This Time Was a Little Different, So Let Me Go (Two Chapters Combined)

"Qianqiu, the neck! Go!"

Dong Qianqiu did not hesitate. She drew back her Ice Spear and thrust it forward, driving its tip into the soft tissue beneath the tiger's jaw. No thick fur covered that spot, and the resistance was noticeably weaker than before.

White frost poured in through the spear tip, instantly freezing the flesh and meridians inside the tiger's neck.

The Silver-Striped White-Plumed Tiger's roar caught in its throat. Its open mouth let out only a short, breathy sound, its amber slit pupils widened, and its body convulsed violently twice. Its forelegs desperately braced against the ground, but the Ice Cone had frozen its hind leg joints, leaving them unable to exert any strength.

Ye Zhiqiu's Gravity Wave sensed its soul power rapidly dwindling, so he drew back his left hand and released the gravity.

The tiger could no longer hold itself up. Its enormous body toppled sideways, crashing onto the rocky ground and scattering gravel and dust. Its limbs struggled a few more times, then went still.

Points of light rose.

The Spirit Energy this time was denser than that of any soul beast before it. The lights split into three streams, each much thicker than before. One entered Dong Qianqiu's body, one entered Lan Mengqin's, and one entered Ye Zhiqiu's.

Dong Qianqiu stood where she was, feeling something inside her change.

As Spirit Energy poured into it, her first yellow soul ring began trembling violently. Its color deepened from the outer edge inward, the yellow fading as purple seeped in. The entire process lasted only a few breaths.

When the yellow faded completely, her first soul ring had turned entirely purple.

Three purple rings.

Dong Qianqiu looked down at the three purple soul rings beneath her feet and took a deep breath, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting.

"It changed," she said.

Ye Zhiqiu glanced at the soul rings beneath her feet and smiled. "Congratulations. Three purple rings."

Dong Qianqiu looked at him. For once, she did not talk back, merely nodding. She could not quite put the feeling in her heart into words.

Ever since she had obtained her first soul ring at six, that yellow ring had stayed with her for almost six years. Now it had finally turned purple, bringing her one step closer to Silly Qiu.

Lan Mengqin stood beside her. The four purple soul rings beneath her feet had also deepened in color, especially the first and second, whose edges held a faint hint of darkness.

"Mengqin, your soul rings are about to change color too, aren't they?" Dong Qianqiu asked after taking a look.

"Yes. I still need a little more Spirit Energy," Lan Mengqin said, looking down at her feet.

Ye Zhiqiu spread his Gravity Wave out again, sensing their surroundings.

"We've pretty much cleared out the older soul beasts in this area. All that's left are scattered hundred-year soul beasts." He paused, then continued, "Let's head deeper and move to another area."

The three continued deeper into the Spirit Ascension Platform.

The farther they went, the denser the forest became. The tree trunks were thicker than those on the outskirts, and the concentration of soul power in the air rose noticeably. Within the range of Ye Zhiqiu's Gravity Wave, both the density and intensity of soul power fluctuations were climbing.

After roughly fifteen minutes, Ye Zhiqiu raised a hand to signal a stop.

"There's a group ahead. At least five, between two and three thousand years old, gathered together," he said.

Hearing this, Dong Qianqiu tightened her grip on her Ice Spear. Three purple soul rings slowly revolved behind her.

Lan Mengqin's Heavenly Snow Woman projection floated a step forward, and her four purple soul rings lit up as well.

Ye Zhiqiu assigned their roles, and all three moved at once.

He pressed down with his left hand, using gravity to pin the two at the front. Dong Qianqiu cut in from the flank, stabbing and sweeping with her Ice Spear. With three purple soul rings empowering her, her Ice Element Control was considerably stronger than before. A single thrust froze nearly half the neck of a two-thousand-year soul beast.

Lan Mengqin's Ice Cone covered a wider area too. Row after row sealed off every escape route.

They finished off all five soul beasts in less than four minutes.

The points of light divided and entered their bodies.

Ye Zhiqiu's soul rings were slowly changing color as well. Three purple and one black—the edges of all four had begun taking on an extremely faint darkness, as though something was seeping outward from within.

The change in Lan Mengqin's soul rings was the most obvious. As Spirit Energy continued pouring into her first purple soul ring, its purple grew deeper and deeper. An almost imperceptible trace of black appeared along its edge. Though it was not yet entirely distinct, it was clearly transitioning toward purple-black.

"Your soul ring's nearly there," Dong Qianqiu said, noticing the change beneath her feet.

"Yes. Once I gather a little more Spirit Energy, it should turn purple-black." Lan Mengqin nodded, a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

The three swept through everything in their path. They generally no longer tackled hundred-year soul beasts together, leaving Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin to handle them while Ye Zhiqiu controlled the battlefield from the side.

