The day after arriving at Balak Junior Soul Master Academy, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu attended their first class at the school.
Hmm... it was a boring, very boring, quite boring class.
The classic self-introductions, the classic first lesson of the school year—it was such a classic routine that it made one feel drowsy.
"Yu Yan, weren't you looking forward to going to school? Why do you seem to have lost interest now that you're actually here?"
Looking at Yu Yan, who was slumped on his desk, the equally bored Xiao Wu found a topic and whispered to him.
Yu Yan didn't answer her question; instead, he asked back, "Do you want to attend this kind of class?"
"No, not at all."
Xiao Wu shook her head. She had come to the Elementary Spirit Master Academy to learn real things, not to listen to this tedious content.
For the entire morning, the teacher didn't say anything useful, repeatedly explaining the rules and regulations of Balak Junior Soul Master Academy—what could and could not be done.
The Elementary Spirit Master Academy only had classes in the morning, with the rest of the time being free activities. Such a schedule would have made countless students back on Blue Star shed tears of excitement and colorful language.
Having money to spend, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu turned down the work arranged by the school. They had to engage in practical combat practice in the afternoon, so there was no need to waste time on such meaningless labor.
The subjects taught at Balak Junior Soul Master Academy were: Spirit Theory, Spirit Power Cultivation, Spirit Ring Knowledge, Spirit Beast Studies, and Continental History and Geography.
These five subjects corresponded exactly to the mornings from Monday to Friday, with one subject being studied each day in sequence.
Spirit Theory mainly introduced the difference between Tool Spirits and Beast Spirits, using famous Spirits from across the continent as examples—such as the Clear Sky Hammer, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Snow Swan, Evil Eyes White Tiger, and Hell Civet—to introduce the development directions of Spirits to the students. This was to help students plan their future careers in advance.
Spirit Power Cultivation explained the tricks of Spirit Power Cultivation and guided students in meditation. Yes, that's right; in the three months since their Spirits awakened, no one in this class except Yu Yan and Xiao Wu had mastered the Meditation Technique. There was even a noble child who hadn't even looked at the Meditation Technique; in short, it was hard to evaluate.
Spirit Ring Knowledge explained the function, origin, age selection, absorption methods, risks of spirit rings, and the principles of Spirit Abilities granted by spirit rings. This was the class Xiao Wu least wanted to attend, but Yu Yan found it the most useful. The first lesson didn't dive into Spirit Ring Knowledge; instead, the teacher first shared a series of cautionary tales about people who died from their bodies exploding while absorbing a Spirit.
Spirit Beast Studies involved learning about the different types, characteristics, habitats, and weaknesses of Spirit Beasts, as well as the appropriate ages and attributes for spirit rings. This was the foundation for hunting Spirit Beasts and obtaining suitable spirit rings, even if the progress was a bit slow.
Continental History and Geography involved understanding the history of the Douluo Continent, the distribution of powers (the two great Empires, Spirit Hall, etc.), and important locations (Star Dou Great Forest, Sunset Forest, and other Soul Hunting Forests).
All five courses consisted entirely of basic knowledge.
As for combat techniques, the Elementary Spirit Master Academy didn't teach them at all.
The graduation standard for an Elementary Spirit Master Academy was to obtain the first spirit ring. Before that, cultivating spirit power and obtaining a spirit ring were the most critical goals.
How to utilize spirit rings in combat was something for Intermediate and high-level Spirit Master academies to worry about; the Elementary academy didn't concern itself with it.
Yu Yan was like a sponge, constantly absorbing the knowledge taught at the Spirit Master academy.
Under Yu Yan's urging, Xiao Wu finished reading the thin notebook of cultivation insights from the Soft Bones Rabbit Spirit Master. She did indeed gain some inspiration from that Spirit Master's growth path.
After she finished the Soft Bones Rabbit Spirit Master's insights, Yu Yan found another travelogue for her to read. This travelogue was written by a Rank 55 Spirit King about his insights after traveling across the continent.
Yu Yan had read this travelogue before; the content was interesting, the values were sound, and it recorded many local customs and rare Spirit Beasts. It was very suitable as introductory reading for children, and also for a unique existence like Xiao Wu, who was like a half-blank sheet of paper.
Judging by Xiao Wu's attitude, she clearly preferred story-oriented books like travelogues. When Yu Yan asked her to read two pages, she had already read five.
"Xiao Wu, do you like this book a lot?"
"Yeah, the stories inside are wonderful. It describes many places I've never been to and records many things I didn't know. Yu Yan, I want to visit these places in the future too."
"Of course. I haven't been to those places either, and I want to see them as well."
"Then it's a promise. Let's go together in the future."
"Mhm, we'll go together."
...It was another night of the full moon. Yu Yan and Xiao Wu left Balak Junior Soul Master Academy and Balak City, heading to a small hill outside the city.
The commotion caused by absorbing Moonlight was greater than that of absorbing purple qi, and it took longer. Therefore, it was best to find a quiet, secluded place before absorbing Moonlight.
After scattering some Beast-repelling powder around the cultivation site, Yu Yan was the first to enter a state of cultivation. The Moonlight was drawn into his body as he utilized the Meditation Technique to its fullest to refine it.
Sensing the high-quality spirit power emanating from Yu Yan, Xiao Wu also entered a state of cultivation. The quality of the spirit power in her body began to improve rapidly.
The night passed in a flash. Having timed it perfectly, Yu Yan drew a large mass of Moonlight into his body just as the morning sun was about to rise, but he did not refine it immediately.
Because he had drawn in too much Moonlight at once, the fire fish was somewhat unable to suppress the Moonlight's chill. Yu Yan, who could look inside his own body, noticed that the blood near the Moonlight showed signs of freezing.
Fortunately, the morning sun soon rose from the east. The moment the purple qi was drawn into his body, the chill emitted by the Moonlight was neutralized.
A single wisp of purple qi could not completely neutralize all the Moonlight. Sensing this, Yu Yan drew in more purple qi. By the fourth draw, the purple qi and Moonlight reached a perfect balance.
The Essence of Sun and Moon, formed by the Fusion of purple qi and Moonlight, was an easily absorbed energy that brought immense benefits to Yu Yan.
His spirit power successfully reached a Breakthrough to rank ten. The quality of his spirit power was changing, and his Physical Body's strength increased once again.
Once she could no longer absorb high-quality spirit power, Xiao Wu exited her cultivation state.
Seeing the frost appearing on Yu Yan's body, Xiao Wu began to worry if something had gone wrong. Fortunately, the frost soon turned into water vapor and vanished.
While breathing a sigh of relief, Xiao Wu decided to ask him exactly what was going on once he woke up.
This absorption took a full half-hour. When Yu Yan opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Wu very close to him, observing him.
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing?"
After staring at each other for a while and seeing that she didn't speak, Yu Yan took the initiative to ask what she was up to.
After confirming Yu Yan was safe, Xiao Wu looked into his eyes and asked, "Were you doing something dangerous just now?"