Chapter 228 - [ Clone Vessel ]
In Su Lingxi's divisional classroom, Xiao Fang, Zhao Pan, and Bai Fan were put into a group and separated from the rest of the class. Su Lingxi made the excuse that she wanted to teach them separately because they were new to the inner court. However, the truth was, she just wanted to get the other girls away from Xiao Fang.
Since he defeated Lai Yun, his classmates' attitude towards him completely changed.
...
"Brother Long Wang, I never doubted you."
"Brother Long Wang, you're so cool. We should study together."
"Big brother Long Wang, I made it this morning. Have a taste."
...
The same girls who were wishing he were dead, were now trying to get into his bed.
'Girls are scary,' he thought as he smiled bitterly from their compliments.
"Long Wang, Bai Fan, Zhao Pan, please return to the classroom and wait for me there. I'll be with you shortly," Su Lingxi said.
The 3 of them cupped their hands together then left. Once inside, they took a seat on the front row then waited patiently for Su Lingxi to come.
After a while, Bai Yun began to inspect Xiao Fang's body for some injuries, but since his robes completely covered his body, she couldn't tell if he was even hurt at all. The only thing she could see was that Xiao Fang didn't seem tired at all.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Bai Fan finally asked.
Xiao Fang was a bit lost in thought when he heard her question, so it took him a second to reply.
"Mn, just a bit. That Lai Yun was a tough opponent," he replied calmly.
Despite his words, he acted as if he had just come back from a relaxing swim. Seeing that she wasn't convinced, Xiao Fang suddenly had an idea.
"Ahhh, w-what are you doing?" Bai Fan quickly covered her eyes.
"Didn't you ask me if I was hurt?" he said as he was taking off the upper half of his clothes.
"T-That's not what I meant, I just wanted to know if you were okay."
"Then, does that mean you aren't curious?" Xiao Fang teased.
"Since when did I say I was curious?" She acted angry.
"How would you know if I'm alright unless you see it for yourself? As they say in the Black Paradise sect, 'Believe only half the things you see but nothing you hear'," Xiao Fang quoted a line from the [ Illusory Body ] Method book.
Zhao Pan, who was sitting next to Bai Fan with crossed arms, had no problem looking at Xiao Fang's upper body. She was actually just curious to see what injuries he sustained during the fight to get a more accurate gauge at what his body cultivation realm might be. However, when she saw his body, there wasn't even a scratch on him.
Zhao Pan eventually looked away because she assumed he was just faking being hurt to tease Bai Fan. Although she was half-right, Xiao Fang really believed that he was injured. What he didn't realize was just how strong his passive self-healing abilities were because of his Lightning Spirit Attribute. That, along with the healing-regeneration pill he consumed earlier, reduced the time it took his body to recover back to perfect health.
"You're still not looking?" Xiao Fang asked.
"I'm definitely not gonna look."
"Alright, I'm putting my clothes back on."
"..."
"..."
"Are you done yet?"
"Yeah, you can open your eyes now."
"I don't believe you."
"Alright give me your hand, I'll prove it to you."
Xiao Fang guided her hand to his body, but the moment she felt his strong warm body she immediately took her hand back.
"Ahh! You liar," she complained unconvincingly.
"Hahaha. Alright, I'm definitely fully dressed now."
"I don't believe you!"
"Oh? Zhao Pan, can you tell her that I'm fully dressed."
"He's not," Zhao Pan said uncaringly.
"Hmph, you really are a despicable person, Long Wang," Bai Fan complained again.
Xiao Fang smirked mischievously, "That's right, I'm despicable, the most despicable man you'll ever met. Do you hate me?"
"Ah, well... I don't hate you," she spoke softly.
Xiao Fang smiled handsomely.
Zhao Pan harrumphed inwardly as she watched them acting cute together. She had never seen Bai Fan acting this way even once in the outer court, so she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.
'What is Bai Fan being so dramatic about? Didn't she have sex with him in an empty classroom before?' Zhao Pan thought annoyingly.
Truth was, Zhao Pan, just like everybody else, didn't really believe that rumor to be true. Bai Fan had a reputation for being cold and untouchable, so for people to say that she had slept with him in a public place was especially difficult for anyone to believe. However, seeing the way she was acting with him now made Zhao Pan finally believe that rumor to be true.
Suddenly, Xiao Fang and Bai Fan stopped messing around when they heard a familiar voice coming from a few meters in front of them. Standing at the front of the class was Su Lingxi.
"Long Wang, you can't just take your robes off in public. This is an all girl sect, at least it used to be. If the others find you like this, they might think you're a pervert," Su Lingxi scolded him.
Even though she meant what she said, she was happy to get a bit of eye candy from him. Xiao Fang didn't really understand these rules since it was common for guys in the Divine Sword sect to go topless; actually, it was a part of their dress code. Still, he did as Su Lingxi said and put his robes back on.
