Gu Yue pressed her hands together, and a ball of cyan light shot out.
The light transformed midair into a small cyan bird that spread its wings and soared, staying beneath the treetops as it flew off into the distance.
Immediately after, a second ball of light, then a third, then a fourth followed—each turning into a wind bird, flapping away in different directions.
Over the past three years, everyone's spiritual power had greatly increased, with Gu Yue's being the strongest among them.
Nan Fusheng's clone, thanks to cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes, had raised his spiritual power to a formidable 612 points. Moreover, since he was one of the rare few to pass the advanced Tang Sect trials, he was permitted to learn three secret Tang Sect arts.
He had chosen Xuantian Gong, Purple Demon Eyes, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
Though often mocked as "low-level martial arts," their practicality spoke for itself. Nan Fusheng found them extremely useful.
Purple Demon Eyes honed spiritual power, sharpened vision, and in later stages could even unleash mental shock attacks.
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track wasn't as overwhelming, but it was a brilliant footwork technique, perfect for disorienting opponents without much combat experience.
As for Xuantian Gong, Nan Fusheng had long looked forward to this one. The Tang Sect's foundational art, once described as a Daoist orthodox cultivation, carries the profound ability to embrace all things and nurture life endlessly.
Yet, as it evolved, it had become something more sinister: the "Profound Heaven Devouring Art." It could absorb bloodline power itself, converting it into the user's own strength. Unlike ordinary absorption methods, this was more terrifying than the infamous Star Absorbing Grand Technique—for this one could even steal a target's innate racial abilities.
A heaven-defying art indeed.
Nan Fusheng didn't dare hope for that level of monstrous power. At the very least, though, he expected an auto-circulation function like Huo Yuhao's version of the technique had in the original story.
But after countless trials, all he discovered was… it was just a standard cultivation method. The speed of circulation wasn't even much faster than Qian Guyun's clan's secret techniques.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin's spiritual power had been stuck at 499 points, a single step away from breaking through into the Spirit Sea Realm. This bottleneck was a mental barrier, one extremely difficult to shatter.
Xu Xiaoyan had already surpassed 400 points, steadily chasing after the same breakthrough.
Xie Xie lagged, with just over 200 points. Still, even that was terrifyingly strong compared to his peers.
To put it into perspective: Spirit Sea Realm cultivation could support three thousand-year spirit souls without strain, theoretically even all nine spirit rings if not aiming for high quality. That alone showed just how vital spiritual power was to a Soul Master.
Gu Yue, however, had already reached 700 points, breaking through to the Spirit Sea Realm. Her progress was soaring skyward like a rocket.
The group paused, waiting for Gu Yue's wind birds to return with scouting results before proceeding further. Though the initial stage of the Spirit Ascension Platform rarely held threats to them anymore, "rarely" didn't mean never.
After all, their first entry into the riot period, the Ascension Platform had thrown them against a hundred-year Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear—a monster even now they couldn't hope to defeat. Its single swipe could still obliterate them.
"It's a pride of lions," Gu Yue whispered within half a minute. "To the left. The tracks suggest a large group."
A Fire Lion pride—a nightmare-level force in the initial Ascension Platform. They had once chased the group to utter despair.
Tang Wulin's brows furrowed. "Can you gauge the number?"
Gu Yue replied gravely, "From the traces… about fifteen. Do we take them on?"
Tang Wulin turned to the others. "What do you think?"
Nan Fusheng smirked. "I vote we fight. After all, this is the Ascension Platform—not a real battlefield. If we finally run into something that can pressure us, we should take the chance to push ourselves.
Even if two or three of them are thousand-year Fire Lions, I think we can handle it."
Gu Yue nodded. "I agree. Pressure is the best catalyst for growth. At worst, if we can't win, we should at least have enough to escape."
Xu Xiaoyan giggled. "I'm in."
Xie Xie raised a hand. "+1."
Tang Wulin looked up at the sky, then nodded. "Alright. Gu Yue, keep scouting. We'll approach carefully but hold position until nightfall."
At night, fire-attribute beasts like Fire Lions weakened slightly. Without sunlight, fire elements became calmer.
Moreover, their team's combat power spiked under Xu Xiaoyan's Starlight Ice Staff, especially since her second ring had strengthened the buff dramatically.
(The following battle is condensed…)
As they trailed the Fire Lion pride, they unexpectedly discovered the lions already locked in combat with a seven-member Soul Master team.
With perfect timing, Nan Fusheng and his group intervened—slaying the Fire Lions, "rescuing" the team… and then, in classic fashion, turning on them to harvest their accumulated spirit energy.
After that, Class Zero pressed onward, constantly moving through the Ascension Platform, occasionally ambushed by soul beasts, only to counter-kill and absorb more energy.
They maintained a rhythm of two hours of action, then half an hour of rest. With each passing hour, the spirit energy surrounding them grew thicker, faster than they could even absorb.
By dawn, they had already survived nearly a full day, completing the requirements for their final exam. Not that any of them had ever considered it a challenge to begin with.
"Take a break," Tang Wulin ordered.
In the Ascension Platform, hunger was never an issue. They were only projections, after all. The moment they exited, though, they would need a mountain of food to replenish their bodies.
Bathed in the first light of dawn, Nan Fusheng, Xu Xiaoyan, and Tang Wulin sat cross-legged, cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes. For some reason, the technique's effects in the Ascension Platform were doubled, though none of them knew why.
Still, results were results—why waste the opportunity?
Once Purple Demon Eyes reached its second stage, progress became excruciatingly difficult, requiring years of accumulation, deep comprehension, and a dash of luck. Even Wu Zhangkong himself, at the seventh ring, remained stuck in the second stage.
When they had finished resting, the sun was already high.
Nan Fusheng stood and said, "By noon today, we'll have officially passed the exam. I say we play it safe until then. This hilltop is perfect for keeping watch. Once the exam timer ends, we make a full-speed dash deeper inside."
Everyone agreed.
The deeper into the forest they went, the stronger the soul beasts became.
By midday, with their accumulated spirit energy nearly absorbed, Tang Wulin finally gave the order:
"Move out!"
Five streaks of cyan light sank into their bodies. With the wind element supporting them, they felt as light as feathers.
This time, they didn't hold back. No cautious steps—just an all-out sprint toward the forest's depths.
Gu Yue kept releasing scouting wind birds, directing their path while Tang Wulin blazed the trail. She guided them away from overly powerful beasts, letting them push farther and farther.
The trees grew denser, the vegetation thicker, until their speed had no choice but to slow.
Even so, after two straight hours of rushing, they had gone deeper into the Ascension Platform than ever before.
And they all knew… the real climax of this trial was about to begin.