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Upon hearing the voice, the four turned to see an elderly man in luxurious robes slowly approaching. This was none other than the long-absent headmaster of Nuoding Academy, a figure rarely seen even within the academy.
Seeing the newcomer, Yu Xiaogang immediately relaxed. Though he had appeared tough just moments ago, he had a clear understanding of his own combat abilities. From the perspective of a soul master, Ye Wen's wind element completely countered his fart-based soul skill.
Now that a friend with Soul Ancestor-level strength had arrived to back him up, he no longer feared losing face in front of his disciple.
(P.S.: Although he had already lost face earlier when hunting for his first spirit ring.)
Upon seeing the headmaster, Ye Wen furrowed his brow slightly. Though he wasn't afraid of the man, after careful consideration, he didn't want to completely sever ties with this master and disciple duo just yet. He retracted his stance and said:
"Since the principal has stepped in, I'll naturally show respect. Xiao Wu, let's go."
With that, Ye Wen turned and left with Xiao Wu. Seeing Ye Wen leave without further entanglement, the principal also sighed in relief.
Though he hadn't witnessed the entire fight, Yu Xiaogang stepping in itself was already bullying behavior, making him clearly in the wrong. Moreover, while he could act arrogantly within Nuoding City, it didn't mean he was foolish enough to offend the Huo family backing Ye Wen.
The principal glanced at Yu Xiaogang, shook his head lightly, and sighed, "Xiaogang, stop pursuing that child. He has the support of a Soul Douluo. Besides, your disciple is about to graduate soon. Focus on planning their future path after graduation. I won't say more."
With that, the principal turned and left without a second glance.
Although Yu Xiaogang claimed to be friends with the principal, that friendship dated back to his younger days when he'd briefly connected with the man through Flender and Liu Erlong's influence. Coupled with his noble background, the principal of Nuoding Academy had tolerated him all these years.
But after decades of freeloading—eating, living, and taking without contributing anything—Yu Xiaogang had long since exhausted any respect or goodwill. This intervention by the principal marked the final straw in their strained relationship.
Yu Xiaogang clearly sensed the underlying meaning in the principal's words, his face darkening. But with the situation as it was, he couldn't say much more and could only leave in disgrace, dragging Tang San along.
Thus, this invitation ended on bad terms for both sides.
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Six months passed in the blink of an eye. With the help of Huo Rui, Ye Wen obtained his third spirit ring—a thousand-year ring from an earth-attribute pseudo-dragon spirit beast.
As expected, the soul skill granted was control over earth elements.
This development fully confirmed that Ye Wen was walking the same path as the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena—the path of elemental mastery.
For Ye Wen, Huo Yu'er, and Xiao Wu, graduating from a junior academy held little significance. After completing his spirit ring hunt, the trio chose to graduate independently.
By now, all three had reached the rank of Soul Elder, far surpassing the graduation requirements of junior academies. Staying any longer would have been a waste of time. Additionally, graduating alongside Tang San felt awkward, so the three simply left.
After much deliberation, Ye Wen decided that they would travel incognito, avoiding enrollment in any advanced academy. Instead, they would become wandering soul masters, cultivating while challenging spirit arenas in various cities to gain combat experience.
Before embarking on this journey, Ye Wen carefully resolved the issue of Xiao Wu's spirit beast aura.
First, he subtly probed Huo Rui, asking if she noticed anything unusual about Xiao Wu's aura and inquiring about the concept of spirit beast auras.
The answers brought him joy: even with her full attention, Huo Rui hadn't detected anything unusual about Xiao Wu.
Through this, Ye Wen also learned what a spirit beast aura truly was.
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Every soul master's soul power aura was unique. Even with the same martial soul, differences arose due to the varying spirit rings layered onto them over time. Therefore, there was no reason why spirit beasts should inherently possess a particularly distinctive aura.
The reason ten-thousand-year spirit beasts in human form were detectable by Soul Douluo or Title Douluo was because the soul power aura emitted by these transformed beasts differed fundamentally from all other soul-powered life forms.
Ordinary soul-powered life forms exhibited a unified and cohesive aura.
However, ten-thousand-year spirit beasts in human form were different.
Their transformation didn't signify the loss of their original cultivation. Instead, their prior soul power remained dormant within their bodies in another form, which allowed them to autonomously condense spirit rings before reaching the Soul Sage level.
This latent power could only be accessed during spirit ring formation, remaining silent and inactive otherwise.
Simultaneously, the transformed spirit beast had to start cultivating anew, resulting in a stark contrast between their weak current soul power and the immense but dormant cultivation within them.
Weaker soul masters couldn't detect this discrepancy, but upon breaking through to Soul Elder, a soul master's spiritual power experienced a qualitative leap. If they focused closely on a transformed spirit beast, they could sense anomalies in its soul power—though casual observation wouldn't reveal anything.
For Title Douluo-level experts, whose spiritual power was even more refined, such anomalies became noticeable even without close scrutiny. Any use of soul power by a transformed spirit beast would trigger this awareness.
Based on this theory, Ye Wen drew a conclusion.
If transformed spirit beasts gradually assimilated their latent cultivation into newly formed spirit rings, wouldn't this mean their innate spirit beast essence would weaken over time? Eventually, their aura would align with their new soul power, merging into one cohesive whole. Thus, upon reaching the Soul Emperor level and entering maturity, transformed spirit beasts would no longer be detectable as anomalies!
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Ye Wen's Xuan Yuan Gong differed from the meditation techniques commonly used in Douluo. While traditional methods circulated soul power through primary meridians, Xuan Yuan Gong also integrated the body's three dantians, forming a grand celestial cycle that filled the practitioner with a sense of complete soul power.
It was after teaching Xiao Wu this technique that she finally dared to roam freely around the Huo residence again.
From this, Ye Wen concluded that his Xuan Yuan Gong likely possessed hidden effects he hadn't fully understood.
For instance, it seemed to obscure soul power auras, giving Xiao Wu the confidence to move freely under the watchful eyes of a Soul Elder.
Realizing this, Ye Wen was ecstatic. Hadn't he just found a solution to Xiao Wu's identity dilemma?
Subsequently, through comparisons with existing cultivation techniques and countless trials, Ye Wen finally developed a special edition of Xuan Yuan Gong tailored specifically for Xiao Wu—one capable of completely concealing her spirit beast aura.
Of course, all of this was done secretly, without Xiao Wu's knowledge.
Prejudice could sometimes feel like an insurmountable mountain. Even though Xiao Wu's heart now belonged entirely to Ye Wen, her lingering insecurities about her origins remained deeply rooted.
Some secrets were better left buried forever, never spoken aloud. Once the seed of doubt took root, it could never truly be erased.
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