A Classic Matchup: Class Zero of Eastsea Academy's First Spirit Ascension Platform Combat Trial

Class Zero of Eastsea Academy's first Spirit Ascension Platform combat trial.

Director Long Hengxu and Teacher Wu Changkong watched the battle in real time from outside the arena.

The four were placed into a virtual forest map, each landing far away from the others.

Four large screens displayed their respective perspectives in real time.

The view focused on Chen An.

He lowered his head and glanced at the conspicuous red exit button on the back of his hand.

It was an emergency device specially prepared for Soul Masters. In the event of a life-threatening crisis, one press would let them exit. Many psychologically fragile students relied on it to protect their minds. It was essentially the emergency withdrawal button in a game.

The purpose of coming here was to temper oneself through actual combat, accumulate battle experience, and elevate one's Soul Rings.

But when it came to combat, Chen An's mind had long been thoroughly stocked.

The Junior Spirit Ascension Platform offered very little spiritual energy as well. Coming here left him with only two options: kill time or see whether there was anything that could affect the Roulette.

Dense ancient trees layered over one another, while insects chirped and birds called throughout the forest.

There was no sign whatsoever of the other three nearby.

Chen An simply treated it like a sightseeing trip, leisurely wandering through the woods as though he were taking a stroll through his own backyard.

The camera shifted to Tang Wuling.

A vast expanse of vibrant, flourishing Bluesilver Grass covered the area around her. She simply sat cross-legged amid the grass, closed her eyes, and entered meditation.

"Did she fall asleep?"

On the observation platform, Wu Changkong quietly explained it to Long Hengxu beside him.

"It's Martial Soul resonance. Tang Wuling's Martial Soul has a natural affinity for Bluesilver Grass. Staying here can slightly accelerate her cultivation."

It seemed that during the opening phase, someone had directly chosen to idle and level up. She was remarkably relaxed.

The view shifted to Xie Xie, the first person in this match to encounter a potential opponent.

From the moment he entered the virtual forest, Xie Xie had remained on high alert.

He had long heard countless rumors about the Spirit Ascension Platform. He greatly hoped to gain something here—hunting soul beasts to improve the quality of his Soul Spirit and Soul Rings.

He made full use of a speed-type Soul Master's advantages, lightly concealing himself amid high branches. He deliberately softened his footsteps and even suppressed his breathing to the faintest degree as he cautiously scanned his surroundings.

He silently calculated, It would be best to run into a lone soul beast. A successful ambush would be simple and efficient.

"Hmm?"

A glint flashed through Xie Xie's eyes as an obvious disturbance came from behind a tree.

Excitement rose in his heart. He hurriedly adjusted his position to prepare an ambush, leaping onto another branch and poking his head out to look.

The grass below shook wildly. There was definitely a large, clumsy creature hiding inside!

The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger appeared in his hands simultaneously, and his entire body tensed in readiness.

Just then, something lightly poked him in the back.

Without turning around, Xie Xie casually reached back and patted it.

"I'm busy. Stop messing around."

It poked him again.

Xie Xie impatiently swatted at it once more. "Hey, I said I'm busy."

The instant the words left his mouth, a chill shot up his spine.

They had been scattered at the start of the Spirit Ascension Platform. There could not possibly be a teammate beside him!

Xie Xie's entire body stiffened as he slowly turned around.

It turned out to be a thick branch extending from the large tree he was standing on.

Xie Xie blinked, expressionlessly put away his Martial Soul, and silently prepared to make a quick escape.

He had been so focused on the movement in the grass that he had never realized he was standing atop a soul beast.

Cracks slowly split across the surface of the trunk. More than a dozen scarlet eyes opened one by one from the gaps in the bark, glowing faintly red as waves of Soul Power rapidly gathered.

A plant-type soul beast—the Crimson Demon Tree.

And this thing was a gregarious species!

Boom! Boom!

Several loud explosions erupted in the distance, sending flocks of birds soaring up from the forest in panic.

Gu Yue was slowly walking through the woods while massive flying soul beasts occasionally swept across the sky overhead.

Hearing the explosions, she instinctively turned toward the source of the noise. But the trees blocked her view, and she could see only a few dozen meters ahead.

The next second, Xie Xie's scream carried through the forest from afar.

"I didn't provoke you guys, did I?!"

It was clear that someone had already entered the desperate escape phase.

Gu Yue remained calm, with no intention of going over to help. She indifferently turned away and continued in another direction.

The camera shifted back to Chen An.

Three minutes had passed since he entered the Spirit Ascension Platform. The entire way had been quiet, and he had not encountered even a single soul beast. The surroundings were a little too quiet.

Meanwhile, Wu Changkong and Long Hengxu, watching from outside, both looked slightly grave.

On their observation screens, a formidable soul beast had been lurking in the shadows around Chen An for quite some time.

But no warnings could be transmitted from outside the Spirit Ascension Platform to those within. They could only watch helplessly.

What they did not know was that Chen An could still activate soul skills even without releasing his Soul Rings.

Second soul skill—Insight.

Chen An's pupils flickered slightly. In his eyes, anything without life appeared in black and white.

Everything in the world separated into different layers before his eyes. All living creatures and objects containing Soul Power revealed distinctly bright colors, like thermal imaging.

He knew perfectly well whether there were any soul beasts within several hundred meters.

The hunter lurking in the shadows was as exposed as if it were naked.

A Hundred-Year Human-Faced Demon Spider, known as a soul beast killer of the forest.

All other small soul beasts in the surrounding area had vanished without a trace. The reason was obvious.

Darkness suddenly covered the ground beneath his feet as an enormous spiderweb shot toward him with a howl, blanketing the sky.

The soil beneath Chen An's feet exploded as his body instantly shot sideways like an arrow leaving its bow.

The spiderweb crashed heavily onto the ground where he had been standing, directly corroding it into a charred black patch.

Chen An twisted his upper body with the momentum, then abruptly slammed on the brakes with both feet, carving a long furrow into the ground with his soles.

A purple Millennium Soul Ring rose beneath his feet. Crimson Fish Scales emerged across his body, layer upon layer arranging themselves before him into a sharp formation of blades.

With a flick of his finger, the sharp Scale Blades flew out and slashed in the direction of his movement.

The Man Faced Demon Spider was enormous and had no time to evade. The Scale Blades cut through it as though slicing soft mud, directly severing half its body in two.

The massive soul beast body transformed into countless specks of spiritual energy.

In the observation seats, Wu Changkong and Long Hengxu had believed Chen An could put up a fight and had prepared to watch an intense struggle. They never expected the battle to end in an instant kill.

The speed at which Chen An controlled the Scale Blades, as well as the scales' sheer toughness, far exceeded the two teachers' expectations.

He had clearly held back during the Class Advancement Tournament.

The fish scales could be controlled from afar for attacks and layered together at close range as armor. There was far too little information on this type of Martial Soul.

If he used that kind of swinging speed against children his own age, they hardly dared imagine it!

After absorbing the spiritual energy, Chen An took a deep breath.

There was not much improvement, but even a mosquito had meat on it.

There would be the rampaging Spirit Ascension Platform later. There was no rush. He might as well go find Wuling or Gu Yue; that would be more interesting than wandering around.