Cao Jinxuan

The next morning, before dawn.

Gu Mingyuan went alone to the western shore of Sea God Lake. The vast water stretched eastward, a dark bronze mirror not yet awake, quietly reflecting the dim sky.

He sat cross-legged by the lake and waited.

As the first glimmer of light broke across the horizon, a faint trace of purple appeared. Gu Mingyuan opened his eyes, and a violet-gold gleam flashed deep within them.

The upgraded Purple Emperor Eyes demanded a far more rigorous training regimen than the original.

Gather purple at dawn, train the eyes by day, nourish the spirit by night.

Each morning, he had to draw the first wisp of eastern Purple Qi into his eyes;

By day, he could not simply sit and train. He had to study the paths of falling leaves, the descent of water droplets, and even the smallest movements in combat, constantly honing his eyes' ability to track motion and perceive fine detail;

At night, he had to close his eyes and circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill, guiding moonlight energy into the space between his brows to balance the morning's Purple Qi and nourish his Sea of Spirit.

This demanding cycle of day and night was not meant to produce results overnight. As Purple Qi accumulated day after day, it would eventually cross a threshold and bring about a true transformation—a Heavenly Eye capable of seeing through all things would form within his brow.

He drew a wisp of pure Purple Qi into his pupils, where it became a warm current that flowed into his Sea of Spirit.

Gu Mingyuan slowly breathed out and asked inwardly, Elder Yi, can we use the things the Holy Spirit Cult gave us last night?

Deep within his Sea of Spirit, a gray current stirred.

"The thousand Gold Soul Coins are clean enough," Electrolux said evenly. "That bottle of Soul-Nourishing Liquid does contain power that nourishes the soul, but it was refined too crudely and has quite a few impurities. If you absorb it directly, it will contaminate your pure spiritual power instead."

Gu Mingyuan was not surprised. He waited for Electrolux to continue.

"As for that so-called aura-concealing Soul Tool..." Electrolux gave a soft scoff. "It can hide your aura, but deep in its core lies a spiritual mark that is difficult to detect. Wear it, and you'll make yourself a target they can track whenever they please."

"As expected." Gu Mingyuan's expression did not change. If the Holy Spirit Cult had truly been so generous and asked for nothing in return, he would have questioned their motives.

Electrolux changed the subject, a hint of praise entering his voice. "That eye technique you were practicing, though, is an exceptionally rare and effective method. It has been widening your Sea of Spirit without you realizing it."

"It does work well. There's just a lot to keep track of, with different training for morning, day, and night," Gu Mingyuan replied casually.

"Watching you train reminds me of a few methods from my past."

Electrolux fell silent for a moment. Then a tiny gray sphere of light separated from him in the Sea of Spirit and shot straight into the depths of Gu Mingyuan's consciousness.

A vast stream of intricate knowledge unfolded in an instant.

It was a set of methods built around the nature of spiritual power.

As Gu Mingyuan studied it, he found a wealth of techniques within: looking inward with his mind and precisely distinguishing the auras of souls.

Pure spiritual power, the resentment of the dead, wandering remnants of souls, hidden curses—none could escape these methods. They also covered concentrating spiritual power, controlling it with needlepoint precision, and several hard-to-guard-against ways to wield and defend against it.

Every part of it was hard-won knowledge the Holy Necromancer had amassed over his long life.

They were not his strongest methods, but they suited Gu Mingyuan's current stage best.

Gu Mingyuan's heart jolted. He immediately steadied his mind and thanked him sincerely. "Thank you, Elder Yi."

"Think nothing of it. Consider it rent for letting this old man stay in your Sea of Spirit." Electrolux waved a hand, and his gray apparition fell quiet again.

By the time Gu Mingyuan had fully absorbed and organized the profound methods in his mind, daylight had arrived.

He rose, dusted himself off, ate breakfast at the cafeteria, and headed straight to the Freshman Class Nine classroom.

More than half the class had already arrived. The moment he entered, Zhou Sichen hurried over, eyes shining, and pulled him toward a seat in the back row.

A boy with neat, short hair and a composed air sat there, leafing through a book.

"Old Cao, I brought him!" Zhou Sichen clapped the boy on the shoulder.

Cao Jinxuan closed his book. He looked up at Zhou Sichen, then sized up Gu Mingyuan. "You moved fast."

"I had to!" Zhou Sichen spread his hands.

"After that fight, Brother Gu's name spread through the entire outer academy. And a rare control-type like you, with a time attribute, is someone plenty of people want on their team. If I didn't bring you two together quickly, someone else might snap you both up."

Cao Jinxuan stood, ignored Zhou Sichen's antics, and offered Gu Mingyuan his right hand. "Cao Jinxuan. Control-type. I look forward to working with you."

Gu Mingyuan met his gaze and shook his hand. "Gu Mingyuan. Assault-type. Likewise."

Zhou Sichen grinned and, with great ceremony, placed his hand over theirs.

"Assault, control, summoning. A perfect lineup!" Zhou Sichen beamed. "The three of us are going to dominate the freshman assessment!"

At the front of the classroom.

Ning Tian sat quietly at her desk, her short golden hair catching the light. She turned her head slightly, looking past the crowd to the three hands stacked together in the back row.

Seeing Gu Mingyuan join forces with Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan, a flicker of wariness crossed Ning Tian's blue eyes. Her fingers tightened slightly around her pen.

The three of them covered assault, control, and summoning, and each was among the strongest freshmen in his own right. Together, they would be the biggest obstacle in the freshman assessment three months from now.

"What's there to be so smug about?"

Beside Ning Tian, Wu Feng followed her gaze and gave a disdainful snort. She folded her arms, looking thoroughly unconvinced.

"Does he think beating Bei Bei when his cultivation was suppressed means he can do whatever he wants in the first year?" Wu Feng raised her chin and glared toward Gu Mingyuan. "Don't worry about them, Ning Tian. Once we're in the assessment arena, we'll show them what real strength looks like!"

Ning Tian looked away. She did not answer Wu Feng, merely opening the textbook on her desk. Outwardly, she remained calm, but she had already begun working out tactics against the three of them.

At that moment, their homeroom teacher, Mu Jin, strode into the classroom and clapped her hands. A Soul Emperor could hardly have missed the students' whispered conversation.

She swept her gaze across the class, a faint smile on her face. "All right, we'll put physical training on hold today. Since our class is full of talent, let's go straight to a real fight!"

"Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Nanmen Yun'er!"

"Gu Mingyuan, Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen!"

Mu Jin lifted her chin and pointed toward the Training Ground outside.

"You two teams, get out there and fight!"