"Zhao Pan, Bai Fan, have you started practicing the [ Illusory Body ] Method yet?" Su Lingxi asked.
Bai Fan and Zhao Pan released a bit of their aura to show that they had cultivated it to the 1st stage of the Spirit Foundation realm.
"Impressive. Now, show me your [ Illusory Clones ]."
Bai Fan and Zhao Pan didn't move.
"Have neither of you learned it yet?"
"Not yet," Bai Fan replied. "It took me all week just to get to the 1st stage with the Cultivation Method."
"I also haven't been able to learn it," Zhao Pan said.
"I see. Well, that's alright. It's good enough that you were able to reach the 1st stage in only a week. For today's class, I want you both to practice the [ Illusory Clone ] technique. If there is a flaw in your practicing method, I'll be here to guide you."
"Teacher, is it really alright for you to be spending all your time here with us?" Bai Fan asked.
"Mn, don't worry, I am merely a clone. My real body is still in the Training room with the other girls," Su Lingxi replied
Zhao Pan and Bai Fan were both noticeably shocked, but Xiao Fang didn't react at all.
Su Lingxi finally turned to him then asked,
"What about you? From what I've been told, you should be able to make 2 clones, right?"
Illusory Qi quickly flowed out of Xiao Fang's body to create 2 flawless [ Illusory Clones ]. Su Lingxi was impressed. She wasn't impressed by how perfect they looked, she was more impressed by how quickly he was able to make them. If she had blinked, she might've missed the whole thing, and not been able to tell which was the original from the fakes.
"In that case, you can join the rest of the class and practice the [ 100 Step Clone Maneuver ] and [ Clone Vessel ] techniques with the rest of them."
"Would it be alright if I stay here with Bai Fan and Zhao Pan to train?" Xiao Fang asked.
"That's fine, stay and practice for as long as you like. However, there isn't enough space for you to practice the [ 100 Step Clone Maneuver ] technique here, so just stick to the [ Clone Vessel ] technique for now."
Xiao Fang nodded once in agreement.
.
.
.
Under Su Lingxi's guidance, Xiao Fang crossed his legs, slipped into a meditative state, then attempted to create a link with his clone. What he eventually learned from Su Lingxi was that he should try to think of it as separating his consciousness from his original body, then letting it take host in his clone.
Since he learned a lot from the General Lecture using his [ Spirit Perception ] technique, and dual cultivated with others who have already mastered it, what would've taken him several days or weeks to learn only took him a few hours. Eventually, Xiao Fang was able to share all of his clone's senses with hardly any effort at all. However, trying to do the same thing with his [ Solid Clone ] proved to be a little more difficult.
With a [ Solid Clone ], he also able to share the sense of touch. This was a sense that was virtually impossible to share with an [ Illusory Clone ] since it couldn't touch anything without destroying itself.
By the end of class. Xiao Fang was able to use the [ Clone Vessel ] technique with his [ Solid Clone ], but he could only use it on one clone at a time, and he would be completely disconnected from his original body while using it. He also couldn't use the technique for longer than a minute, but he knew he could increase that time with a little more practice.
.
.
.
"Elder Su, am I doing it?" Bai Fan asked.
"Yes, that's good. Remember that feeling and try to keep it up for as long as you can," Su Lingxi said.
Zhao Pan stood a few meters away as she was practicing the same technique. However, unlike Bai Fan, Zhao Pan seemed to be having a much easier time with it.
"You both did well, today. When you get home today, I want you to keep practicing this technique. Remember, the sooner you can learn how to make an [ Illusory Clone ], the sooner you'd be able to join the rest of the class," Su Lingxi said.
"Understood," they both replied.
"Elder Su, would it be alright if I leave early? I heard clubs will be holding tryouts today," Xiao Fang asked.
"What club are you going to join?" Bai Fan asked.
"I'm thinking about joining the Inscriptions Club," he replied.
Bai Fan's mother had been trying to persuade her into joining the Inscription club for some time now. She wasn't too excited about the idea before, but since Xiao Fang was going, she found herself opening up to the idea.
"Elder Su, could I leave early as well? I would also like to join the inscription club," Bai Fan requested.
"Go ahead. Class is almost over anyway, so you better hurry if you want to get there before everyone else does," Su Lingxi replied.
The 2 of them slightly bowed to Su Lingxi in thanks, then began heading to the door. But then, Xiao Fang stopped and turned around.
"Zhao Pan, aren't you coming?" Xiao Fang asked.
"I don't have any interest in joining the Inscription club," she replied.
"Then we can find a different club we we both like," Xiao Fang said.
After thinking about for a second, she eventually agreed to join them. Zhao Pan also bowed and thanked Su Lingxi for today's lesson then quickly headed out to the Club Center with Xiao Fang and Bai Fan.
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