When Furan regained consciousness, she found herself back in the Spirit World Analysis classroom.
She looked around; some apprentices had already woken up, while others appeared to be in a strange state.
They were emitting a different kind of glow, and their entire bodies had become ethereal, to the point where one could vaguely see through them to what lay behind.
One apprentice seemed to have just returned from the spirit world; his ethereal body gradually solidified, and the glow on him faded away.
A look of pleasant surprise was on his face, and he wanted to speak out in excitement, but he managed to restrain himself.
Teacher Yiqi was below, stroking the still-glowing sphere, not looking at the apprentices who were causing a bit of a stir upon their return.
He only spoke once all the apprentices had regained consciousness:
"What you just experienced was a Spirit World Tour. It is worth noting that if you attempt a Spirit World Tour on your own, you must be in a safe environment."
"Otherwise, if your body suffers fatal damage, you might spend the rest of your life in the spirit world."
"Of course, if you are lucky, you will receive spirit world protection. In this case, as long as you ascend to the spirit world, your physical body will be protected by the spirit world, making it difficult for others to damage it."
"That is all for this class. If you have any questions, you can come find me."
Even after hearing that class was over, many of the apprentices were unwilling to get up, remaining in their seats to savor the experience they just had.
Teacher Yiqi seemed used to this. He carefully placed the gray sphere into a padded box and prepared to walk out of the classroom.
"Teacher Yiqi, may I trouble you for a moment?"
Teacher Yiqi turned around. It was a black-haired girl wearing a robe—Furan—who had called out to him.
"Is there something you need?"
Teacher Yiqi asked in a calm tone.
"I wanted to ask, if I touch an object in the spirit world that looks unusual, will it have any effect on me?"
Teacher Yiqi reacted slightly and asked back:
"Did this object follow you back to the Material Realm?"
Furan quickly searched her person before replying:
"No."
"Then there is no problem. Aside from the possibility that it might haunt you the next time you go to the spirit world, it won't have any effect on you."
"Oh!" Furan acknowledged, then continued asking:
"Then, Teacher Yiqi, if I have a spirit world guiding artifact, how should I use it to enter the spirit world?"
She was asking about the spirit world guiding artifact she had taken from Richter. After realizing it was a broad term for such items, she no longer felt the need to be secretive and asked directly.
That was, after all, an Assessment reward. Furan had a feeling that she might encounter something good after using it to enter the spirit world.
"...You just touch it directly with your hand and then silently recite the incantation. My method is specifically for initiating apprentices, but..."
Teacher Yiqi's tone shifted as he continued:
"You must be clear about the approximate location your guiding artifact points to. You can use points to purchase a copy of the Spirit World Atlas to identify it; otherwise, you might end up in some dangerous places."
"Of course, as I said before, for those of you just entering the spirit world, as long as you don't have too close a connection with the spirit world, you won't be harmed."
Furan nodded to show she understood. Seeing that Teacher Yiqi didn't seem to mind apprentices asking him questions, she had a sudden whim to ask a question she was very concerned about.
"Then Teacher Yiqi, do you know about the Spirit World Trial?"
Furan had heard from Elan that Teacher Yiqi had been promoted to a Formal Mage through the spirit world, which matched the promotion method for a Spirit World Mage that had popped up on her panel.
She felt that Teacher Yiqi was very likely to know exactly what this Spirit World Trial was.
As it was currently the only method she saw for promoting to the formal rank, even if she knew she wouldn't use it later, she wanted to learn the specific method as much as possible.
In case of an emergency, wouldn't this path come in handy?
In fact, she also had considerations regarding the classes on her panel. From the two classes she had obtained, she saw that her different classes could stack, allowing her to benefit from the bonus effects of multiple classes.
And now she had an idea: if I become a Formal Mage through the spirit world, can I then become a Formal Mage through the methods of those Schools?
Therefore, she felt it was very necessary to ask about this.
As she expected, Teacher Yiqi's reaction was quite significant. His hand trembled violently as he slowly spoke:
"The spirit world... the Spirit World Trial is a test given by the spirit world to a Spirit Realm Ranger. After passing it, you can receive the blessing of the spirit world."
"You will find that your Spiritual Power increases significantly, and your Spells become several times more powerful, far surpassing those of ordinary apprentices."
"Because this is a promotion route for a Formal Mage, passing the Spirit World Trial is equivalent to becoming a Formal Mage."
"But everything has a price. This path is much easier than other paths in any case."
"You will find that you can no longer learn the Spells recorded in books because your Spells exist only within the spirit world; you must acquire Spells through repeated exploration."
"Furthermore, at that point, you are deeply bound to the spirit world, and any damage sustained in the spirit world will manifest on you to some degree."
Teacher Yiqi suddenly stopped, glanced at Furan, and advised:
"I suggest you do not take this path. If your luck is bad, you will never be able to take another step forward for the rest of your life."
"I advise you to join a School. Although the conditions for joining are very difficult, once you join, at least there will be predecessors to guide you after you become a Formal Mage."
"If you become a Formal Mage through the spirit world method, the Spells you obtain in the spirit world cannot correspond with the Schools, so they naturally won't accept you."
After hearing his words, Furan did not show any signs of withdrawal or hesitation; instead, her face was full of excitement.
"I understand, but please let me hear what to do next."
Furan stuck to her philosophy: she might not use it, but she couldn't not have it. If all else failed, she could just keep it as an option.
Teacher Yiqi didn't waste words with her and continued:
"To undergo the Spirit World Trial, you must first obtain the relevant qualification."
"Every time you explore the spirit world, you might encounter small, shimmering objects. Those are spirit world guiding artifacts. As long as you keep them on your person, they can follow you to the Material Realm."
"And there is one kind of guiding artifact that you will definitely encounter after exploring the spirit world many times. It will be surrounded by a black void, suspended in mid-air."
"That is the key to the trial. After returning to the Material Realm, you only need to touch it, and it will display information related to the trial, such as the start time. If you head to the spirit world at that time, you will be participating in the trial."
Teacher Yiqi gave a bitter smile.
"Of course, I still suggest you don't set foot on this path; otherwise, if your luck is bad, you'll be like me, unable to find the next rank's trial key."