Arrival & Real Combat

The journey was boring.

With Spirit Hall at its back, the Central Academy had money to spare. The carriage it had arranged for them was luxurious, equipped with its own suspension system and an interior as large as a public carriage, with more than enough room for ten adults.

As a result, they weren't cramped inside, and each of them could even claim a small space of their own.

But Wei Lin had grown wary of Zhou You's questions, afraid he might think of something else to ask. To preserve his dignity, he left the carriage not long after boarding, and nobody knew where he went.

Of those remaining, Zhou You sat in meditation and cultivated Qi, Yan lay sleeping to one side, and Xie Yue sat alone in a corner, sulking at some imaginary enemy again.

Hu Liena and Zhang Ping, on the other hand, quickly broke the ice, one taking the initiative to make friends and the other deliberately accommodating her. They huddled together, whispering and letting out quiet laughter from time to time.

Zhou You seemed to see two plastic sisterhood blossoms in full bloom.

He wasn't in the habit of eavesdropping on others' private conversations, but unfortunately, with his keen senses, it was hard not to hear them in the enclosed carriage, even though they kept their voices low.

And so their conversation went straight into his ears.

"Pingping, when did you and Zhou You meet?"

"Only a few days ago. Nana, don't misunderstand. There's nothing special between him and me."

"Would he really be willing to waste a favor on you if there were nothing between you? I find that a little hard to believe."

"Maybe he felt sorry for me. Does that bother you? Then I apologize. Please don't be angry, all right?"

"What would I have to be angry about? I'm just curious. Since he was willing to spend a favor on you, why hasn't he said a single word to you since we got in?"

Hearing Hu Liena say that, Zhang Ping could barely maintain her smile.

At the end of the day, she was only ten years old. She might have had some tricks up her sleeve, but only so many.

Hu Liena's smile remained unchanged, but inwardly she sneered.

She might have been only a little over seven, but thanks to her mental talent, she had always been sensitive to other people's emotional reactions. Apart from that monster Zhou You, she had never come up short against anyone her age.

As long as she was face-to-face with someone, she could get a measure of their character in just a few words. Her method of assessing people's temperaments had hardly ever failed.

So it was no exaggeration to call her a master bitch detector.

Now, Hu Liena caught a familiar scent on Zhang Ping: the faint fragrance of tea...

After sneering, Hu Liena couldn't help feeling a little superior. She cast an almost imperceptible sidelong glance at Zhou You, who was meditating with his eyes closed, a playful look in her eyes.

Looks like you're no good either. You can't even spot such an obvious green tea bitch?

Along with her teasing, Hu Liena felt a touch of irritation for no apparent reason. Why don't you use some of that resolve you had when you were ignoring me? All you know how to do is bully me.

Zhou You: "..."

He was starting to dislike how sharp his five senses were.

Time passed slowly, and before long, several hours had gone by.

The carriage had stopped at some point. Zhou You opened his eyes and looked around, finding that everyone else had fallen asleep.

Xie Yue was still alone in the corner, leaning back with his head lowered and eyes closed, breathing evenly.

Being young sure was nice. He wasn't even afraid of getting a neck problem sleeping like that.

On the other side, Hu Liena and Zhang Ping sat with their heads touching and shoulders pressed together, their eyes shut as well. Their peaceful sleeping poses really were rather pleasing to the eye.

Turning his head, Zhou You saw that Yan was still fast asleep, sprawled out with his limbs flung wide. He looked a bit like a brother to the Lightning Marten Zhou You kept at home.

The quiet atmosphere didn't last long. Soon, someone knocked on the carriage door.

Knock, knock!

Xie Yue opened his eyes immediately, wariness flashing through them. Once he remembered where he was, he quickly calmed down again.

"Hm? Are we there..." Yan sat up with a yawn.

The carriage door opened, and Wei Lin's voice came from outside. "We've arrived. Everyone, get down. We'll have to walk the rest of the way."

Everyone filed out and retrieved their belongings from the second carriage.

"Only bring the necessities," Wei Lin reminded them.

Fortunately, everyone was experienced. Each of them had basically brought only a backpack containing water and dry rations.

Clearly, the others had also guessed that Wei Lin probably had a storage-type Soul Tool, which would greatly ease the logistical burden on their group.

Otherwise, with so many people, they would still have needed a carriage just to haul their supplies. That would not only cause a commotion but also severely hamper their mobility.

After they presented proof of their affiliation with Spirit Hall, the guards on watch took the two carriages away for safekeeping, and the commander of the guards stationed there personally escorted the group into the Soul Hunting Forest.

Wei Lin took the lead. Without needing a reminder from him, the children behind him had already fallen into formation on their own.

Xie Yue and Yan took the flanks, keeping watch on their surroundings, while Zhou You brought up the rear. The three boys formed a triangle, protecting Hu Liena and Zhang Ping in the middle.

Zhang Ping materialized her Golden-Waisted Flying Swallow and sent it into the sky to keep watch.

The Golden-Waisted Flying Swallow wasn't strong in direct combat, but it had an advantage of its own: it consumed very little Soul Power and could remain active outside her body for long periods, making it ideal for aerial reconnaissance.

Hu Liena wasn't idle either. She carefully released her Mental Power. Her mental perception covered a wider range than her five senses, allowing her to detect danger or opportunities in time.

Wei Lin noticed the group's spontaneous actions. His expression remained unchanged, but he nodded inwardly.

They were indeed students of the elite class in whom Spirit Hall had placed great hopes. Their competence was beyond question.

What puzzled him, though, was that the strongest person was usually the one who brought up the rear, wasn't it?

If Wei Lin remembered correctly, Zhou You was only six. In theory, he should have awakened his Martial Soul only recently.

Why had they put him in the rear?

The key was that the students had assigned these roles themselves, which meant the others all acknowledged Zhou You's strength.

Though he had his doubts, Wei Lin didn't question them outright. Considering that Zhou You had nearly questioned him into shutting himself off, he figured there might be something to the boy and decided to wait and see.

Whatever happened, he could handle it anyway.

With his Soul Saint cultivation, could a creature capable of threatening him really appear in this Soul Hunting Forest?

Impossible.

But Soul Hunting wasn't the sole purpose of this trip. Before they set out, Wei Lin had received instructions from Liu Suxin to let the children experience real combat.

No matter how they fought at the academy, someone was always watching, and both sides held back. They couldn't experience the tension of a real battlefield.

Here, however, the Soul Beasts wouldn't show them any mercy.

So Wei Lin suppressed his Soul Power fluctuations, adjusting his presence to the level of a Soul Grandmaster.

Hm?

Zhou You and Hu Liena noticed the change in him immediately. Seeing each other react, they instinctively met each other's eyes.

Wei Lin's method took effect quickly. Just a few minutes after he adjusted his presence, strange sounds came faintly from the dense forest around them.

"Something's coming our way!" Zhang Ping said gravely.

Soul Beasts generally had sharper senses than ordinary beasts. To them, the scent of Zhou You and the others stood out like a glow in the dark.

Hearing this, Wei Lin turned around with a "kind" expression.

"Don't blame me. This is what your Teacher Liu asked for. From now on, I won't intervene unless your lives are in danger."

"All right, children, let's see the results of your cultivation! Oh, and your performance will count toward your next Quarterly Assessment score. Do your best."