"Hmm..."
This time, Arthur finally looked back and immediately saw the pile of Spirit Beasts behind Na'er.
He instantly leaned back: "Whoa!"
"Na'er... what is the meaning of this?"
"Hehehe." Na'er scratched her head in embarrassment, her silver hair fluttering as she chuckled foolishly: "These are all for you, Brother."
Arthur was also a Divine Being; he quickly accepted this scene.
Rather, it could be said that he was the primary reason Na'er had become so silly.
Seeing a Jade Phosphor Snake in the pile of Spirit Beasts, Arthur's eyes lit up. He put away his fishing rod, skewered the snake onto the hook, and cast the line out again.
Arthur sat down again, his hand holding the fishing rod as steady as a rock, as if he hadn't just skewered a thousand-year Spirit Beast but merely a piece of ordinary bait.
Na'er squatted beside him, her purple eyes staring curiously at the river surface, occasionally turning to look at Arthur.
Then she looked back at the pile of Spirit Beasts behind them that were still whimpering.
The river surface was calm, with only tiny ripples brought by the gentle breeze.
But after waiting for a long while, there was still no movement.
Arthur's brow furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to lift the rod to check, a sudden disturbance came from underwater.
It wasn't a violent tugging force; instead, it felt as if something had lightly tapped the hook underwater.
Immediately, a dark shadow nimbly circled the hook twice.
It actually took the Jade Phosphor Snake and swam deeper into the water, then suddenly lunged upward.
With a "splash," the spray accurately hit Arthur in the face.
Arthur didn't care at all. His gaze narrowed, and he gave a sudden pull.
But the fishing rod was light and weightless. The Jade Phosphor Snake on the hook was long gone, leaving only a half-bitten fishing line dangling in the air.
Next, a splash erupted on the river surface as a huge Silver-scaled Fish leaped out of the water.
As if provoking him, it twisted its body in the air and even flicked its tail toward Arthur, as if mocking him.
Then, with a "plop," it fell back into the water, leaving only a circle of mocking ripples.
"..."
Arthur looked at the empty hook and then glanced at the widening ripples, the image of being mocked by the big fish constantly flashing in his mind.
Na'er, who was beside him, was also stunned. Once she reacted, her purple eyes instantly flared with anger. Three purple spirit rings behind her suddenly lit up with a "shua," and the phantom of a giant dragon roared as it emerged once more: "Darned big fish! How dare you bully Brother! I'm going to catch it!"
As she spoke, she was about to rush into the river.
"Don't." Arthur grabbed her and took a deep breath. "It's just fishing... there's no need."
"Oh..." Na'er returned obediently.
One breath... two breaths... three breaths... "Damn it!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"Drain the water!" Arthur roared, his Soul Power boiling. Water element fluctuations spread to the entire river.
The water in the river converged frantically to both sides. The originally calm river surface was actually moved aside as if by a pair of invisible giant hands, receding from the center to the sides.
The mud and gravel at the bottom of the river were exposed.
That Silver-scaled Fish that had just been mocking him was now exposed to the air, its tail frantically slapping the ground as it tried its best to jump back into the water.
But the surrounding water seemed to have a life of its own. No matter which direction it jumped, the water would avoid it in advance, making it miss its mark.
"Na'er!" Arthur gave the order.
"Here!"
Na'er stood at attention.
"Charge!"
"Roar!"
Na'er reflexively let out a battle cry, but this time it was a true giant dragon's roar.
The massive Golden Dragon struck the Silver-scaled Fish fiercely... In the monitoring area, everyone had already frozen in place, and the air was silent.
Wu Zhangkong's face was several degrees colder than usual, but the slight twitching of his mouth betrayed his lack of composure.
He took several deep breaths before he managed to suppress the urge to complain, spitting out a sentence: "Arthur... is a person with a very distinct personality."
Beside him, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi murmured unconsciously: "Is the Spirit Ascension Platform... meant to be used like this?"
...Martial Soul Ascension ended.
After everyone stood in line, Wu Zhangkong looked at this group of students, not knowing how to evaluate them.
