Chapter 52: Familiar Interception, Xue Sheng's Concern
Tianlin rushed to the infirmary and unexpectedly ran into someone there.
Inside the infirmary, besides the familiar school doctor, An Qing, Director Xue was there as well.
An Qing was not surprised to see Tianlin show up. This battle maniac was already a regular at the infirmary.
He set down what he was holding, stepped forward, and was just about to ask what had happened. But after getting a clear look at Tianlin's injuries, surprise immediately appeared in his eyes.
"Tianlin? Who did you go spar with this time to end up like this?"
Before Tianlin could answer, Director Xue, who was standing nearby, had already guessed most of the story after taking one glance at his injuries.
With a faint smile, he asked, "What, did you go find Lin Mo to spar again?"
Tianlin answered dejectedly, "Yeah."
He had long known he could not beat Lin Mo, but losing so miserably still left him feeling a bit shaken. He needed some time to recover from that crushing defeat.
As An Qing examined Tianlin's wounds, his attention was drawn to the layer of green ointment already applied over the burns.
His brows rose slightly in surprise.
"Oh? You finally got smarter today? You actually knew to treat the wounds first. This emergency treatment was done in time."
Tianlin honestly explained, "Lin Mo gave me the ointment. He said it was specifically for treating burns."
Hearing that, Director Xue froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Good grief. Before the spar even started, he had already prepared burn ointment for you in advance? He had clearly calculated that you were going to be burned badly."
An Qing at the side also smiled, but he quickly gave his professional judgment.
"The effect of this ointment is indeed quite good, and the emergency treatment was timely enough."
Then he turned to Xue Sheng and said jokingly, "Old Xue, since you're already here, I'll leave this one to you. When it comes to treating burns, your Snow Lotus Martial Soul is much faster than my methods."
Director Xue smiled helplessly, but he did not refuse.
"Alright. Looks like I really came to the infirmary at the perfect time today."
With a slight shift of thought, a snow lotus quietly appeared in his hand. At the same time, 6 Spirit Rings with the optimal ratio rose beneath his feet.
Soon, the green light Tianlin had seen before descended onto his body.
Under the treatment of the Snow Lotus Martial Soul, the burning pain all over Tianlin's body instantly vanished. In just a few breaths, most of his injuries had healed.
After finishing the treatment, Director Xue withdrew his Martial Soul and looked at Tianlin.
Then he asked the real question on his mind.
"Tell me, why are your injuries so serious this time? Although Lin Mo could beat you before, he usually held back much better than this."
"It has nothing to do with Lin Mo."
Tianlin shook his head helplessly.
"I was the one who went to find him. I wanted to use the pressure from fighting him to help me break through the bottleneck at rank 17."
"And Lin Mo seemed to have guessed what I was thinking from the start, so he directly used me to test his Self-created Spirit Skill…"
"Self-created Spirit Skill?"
The moment he heard that, Director Xue's eyes lit up.
"Tell me everything. What exactly happened during the spar?"
An Qing at the side also immediately pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
He had heard Xue Sheng mention before that an unusually strong new student had enrolled this year, and that student seemed to be called Lin Mo.
Without hiding anything, Tianlin described in detail how he had been trapped inside that strange Flame Vortex, how he had been unable to break free, and how his spirit power had been consumed at a terrifying speed.
He especially emphasized one point: when Charmander used that move, the Spirit Ring beneath its feet had not lit up at all.
The more Tianlin spoke, the more excited he became. Meanwhile, Director Xue's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
After all the afternoon classes ended, Director Xue and Tianlin went directly to the first-grade classroom and waited for Lin Mo outside.
The moment Lin Mo packed up his things and walked out of the classroom, he saw Director Xue and Tianlin standing there. He could not help freezing for a moment.
For an instant, this scene strangely reminded him of the time back at Nuoding Academy, when Tang San exposed the news about his Martial Soul and he ended up being blocked outside the classroom by Yu Xiaogang and Principal Wang Zongchang.
Before he could think further, Director Xue smiled and explained why he had come.
"Lin Mo, don't be nervous. I came to see you mainly because I heard from Tianlin about the newly developed… Self-created Spirit Skill you mentioned."
