NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 83: Chapter 83
Chapter 83: Thousand Shadows Technique
The next morning, Zhao Ling walked out of his room in a bitter mood.
The night before, after accompanying Liu Erlong on a shopping trip, he thought their relationship had grown close enough that she might let him stay the night in her room. However, Liu Erlong had apparently read his diary and was annoyed at his disparaging remark about her being drawn to "broken shoes."
Because of that, she adamantly refused, insisting their relationship hadn't reached that level.
Zhao Ling had to admit she was right. They weren't quite there yet, so he had no choice but to return to his own room, frustrated and disappointed.
If Zhao Ling had known that her refusal stemmed from his careless words, he'd probably have been even more upset.
With nowhere else to go, he thought about visiting Ah Yin's room for the night. But Ah Yin wasn't having it either. She firmly refused to open the door, saying they had a long journey to Spirit City ahead and needed proper rest. Without rest, traveling would be unbearable.
Left with no other option, Zhao Ling returned to his room, defeated.
---
The next morning, he knocked on Ah Yin's door and called softly.
"Ah Yin, time to wake up. After breakfast, we need to join the Spirit Hall group and head to Spirit City."
"Alright..." came Ah Yin's lazy reply from inside the room. Soon after, the door opened. Ah Yin appeared, tilting her head as she brushed her long, waterfall-like blue hair. She looked effortlessly stunning.
Without thinking, Zhao Ling stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and burying his face in her neck.
Ah Yin, startled, instinctively stepped back. She quickly raised her hands to fend him off.
"Husband, don't start. Didn't you just say we need to get ready? Wash up, have breakfast, and prepare to leave?"
"It's fine. I'm just hugging you. I won't do anything else," Zhao Ling said softly, inhaling her intoxicating scent.
But Ah Yin didn't trust him. She knew her husband too well—this LSP could transform into a ravenous wolf at the slightest provocation. She'd learned that the hard way over the past week.
"Alright, that's enough. Go wash up and pack. If you keep pestering me, I'll put on revealing clothes and take a walk through the streets later. Believe it or not."
Ah Yin gently pushed Zhao Ling away with a playful smirk.
"You're so cruel..." Zhao Ling muttered, retreating. He dared not call her bluff. No one else could see his wife dressed provocatively—that privilege was his alone.
---
Zhao Ling returned to his room, quickly freshened up, and packed their belongings into his storage space. Once everything was ready, he stood by Ah Yin's door, waiting patiently as she applied light makeup.
Ten minutes later, Bibi Dong appeared on their floor. Spotting Zhao Ling, she immediately ran into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.
"Zhao Ling, are you nervous about going back to Spirit City with us today?"
After the kiss, she gazed at him with concern, her beautiful eyes tinged with red. It was clear she hadn't slept well the night before.
"Nervous? What's there to be nervous about?" Zhao Ling raised an eyebrow, stroking her head with a gentle smile.
He mentally summoned the diary panel and began jotting down his thoughts:
---
**[Zhao Ling's Diary Entry]**
[Haha, Dong'er just asked if I'm nervous about going to Spirit City with her.]
[Nervous? About what? It's not like I'm meeting her parents.]
[Qianxunji is only her teacher. If he knows what's good for him, I'm even willing to call him "Teacher" like Dong'er does.]
[But if he doesn't and insists on causing trouble for us, I won't hesitate to take him down.]
[Some might argue that Qianxunji treated Dong'er well and didn't deserve death for his actions in the original storyline.]
[But by modern Blue Star standards, anyone who violates a young girl deserves at least ten years in prison—if not worse.]
[So, here's the deal: if Qianxunji behaves himself, I'll let him live. If not... well, he'll be giving me an excuse.]
---
After uploading the diary, Zhao Ling unlocked a new skill: the "Thousand Shadows Technique", a low-tier Earth-level body movement technique with nine stages.
At its highest level, it would allow him to move so quickly that he could leave thousands of afterimages, confusing enemies to no end. For now, he could only use the first stage, which created ten afterimages—a feat impressive enough.
As Zhao Ling absorbed the mysteries of the Thousand Shadows Technique, Bibi Dong noticed her copy of his diary had updated. She chose not to disturb him, instead opening the diary herself.
Reading through his latest entry, she was torn between exasperation and amusement.
"Please," she muttered to herself. "I'm bringing him to Spirit City "because" I want him to meet my teacher—and in a way, that's like meeting my parents."
Although the diary implied a grim future where her teacher violated her trust and chastity, that hadn't happened yet. As of now, Qianxunji was still kind to her, and she regarded him as a father figure.
"If it's not to meet my family, what else is this trip about?" she whispered.
Still, she agreed with one point Zhao Ling had made. As long as her teacher stayed honorable, she wouldn't sever their relationship.
What worried her, however, was how her teacher might react if he found out about her feelings for Zhao Ling. This uncertainty had kept her up all night.
Her anxiety was compounded by concerns for Zhao Ling and Ah Yin's safety. Spirit City wasn't a forgiving place, and if she did break with her teacher, it would be difficult for Zhao Ling to protect them from the formidable elders in the worship hall—especially the Grand Worshiper, known as an invincible force.
She couldn't understand where Zhao Ling's confidence came from.
Unbeknownst to her, Zhao Ling had gained considerable power through his diary over the past week. His soul ring ages had increased by 1,500 years, his lifespan had extended by 50 years, and his soul bone ages had grown by 1,000 years.
Now, his martial soul's soul ring configuration boasted two purple, four black, and three red rings. His soul power had also risen to level 93.
Most importantly, the 100,000-year soul rings provided Zhao Ling with immense soul power. Even he wasn't sure just how strong he'd become when fighting at full strength...
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(End of chapter)