Eyes, and nodded slightly, saying that the medicinal properties were evenly distributed; Cheng Luo took it, smelled it, and said, "The proportion of the Wind Attribute catalyst is more stable than yesterday's pill"; Lu Hanxiao took the pill, glanced at it, and swallowed it directly.
The thirteen people took the medicine in turn. A moment later, the team standing on the trial ground was no longer the familiar team from the Godwind Academy —everyone had changed, some were taller, some were shorter, some were fatter, some were thinner, and the appearance of their Martial Soul was also different.
Su Mei'er looked down at her own figure, then glanced at the entire team, and suddenly said, "Wait a minute. The Illusory Form Pill can change Martial Soul, auras, and appearances, but what about our faces? People who know us will still recognize us."
Feng Lingtian was taken aback. For the past three days, his mind had been preoccupied with the ratio of medicinal properties and the catalysis of Soul Power, and he hadn't considered this point.
Seeing his expression, Su Mei'er smiled, "I knew you hadn't thought of that. Then we'll have to wear masks—one for each of us, to cover our faces. As for the style, just choose what you like. Anyway, in the Soul Fighting Arena, this is the mask people will remember."
"Now that we have masks, shouldn't we change how we address each other?" Lu Hanxiao rarely spoke up, his voice not loud, but everyone heard him. "We definitely can't use real names anymore. Everyone will have a code name, and the masks will be designed according to the characteristics of that code name. From now on, in the Soul Fighting Arena, we'll only call each other by our code names."
Feng Xiaotian nodded, clearly approving of the plan. He glanced at the entire team, then spoke after a moment, "From today onwards, our team will be known as ' Nameless ' to the outside world. As for individual code names, you can think of them yourselves—tell me when you've decided."
The training grounds became lively. Shi Yan was the first to look at Zhong Yue: "You're a Xuan Turtle, so your mask must have tortoise shell patterns, right? Your code name is Yue?" Zhong Yue didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, which was considered an admission. Bai Yu whispered to Ye Qingyu, "I want to be called Ling." Ye Qingyu thought for a moment, "Then I'll be called Qin."
Ji Ning sat on the stone steps, having already drawn his short blade and twirled it twice in his hand, staring intently at the reflection on the blade, probably already pondering how to carve the hummingbird pattern on the mask. Lu Hanxiao leaned against the railing, glancing sideways at Lu Qing: "A sickle?" Lu Qing hummed in response. Their conversation was always the shortest in the entire event.
Su Mei'er leaned against the stone railing with her arms crossed, a smile playing on her lips. She was the one who suggested the masks, Lu Hanxiao provided the code names, Feng Xiaotian gave the final approval, and the whole team responded. She felt very pleased with herself.
She turned her head, her gaze passing over the still-discussing crowd, and landing on Feng Lingtian. Feng Lingtian was squatting beside the stone steps, putting the last emerald green pill into his Storage Soul Tool, looking disheveled as if he hadn't slept for three days.
Su Mei'er walked over and squatted down next to him, speaking very softly, but the smile on her lips was impossible to hide.
"Hey," Su Mei'er said softly, a hint of a smile playing on her lips, "Have you decided on a code name yet?"
Feng Lingtian looked up and met her gaze. Morning light filtered through the treetops on the east side of the training ground, illuminating Su Mei'er's face and highlighting the upturned corners of her mouth. He paused for a moment, then smiled. "Falcon."
"The falcon," he said, then countered with, "And you?"
Su Mei'er hadn't expected him to ask a question. She paused, then turned her head away, pretending to look at the trees on the distant hill behind the house. "I won't tell you."
Feng Lingtian looked at her deliberately turned profile and a slight smile played on his lips.
After everyone had chosen their code names, Feng Xiaotian glanced at the twelve faces in front of him that were no longer very familiar, and nodded.
"I'm going to town today to order a mask. The crafting process will take time; I'll pick it up first thing tomorrow morning. Then I'll take the pill, put on the mask, and re-enter the Soul Fighting Arena."