The Mentor's Counsel
A flicker of surprise passed through Yao Xuan's mind. Teacher Wu is offering comfort? It was a rare crack in the stoic facade of the Slayer Dragon, a glimpse of the mentor beneath the merciless trainer. The other students seemed to sense it too, the atmosphere in the room shifting subtly from one of review to one of guided reflection.
Wang Jinxi bowed his head, genuinely touched. "Thank you, Teacher. I will remember."
Wu Changkong gave a curt nod, his demeanor settling back into its usual disciplined groove as he turned to Xie Xie. "Your insights?"
Xie Xie sat up straighter, his earlier playfulness replaced by a thoughtful seriousness. "The jungle… it's like it was made for me. The shadows, the verticality, the cover—it all speaks to my martial soul. I understand now what you meant about environment being a weapon. And…" he paused, a trace of humility entering his voice, "I felt my limits. The stamina training, I hated it, but without it, I'd have been picked off by the pack. Strength isn't just about the moment of the strike; it's about having the reserves to strike last."
A faint, approving glint appeared in Wu Changkong's eyes. "Growth is measured in acknowledged limits as much as broken ones. Tang Wulin?"
Tang Wulin's face lit up with a different kind of fervor. "It felt… like coming home, Teacher Wu. My Blue Silver Grass, it was… singing. The whole forest, even though it wasn't real, felt alive, and it was talking to me. My soul power circulation was so smooth, so fast." His expression then dimmed slightly. "But when it came to fighting… I felt useless. A Spirit Master with a support-type grass… against those beasts…" He looked down at his hands. "Maybe I shouldn't take up a slot until I'm stronger. I don't want to be a burden."
Wu Changkong's gaze sharpened. "Retreat from a challenge is not wisdom; it is surrender. The six of you are bound not just by a class, but by shared trial. You do not get to choose when you are 'ready' for your comrades. You become ready for them."
"But how?" Tang Wulin's question was plaintive, honest. "I have no sharp claws, no elemental power. Just… grass."
"You have a blacksmith's arms," Wu Changkong stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And a spatial soul tool ring. You faced me with a forging hammer. Did you think its weight and heft disappear against a beast? The Platform simulates all you bring into it, including tools. You are not just a soul master; you are a craftsman. Start thinking like one."
The words landed like a spark on tinder. Tang Wulin's eyes widened, then ignited with a new kind of understanding. The dejection melted away, replaced by dawning strategy. "I… I can use my tools?"
"Adaptation is the soul of survival," Wu Changkong affirmed. "Now, Gu Yue. Your assessment. And," a knowing look passed between them, "how you located Yao Xuan."
Gu Yue's voice was calm, her poise flawless, yet when she spoke of the events, a subtle warmth undercut the clinical analysis. "The simulation's fidelity is remarkable. It treats spiritual and elemental laws with near-perfect adherence, making it an ideal training ground for control-types. As for locating Yao Xuan…" She paused, her silver eyes flickering almost imperceptibly toward him before returning to Wu Changkong. "My elemental affinity allows me to sense… disturbances. Significant discharges of energy, especially those with a… compatible resonance, create ripples in the ambient elements. I followed the largest one."
It was a masterfully vague yet truthful answer. It spoke to her abilities as Gu Yue, the genius, while hinting at the deeper, bloodline-level pull felt by Na'er and the sovereign within.
"Perceptive," Wu Changkong noted. "A team that can regroup is a team that can prevail. Yao Xuan?"
All eyes turned to him. Yao Xuan considered his words carefully. "The Platform tests more than technique. It tests instinct, resolve, and… comprehension. The battles were visceral, the danger felt real—that pressure is irreplaceable." He then voiced the practical puzzle. "But I noted a discrepancy. The spiritual energy I absorbed from the millennium beasts was substantial, yet the boost to my soul spirit's cultivation was less than a quarter of what their years would suggest."
Wu Changkong didn't seem surprised. "A testament to the quality of your foundation. Your martial soul is not a shallow pond to be filled by a bucket; it is a deep lake requiring rivers. What you perceive as a deficit is, in fact, a sign of immense latent potential. It means each step of growth is more significant, more condensed. Do not mistake efficiency for weakness."
He let that settle, his gaze encompassing all six of them. "Today was a first step. You have tasted real conflict, faced your own hesitations, and glimpsed your capacities. Now, you must build the mind to match."
He walked to the front of the classroom, his presence commanding silence. "Your physical training continues. But starting now, your theoretical focus shifts. You will learn about soul beasts."
A faint ripple of confusion passed through Tang Wulin, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi.
Wu Changkong anticipated it. "You wonder why, in an age where soul beasts are myths to most. I will tell you. The soul beast is the original master of the power you now wield. Every claw that strikes, every flame that burns, every shadow that hides—these arts were theirs long before they were ours. To understand the soul beast is to understand the root of your own power. It is to anticipate an opponent's moves, to find weaknesses in seemingly impervious armor, to respect the source from which soul rings are drawn."
His voice took on a deeper, almost reverential tone. "In the Spirit Ascension Platform, this knowledge will keep you alive. In the wider world, it will make you wiser. You are not just learning to fight; you are learning a legacy. A brutal, beautiful, and vanishing legacy. You will study their ecosystems, their abilities, their social structures, and their evolutions. You will learn that the Bloodthirsty Demon Ape's fury has a pattern, that the Gloomspore Fungus's silence has a warning, and that the song of the Crystal Swan can shatter a mind."
He looked at each of them, his eyes holding the weight of countless encounters in wilder times. "This is not a passive study. This is the forging of a hunter's intellect. You have felt their claws. Now, you will learn their minds. Class dismissed."
As the students gathered their things, the mood was thoughtful, the earlier excitement refined into a sense of purpose. Yao Xuan caught Gu Yue's eye as she stood. In her glance, he saw not just the shared memory of battle, but an acknowledgment of the new path ahead—a path of study that would lead them, inevitably, closer to the truths of dragons and the planned invitation that awaited in the winter quiet. The trial of combat had ended. The trial of knowledge had just begun.