Against thousand-year soul beasts, all three worked together: Ye Zhiqiu controlled the battlefield, Dong Qianqiu broke through their defenses, and Lan Mengqin suppressed them.

They encountered several more soul beasts just over ten thousand years old. Ye Zhiqiu still only used gravity to control the battlefield, letting Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin attack at full strength while he covered them from the side. Occasionally, he used Gravity Anchor to interrupt a soul beast's killing blow, or Absolute Traction to pull back one that had lunged away.

Ten-thousand-year soul beasts held far more substantial Spirit Energy than thousand-year ones. Every kill brought a noticeable increase in the ages of all three students' soul rings.

Dong Qianqiu's second soul ring gradually deepened from purple, beginning its transition toward purple-black.

Lan Mengqin's first soul ring had already turned entirely Purple-Black, standing out strikingly as it slowly revolved beneath her feet.

The changes to Ye Zhiqiu's soul rings were the least obvious. Their starting ages were already high, after all. With that foundation, the perceived increase was not as dramatic as the girls', but his Gravity Wave could detect the energy being slowly absorbed by his soul rings.

As they fought their way deeper, the soul beasts they encountered grew older and older.

Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform.

The atmosphere in the control room had shifted from shock to numbness, then from numbness to bewilderment.

Ye Wenduo stood before a massive display showing the Spirit Ascension Platform's real-time monitoring interface.

Since entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, the three students he had brought had killed over a hundred soul beasts. More than thirty were over a thousand years old, and eight were over ten thousand.

Such numbers would have been exceedingly rare at any academy. Most intermediate-division students were doing well if they killed ten thousand-year soul beasts during a visit. If they were lucky enough to encounter one or two ten-thousand-year soul beasts, they would have hit the jackpot.

Yet these three children treated ten-thousand-year soul beasts as routine targets.

The staff member beside him was already looking rather unwell. He stared at his data terminal for a long while, then whispered something to a colleague.

His colleague glanced at the data too, an odd expression crossing his face before he turned and left the control room.

Ye Wenduo noticed the little exchange, but did not stop them.

He knew what the staff were worried about.

The Spirit Ascension Platform's energy reserves were limited. Every virtual soul beast killed consumed Spirit Energy stored within the platform. That energy was transferred to the killer, increasing the ages of their soul rings and soul bones.

Normally, an intermediate-division student consuming three to five percent of the total reserves in a single visit was already a very good result.

But since Ye Zhiqiu and the girls had entered, their spirit energy consumption had already exceeded fifteen percent.

The three combined were approaching twenty percent.

That figure made the Spirit Pagoda staff uneasy. If they kept fighting like this, the three of them would drain more than half of today's energy reserves. What would happen to the other soul masters who had booked the Spirit Ascension Platform for later that day?

A few minutes after leaving, the staff member returned with someone.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a Dark Gray uniform with a silver badge pinned to his chest. He appeared to be a mid-level manager at the Spirit Pagoda.

He approached Ye Wenduo and gave a slight nod. "Teacher Ye, could we have a quick word?"

Ye Wenduo glanced at him and nodded, and the two stepped into the corridor beside the control room.

"Teacher Ye, the three students you brought have certainly produced outstanding results." The middle-aged man weighed his words before continuing, "But their current consumption has already exceeded the normal upper limit for a single visit to the Spirit Ascension Platform. If they continue, it will affect those with later reservations."

Ye Wenduo did not respond immediately, waiting for him to finish.

The middle-aged man added, "Of course, we fully acknowledge their strength, so we'd like to discuss a proposal with you."

"What proposal?"

"We can refund all three of their Primary Spirit Ascension Platform tickets, but their use of the platform today must end here. If they wish to use it again, they'll need to wait a year before making another reservation," the middle-aged man said.

Ye Wenduo fell silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"I'll ask what they think."

The middle-aged man gestured for him to proceed.

Ye Wenduo walked over to the console. The operator connected to the Spirit Ascension Platform's internal communications channel, linking a voice line directly to the three students' Simulation Pods.

In the Spirit Ascension Platform's forest, Ye Zhiqiu had just finished off a Black-Patterned Python a little over ten thousand years old. He stood beside the points of light dispersing from its corpse, flexing his wrists.

Ye Wenduo's voice came through the communications channel.

"Zhiqiu, Qianqiu, Mengqin, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Teacher." Ye Zhiqiu tilted his head and answered the empty air.

"The Spirit Pagoda says your consumption today is already nearing the limit. They'd like to ask whether you can stop here. They'll refund your tickets in full, but you'll have to wait a year before using it again."

