Chapter 182: Return to Spirit City
The Wuhun Hall prison had been raided, and Prince Xue Beng had been caught aiding the evil soul masters.
The incident caused a huge uproar in Heaven Dou City. Although Emperor Xue Ye publicly declared ignorance of his son's involvement, the royal family's reputation still suffered a blow.
However, the uproar soon subsided, overshadowed by the excitement of the upcoming finals of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament.
Emperor Xue Ye announced that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would represent the Heaven Dou Empire as a guest judge during the tournament.
Xue Qinghe's image within the capital had always been flawless—a model prince. The Emperor clearly intended to use his reputation to wash away the damage caused by Xue Beng's disgrace.
Three days later, all teams were assembled. Fifteen competing academies, along with their instructors and five hundred royal knights as escorts—a convoy of over a thousand—set out for the tournament's grand venue: Spirit City.
The journey from Heaven Dou City to Spirit City would take roughly twenty days. Among Shrek Academy's ranks, Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and Zhao Wuji were absent, the group led instead by Liu Erlong.
Luo Ling was not with them either; he had departed in advance for Spirit City.
…
After two years, Luo Ling once again stood before Spirit City.
At the Pope's Palace, several Titled Douluos were already present, waiting for him.
The members of the Golden Generation—Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan—were also in attendance. The moment Hu Liena saw Luo Ling, she could no longer contain her emotions and immediately threw herself into his arms.
The little fox's eyes were red and teary, filled with a trace of grievance, silently blaming him for never sending her a single letter in two years.
"Don't cry, I'm back now," Luo Ling said softly, gently patting her head, his voice tinged with guilt.
"So you do remember to come back?"
Two voices spoke at once—Hu Liena's petulant one, and Bibi Dong's cold one.
The former pouted in irritation, while the latter shot him a fierce glare.
Facing everyone's stares, Luo Ling could only smile helplessly. These past two years, he truly hadn't given Wuhun Hall much thought—his mind had been entirely focused on destroying Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
But precisely because of that, everything was ready. The grand play was about to begin.
"Elder Blood Thorn said you've already broken through to Soul Emperor—and even managed a Martial Soul Fusion with little Xue?" Qian Daoliu asked, his gaze sharp.
At his words, the surrounding Titled Douluos all showed curiosity.
Luo Ling possessed twin martial souls, neither related to Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel, yet he had managed to achieve a Martial Soul Fusion with her.
And now, at only fifteen years old, he had reached the Soul Emperor rank—a feat unheard of.
At once, multiple waves of spiritual pressure locked onto Luo Ling.
Luo Ling didn't bother hiding anything. His evolved Desire Demon martial soul merged seamlessly into his body.
Purple, purple, black, black, black, and red—six spirit rings rose up one by one. When the final scarlet hundred-thousand-year ring appeared, utter silence filled the Pope's Palace.
"This was formed when I fused two eighty-thousand-year rings after reaching Soul Emperor. They merged to become a single hundred-thousand-year ring," Luo Ling explained with a smile.
The Titled Douluos exchanged stunned glances—two eighty-thousand-year rings merging into a hundred-thousand-year one? If that was only his sixth ring, didn't it mean all future rings would do the same?
"Your martial soul seems… different," Bibi Dong remarked, sensing the change.
"Yes. My martial souls have nearly fused into one. When I activate it, I automatically enter a self-fusion state. However, my Crow Shadow Puppet can still be released externally."
Luo Ling nodded, and a jet-black figure materialized silently behind him.
"Now, whenever I use skills from either the Crow Shadow Puppet or the Soul of Desire, they automatically take effect in their fused form," he continued.
"From now on, when I acquire two new rings, they'll merge into one—enhancing both the year limit and skill power."
Bibi Dong's expression faltered with shock.
The changes within Luo Ling were dramatic. Previously, he needed to perform Martial Soul Fusion to reach his full potential—but now his base state was that fused form.
He'd eliminated the need for that costly process entirely. His most powerful techniques—those that demanded the fusion—were now innate.
Ordinarily, fusion techniques placed heavy strain on a soul master's body. Yet for him, that limitation was gone forever.
"Tell me about your fusion technique with little Xue," Qian Daoliu interjected, impatient and intrigued.
He cared less about Luo Ling's base strength than about his connection to Qian Renxue.
After all, Martial Soul Fusion required both soul compatibility and emotional resonance.
If Luo Ling and Qian Renxue could perform such a technique, their relationship clearly wasn't simple.
Qian Daoliu's expression twitched—like a father who'd just realized his precious cabbage had been stolen by a pig.
Meanwhile, still nestled in Luo Ling's arms, Hu Liena's cheeks puffed up with jealousy. She and Xie Yue shared a Martial Soul Fusion themselves, so she knew what that entailed.
Of course, she and her brother were siblings—that was different. But Luo Ling and Qian Renxue? They were far from related.
"Yes," Luo Ling admitted calmly. "We did produce a Martial Soul Fusion. The form is that of a Fallen Angel, with me as the dominant half. Together, we can fight a Titled Douluo to a standstill."
No doubt, Snake Lance and Blood Thorn Douluo had already reported as much to Qian Daoliu. The elder simply wanted the confirmation from Luo Ling himself.
The idea that two Soul Emperors could contend with a Titled Douluo shattered everyone's understanding.
Just then, a voice echoed from outside the hall.
"Your Holiness, there is a man outside claiming to be Yu Xiaogang. He bears the Pope's Seal and requests an audience."
Bibi Dong froze at the name.
Yu Xiaogang—a name she had nearly erased from memory. Her gaze shifted toward Luo Ling. She still remembered clearly that he had gone out two years ago to utterly ruin Yu Xiaogang's reputation.
Now, nearly the entire spirit master world knew Yu Xiaogang as a fraud who plagiarized others' theories. His disgrace with Tang San's Blue Silver Grass abilities during the fight against the Phantom Master had only deepened his shame.
Bibi Dong had honestly assumed Luo Ling had already killed him.
"Throw Yu Xiaogang out," Luo Ling said coldly before she could speak. "A pathetic thirty-something soul master with only three rings shouldn't have a Pope's Seal. Retrieve it while you're at it."
Yu Xiaogang's appearance was likely the same plot as before—seeking knowledge about cultivating twin martial souls.
Although there was no real secret behind it—anyone with sufficient physical endurance could manage both spirits—Luo Ling had no intention of letting him learn even that.
The archbishop at the door hesitated, glancing between Luo Ling and Bibi Dong.
She simply waved her hand indifferently. "Handle it as Luo Ling said."
(END CHAPTER)
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