"How had he done it?" Zhang Yangzi clutched his chest, his face pale.
Wu Zhangkong's gaze fell on Situ Xuan, who had already reached the entrance to the training ground.
"This is why I had you fight him."
There was a deeper meaning in Wu Zhangkong's voice. "At Eastsea Academy, you may indeed be geniuses. But before true powerhouses, you are still far from enough."
Situ Xuan stopped at the doorway but did not look back.
"Teacher Wu, I'll be leaving first." His voice remained languid, yet it carried an unquestionable resolve.
The training ground doors slowly closed, leaving the five of them staring at one another.
Tang Wulin lowered his head and looked at his trembling hands. The glow of his Golden Dragon Body had completely faded, but the feeling of being utterly suppressed had been deeply branded into his heart.
"Are we... really that weak?" Xie Xie's voice held a bewilderment unlike anything before.
Gu Yue gently shook her head. "It's not that we're weak. He's simply too strong."
The physical enhancement represented by a Body Martial Soul, strength and fitness far beyond ordinary people, strange boxing techniques, and combat skills almost like a fight to the death...
This was clearly an age of peace. How had a ten-year-old boy developed such a fierce will to fight?
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi exchanged a glance, each seeing the same shock in the other's eyes.
Before Situ Xuan, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill had not even lasted a single move.
Wu Zhangkong silently watched the five students, a trace of complexity flashing through his icy eyes.
"Today's practical combat class ends here."
He finally said, "Go back and think carefully about today's battle. If you cannot even accept defeat, then you will never be able to surpass him."
The five silently nodded and each dragged their exhausted bodies out of the training ground.
After the last person left, Wu Zhangkong stood alone in the empty training ground, his gaze fixed in the direction Situ Xuan had departed.
"To possess combat skills of this level at such an age..."
He muttered softly, "Situ Xuan, just how much strength are you still hiding?"
The lights of the training ground gradually dimmed, leaving only the wreckage scattered across the floor as witness to that brief yet soul-stirring battle.
In a corner outside the training ground, Situ Xuan leaned against a wall, the bruise around his right eye especially conspicuous beneath the moonlight.
His fingertips lightly brushed over the bruise, and a cold gleam flashed through his eyes.
"Not enough..."
He said quietly, "It's still far from enough..."
The Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City was far beyond what the one in Aolai City could compare to.
As one of the Spirit Pagoda organization's eighteen major branch towers, these eighteen large Spirit Pagodas were also known as the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars.
This was the resource preference Eastsea Academy had given to Zero Class in their first year.
The Spirit Ascension Platform!
Within a small world like the Spirit Ascension Platform, Soul Masters who entered could kill the Soul Beasts within and absorb the spiritual light halos scattered by the dead Soul Beasts, using them to raise their Soul Spirits' spiritual limits.
It was one of the pillars that allowed the Spirit Pagoda to stand firm across all of Douluo Planet.
Likewise, the Spirit Ascension Platform's small world possessed abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making it the best simulated cultivation environment. Of course, no one would spend such an exorbitant price simply cultivating in the Spirit Ascension Platform.
When the six members of Zero Class arrived at the gates of the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda, the academy had clearly made arrangements in advance.
When they climbed the steps to the entrance, Dean of Studies Long Hengxu was already waiting there.
Seeing Wu Zhangkong bring them over, Long Hengxu quickly stepped forward. "Teacher Wu."
"Director Long."
After their brief greeting, Wu Zhangkong remained expressionless as ever.
Long Hengxu said, "Follow me."
Situ Xuan followed behind the others with utter boredom, looking distinctly out of place.
But evidently, Situ Xuan did not care about that in the slightest.
After exiting the elevator, they found themselves in a broad hall with over a dozen staff members.
Beyond it stretched a series of metal passageways.
Long Hengxu took out a peculiarly styled card and handed it to one of the staff members.
The staff member said nothing, merely making a gesture for them to follow before leading them toward one of the corridors.
After walking several dozen meters down the corridor, they entered another elevator.
They continued descending. This time, the elevator stopped after only a dozen seconds.
When they emerged again, they discovered that they were already in a circular room.
The room was still entirely constructed of metal, but a ring of enormous soul tool screens hung on the walls. Various images flickered across them, all depicting green worlds that looked like jungles.
After briefly listening to the staff member's safety instructions, the six members of first-year Zero Class officially began their first journey into the Spirit Ascension Platform!
The moment they took their first step into that primeval forest, it was as though they had crossed some invisible barrier.
The light suddenly dimmed, and a damp wind infused with the breath of countless lives rushed toward them.
The air was so thick it seemed almost drinkable, carrying the rich scent of humus, wildflowers, resin, and soil brewed over and over by the passage of time.
Looking up, the sky had been cut into shattered fragments.
Those towering ancient trees, which had seemingly grown for centuries, stood like a silent host of giants, their weathered branches and lush canopies jointly supporting a deep green firmament.
The instant Situ Xuan opened his eyes, he was utterly stunned by the sight before him.
Such a natural landscape truly deserved to be called a small world!
The instant Situ Xuan opened his eyes, he was utterly stunned by the sight before him.
The branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees overlapped in layers, slicing the sky into tiny fragments of blue.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground blanketed in rotting leaves.
The air was filled with the damp scent of earth, mixed with the faint fragrance of unknown wildflowers and a barely perceptible danger belonging to the primeval jungle.
He took a deep breath, feeling the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth within this primeval forest.
The concentration of spiritual energy here far surpassed the outside world. No wonder the Spirit Pagoda considered this the finest simulated cultivation ground.
Just as he immersed himself in the primitive beauty of the place, his right ear twitched slightly.
An extremely faint sound came from the bushes three meters to his left—the rustle of leaves being stepped on, mixed with the suppressed breathing of some creature.
Situ Xuan did not turn around, nor did his gaze shift even slightly. He maintained his posture of looking up at the canopy, but every muscle in his body had silently tensed.
Soul Power flowed soundlessly through his meridians like a venomous snake lying in wait.
It was here.
A black shadow suddenly sprang from the bushes!
It was an entirely black panther-like Soul Beast, nearly two meters long, its streamlined body brimming with explosive power. Its eyes glowed an eerie green, while its claws flashed with cold light in the dimness.
A hundred-year Soul Beast—the Shadow Leopard.
It excelled in speed and was one of the finest hunters in this forest.
At that moment, thick saliva still clung to the sharp fangs inside its gaping maw.
The Shadow Leopard's angle of attack was exceptionally tricky, striking directly into Situ Xuan's blind spot.
Its foreclaws shot for Situ Xuan's nape, and the gust of wind they raised had already stirred the loose strands of hair before the boy's forehead.
Yet at the very instant those claws were about to touch his skin, Situ Xuan moved.
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