"I'm quite interested in it and want to see it with my own eyes."
After hearing that, Lin Mo quietly relaxed. As long as they were not here to cause trouble, it was fine.
He nodded and said, "Alright, Director Xue."
Then Lin Mo followed Director Xue and Tianlin all the way to a rather remote sparring ground within the academy.
Director Xue had chosen this location deliberately.
A Self-created Spirit Skill was also one of a Spirit Master's important trump cards. In some ways, it was no less important than the specific Spirit Abilities granted by one's rings, abilities known only to the Spirit Master themselves.
Lin Mo's willingness to show it in front of Tianlin earlier was likely because he trusted Tianlin's character and believed he would not spread the matter around carelessly.
From the perspective of a teacher, Xue Sheng felt responsible for helping Lin Mo protect that secret.
What he did not know was that neither Lin Mo nor Charmander regarded Flame Vortex as some hidden trump card that had to be carefully concealed.
Because the number of similar skills Charmander naturally possessed was far beyond what ordinary Spirit Masters could imagine.
You think this is my final trump card. In reality, it is only one of many practical skills.
Just like how, even now, no one besides Lin Mo himself knew what effect the first-ring ability, Molten Body, truly had after being granted to Charmander.
When they reached the center of the field, Lin Mo subconsciously glanced at Tianlin, who was standing beside Director Xue.
"Is Tianlin still going to test it with me?"
Tianlin's heart immediately jumped, and he almost reflexively shrank back.
Seeing that reaction, Director Xue could not help laughing.
"Lin Mo, stop looking at Tianlin. You already scared him today by burning him badly enough."
"How about this, use your Flame Vortex on me once instead. Let me personally experience what it does."
Hearing that, Lin Mo did not hesitate. He directly summoned Charmander and gave it an order.
"Charmander, use Flame Vortex on Director Xue."
Charmander did not hesitate at all. It took a deep breath and spat out a large, rapidly expanding mass of violently rotating flames.
The vortex instantly enveloped Director Xue.
Nothing gave a clearer understanding of a Spirit Ability's effect than personally experiencing it.
Director Xue gave a slight nod.
"The power of this skill is indeed very good, and the binding force produced by the rapid rotation of the flames is also quite effective."
"With this move, even if you claim to be a control-system Spirit Master in the future, there probably won't be many people who doubt it."
After personally testing the skill, a layer of not especially strong ice-blue spirit power suddenly burst from the surface of Director Xue's body, instantly extinguishing the Flame Vortex.
"Wuu…"
Seeing its move broken so easily, Charmander lowered its head in disappointment.
Lin Mo crouched down and rubbed its head in comfort.
"It's fine. Director Xue is a Spirit Emperor. The gap between us is too large. When we grow stronger in the future, this move will become even stronger."
Charmander rubbed its head against Lin Mo's palm, and its mood improved somewhat.
Director Xue walked over to Lin Mo and said in a serious tone, "Lin Mo, your Self-created Spirit Skill is indeed very practical."
He paused, then continued, "But even so, I still hope you will place your main focus on cultivating spirit power. I look forward to seeing you among the spirit-hunting team at the end of next semester."
That was also the real reason he had come to find Lin Mo after hearing from Tianlin that he had begun researching a Self-created Spirit Skill.
He did not want to see a student with such excellent talent delay his own spirit power cultivation because he had become too obsessed with developing Self-created Spirit Skills.
What surprised him slightly, however, was that from the fleeting spirit power fluctuations Charmander had just released, he could tell that Lin Mo and Charmander had improved again.
It was just that he could not accurately judge how much they had improved.
To know the exact spirit power rank, he would need to use a proper spirit power testing tool.
Lin Mo nodded and bowed to Director Xue.
"Thank you, Director Xue. I will cultivate diligently."
This was one of the main reasons he had chosen to come to Heaven Dou Intermediate Soul Master Academy in the first place.
With the academy's strength and channels, he could obtain Spirit Rings suited to his Martial Soul much more safely, without having to take the risk of going out and hunting on his own.
Still, no matter how sharp Xue Sheng's eyes were, he would never have imagined that Lin Mo's spirit power had already reached rank 19.
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