Deep within the small woods of Eastsea Park, the surrounding trees concealed the area, blocking out all outside noise.
"Di Tian, do you know who you nearly offended today?"
Gu Yue stood with her back to Di Tian. The softness in her black eyes that she had shown before Xiling had faded, leaving only icy aloofness and lofty authority.
Di Tian remained silent. Even now, he still could not understand why his lord had treated that human in such a manner.
"Xiling... he is the reincarnation of a God King... and a God King who can recover his strength at any time."
"Now, do you understand?" Gu Yue voiced the speculation he had previously had about Xiling.
Those two brief sentences struck Di Tian's ears like thunder.
Di Tian's body suddenly stiffened, his golden pupils shrinking to pinpoints. He was no ignorant fool; he knew better than anyone what the words "God King" meant.
He did not doubt her in the slightest. Gu Yue's judgment had never been wrong.
The gods of the God Realm possessed long lifespans. There had always been precedents of gods unable to endure the loneliness of the God Realm reincarnating to travel through the myriad worlds.
"Now, do you understand?" Gu Yue watched his flustered appearance, her tone calm and even, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Di Tian lowered his head and dropped to one knee. "This subordinate... understands."
After the Spirit Ascension Platform training ended, entering the Spirit Ascension Platform once a week became a required course for first-year Zero Class.
Under the Spirit Ascension Platform's rules, every soul beast they killed granted one-tenth of its accumulated energy to their Soul Ring.
For that reason, Tang Wulin had gained quite a lot during this Spirit Ascension Platform trip. His Ten-Year Soul Ring had evolved into a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
"Tell me how each of you felt about yesterday's Spirit Ascension Platform." Wu Zhangkong stood behind the podium and spoke to the students below.
When no one stepped forward to answer, Wu Zhangkong began calling names directly. "In the order you left the battlefield yesterday. Zhang Yangzi!"
"Yes!" Zhang Yangzi answered somewhat awkwardly. "My performance yesterday was simply terrible. Teacher Wu, I was wrong."
Wu Zhangkong waved a hand. "There is no need to admit your mistake to me. Your life is your own. If yesterday had truly taken place in the Soul Beast Forest, you would already be a corpse, perhaps without even bones left behind."
"Tell me how you felt—about the Spirit Ascension Platform, or about yourself."
Zhang Yangzi's facial muscles twitched. "The world inside the Spirit Ascension Platform was too real..."
One after another, they stood and spoke. At last, Wu Zhangkong turned toward Gu Yue.
Gu Yue stood and said, "The Spirit Ascension Platform is a real world. It felt as though I had truly entered an ancient great forest. I think... I liked it there. Very much."
"During battle, the soul beasts felt real. Everything seemed no different from reality."
"That's all?" Wu Zhangkong frowned slightly when he saw Gu Yue sit back down.
Gu Yue nodded.
Wu Zhangkong's brow furrowed even more deeply. "Then explain to me how you found Tang Wulin."
Gu Yue froze for a moment. "Maybe it was a coincidence?"
"A coincidence?" Wu Zhangkong narrowed his eyes. "Xie Xie could call it a coincidence, but not you. After you discovered the Millennium Crystal Bear, you seemed to have fixed on a direction for escape."
"Your escape route changed in accordance with Tang Wulin's position, and you are telling me that was a coincidence?"
Gu Yue fell silent. Tang Wulin also looked at her in surprise.
"Teacher Wu, I was the one who pointed Gu Yue in the right direction." Xiling spoke up then, helping Gu Yue out of the predicament.
"Fine." Wu Zhangkong looked at Xiling, then at Gu Yue, and nodded without pursuing the matter further.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the entire class.
"All of you, remember this."
"Soul Power, soul skills, and strength are only the foundation. In a true battle of life and death, what matters is judgment, observation, and on-the-spot reactions."
"The reason you all came out alive and intact yesterday was largely luck. At a crucial moment, you encountered Xiling, who gave you a hand."
"Next time, you may not be so lucky."
All the students lowered their heads. No one dared to argue.
Afterward, Wu Zhangkong gave each person a summary before dismissing class.
Xiling walked side by side with Wu Zhangkong, who said, "Although you and Gu Yue are close, you should not have spoken up for her just now."
Xiling merely smiled and said nothing.
Seeing this, Wu Zhangkong shook his head helplessly and said no more.
In the blink of an eye, the first semester's finals for the first year were about to arrive.
During this time, Gu Yue reached the peak of rank nineteen and was only one step away from rank twenty. Tang Wulin was rank fifteen, and Xie Xie was rank twenty-two.
Xiling, meanwhile, was rank thirty-five. His cultivation speed truly made others green with envy.
"Your final exams will consist of two events. The first subject is the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"You will need to remain inside the Spirit Ascension Platform for one hour to pass your final exams."
"However, I need to remind you that this time, you will enter the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform."
Inside the Zero Class classroom, Wu Zhangkong spoke calmly to everyone.
Xie Xie asked in surprise, "Teacher, what does Riot Spirit Ascension Platform mean?" He had never heard of the term before.
Wu Zhangkong explained, "The Spirit Ascension Platform has two riot periods each year. At first, they were caused by instability within the energy used to construct the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"Later, as technology advanced, the Spirit Ascension Platform's riot periods came under control, and their nature became somewhat special."
"During a riot period, the soul beasts inside the Spirit Ascension Platform become especially active, and their numbers also increase."
"Whenever a riot period arrives, each of the Eighteen Sky Pillars has three hundred entry slots. This time, the five of you can obtain five of those three hundred slots."
"The academy paid no small price to persuade the East Sea Spirit Pagoda. You must cherish this opportunity."
"During a riot period, teams may enter the Spirit Ascension Platform together, though a team may not exceed seven people. The five of you can be teleported in together."
"This will test your teamwork. Remember, inside, you may encounter not only soul beasts, but also other soul masters who have entered."
"To you, they are equally dangerous. When soul beasts are killed during a riot period, the absorption time for the spiritual energy they produce becomes one hundred times longer. In other words, after killing a soul beast, you will need one hundred seconds to absorb its spiritual energy."
"If you leave the Spirit Ascension Platform during that process, the remaining spiritual energy will be absorbed by the nearest soul master. This is a special situation that only occurs during a Spirit Ascension Platform riot period."
At that moment, Xiling added, "In other words, in the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform, others can steal your spiritual energy, and you can steal theirs."
After that, Wu Zhangkong gave Zero Class three days off so they could relax and make preparations.
Zhang Yangzi and the others were overjoyed. Since entering Zero Class, apart from their one day off each week, they had never received any additional holidays. This was a first.
After Wu Zhangkong left the classroom, the five immediately gathered around Xiling. Xie Xie spoke first. "Brother Ling, are you going into the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform this time?"
"Ever since you entered the Spirit Ascension Platform last time, you have never gone in with us again."
Before you continue