"Mm."
This time Arthur finally turned to look, and immediately spotted the pile of soul beasts stacked up behind Na'er.
He recoiled instantly. "Whoa!"
"Na'er... what's the meaning of this?"
"Hehe." Na'er scratched her head sheepishly, silver hair swaying as she grinned. "They're all for you, Big Brother."
Arthur was a remarkable person in his own right; he accepted the scene in front of him almost immediately.
If anything, he had himself largely to thank for turning Na'er into this lovable, dopey version of herself.
Spotting a jade-scale serpent among the pile of soul beasts, Arthur's eyes lit up. He put away his fishing rod, threaded the snake onto the hook, and cast the line back out.
He settled back into his seat, the hand gripping the rod steady as a rock, as though he had just baited the hook with an ordinary piece of bait rather than a thousand-year soul beast.
Na'er crouched beside him, blinking her violet eyes as she peered curiously at the river's surface, then turned every so often to glance at Arthur.
Then back at the pile of soul beasts still groaning and whimpering behind her.
The river was calm, disturbed only by the faint ripples carried in on the breeze.
But after a long wait, nothing stirred.
Arthur's brow furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to reel in and check, something moved beneath the water.
Not a hard, yanking tug, but the sensation of something gently nudging the hook from below.
Then a dark shape darted nimbly around the hook twice.
It actually took the jade-scale serpent and dove deeper, then abruptly shot upward.
With a sharp slap, the spray hit Arthur square in the face.
Arthur didn't flinch. His eyes sharpened and he jerked the rod up hard.
But the rod came up feather-light, with nothing on it. The jade-scale serpent was gone without a trace, leaving only half a bitten-off fishing line swaying in the air.
A moment later, the river's surface burst open and an enormous silver-scaled fish leapt into the air.
As if taunting him, it twisted its body mid-air and flicked its tail in Arthur's direction, practically laughing at him.
Then it plunged back into the water with a heavy splash, leaving behind one last ring of mocking ripples.
"..."
Arthur stared at the empty hook, then glanced at the ring of ripples still spreading outward. The image of being mocked by a fish kept replaying in his mind.
Na'er beside him had gone slack-jawed. When she snapped back to her senses, her violet eyes blazed with fury. Three purple soul rings flared to life behind her in an instant, and the phantom silhouette of a great dragon reared up roaring. "That wretched fish! How dare it bully Big Brother! I'll drag it out right now!"
She was already charging toward the river.
"Don't." Arthur grabbed her by the arm and drew a slow breath. "It's just fishing. Not worth it."
"Okay." Na'er obediently stepped back.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
"Son of a—!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"DRAIN IT!" Arthur bellowed, his soul power surging through his entire body. Water elemental fluctuations rippled outward across the entire river.
The current went wild, rushing toward both banks. The surface of the river, so placid moments ago, seemed seized by an invisible pair of hands and peeled apart from the center, receding to either side.
The riverbed was exposed: mud, sand, and scattered stones.
The silver-scaled fish that had been mocking him just moments before was now lying on open air, its tail thrashing frantically against the ground as it threw everything it had into flopping back toward the water.
But the surrounding current seemed to have a mind of its own. Whichever direction the fish lunged, the water had already pulled away, leaving it with nothing.
"Na'er!" Arthur barked the order.
"Here!" Na'er snapped to attention, standing straight.
"Charge!"
"ROAR!"
Na'er let out a battle cry on pure reflex, though this time it was a genuine dragon's roar.
The massive golden dragon crashed down onto the silver-scaled fish.
Every person watching from the monitoring area had gone completely rigid. The air was dead silent.
Tang Wulin's homeroom teacher's expression was a few degrees colder than usual, but the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed that he was not as composed as he appeared.
He drew several deep breaths before barely managing to swallow the urge to say something, and forced out a single sentence: "Arthur... is a person of very distinct character."
Beside him, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi murmured almost unconsciously: "Is that how you're supposed to use the Spirit Ascension Platform?"
The Spirit Ascension session came to an end.
