Pumping Water

"Mm."

This time, Su Qiu finally turned around and saw the pile of Soul Beasts behind Na'er.

He instantly leaned back. "Whoa!"

"Na'er, what is the meaning of this?"

"Hehehe." Na'er scratched her head sheepishly, her silver hair fluttering as she grinned foolishly. "They're all for you, big brother."

Su Qiu was something else too, and he quickly accepted the scene before him.

Or rather, he deserved much of the credit for Na'er turning this goofy.

Spotting a Jade Phosphorous Serpent among the pile of Soul Beasts, Su Qiu's eyes lit up. He put away his fishing rod, strung the snake onto the hook, and cast it back out.

Su Qiu settled back down, his hand holding the rod as steady as a rock, as though what he had just skewered was not a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but an ordinary piece of bait.

Na'er crouched beside him, blinking her Violet Eyes as she curiously watched the river's surface, occasionally turning to look at Su Qiu.

Then at the pile of Soul Beasts behind them, which were still groaning and whimpering.

The river was calm, with only faint ripples stirred by the breeze.

But after waiting for quite a while, there was still no movement.

Su Qiu frowned slightly and was about to lift the rod to check when a disturbance suddenly came from beneath the water.

It was not a fierce tug, but more like something gently nudging the hook underwater.

Then a Black shadow nimbly circled the hook twice.

It actually dragged the Jade Phosphorous Serpent deeper underwater before suddenly shooting upward.

With a smack, the splashing water hit Su Qiu squarely in the face.

Su Qiu paid it no mind. His gaze sharpened, and he yanked upward.

Yet the fishing rod felt light and weightless. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent on the hook had long since vanished, leaving only half a severed fishing line swaying through the air.

Immediately afterward, the river's surface burst open in a splash, and an enormous Silver Scale Fish leaped out of the water.

As if provoking him, it twisted its body in midair and flicked its tail toward Su Qiu, seemingly mocking him.

Then, with a splash, it fell back into the river, leaving behind a ring of ripples that seemed full of ridicule.

Su Qiu stared at the empty hook, then glanced at the ripples still spreading across the surface. The image of being mocked by a big fish kept replaying in his mind.

Na'er, beside him, was dumbfounded as well. When she came back to her senses, fury instantly flared in her Violet Eyes. Three Purple Soul Rings behind her lit up with a whoosh, and the phantom of a Giant Dragon emerged once more with a roar. "You hateful fish! How dare you bully big brother! I'm going to catch it!"

As she spoke, she was about to charge into the river.

"Don't." Su Qiu grabbed her and took a deep breath. "It's just fishing. There's no need for that."

"Oh." Na'er obediently returned.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

"Damn it!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

"Drain the water!" Su Qiu roared, his Soul Power boiling throughout his body. Fluctuations of the water element spread through the entire river.

The river's currents surged madly toward both sides. The once-calm surface seemed to be pulled apart by a pair of invisible hands, receding outward from the center.

Revealing the mud, sand, and broken stones on the riverbed.

The Silver Scale Fish that had just been mocking him was now exposed to the air, its tail frantically slapping the ground as it desperately tried to leap back into the water.

But the surrounding currents seemed to have come alive. No matter which direction it jumped, the water would move aside beforehand, leaving it to flop helplessly through empty air.

"Na'er!" Su Qiu issued the command.

"Present!"

Na'er stood at attention.

"Charge!"

"Roar!"

Na'er let out a battle cry by reflex, except this time, it was a genuine Giant Dragon's roar.

The massive Golden Dragon slammed viciously into the Silver Scale Fish.

Everyone in the monitoring area had long since frozen in place. The air was deathly silent.

Wu Changkong's expression was even colder than usual, but the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed his unrest.

He took several deep breaths before barely suppressing the urge to complain and saying, "Su Qiu... is a very unique person."

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi, standing nearby, unconsciously murmured, "Is this how the Spirit Ascension Platform is supposed to be used?"