"This Martial Soul Ascension has ended. Those who didn't gain anything don't need to be disappointed. You can come again next week."
"The rest we will talk about back at the academy."
It wasn't that Wu Zhangkong didn't want to strike while the iron was hot and help the students analyze their performance.
It was that he also needed time to watch the playback.
He had been too engrossed in watching Arthur and Na'er's actions that he hadn't paid much attention to the other students.
Everyone returned to the academy. During this time, Tang Wulin's soul spirit underwent an evolution, rising from ten years to a hundred years.
Inside the Class Zero classroom. After watching all the playbacks, Wu Zhangkong felt confident.
"First, tell me your feelings about this Spirit Ascension Platform."
He began to call names one by one: "Zhang Yangzi!"
Zhang Yangzi stood up, his tone a bit awkward: "Teacher Wu, my performance yesterday was too terrible. I was wrong."
Wu Zhangkong waved his hand: "No need to apologize to me; your life is your own. If you were really in a Spirit Beast forest, you would already be a corpse. Tell me your feelings."
Zhang Yangzi: "The Spirit Ascension Platform is too realistic. I originally wanted to climb a tree to observe the surroundings. My Martial Soul has an advantage in this area, and I wanted to take the high-ground advantage, but my mistake was being arrogant and underestimating the enemy. I could see the Spirit Beasts, but the Spirit Beasts could also see me. Instead, I became a target for everyone. Next time, I will definitely be cautious and protect myself first."
Wu Zhangkong turned to Wang Jinxi: "And you?"
Wang Jinxi smiled bitterly: "I just remember the face of the Man Faced Demon Spider and that coldness that went straight to my Soul, like a nightmare. If I encounter it again, I really don't know what to do."
The Man Faced Demon Spider... Wu Zhangkong rarely refrained from criticizing. He comforted: "This is not your fault. Relax your mind. The Man Faced Demon Spider is very powerful; a hundred-year-old one can hunt thousand-year Spirit Beasts. It's not shameful to lose to it. Next time you encounter it, remember to press the Rescue Signal Transmitter immediately."
"Thank you, Teacher," Wang Jinxi replied.
Wu Zhangkong turned to Gu Yue: "Tell me your feelings."
Gu Yue's eyes held a sense of recollection: "The Spirit Ascension Platform is very realistic, like entering an ancient forest. I like it very much."
She didn't "go crazy" like Na'er.
Instead, she mostly wandered around, watching and appreciating the Spirit Beast forest simulated by the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Wu Zhangkong frowned: "Why didn't you hunt Spirit Beasts to ascend your Martial Soul?"
Facing Wu Zhangkong's question, Gu Yue just shook her head and didn't answer.
Martial Soul Ascension had no meaning to her. It was better to enjoy the Spirit Beast forest more.
Seeing that Gu Yue seemed to have some difficulties speaking, Wu Zhangkong did not continue to press.
He turned to look at Arthur and Na'er.
He pondered for a moment and then moved on to the next person for questioning.
There was nothing to say about these two.
Those who know, know.
He looked at Xie Xie: "It's your turn."
Xie Xie said excitedly: "Hunting Spirit Beasts is so great! If my speed were a bit faster, my survivability would be even stronger. I could avoid vital points and fight longer. I finally realized the advantage of speed."
He thought of his usual training. Wu Zhangkong, Arthur—none of them were slower than him. It was too frustrating.
Finally, it was Tang Wulin's turn. He said thoughtfully: "My Martial Soul Ascension this time was entirely due to luck."
"It's different from usual training. The Spirit Ascension Platform is too realistic; being able to go all out is a huge improvement for Actual Combat. I feel like we shouldn't just go for the sake of Martial Soul Ascension."
"It's more useful for training Actual Combat abilities."
"Hmm." Wu Zhangkong nodded and then provided an analysis and critique for each of them.
Finally, he announced: "Get ready."
"The final exam will be held in the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"You still have some time to familiarize yourselves with the Spirit Ascension Platform."
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