Chapter

Suddenly, a mass of black mist emerged from the headless corpse of the man in the black robe and flew swiftly into the distance.

"Trying to escape?" Xiao Xie, who had been prepared for this, instantly appeared before the black mist and seized the escaping soul. Some powerful individuals could continue to survive in a soul state, and since this man in black was from the Soul Palace, he was undoubtedly adept at such arts.

After decapitating the man in black, Xiao Xie had been on guard for this very moment—if his soul managed to flee back to the Soul Palace, it would bring endless trouble.

"Spare me!" the soul of the black-robed man pleaded.

Xiao Xie ignored his cries for mercy and absorbed his soul. Ever since eating the Devil Fruit of the Nine-Life Mysterious Cat, Xiao Xie had not encountered any strong opponents. The nine souls he currently controlled were all taken during the Yunlan Sect massacre by Queen Medusa, but those souls were too weak to be used for battle—merely as disposable substitutes to keep him alive.

Now, with the soul of a Douzong-level powerhouse, Xiao Xie immediately erased the weakest of the nine souls to make room for this new, formidable one. From now on, whenever he faced combat, he could summon this soul—equivalent to having a Douzong-level enforcer at his side.

Yet this method of soul manipulation carried its risks. When Xiao Xie summoned all nine souls at once, he was at his strongest, but also at his most vulnerable. If all nine souls were destroyed and he did not find replacements in time, then, should anyone kill him in that moment, he would truly die.

The so-called nine lives of the Nine-Life Mysterious Cat were merely the nine controlled souls, dying in his stead. Therefore, Xiao Xie would never summon all nine souls at once during battle. Were an opponent to unleash a mighty attack that destroyed all nine souls and his own body, the consequences would be dire.

Xiao Xie then inspected the interspatial ring of the black-robed man, finding some magic cores and miscellaneous items. He absorbed all the magic cores, earning over seven million points—mainly because two of those cores were seventh-tier, worth more than five million points alone.

Even more pleasing was the discovery of a seven-tier magical beast's corpse—the Blazing Bear—in the ring. One of those seventh-tier magic cores had been harvested from this very beast, and now both had fallen into Xiao Xie’s hands.

Grabbing the corpse of the black-robed man, Xiao Xie flew to where Little Doctor Immortal and the others were waiting. After this fierce battle, Xiao Yu and the others looked at Xiao Xie with undisguised adoration—they had all become his most devoted admirers.

Xiao Xie laid the corpse on the ground and cast Bone Summoning upon it. He had never used this magic before, lacking a strong enough corpse, but with the black-robed man’s body at hand, he had to try it out.

A streak of black light shot from Xiao Xie’s palm into the corpse. Moments later, a silver-white skeleton crawled out, the body of the black-robed man vanishing entirely, leaving only a tattered black robe behind. All the flesh and blood had been absorbed as nutrients for the skeleton.

Xiao Xie sensed the skeleton's strength—it was about that of a five-star Douzong. Though this was two stars lower than the black-robed man in life, it was already quite impressive.

The others could only stare, dumbfounded, as Xiao Xie turned the black-robed man's body into a skeleton.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Xie summoned a Hellfire to engulf the silver-white skeleton. The Hellfire, at the user’s command, could strengthen selected objects.

The skeleton let out a soundless howl as it burned. When the Hellfire dissipated, the silver skeleton had transformed into a three-meter-tall demonic figure, crowned with massive horns, its body lined with vicious bone spikes, sharp claws, and a pair of skeletal wings—a true demon skeleton.

"It looks much more imposing now," Xiao Xie remarked with a smile. With the enhancement of Hellfire, the demon skeleton’s strength had risen to that of a six-star Douzong.

With a thought, Xiao Xie transformed the skeleton into a silver-white bone bracelet, which he handed to Little Doctor Immortal. "From now on, this will be called the Demon Bracelet. Drip a drop of your blood on it and it will recognize you as its master. A single thought and you can summon the demon skeleton at will."

"Alright." Little Doctor Immortal smiled sweetly, dripped blood onto the bracelet, and slipped it onto her fair wrist. The recognition was possible only because Xiao Xie permitted it; otherwise, no amount of blood would suffice.

Xiao Yu and the others watched with envy—even Xiao Yan was jealous. After all, the Demon Bracelet was tantamount to having a Douzong-level bodyguard at one’s side.

Next, Xiao Xie performed Bone Summoning on the Blazing Bear's corpse, producing a skeletal giant bear equivalent to a two-star Douzong. After further enhancement with Hellfire, it became an immense, five-meter-tall super bear skeleton, fully encased in white bone armor, with the strength of a three-star Douzong.

With another thought, Xiao Xie transformed the giant bear skeleton into a white bone necklace, naming it the Giant Bear Necklace. He gifted this to Qinglin, who had been unable to hide her envy when he gave the Demon Bracelet to Little Doctor Immortal.

Finally, amid the admiring and envious gazes of the others, Xiao Xie led Little Doctor Immortal and Qinglin back to the cabin. The Bone Summoning had cost little magic, but strengthening two Douzong-level skeletons with Hellfire had drained him considerably.

Qinglin carefully tucked Xiao Xie in, her hand touching the Giant Bear Necklace at her throat, her face radiant with joy. To Qinglin, any gift from her young master was a priceless treasure. Seeing the envy in Xiao Yu’s eyes only made her more grateful for her position as his maid—it was the greatest fortune of her life.

Little Doctor Immortal sat at the bedside, gazing tenderly at Xiao Xie, who had fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion, her beautiful eyes brimming with warmth and affection.

Aside from the encounter with the Soul Palace, the next few days passed smoothly for the flying convoy. Five days later, they finally reached Jia Nan City, where Jia Nan Academy was located.

"What a massive city!" Qinglin exclaimed from the window.

The outline of a sprawling metropolis emerged from the mist, so vast it seemed unending. Even from their vantage high in the sky, they could not see the city’s entirety—evidence of its true immensity.

"Young Master, we’ve arrived—let’s go down quickly!" As soon as the convoy landed at Jia Nan Academy, Qinglin excitedly pulled Xiao Xie out of the cabin.

"So this is Jia Nan Academy?"

"We're finally back."

The others' faces were all smiles, and the new students were bursting with excitement.

"Mentor Ruolin, could you help us arrange to enter the Inner Academy as soon as possible?" Xiao Xie asked.

Ruolin was not surprised—Xiao Xie's strength was such that the Outer Academy could not contain him.

"Brother Xiao Xie, are you leaving already?" Xiao Xun’er asked curiously.

Xiao Xie nodded. "I don't want to waste time playing with children; it's best to head to the Inner Academy right away."

Xiao Yu and the others could only think, You’re only sixteen yourself; is that really something you should say?

"Xiao Yu, take Xun’er and the rest to the dormitory," Ruolin instructed. "Xiao Xie, you and your companions, come with me."

Following her instructions, Ruolin led Xiao Xie, Little Doctor Immortal, and Qinglin to the residence of Hu Qian, the Vice Dean of the Outer Academy.

A crisp creak signaled the opening of the door, followed by a gentle, soothing voice: "Vice Dean, we’ve returned from recruitment."

"Ah, Ruolin, you’re back! Come in," Hu Qian replied with a smile, closing the book in his hands.