After several consecutive uses of Great Teleportation, Ian Song arrived in a secluded grove.
There was now only a little over half an hour left before the Martial Soul Hall closed.
He had already obtained the Emperor-Rank Martial Soul, so naturally he had no interest in searching for any others. He released the Sword Puppet to stand guard nearby, while he sat cross-legged on the ground and cultivated his Meditation Formula.
The Emperor-Rank Martial Soul was like a vampire, constantly absorbing his mental power every moment.
At this point, his mental power was down to just over a hundred points—enough to let the Emperor-Rank Martial Soul absorb for at most one more hour. Since he had finished his supply of spirit-power pills, he could only rely on cultivating his Meditation Formula to replenish it.
Half an hour later.
Ian Song stopped cultivating, and the mental power in his sea of consciousness had barely recovered to two hundred points.
With a casual wave, he stored the Sword Puppet back into his storage ring. Not long after, a ripple of power came from the void and locked onto the Martial Soul Token he carried.
In the next instant, a surge of heaven and earth power wrapped around him, and with a whoosh, he vanished from where he sat.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already outside the Martial Soul Hall, standing on the high platform.
At the same time, Ian Song sensed a pair of hateful eyes locked onto him.
Turning his head, he saw Vanessa Nangong in black armor, glaring at him in fury.
Still, he wasn’t worried about her causing trouble for him.
First, he was confident in his own strength.
Second, the Martial Soul Hall had strict rules: no matter how much hatred built up inside, once you left the Hall, you couldn’t seek private revenge.
Of course, at least on the surface, everyone followed this rule. As for what happened in secret, nobody could say.
“Ian, did you succeed?” Harriet Gu hurried over and asked curiously.
Ian Song nodded and gave Harriet Gu an unmistakable smile.
“That’s amazing!”
Joy flashed across Harriet Gu’s face—the only Emperor-Rank Martial Soul had actually been claimed by her lover.
"This isn't the place to talk—let's head back first!" Ian Song took Harriet Gu by the hand and walked toward the nearby Melody Empress and Venerable Dragon Sword.
"Leon, how did you do?" the Venerable Dragon Sword asked with a smile.
"Not bad," Ian Song replied with a smile.
"And you, my disciple?" the Melody Empress asked Harriet Gu eagerly.
"I fused two Martial Souls—one High-Grade, one common!" Harriet Gu answered honestly.
"What? Dual Martial Souls!"
Melody Empress was shocked to hear Harriet Gu had fused two Martial Souls. The Venerable Dragon Sword couldn't help but look envious: "Empress, you've picked a great disciple!"
"Of course! My eye for talent never fails," Melody Empress said proudly, her gaze toward Harriet Gu growing even softer.
Harriet Gu was delighted by her teacher's praise, but she quietly glanced at Ian Song—her lover had actually fused three Martial Souls.
Soon, the rest of the Sanctum Martial Academy group gathered, and the Venerable Dragon Sword led everyone back to the best inn in the Holy City with a wave of his hand.
Once back at the inn, the Venerable Dragon Sword and Melody Empress called everyone together in one room.
The Venerable Dragon Sword glanced over the group and said, "Anyone who fused a Martial Soul, step to my left."
Ian Song, Harriet Gu, Flynn Cao, Mason Chen, and six others stepped to the Venerable Dragon Sword's left.
Nine people had obtained Martial Souls!
Both the Venerable Dragon Sword and Melody Empress were very pleased with the result.
In previous years, Sanctum Martial Academy had only ever obtained five or six Martial Souls, with seven being the record. This time, they had broken it—and among them was a dual-soul cultivator. As the leading vice deans, they would return to the academy with great pride.
"Flynn Cao, what grade Martial Soul did you fuse?" Melody Empress asked gently.
Flynn Cao humbly replied, "Vice Dean, I fused a High-Grade Martial Soul."
Melody Empress smiled even more warmly. "Excellent, excellent."
The other students who hadn't fused Martial Souls looked at Flynn Cao with envy, but he himself remained calm and composed, earning approving nods from the Venerable Dragon Sword. "This kid is good—unfazed by praise or blame," he thought.