The whole class went still, so silent that a pin could have been heard dropping by everyone there.
Emily looked at the students' reaction with a satisfied expression.
"The origin of life energy… has been the greatest mystery to scholars since the beginning of history," she dropped.
All the students in the class, including Cole, suddenly wore a disappointed look on their faces.
Their agitation and curiosity quickly faded.
"The baton of curiosity has now been passed down to you guys; the world will know your name if you find it out." She said with an optimistic smile that wanted to hide something deeper.
"Though we don't know the origin of Life energy, we know something for sure,"
"It is the fuel that powers all Spiriters."
Hearing those words, the students' earlier disappointment faded a little, regaining a little bit of attention.
"Although Spiriters with smaller and lower-quality life energy can sometimes defeat Spiriters that are better, it is something quite unprecedented," Emily continued.
While saying those words, her eyes strayed towards Cole, who was currently extremely attentive.
Cole noticed her repetitive gaze, and this seemed to be warranting a little bit of suspicion from him.
"Why does she keep looking towards me? Especially when she said her last statement," Cole thought.
"Could she have known that I almost defeated that senior?" He wondered.
It was the most probable situation he could think of at the moment.
That notion allowed him to realize something about the academy he hadn't realized earlier.
"Almost nothing could be hidden here, especially regarding students."
The realization made a feeling of dread arise again in Cole's heart; all his information was currently exposed to his enemies, but he knows nothing about them.
"How could Doctor Thomas' influence reach so far? Higher powers must be involved." This further complicated Cole's problems.
"How does life energy make Spiriters stronger?" Cole suddenly heard from the front of the class.
He quickly shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as he regained his focus.
"A Spiriter's body is more like a storage tank for life energy," Emily responded.
"The fuller the storage tank the higher you are in level, not stage." She emphasized.
All across the classroom, the students' brows furrowed as they attempted to understand Emily's words.
"Level, not stage," Cole repeated.
His confusion on how to increase in stage increased greatly.
And in concurrence with Cole's thought, a hand shot up from the front of the class.
"Yes, what would you like to ask?" Emily asked with a knowing smile.
"How do we progress through stages then?" A purple-headed front bencher girl asked.
She appeared to be the typical teacher's pet that always wanted attention.
Emily smiled at the question while looking at the other students' expressions too.
"There are two things required for progression in stages," Emily began.
"The first one being total satiation of the body with life energy and the other thing… Comprehension"
"I won't be saying anymore, as research and thinking are important parts of spiriters' growth."
Though the answer helped the students a little bit. It didn't resolve their question.
Cole continued to wonder about what actually needed to be comprehended.
Emily directly shifted off that topic, moving to other parts of the lesson.
"Life energy fuels our abilities and also our techniques; it minutely heals our body and greatly enhances our physical capabilities," Emily continued.
"Techniques again—what exactly are they?" Cole wondered.
Techniques are ways by which spiriters efficiently utilize life energy, they are usually anchored by the innate spirit.
He looked around the class, expecting the same confused expression on his classmates' faces, but except for a few like Bryan and some others, everyone seemed to know what it was.
"I am behind in combat and also knowledge; I really need to work harder," Cole decided.
Cultivation practice started about one hour later.
Cultivation practice, just like the name implied, was a practice session for students to cultivate under better conditions.
It only happens about once a week, and every student usually cherishes this opportunity very much.
The cultivation room provided for the practice was completely out of Cole's expectations.
It wasn't as grandiose as the hall he first awoke in; it wasn't as exquisite as the building around.
It was unfathomable. It exuded an air of deep and intense knowledge. It could be said to feel ancient.
The walls were made of unknown material, with runes and writings all over them. The runes pulsed gently as they emitted faint light
The diversity of Innate Spirits has allowed for the presence of even more diverse spiriters.
Spiriters delved into different fields that best suited their innate spirit. Fields including Blacksmiths, Potion concoctors, rune smiths, etc.
Cole attempted to study the runes in the room without using his Eyes of Scrutiny but couldn't get anything out of it except a slight tingling feeling in his mind.
The cultivation practice is usually performed as a group, with other classes usually involved in the process too.
And as usual, the students deemed as superiorly talented by the academy were allowed to sit more centrally, getting the highest quality of life energy.
"This is your chance to absorb as much life energy as you need, so don't waste any of it," Emily said to the students.
An excited expression was slapped on all of the students' faces, as they were all riled up and ready.
Based on the criteria for arrangement, Cole was naturally placed at the distant back of the group.
From his position, Cole saw familiar faces like the red-headed girl at the forefront, Moses a little more to the back, and surprisingly Bryan just behind Moses.
"I seem to have a fairly talented roommate," Cole thought while smiling, a sense of rivalry rising up in him.
"Begin," Emily said as she left the room.
The words still hung in the air as a huge change began to occur in the room.
The air in the room grew extremely vibrant and active. The students unknowingly breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Cole could feel all of his muscles loosen up greatly. On paying deeper attention, he could even see a faint green aura pervading the room.
"Could that be life energy?" Cole asked with widened eyes.
He could feel it all in his body, enlivening him.
Then things went south; Cole suddenly felt a large, uncontrollable change from deep in his body.
Something felt ready to burst out, as if wanting to break a chain.
Cole tried his best to suppress the feeling, but he just couldn't.
It burst out.
"Ohhh damm!" Cole suddenly screamed internally as green life energy surged aggressively towards him.