The spirit ascension ended.

Once everyone had assembled, Wu Changkong looked at the group of students, unsure how to evaluate them.

"This spirit ascension is over. Those who gained nothing needn't be disappointed. You can come again next week."

"We'll discuss the rest once we're back at the academy."

It was not that Wu Changkong did not want to analyze the students' performance while it was still fresh.

Rather, he needed time to review the recordings as well.

He had been so engrossed in watching Su Qiu and Na'er's actions that he had not paid much attention to the other students.

After everyone returned to the academy, Tang Wulin's Soul Spirit evolved during that time, rising from ten years to a hundred years.

Inside the Zero Class classroom, Wu Changkong sat confidently after watching all the recordings.

"First, tell me how you felt about this trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform."

He began calling on them one by one. "Zhang Yangzi!"

Zhang Yangzi stood up, his tone somewhat awkward. "Teacher Wu, I performed terribly yesterday. I was wrong."

Wu Changkong waved a hand. "You don't need to apologize to me. Your life is your own. If this had truly been a soul beast forest, you would already be a corpse. Tell me how you felt."

Zhang Yangzi said, "The Spirit Ascension Platform was too realistic. I originally wanted to climb a tree and observe the surroundings. My Martial Soul gives me an advantage in that regard, and I wanted to seize the high ground. But my mistake was being arrogant and underestimating the enemy. I could see the soul beasts, but the soul beasts could see me too. I ended up becoming everyone's target. Next time, I'll be more cautious and make sure to protect myself first."

Wu Changkong turned to Wang Jinxi. "What about you?"

Wang Jinxi gave a bitter smile. "All I remember is the Man Faced Demon Spider's face and that bone-deep chill that went straight to my soul. It was like a nightmare. If I run into one again, I really don't know what I should do."

A Man Faced Demon Spider?

For once, Wu Changkong did not criticize him. Instead, he comforted him. "This is not your fault. Relax. Man Faced Demon Spiders are extremely powerful. Even a hundred-year one can hunt Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. There is no shame in losing to one. If you encounter one again, remember to press the emergency beacon immediately."

"Thank you, Teacher," Wang Jinxi replied.

Wu Changkong turned to Gu Yue. "Tell me how you felt."

A nostalgic look appeared in Gu Yue's eyes. "The Spirit Ascension Platform was very realistic. It felt like entering an ancient forest. I liked it very much."

Unlike Na'er, she had not gone "crazy."

Instead, she had mostly wandered around, observing and appreciating the soul beast forest simulated by the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Wu Changkong frowned. "Why didn't you hunt soul beasts to ascend your spirit?"

Faced with Wu Changkong's question, Gu Yue merely shook her head without answering.

Spirit ascension held no meaning for her. She would rather enjoy the soul beast forest itself.

Seeing that Gu Yue seemed to have something she could not say, Wu Changkong did not press the matter.

He turned to Su Qiu and Na'er.

After pondering for a moment, he moved on to question the next person.

There was nothing to say about those two.

Those who understood, understood.

He looked at Xie Xie. "Your turn."

Xie Xie said excitedly, "Hunting soul beasts was awesome. If I were a little faster, my survivability would be even stronger. I could avoid vital areas and fight longer. I finally understand the advantage of speed."

He recalled his usual training. Wu Changkong and Su Qiu—neither of them was slower than him. It had been miserable.

Finally, it was Tang Wulin's turn. He pondered before saying, "This time, my spirit ascension was entirely due to luck."

"It was different from our usual training. The Spirit Ascension Platform was too realistic, and we could fight without holding back. It greatly improved actual combat ability. I think we shouldn't focus solely on spirit ascension."

"Using it to train actual combat ability is more useful."

"Mm." Wu Changkong nodded, then analyzed and commented on each of them one by one.

Finally, he informed them, "Make your preparations."

"The Final Exam will be held in the Spirit Ascension Platform."

"You still have some time to familiarize yourselves with the Spirit Ascension Platform."