Seeing the Serpent Woman take action, Ling Xiao finally felt a sense of relief.
He didn't want to accidentally injure Meng Yiran and breed a deep-seated grudge with them. Although Spirit Hall possessed immense power, he would have felt truly guilty if he had actually hurt her.
However, at this moment, a trace of solemnity flickered across the Serpent Woman's face. She realized that her Soul Skill, Serpent Devour, had not yet neutralized the young boy's attack.
In the middle of the purple serpent's body, intense energy fluctuations surged. Suddenly, a burst of golden light erupted from the center, shining through the translucent purple scales before slowly dissipating.
What a formidable first Soul Skill.
Even though she hadn't taken the strike seriously and hadn't fully mobilized the source power of her Martial Soul, she was still a Soul Emperor level powerhouse. Even a sliver of her power should have been enough to instant-kill any one-ring Soul Master.
As expected of a soul ring produced by a Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, the Serpent Woman, Chao Tianxiang, thought secretly.
"Hahaha! What a Soul Skill, what a Metal Revolution!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes were filled with joy as he spoke with great satisfaction. It seemed his immense effort spent entangling that Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear had not been in vain.
Retracting his Profound Sky Axe Martial Soul, Ling Xiao stepped forward somewhat awkwardly and asked, "Meng Yiran, are you alright?"
At this moment, Meng Yiran felt a bit despondent. She hadn't expected the power gap between their Soul Skills to be so vast. She realized she had truly been like a "frog at the bottom of a well," narrow-minded in her view of the world.
Hearing his voice, Meng Yiran forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
Pausing for a moment, as if remembering her grandfather and grandmother and realizing she wasn't without backing, a spark of confidence returned to her eyes.
"Ling Xiao, I lost this time. But I won't keep losing. The next time we meet, I definitely want to compete with you again."
"No problem, I'll be waiting for your challenge."
Ling Xiao didn't mind at all.
Currently, he viewed Tang San as his true rival; if he couldn't even stay ahead of Meng Yiran, how could he talk about changing the ultimate fate of Spirit Hall?
"However, if you lose then, don't go crying about it," Ling Xiao teased, seeing that her mindset had stabilized.
"Hmph, I won't!"
The Dragon Duke and Serpent Woman watched the two youngsters, shaking their heads with a laugh. Having witnessed the Soul Skill, they had no further business here and it was time to depart.
"Alright, Yiran, it's time to go home."
"Mm."
Meng Yiran agreed, waved goodbye to Ling Xiao, and left.
Seeing them depart, Ling Xiao stopped paying them much attention. He raised his right hand, his palm glowing once more with the light of soul power. Looking at that dark-red radiance, Ling Xiao felt a growing obsession with the sensation of unleashing his power to defeat an opponent.
The feeling was simply wonderful, leaving him somewhat intoxicated. Of course, it would be even better if the opponents were a bit stronger.
"Alright, kid Ling, the soul ring absorption is complete. It's time for us to head back too," Chrysanthemum Douluo called out to him.
Several days later, in front of the main gates of the Spirit Hall Academy, Ling Xiao looked up at the large characters on the academy plaque, his lips twitching slightly. He hadn't expected that once Chrysanthemum Douluo returned to Spirit City, he would be so irresponsible.
The man had dropped him directly at the academy gates and left with his men, claiming he needed to report the situation to His Holiness the Pope. Most importantly, he hadn't left a single person behind to guide him.
Ling Xiao deeply suspected the guy had done it on purpose.
"Whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'll just go in and look around first," Ling Xiao muttered to himself, shaking his head helplessly as he walked inside.
"Speaking of which, that little girl Hu Liena arrived at the academy ten days before me. She should be quite familiar with the place. It would be great if I could find her."
While Ling Xiao was grumbling to himself, over near the Arena District within the Spirit Hall Academy, Xie Yue was taking Hu Liena to watch various battles on the platforms.
Recently, he had discovered that although Nana was a girl, she wasn't afraid of or repulsed by combat at all. On the contrary, she showed great interest.
He had spent a lot of time taking her around the academy to help her familiarize herself with the environment, and he noticed her personality had changed slightly compared to two years ago.
She was no longer as timid.
It seemed the awakening of her Martial Soul, combined with being taken as a disciple by the Pope, had influenced her. She had become more confident, lively, and increasingly playful.
Still, this is a good thing, Xie Yue thought.
Watching a senior student—who was quite a bit older than her brother—defeat an opponent, Hu Liena got caught up in the excitement of the crowd. She clenched her small fists and said happily, "This is so interesting! Brother, when will I be that strong?"
Hearing his sister's question, Xie Yue smiled and said earnestly, "Don't be impatient. With your talent, as long as you cultivate hard, your cultivation level will rise very quickly in the early stages."
"Perhaps you'll even catch up to me and Yan in the future. Don't look at us having cultivated two years longer than you; there is still a difference between a Rank 10 Innate Full Soul Power and Rank 9 Soul Power."
Frowning slightly as he considered it, Xie Yue continued, "Your Charming Fox Martial Soul is also excellent, but we need the Pope to consider your future cultivation path. After all, she is your teacher."
"Hmph!"
As soon as Xie Yue finished speaking, a cold snort sounded.
Yan walked up from behind the two of them. Dressed in fire-red lavish robes, his expression carried a hint of arrogance.
He shook his fist and curled his lip.
"What do you mean 'a difference'? I, Yan, have never been weaker than anyone!"
"So what if it's Innate Full Soul Power? I don't believe that alone is enough to catch up to my cultivation. When that guy with Innate Full Soul Power finally arrives, I'm definitely going to show him how formidable I am."
Hearing these proud and cocky words, Xie Yue had long since grown accustomed to it. He spread his hands with a helpless smile.
Even Hu Liena pouted, saying, "Ugh, it's you again, you arrogant guy. What, have you already forgotten about losing to my brother last time?"
"..." Yan's face went dark. Being reminded of that by Hu Liena, he felt like a deflated balloon and could only manage another cold snort to save face.
However, as if the heavens wanted to play a joke, a shout suddenly rang out from the side of the arena:
"Hu Liena!!!"
Hu Liena was startled, wondering, Who is calling me?
Turning her head, she saw a youth dressed in plain cloth clothes with a red scarf tied around his neck standing at the arena entrance, waving his right hand toward her.
"Ah! It's Ling Xiao! He's back!"
The corners of Hu Liena's mouth curled up unconsciously into a smile. She waved back and called out in a clear voice, "Ling Xiao! I'm over here, come over quickly!"
Ling Xiao ran over rapidly.
He had just circled the academy several times and nearly gotten lost; he was truly feeling dizzy. He really hadn't expected the overall scale of the Spirit Hall Academy to be this massive. Honestly, if this were Shrek Academy, he guaranteed he wouldn't have lost his way.
After wandering around aimlessly, Ling Xiao had somehow stumbled into the Arena District.
To his surprise, he had run into Hu Liena. Now, he finally had a guide.