Ye Zhiqiu paused, then smiled and looked back at Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin.

"What do you think?"

"I don't mind. We've already absorbed more Spirit Energy than I expected," Dong Qianqiu said. The three purple soul rings beneath her feet were much deeper in color than when she had entered. Her gains had indeed been considerable.

Lan Mengqin nodded too. Her first soul ring had already turned Purple-Black, so she had gained just as much.

"Then let's stop here, Teacher."

"All right. Press your alarms to exit."

Ye Zhiqiu raised his right hand, glanced at the cold metal band around his wrist, and pressed it.

The instant he pressed the alarm, the surrounding forest blurred, and everything rapidly faded away.

When the three stepped out of their Simulation Pods, the staff were already waiting outside. Their expressions were courteous, but their eyes held unmistakable relief.

The middle-aged man stood nearby as well, holding three silver cards. Seeing them emerge, he handed the cards over.

"Students, these are your refunded tickets. You'll need to wait a year before booking your next visit," he said, his tone polite but his stance firm.

Ye Zhiqiu took the three cards and handed one each to Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin, then glanced at Ye Wenduo.

Ye Wenduo stood beside them, his expression calm, without any sign of displeasure.

It was noon when they left the Spirit Pagoda.

Ye Wenduo walked ahead, with the three following behind.

"Teacher, what do you think of today's gains?" Ye Zhiqiu asked casually.

Ye Wenduo glanced back at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Hahaha! You three smashed halfway through the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform today."

"An ordinary intermediate-division student consumes between three and five percent of its energy in one visit. The three of you nearly reached twenty percent combined. If they hadn't stopped you, you could have drained more than half of today's reserves," Ye Wenduo said.

Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin exchanged a glance, both unable to hold back a laugh.

Ye Zhiqiu walked behind them with his hands in his pockets, the corners of his mouth lifting too.

"If I'd known, I would've gone a little faster. We could've killed a few more."

Ye Wenduo gave him a helpless look and said nothing, though a faint smile tugged at his lips.

Those three tickets were truly worth every bit!

Another three days passed, during which the three continued training with Ye Wenduo.

Calling it training really meant spending every afternoon at the training grounds, with Ye Wenduo personally serving as their sparring partner. It was one against three, and Ye Zhiqiu was forbidden from using Concept Severance or Absolute Slash.

"Those soul skills of yours are too unfair. There's no point if you use them," Ye Wenduo said, flexing his wrists in the middle of the training grounds.

Even without those two soul skills, Ye Zhiqiu forced Ye Wenduo back three steps using only the Absolute Blade's basic slashes and gravity-based battlefield control.

Ye Wenduo was an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. Though he was not among the very best, his experience spoke for itself.

After that match, Ye Wenduo wrote a line on his record sheet, closed the notebook, and said, "All right. You don't need to come tomorrow."

"Why?"

"If we keep going, I won't have much left to teach you," Ye Wenduo said frankly.

Over those three days, Dong Qianqiu and Lan Mengqin's combat experience had grown considerably. Sparring with a veteran Soul Douluo like Ye Wenduo had brought especially noticeable improvements in their grasp of tempo and judgment.

On the evening of the third day, they left the training grounds.

Ye Zhiqiu and Dong Qianqiu walked side by side on the way back to their dormitories. Lan Mengqin had gone ahead to her own.

The two chatted intermittently. Ye Zhiqiu talked about the second round, while Dong Qianqiu occasionally nodded or took a jab at him.

When they reached the dormitory entrance, both suddenly stopped.

About three steps ahead of them, the air distorted slightly, and a silver-white gate of light appeared out of thin air.

Tiny silver specks shimmered along its edges, while a hazy silver veil of light filled its center.

Dong Qianqiu froze for an instant, then recognized it. "The Summoning Gate?"

Ye Zhiqiu nodded. His Gravity Wave had already spread out, confirming that the gate posed no danger.

Then a voice came through the gate.

"Is Qianqiu there? Could you come help us? We're about to die in Shrek's preliminary selection."

It was Lan Xuanyu's voice.

Ye Zhiqiu paused. The voice sounded rather weak.

He thought for a moment, then remembered which part of the story this was.

In the original story, Lan Xuanyu had run into trouble during the virtual assessment for Shrek's preliminary selection, and Qian Lei's Summoning Gate had pulled her over to help. This time, Lan Xuanyu's side was actively asking for aid.

Still, Lan Xuanyu had now become Lan Xuanyu with a different final character in his name. That was no big deal.

Dong Qianqiu looked at Ye Zhiqiu, a question in her eyes.

"I'll go," Ye Zhiqiu said.

Dong Qianqiu paused. "You're not letting me go?"

"This time's a little different. Let me go instead."