"Xiao Chenyu, you truly surprise me. With your aptitude, to cultivate the Vajra Wolf to your current level, most of the bones and flesh throughout your body must have been tempered over a hundred times. Your senior brother Bell must have hammered you relentlessly with Subduing Tiger Fist and Dragon Subduing Palm. I hope you continue to work hard; perhaps one day, you might catch up to your senior brother Bell's level."
"Shui Yue'er, the path I laid out for you—like your elder sister Shui Bing'er—was the path of ultimate attributes. However, Teacher is somewhat disappointed in you. In truth, your talent is not much worse than your sister's; in some aspects, your mischievous comprehension ability is even better than Bing'er's."
"But your mind is not focused, and you have neglected your cultivation, falling far behind your sister. Your Flowing Water Fist is barely proficient, and your Subduing Wave Technique is still unable to freely manipulate even a single pool of water—let alone reach the level of controlling rivers and seas, or transforming the ocean into the sky. At this rate, I fear that in another year or two, Xiao Chenyu could easily suppress you. You are currently the weakest core disciple in the academy."
"Conversely, among the named disciples, Xue Wu's performance is even more outstanding. Her snowflakes can now transform from falling leaves into blooming flowers, each one turning into a lethal weapon."
"Yue'er, I will punish you with seven days of facing the wall in contemplation and writing a self-criticism. Do you have any complaints?"
For the students of Heart of Fire Academy—including Bibi Dong—terms like ultimate spirit were still unfamiliar.
In the current Douluo Continent, the classification of spirit attributes was still vague. Spirits were only broadly categorized into levels such as trash spirits, advanced spirits, top-tier spirits, and similar distinctions.
The concept of ultimate spirit was a direction of spirit attribute evolution that would only be fully explored tens of thousands of years later in the continent's development.
The cultivation paths Xin had designed for Shui Bing'er, Xue Wu, and Shui Yue'er were aimed toward ultimate water and ice attributes—an exploratory framework that could set a precedent for future spirit master cultivation.
Of course, other disciples also had their own unique cultivation directions, and if they reached the peak, they would not necessarily be much weaker than those with ultimate attributes.
Hearing Teacher comment on their cultivation progress, most students received praise. Only Shui Yue'er received the harshest criticism.
Originally, she had been using her cleverness to wake Qian Renxue, but now her smile vanished instantly. Her eyes darted nervously, and a strong sense of grievance welled up in her chest. She had never expected Teacher to evaluate her so severely.
Especially that final sentence—she… was the weakest core disciple.
In truth, Xin's evaluation was already restrained. Shui Yue'er's spirit power was not significantly higher than that of many named disciples. Although her innate talent was decent, her attention was scattered. Compared to her peers, she was far less disciplined in cultivation, often distracted by trivial matters and emotional curiosity about her teacher.
She could not even compare with the core disciples, and in some respects, she was indeed approaching the level of being overtaken by named disciples.
This was precisely why Xin chose to correct her publicly—despite the emotional weight it carried.
Strict discipline, born from deep expectation.
"Disciple… Disciple has no complaints." Shui Yue'er said softly, her voice trembling slightly as she tried her best to steady herself.