In the first-year Class One classroom, sunlight streamed through the tall stained-glass windows and fell across the neat rows of desks. The air was tinged with the restlessness of the approaching holiday.
Xiao Yan, Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng were still seated at the back of the classroom.
At the front, their homeroom teachers, Mu Jin and Wang Yan, stood side by side, holding their final class meeting before the end of the school year.
Wang Yan wore a brand-new gray robe today. He pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and flashed his trademark gentle smile.
"You've all worked very hard this year." Wang Yan's gaze swept over the young faces below, his voice warm and clear.
"I can say that you're the best class I've ever taught. On behalf of myself and Teacher Mu Jin, I'd like to thank you for all your hard work. It's your efforts that will allow Class One to share in the glory."
His words set many of the first-years' blood racing. Several boys who had trained especially hard straightened their backs, pride written all over their faces.
But just as Wang Yan finished playing the good cop, Mu Jin stepped forward. She rapped her pointer twice against the lectern, the sharp taps ringing out.
The classroom fell silent at once.
Mu Jin shed her usual gentle, scholarly air, her sharp gaze sweeping over the entire room.
"Don't get excited too soon. The holiday isn't an excuse to go home and sleep all day." Mu Jin slapped an assessment file down on the desk.
"The first week after the break, the academy will hold promotion exams. For the first requirement, your Soul Power must break through level twenty. Anyone who falls short will have to pack up and leave."
"Besides that hard requirement, the second test will be practical combat. Everyone will enter the Beast Fighting Zone and fight a Soul Beast one-on-one. The minimum requirement is a hundred-year Soul Beast. The teachers will grade you on your combat skills, how you link your Soul Skills, and how you react under pressure."
Mu Jin braced both hands on the edge of the lectern, her gaze imposing. "Don't think you can coast through this. The bottom ten percent of the final rankings will be eliminated as well."
After laying out these harsh elimination rules, Mu Jin stepped back. Wang Yan came forward again and offered his final remarks with a beaming smile.
"All right, just remember the requirements. And finally, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Go home and spend some time with your families."
Hearing Wang Yan's well wishes, the first-years exchanged glances and broke into wry smiles.
With the sword of the promotion exam hanging over their heads, they were bound to work several times harder over the break than they had during classes. How could this holiday possibly be "wonderful"?
At last, the dismissal bell rang.
Only when Mu Jin announced that class was over did the tense atmosphere in the classroom finally ease.
The first-years left in twos and threes, discussing their holiday plans.
Avoiding the crowds, Xiao Yan and the others made their way, as they often did, to the small grove by Sea God Lake.
Nearly a year of spending every day together, with their regular sparring sessions and Dream Arena training, had forged a bond among the four far deeper than ordinary classmates shared.
They sat down around the wide stone table by the lake.
Wu Feng pulled out a stone stool and deliberately sat between Ning Tian and Xiao Yan.
She folded her arms across her chest and raised her chin, shielding Ning Tian behind her like a loyal bodyguard.
Wu Feng didn't notice that Ning Tian, sitting behind her, had her cheek propped on one hand. She gazed quietly over Wu Feng's shoulder at Xiao Yan's fingers as he fiddled with the tea set.
The ripples in those golden-blue eyes had long since crossed the line of ordinary friendship.
"Finally, it's vacation. For a whole month, I won't have to get dragged into a dream and beaten up anymore." Wu Feng stretched, breaking the silence.
Ning Tian poured her a cup of tea, then turned to look at Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao. "What are you two planning to do over the break? Going straight home?"
Xiao Xiao picked up her teacup and took a sip, nodding repeatedly. "That's right! Dad wrote to me a few days ago, urging me to come home so he could test my current combat skills. Just wait till I get back and give him a shock!"
They would only be apart for a month. They would see each other again as soon as school started.
Ning Tian and Wu Feng also had clan affairs and training to attend to, and were just about to exchange a few simple farewells.
