Lin Xiao had roughly guessed Shangguan Qing's identity and wanted to learn more about the Ordinary Alliance through her, but recently, she had been nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly changing his approach to seek her out might arouse suspicion, so Lin Xiao decided to let it go for now, instead immersing himself in the life of a student at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy.
"Boom—"
"Boom—"
Deafening roars echoed continuously in the soul tool testing area, waves of soul power rippling outward, only to be contained by the soul tool barriers set up around the area.
On the wide arena, Lin Xiao raised both arms, a dozen beams of light fanning out to envelop the figure opposite him.
Seeing that he had completely cut off his opponent's escape routes, a flash of light gleamed from his arms. The soul tool rays transformed into a soul tool cannon, and a dazzling beam shot across half the arena, charging straight toward his opponent.
"I surrender!"
The student across from him, realizing they were outmatched, hurriedly called out. Lin Xiao's eyes flickered, and the beam he had fired subtly veered off, landing to the side.
The student let out a sigh of relief, nodded at Lin Xiao, and then leapt off the arena.
With a metallic clanging sound, Lin Xiao retracted the soul tool on his arm, its original form no longer discernible.
After these days of study, Lin Xiao had finally begun to resemble a true soul engineer. He could now effortlessly switch between various soul tool rays and cannons, his control far more refined than when he had faced the Gold Devouring Beast.
Looking back, the way he had recklessly poured soul power into the device back then had indeed been overly crude.
Stepping off the arena, he exhaled lightly, his soul power gradually calming within him. Feeling the changes in his body, Lin Xiao frowned slightly.
Lin Jiayi had mentioned more than once that his mental power surpassed that of an ordinary soul master, and Lin Xiao himself found manipulating soul tools and inscribing arrays to be less challenging than expected. The attack method he had just used, with the experience from his first soul skill, required only a little practice to master completely.
Yet, despite this, he could never grasp the sensation Lin Jiayi described of merging mental power with soul tools.
Moreover, with memories from his past life, Lin Xiao had experimented with various cultivation methods. He hadn't overlooked ingredients or medicines that could enhance a soul master's strength, nor had he neglected tempering his meridians with soul power.
But whenever it came to mental power, he always felt something was lacking.
Since he began cultivating, he had tried combining mental power with soul power, but to no avail. Though he didn't possess a technique like Mu En's Sovereign Descent, Ji Juechen had managed to develop a similar method from scratch. Knowing the principles, it shouldn't have been this difficult for him.
Lin Xiao didn't consider himself foolish. Whether in cultivation or combat, his current achievements at his level already surpassed most people on this continent. Moreover, his martial soul was tied to the soul, so his use of mental power shouldn't be this sluggish.
Did he truly need to witness it firsthand to understand its secrets?
"Lin Xiao."
Lin Jiayi's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Teacher."
"Your first-level soul engineer badge has been issued. Want to try it on?"
Lin Xiao took the gleaming badge, glanced at the single star on it, and shook his head. "No, thanks."
He had previously created the core array for a first-level soul tool, and forging components was even simpler. Now, he could independently craft a first-level soul tool cannon.
By soul engineer standards, he naturally qualified as a first-level soul engineer. However, becoming a first-level soul engineer with fifty-four levels of soul power wasn't exactly something to boast about.
Lin Jiayi seemed to sense his thoughts. "Don't worry. With your talent, you'll catch up quickly."
"Thank you, Teacher." Lin Xiao nodded, his expression suddenly shifting slightly. "Teacher, if there's nothing else, I'll head back."
"Alright."
Returning to his dormitory, Lin Xiao checked the time, locked his door, and took inventory of his equipment. When the moon reached its zenith, his door opened silently.
Under the cover of night, Lin Xiao, clad in a black cloak, crouched on the roof of a tall building. Beside him was a pink soul tool lamp used for decoration. Through a window not fully closed, faint, indulgent sounds drifted out.
Glancing into the dark distance, Lin Xiao let out a small sigh of relief.
He hadn't expected the Holy Spirit Cult to move so quickly. Just days ago, they had mentioned interfering with Mingdu's underground trade, and today, they had summoned him to act.
During his earlier conversation with Lin Jiayi, it was Nightmare Douluo's voice in his ear that had caused his expression to change. It seemed Nightmare Douluo had been within the Sun Moon Imperial Academy at the time.
For the Holy Spirit Cult, direct action was always the first choice—not only to achieve their goals but also to harvest a batch of "cultivation materials." Now, with Xu Jing's support, they acted with even greater audacity.
As Lin Xiao was lost in thought, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
Something was wrong.
His past experiences allowed him to sense something instantly. Though he couldn't tell what was behind him, he reacted instinctively, spinning around. His left arm extended forward, glowing with silver-gray light, while the Higanbana flower in his right hand bloomed.
In his haste, he had no time to conceal the existence of his soul bone.
"Clang—"
The sound of metal clashing rang out. A dark red dagger suddenly appeared from the shadows but stopped dead upon contact with Lin Xiao's left arm, unable to advance further.
Even now, Lin Xiao couldn't clearly see who was attacking him, but his first soul ring instantly lit up. Countless dark red seeds surged toward the darkness.
"Hmph—"
The Higanbana seeds seemed to hit something, and a muffled grunt came from the shadows as the dagger was withdrawn.
But before Lin Xiao could turn, the dagger that had just retreated reappeared behind him.
Without looking back, Lin Xiao swung his left hand behind him. The silver-gray light flared again, a thin barrier like metal blocking the sneak attack entirely.
His left palm clenched lightly, and the silver-gray light transformed, snapping shut like sharp teeth to trap the dagger.
Lin Xiao spun around, finally catching sight of his assailant.
To say he saw them clearly wasn't entirely accurate, but he at least made out a pitch-black figure standing behind him, its legs seemingly melded into the rooftop, as if emerging from the shadows.
Though he didn't yet know the attacker's martial soul, it was surely related to shadows.
Glancing around, Lin Xiao tapped his foot, and the light of a soul tool thruster flared behind him, propelling him under the illumination of the soul tool lamp.
Under the interplay of moonlight and the lamp's glow, the shadow beneath him faded slightly, and the figure of the attacker gradually emerged.
"Who's there?"
A nearby window suddenly opened, and as Lin Xiao turned, his eyes met two pairs staring back from within the room.