Gu Yuena's Special Training

But what she did not know was that Lin Xiuran had no money at all. He was desperately short of money; he had not intended to sell it.

In Xu Xiaoyan's understanding, members of the Xu Family should not be short on money.

Moreover, Lin Xiuran knew that the watch had merely been arranged by Xu Junwen to monitor his whereabouts. It contained a tracker, and Xu Xiaoyan had been made to give it to him as a birthday present.

Otherwise, after all these years, which member of the Xu Family had ever given him a gift?

Looking at the watch, Lin Xiuran felt much more at ease. Thankfully, he had already crossed countless mountains in his little boat; he had now escaped that place. He no longer needed to think about anything, nor humbly beg for so-called love.

Shaking his head and no longer dwelling on it, Lin Xiuran returned to the dormitory as usual.

He had originally planned to meditate after returning, but just as he got ready, he was forcibly pulled into the Sea of Consciousness.

Still dressed in white, Gu Yuena looked at the somewhat bewildered Lin Xiuran and said calmly, "Today, I'll train your spiritual power."

Hearing that he was going to learn something, Lin Xiuran quieted down and prepared to listen to her explanation.

For ordinary Soul Masters, spiritual power was not particularly important. It was also divided into levels, but not as finely as Soul Power. However, for high-level Soul Masters, the strength of one's spiritual power was extremely important.

Therefore, if one wanted to become strong, spiritual power was vital. And the person before him, Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King, was especially skilled in spiritual power.

Gu Yuena lightly waved her hand, and six elements appeared in midair, slowly revolving around her palm.

"Controlling elements requires the support of immense spiritual power. Therefore, elemental Soul Masters generally possess greater spiritual power than ordinary Soul Masters. Controlling multiple elements requires even more immense spiritual power. That is true for me, and although the elements you control differ slightly from mine, the principle is the same."

"So for you, cultivating spiritual power is even more important than cultivating Soul Power."

Lin Xiuran's gaze became more serious. Clearly, what Gu Yuena said made a great deal of sense. When it came to cultivation, she definitely understood far more than he did.

"Then how do I cultivate it?"

The moment Lin Xiuran asked that question, a bright smile appeared on Gu Yuena's face.

It was a smile, and a beautiful one at that, but Lin Xiuran sensed something unusual within it.

Something felt very wrong.

"Go easy! Don't, don't!"

It did not merely feel wrong. It was completely wrong.

Lin Xiuran's pleas echoed throughout the Sea of Consciousness. Countless fireballs and Ice Spikes attacked him as he fled in disarray.

And the culprit was Gu Yuena!

Watching the bedraggled Lin Xiuran, Gu Yuena said evenly, "This is an excellent method for cultivating spiritual power. I have controlled the speed at which the elements fly. As long as you can dodge flexibly, you can train your spiritual power."

"As you improve, I will gradually increase the speed of the elemental attacks and raise the difficulty."

Although Gu Yuena spoke calmly, only Lin Xiuran knew just how difficult it was. Controlling those fireballs and Ice Spikes was effortless for her.

Her effortless task meant hell-level difficulty for Lin Xiuran.

Only after Lin Xiuran finally withdrew from the Sea of Consciousness in a thoroughly miserable state did Gu Yuena allow herself a smile.

"Sister Na, isn't this a little too cruel?"

Gu Yuena glanced at her. "What, can't bear to watch?"

"No. I just think you're being too strict. Besides, once his Phoenix Bloodline recovers in the future, won't all this become useless anyway?"

Tang Wutong wanted to explain herself, but Gu Yuena knew her too well, so she merely smiled faintly.

Gu Yuena asked curiously, "Aren't you going to check on your little brother?"

"Forget it." Tang Wutong sighed softly. "If I show myself, Father will definitely discover me."

"It would be bad if I caused Xiuran unnecessary trouble then."

Gu Yuena nodded. "I never expected you to place him above family ties."

Tang Wutong revealed a bitter smile. "I once relied heavily on family too, but as you can see, look at my situation now. Heh."

She did not elaborate, but that final laugh already said more than enough.

"Actually..." Gu Yuena sighed softly. "You are much stronger than I am."

A teardrop suddenly gathered in her eyes and fell silently. Though she had no physical body and should not have been able to cry, under the weight of genuine emotion, tears still took form.

Meditating in the morning, going to the Spirit Pagoda in the afternoon, and undergoing Gu Yuena's special training at night—his life was extremely busy.

Thus, this vacation had been very fulfilling overall. It was not dull at all; instead, it was quite interesting. And he was not lonely either.

Gu Yuena's training and concern gave him a great sense of comfort. It was far better than when he had been alone in previous years.

When the new semester began, Eastsea Academy, which had been quiet for a month, became lively once more.

Students streamed into the academy, and everything appeared vibrant and flourishing. This was the second half of the school year. After this semester, they would advance to the next grade. At the same time, the pressure of advancement exams arose for every student.

At intermediate Soul Master academies, students in the sixth year of the junior division had to break through to the second ring before graduation, or they would not receive a diploma. Students in the senior division needed to break through to the third ring in order to officially graduate.

Not every student could accomplish either of these goals. The higher the grade, the more urgent the time became.

First- and second-year students were undoubtedly relatively relaxed. They had not yet had to face that pressure.

Lin Xiuran had gone out early that morning. Recently, he had also been studying a secondary profession, and he had chosen forging, which he usually practiced in the mornings.

After returning from practice, he found that the others from Zero Class had also returned.

Guyue and Tang Wulin were chatting pleasantly. Xie Xie sat alone to the side, looking rather bored.

Only when they saw Lin Xiuran arrive did they turn their gazes toward him.

After not seeing one another for just a month, everyone had changed somewhat. Xie Xie and Tang Wulin had both grown taller. Guyue had also grown a little taller and seemed to have become more beautiful, though the sense of pressure around her appeared to have strengthened by several degrees.

Lin Xiuran had not seen Guyue for quite some time either. Ever since she had brought him to the Donghai Spirit Transfer Pagoda, she had not shown herself again.

He had no idea what she had been doing this past month, though he could roughly guess.

"Xiuran, did you stay in the dormitory the entire vacation?"

Xie Xie asked in confusion.

"Mm."

Lin Xiuran nodded lightly, then said, "I usually stayed in the dormitory, but during the day, I generally went to the Spirit Pagoda."

"The Spirit Pagoda?" Xie Xie froze, then glanced at Guyue and asked in surprise, "You joined the Spirit Pagoda too?"

Guyue explained, "I invited him to join."

Guyue inviting the protagonist to join the Spirit Pagoda was actually foreshadowing. Later, it would cause a conflict between the two sides, eventually leading to the Twin Moon War.