Once everyone had gathered, Tang Wulin's teacher looked out at the group of students and found himself at a loss for words.
"This session is over. Those who didn't gain anything need not be discouraged. You can come back next week."
"We'll discuss the rest back at the academy."
It wasn't that he didn't want to seize the moment and help the students analyze their performance on the spot. He simply needed time to review the recordings himself.
He had been so absorbed watching Arthur and Na'er that he hadn't paid close enough attention to the other students.
Everyone returned to the academy. Along the way, Tang Wulin's martial soul evolved, advancing from ten years to a hundred years.
Inside the Class Zero classroom, Tang Wulin's teacher sat with his thoughts in order after reviewing all the recordings.
"Start by telling me your impressions of this Spirit Ascension session."
He began calling on them one by one. "Zhang Yangzi!"
Zhang Yangzi stood up, his tone a little awkward. "Teacher, I performed terribly yesterday. I was wrong."
Tang Wulin's teacher waved a hand. "You don't need to apologize to me. It's your own life on the line. If that had been a real soul beast forest, you'd already be a corpse. Tell me what you felt."
Zhang Yangzi said: "The Spirit Ascension Platform was too realistic. I originally planned to climb a tree and observe my surroundings; my martial soul has an advantage in that regard, and I wanted to use the high ground. But I was overconfident and underestimated my enemies. I could see the soul beasts, but the soul beasts could see me too. I ended up making myself a target from all sides. Next time I'll be more careful and focus on keeping myself alive first."
Tang Wulin's teacher turned to Wang Jinxi. "And you?"
Wang Jinxi smiled bitterly. "All I remember is the face of the Demonspider and that bone-deep cold that went straight to my soul. It was like a nightmare. If I ever run into one again, I genuinely don't know what I'd do."
A Demonspider...
Unusually, Tang Wulin's teacher offered no criticism. Instead he said reassuringly: "That's not your fault. Ease your mind. Demonspiders are extraordinarily powerful; a hundred-year one can hunt down a thousand-year soul beast. There's no shame in losing to it. If you ever encounter one again, remember to hit your emergency signal immediately."
"Thank you, Teacher." Wang Jinxi replied.
Tang Wulin's teacher turned to Gu Yue. "Tell me your impressions."
A reflective look came into Gu Yue's eyes. "The Spirit Ascension Platform was very realistic. It felt like stepping into an ancient forest. I loved it."
Unlike Na'er, she hadn't gone on a rampage.
She had spent most of the session wandering freely, taking in the soul beast forest that the platform had simulated.
Tang Wulin's teacher frowned. "Why didn't you hunt soul beasts to ascend your spirit?"
Faced with the question, Gu Yue simply shook her head without answering.
Spirit Ascension held no real meaning for her. Enjoying the soul beast forest was a more worthwhile use of her time.
Sensing that Gu Yue seemed to have reasons she couldn't easily share, Tang Wulin's teacher chose not to press further.
He turned his gaze to Arthur and Na'er.
After a brief pause for thought, he moved on to the next student.
There was nothing much to say about those two.
Anyone watching would understand.
He looked toward Xie Xie. "Your turn."
Xie Xie said excitedly: "Hunting soul beasts was incredible. If I were just a bit faster, my survivability would be so much higher. I could dodge the vital hits and stay in the fight longer. I finally understood the real advantage of speed."
He thought about the training sessions he'd sat through: Tang Wulin's teacher, Arthur. Not one of them was slower than him. It was agonizing.
Finally it came to Tang Wulin. He thought for a moment before speaking. "I only made it through this session by sheer luck."
"It's different from our usual training. The Spirit Ascension Platform is so realistic that you can throw yourself in completely, and that does a lot for real combat experience. I think going just for the spirit ascension itself misses the point."
"Using it to train real combat ability is more valuable."
"Mm." Tang Wulin's teacher nodded, then went through each of them with analysis and feedback.
Finally, he made an announcement: "Start getting ready."
"The end-of-term examination will be held in the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"You still have some time to familiarize yourselves with it."
(End of Chapter)