It was fortunate, though, that Neuvillette didn't hold it against him.
He looked at Chen Zhou.
"Since you're here today, I'll start teaching you practical combat skills and techniques."
"How are you going to teach me, Master? I'm only six this year. Isn't it hard to improve my combat skills at my age?"
Chen Zhou looked at Neuvillette with curiosity in his eyes, but Neuvillette merely shook his head calmly.
"The way to improve your combat training is simple. Tell me, what could teach you a lesson better than dying?"
Neuvillette's voice was soft. But as soon as he finished speaking, the ball of water in his hand shot out, its terrifying current piercing straight through Chen Zhou's chest.
Chen Zhou's body collapsed to the ground the next instant. Less than a second later, he revived on the spot.
He gasped for breath, his face full of disbelief.
"This is the first thing I want to teach you: no matter who you're fighting, you must stay alert. Even if you're close to that person, you still need to be on your guard."
"Never harbor the desire to harm others, but never let down your guard against them, either."
After speaking, Neuvillette raised his hand again. But before he could make a move, Chen Zhou's voice rang out.
"Calm down."
Chen Zhou said only those two words. Neuvillette paused, but had no intention of stopping.
Before the ball of light in Neuvillette's hand could shoot out, a long, deep-blue snake burst from beneath Chen Zhou's feet.
A ball of water gathered in the snake's mouth, then burst forth in a fierce stream. At the same time, Chen Zhou's first Soul Skill descended with a roar.
As Chen Zhou's first Soul Skill, Clear Stream Dragon Breath not only had tremendous destructive power, but also drew on the power of the Primordial Sea.
At this stage, Neuvillette had suppressed his strength to about the level of a two-ring Soul Master.
Faced with this sudden attack, even he failed to react for a brief moment.
But he was, after all, highly experienced—and Neuvillette was now a complete dragon.
Even with his strength forcibly suppressed to only one level above Chen Zhou's, his reaction speed and every other aspect far surpassed Chen Zhou's.
Chen Lengjing charged straight at him, but the little snake's body was cut down by the water in midair.
Clear Stream Dragon Breath collided with the ball of light in Neuvillette's hand. The next instant, Neuvillette vanished and appeared right in front of Chen Zhou.
His timing was impeccable. A rare smile touched his usually calm, serious face.
As he raised his hand, Chen Zhou was killed again.
A second later, Chen Zhou reappeared on the spot, looking aggrieved.
What Neuvillette was really teaching him was how to read the details. Yet none of Neuvillette's movements were actually meant to teach Chen Zhou specific techniques.
But after being killed again and again and getting used to death, Chen Zhou grew more accurate at reading what was happening the more desperate the situation became.
It was an extremely profound skill. It was only because of some strange quirk that the two of them could kill each other in their dreams that Chen Zhou had the chance to hone it.
Even so, no matter how resilient Chen Zhou's spirit was, he couldn't take being killed more than a dozen times.
He jolted awake, one hand pressing down on his desk. He flipped it right over.
Teacher Yue stopped lecturing and glared at Chen Zhou.
It was bad enough that the boy wasn't paying attention. Now he'd even disturbed Na'er.
But when Na'er saw Chen Zhou wake with a start and knock over the desk, confusion flashed across her face. She hurriedly helped set it upright.
"Bwover, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I had a nightmare."
Chen Zhou shook his head, took the thermos Na'er offered, and sipped some warm water. His expression eased a little.
Perhaps because he was a transmigrator, he had never taken a test of his spiritual power while living with the Qiangu Clan.
But he knew that his spiritual power was definitely very strong.
So even after being killed more than ten times in his dream, he was still as lively as ever.
Class went by quickly. Although East Sea Primary Academy was the best school in Eastsea City, its students were only six-year-old children.
They couldn't attend classes all day, so most lessons only ran for half a day.
Aside from the occasional afternoon class, they usually had lessons only in the morning.
When morning classes ended, two small figures walked out of the classroom. As luck would have it, Chen Zhou ran into the blond boy again.
This time, though, the blond boy didn't look at him. He looked instead at the adorable Na'er beside him.
Compared with the original timeline, Na'er, who was now with Chen Zhou, was much livelier and more cheerful.
Perhaps it was because she had a good home life. She didn't have to worry about anything else.
All she had to do was eat plenty of delicious food and be happy every day.
She was so cute that, after every meal, the older girls would give her snacks and milk candies.
Na'er had a milk candy stuffed in her mouth as she chewed like a little hamster, holding Chen Zhou's hand.
Chen Zhou glanced at the blond boy. He didn't know who he was, and couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind.
"Bwover, Sister Su Xin said she'd take us to try out the Spirit Ascension Platform in the Spirit Pagoda this afternoon."
"Bwover is already a one-ring Soul Master, and so am I. We can train in real combat inside the Spirit Ascension Platform now."
Na'er spoke as she noisily chewed her milk candy.
At her words, Chen Zhou paused. He remembered that Su Xin had mentioned it to him.
It had actually been Chen Mo's idea, mainly so they could get a head start.
The Spirit Ascension Platform wasn't something just anyone could enter.
A single visit cost 500,000 Federal Coins. Often, you also needed connections and an opportunity to get in.
If they could go early, they'd truly have a head start. Getting more exposure to these things than other people would be a good thing, too.
So Chen Zhou simply gave a quiet "Oh," then took Na'er's hand and walked out. But as soon as they reached the entrance, they found the area in an uproar.
Quite a few parents had gathered there, children at their sides.
Chen Zhou was naturally curious, so he went over to take a look.
To his surprise, the people at the center of the crowd were the blond boy and the gentle, quiet-looking woman.
The woman was lying on the ground. She had no visible injuries, but blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. It was clear she was gravely ill.
Seeing his mother lying there, looking so weak, the boy had tears in the corners of his eyes.
He tried to hold back his tears, but how could a six-year-old child endure that kind of pain?
Watching the boy sob, Chen Zhou fell silent for a moment. In the end, he hesitantly stepped forward.
"Could I take a look? My Soul Skill has healing effects. Maybe I can help your mother."