Virtual Spirit Realm

A spell competition was a spell competition after all; its difficulty far surpassed the mock exams held at school.

After leaving the examination hall, high school students from every school were buzzing with discussion.

Some compared answers, while even more complained that the questions were too difficult.

"What does 'casting reduction under extreme conditions for the fourth spiritual energy circulation method of the Fireball Technique' even mean?"

"What kind of garbage questions are these..." Tao Dapeng was thoroughly indignant.

The textbooks clearly only listed three casting paths for the Fireball Technique. He could not even understand the question.

"Are Pearl High School students all this insane? Is this the kind of stuff they usually get tested on?"

"It's very simple," Jiang Ran replied flatly.

"Spiritual energy depletion, when the requirements for casting cannot be met, counts as an extreme condition. At that point, casting reduction is necessary."

"There are three solutions for casting reduction. The first is to simplify the spiritual energy route..."

Jiang Ran spoke fluently, leaving Tao Dapeng completely dumbfounded.

Had they not agreed to be best bros for life and stay bad students together?

"No..."

"Ran, have you lost your mind?"

"I feel like I don't even know you anymore. When did you learn all this?"

"Listen properly in class. Teacher Zhou covered all of this before," Jiang Ran said with complete seriousness.

The teacher truly had covered those topics before. However, because such questions were difficult and had low scoring rates, they had only been explained briefly in class. The focus had remained on spell analysis questions that most students could score on.

But ever since reaching Qi Nourishment Perfection, Jiang Ran had undergone a complete transformation, and his mind had become extraordinarily sharp.

Put simply, his intelligence had increased severalfold.

Combined with the knowledge points in his memories, these spell questions now came to him as easily as taking something from his pocket.

The written spell examination was worth a total of one hundred and fifty points. Jiang Ran was confident that he could score at least one hundred and forty.

After the exam ended and the crowd dispersed, the vast majority of students returned to their dormitories to study and cultivate.

With the college entrance examination approaching, time was growing increasingly tight. At this point, everyone knew what they should and should not do. Studying and cultivation were the only rhythm on campus.

Tao Dapeng did not actually drag Jiang Ran out to "skip class" and eat good food.

Da Peng was still a filial kid. His family had just bought him such an excellent spiritual root, and if he did not cultivate properly now, he would truly be letting down everyone's efforts.

The next day, one hundred competing teams and tens of thousands of students gathered in the spell training hall of Pearl Middle School.

There would be no official competition today. What was about to take place was a "lecture."

Not an ordinary lecture, but a high-level professional lecture on spells.

The lecturer was Professor Cao Siyi of Jade Pivot University!

Professors held lofty status in the Heavenly Lu Kingdom. Every professorship had to be certified by at least three great immortal sects, and the cultivation threshold for the title of professor... was the Nascent Soul stage!

Yes, every professor was a powerful cultivator above the Golden Core realm.

Jiang Ran stared without blinking. This was his first time coming into contact with a great cultivator of such a level.

Above Qi Assimilation, the Grand Ruins Realm also had the Dao Foundation Realm. He was extremely curious whether the Nascent Soul stage and the Dao Foundation Realm could be compared.

To his surprise, Professor Cao did not personally appear at the venue.

Teachers from the Mingzhu Group were quickly handing out devices that appeared to be some kind of magical artifact.

Before long, Jiang Ran received one as well. Though it was called a magical artifact, it was actually a square jade block the size of his palm.

There was a circular hole in the center of the jade block, within which mysterious light gathered and endlessly revolved.

A guiding voice came through the speakers at the front.

"This is an authentication artifact for entering the Virtual Spirit Realm. Please enter your names to bind it."

"In thirty minutes, Professor Cao will meet with everyone in the Virtual Spirit Realm."

"Please complete the binding as soon as possible. If you encounter any problems, contact the teaching assistants..."

Jiang Ran opened the packaging and found the three-step binding instructions.

Name, school code, then a thread of spiritual energy.

The square jade block was instantly activated. It rose by itself and gently attached to the center of his forehead.

The mysterious light within the central hole emitted an unusual radiance. As a wave of dizziness washed over him, Jiang Ran closed his eyes.

When he came back to his senses, the spell arena before him had turned into a vast, boundless green grassland.

"So this is the Virtual Spirit Realm..." Jiang Ran felt somewhat shaken.

The world before him was incredibly real. He could feel the grass beneath his feet, hear the breeze passing by his ears, and even smell the earth and forests.

Although it could not compare to his ability to directly travel to the Great Ruins Realm.

Still... this place did not seem to be a virtual world. Or rather, it was not merely a virtual world.

Students began appearing across the grassland one after another. As students from each school completed their bindings, they gradually filled the surrounding fields.

The teachers leading Pingjiang No. 1 High School's team entered as well, signaling for the students to remain seated and wait quietly.

Less than half an hour later.

The air ahead twisted.

Professor Cao instantly appeared in the Virtual Spirit Realm. His hair was gray, yet his back remained exceptionally straight.

"It's starting..."

Professor Cao smiled kindly and brushed his sleeve.

The combined attention of tens of thousands of students did not make this great cultivator uncomfortable in the slightest.

"You all know that 'only after Foundation Establishment can spells follow the heart.' Yet what I speak of today lies before Foundation Establishment."

Professor Cao did not move, yet the entire grassland seemed to be breathing slowly.

He raised two fingers and drew through the air. A thread of faint light bloomed from his fingertips.

"This is the Gathering Fire Art."

"Gathering fire is the foundation of the fire element. It normally consumes five streams of spiritual energy, but if one uses the Tidal Cycle to circulate through the heavenly circuit..."

That thread of light suddenly split into nine sparks, forming an array in midair.

"The spiritual energy has not increased, yet its might doubles."

"If spiritual energy is compressed in a tail-chasing formation—"

"Then its might remains undiminished, while spiritual energy consumption is halved!"

The grassland suddenly transformed into an illusory sea of flames, and the students seemed to stand atop the cresting waves.

Jiang Ran listened with rapt attention. This was the first time he had attended a lecture with such seriousness.

It was not that he was usually inattentive, but professors possessed a special quality in their teaching that drew every student's full concentration.

"Casting spells across realms is not forcefully achieved through brute strength, but through following the mechanisms of heaven and earth." A withered branch flew from Professor Cao's sleeve. With a light touch at its tip, an illusory azure lotus blossomed. "In his youth, Qingya True Person once fought a Nascent Soul cultivator while only at the Golden Core stage. He succeeded because he comprehended the principle of 'three voids, seven realities.'"

"Use divine sense as a guide, borrow the momentum of heaven and earth, and make up for your own shortcomings." He flicked a finger, and the azure lotus instantly turned into a thousand snowflakes. Each petal contained a complete route for spiritual energy circulation. "Save a fraction of spiritual energy, and gain another fraction of victory."

Everything Professor Cao taught was basic, so basic that it could even be called simple.

Yet it was precisely this simplest knowledge that benefited every student immensely.

Even many of the teachers present revealed looks of sudden realization.

A professor was a professor, after all. A few casual pointers could guide Qi Refining cultivators and also illuminate the path of Foundation Establishment.

The sea of flames gradually receded, and spiritual light faintly appeared between the students' brows.

"Cultivation is like weaving brocade, while spellcasting is like guiding a needle." Professor Cao's voice rang like a clear bell. "If you understand how to use spiritual energy efficiently today, then one day you may gain a sliver of heavenly light."

His voice gradually faded, and his figure slowly vanished.