Looking at the three of them, Xiao Yan felt that something was missing.
So he turned his wrist. Moon-white and purple-gold light intertwined, and the ancient, weathered Fuxi Zither settled firmly in the middle of the stone table.
He lowered his eyes and placed his ten fingers on the strings, then plucked them sharply.
An ancient piece called Willow-Breaking Weeping Sunset drifted across the shores of Sea God Lake.
At first, the melody was slow and low, like a chilly breeze sweeping over the lake on an autumn evening, bearing an irresistible desolation and loneliness.
The notes trembled through the air, magnifying the sorrow and grief of parting until it burrowed straight into the heart, stirring up deep-seated longing and reluctance.
Though they knew rationally that this was only a brief separation, the music struck their souls so directly that their emotions slipped beyond their control.
Xiao Xiao was the first to lose the battle.
She still held her teacup, but her eyes suddenly reddened. Her nose stung, and great teardrops pattered into the tea as she began to sob.
Ning Tian had still been maintaining the bearing of the young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, but by the second half of the song, her vision had blurred as well.
She quietly turned away, drew a handkerchief from her sleeve, and dabbed carefully at the corners of her eyes, trying to hide her lapse.
Even Wu Feng, who was usually hot-tempered and would sooner bleed than cry, felt a lump in her chest.
She sniffed hard, rubbed her eyes with her hand, and ended up with bright red corners.
The song ended.
All that remained by the lake was the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the three girls' intermittent sobs.
Xiao Yan held down the strings with both hands and looked up at the three girls, all red-eyed across from him. A triumphant smile curled his lips.
Realizing that the music had forced them into its rhythm, the three immediately caught on and formed a united front.
"Brother! You're so mean!" Xiao Xiao slammed her teacup down on the table, then rushed over, grabbed Xiao Yan by the sleeve, and shook him hard.
"It's only a month apart, but you made it sound like we were parting forever. You made me cry!"
Wu Feng glared at him and joined the accusations. "You absolutely did that on purpose! Look what you did to Tian!"
Ning Tian put away her handkerchief. Her eyes were still a little red, but her voice had already steadied.
She looked at Xiao Yan and sighed helplessly.
"Brother Yan, that song is too heartbreaking. You can't just get away with this today. You have to play another one to make it up to us."
Faced with their united protest, Xiao Yan gave up his teasing and placed his hands back on the strings.
"All right, I'll play a different one."
His fingers shifted, and the music changed abruptly.
The earlier melancholy and sorrow gave way to a quick, forceful rhythm that surged with an uplifting spirit.
The moment Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves began, it swept forth like a mighty river rushing into the sea, carrying a magnificent grandeur.
Each note was like the beat of a war drum, brimming with the fearless, high-spirited vigor of youth.
The sorrow and longing that had lingered in their hearts were washed away in an instant by the rousing melody.
As the music climbed to its climax, their spirits blazed with it.
Xiao Xiao let go, her eyes shining. Wu Feng clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking. Ning Tian sat ramrod straight, her golden-blue eyes full of hope for the future.
The notes faded, and the song ended.
The gloom of parting had been swept away.
The sun was setting, and luxurious carriages of every description filled the area outside Shrek Academy's massive eastern gate.
The students heading home for the holiday were boarding their carriages one after another.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao climbed into their carriage. Uncle Fu sat at the reins, smiling as he waited for the signal to depart.
Not far away, the carriage belonging to the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect was ready as well.
Ning Tian and Wu Feng came over and waved goodbye to them.
Xiao Xiao leaned out the carriage window and waved energetically. "Sister Ning Tian, Wu Feng, don't slack off over the holiday!"
Their brief farewell came to an end.
Uncle Fu flicked the reins, and the two tall horses strode forward. The wheels rolled over the flagstones with a rumble.
The carriage gradually picked up speed and, beneath the setting sun's afterglow, rolled smoothly onto the broad highway, racing toward home.