Wu Zhangkong said calmly,
"Right now, you need to relax your mind. The trauma will ease over the next few days. Your situation was unique. The Man-Faced Demon Spider is an extremely rare and powerful soul beast, capable of hunting thousand-year beasts even as a hundred-year one.
Dying at its hands isn't something to be ashamed of. But remember—next time you encounter a soul beast of that level, press your emergency signal immediately.
In the Spirit Ascension Platform, getting killed by that thing was dangerous."
Teacher Wu… comforting someone? That was rare.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Wu Zhangkong turned to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue said evenly,
"The Spirit Ascension Platform felt like a real world. I felt like I'd stepped into an ancient forest.
I think… I liked it there. A lot.
The soul beasts felt real. Everything felt so authentic, almost indistinguishable from reality."
"That's all?" Wu Zhangkong frowned slightly as she sat back down.
Gu Yue nodded.
Wu Zhangkong said coldly,
"Then explain this—how did you find Tang Wulin?"
Gu Yue paused for a moment, surprised.
"Maybe… coincidence?"
"Coincidence?" Wu Zhangkong's eyes narrowed.
"Xie Xie and Nan Fusheng could be considered a coincidence. They entered the platform not far from Tang Wulin's location.
Xie Xie happened to run wildly in his direction.
Nan Fusheng was already nearby and only approached because the commotion caused by the Hundred-Year Bipedal Horned Dragon chasing Xie Xie drew his attention."
"But you weren't. You were much farther away from Tang Wulin.
When you discovered the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear, you immediately ran in the exact direction Tang Wulin was located.
Even more telling, as his position changed, so did your escape path.
That's not a coincidence."
Gu Yue replied after a pause,
"I have some small elemental control techniques. I can place them on my teammates, allowing me to sense their locations more clearly.
I figured being near Tang Wulin would be the safest, so I chose to head toward him."
Her explanation sounded a little flimsy.
"Alright," Wu Zhangkong said without further questioning, turning to Xie Xie.
"Your turn."
Xie Xie grinned,
"I liked that place! Hunting soul beasts in the forest was awesome. That environment is perfect for agility-type battle soul masters like me.
If I were just a bit faster, my survivability would've been even better."
"Fighting those green wolves at the end felt great, too. I did my best to avoid vital points so I could last longer in battle.
I've trained in this kind of fighting before, but never had a place to apply it. This time, I truly understood the importance of avoiding critical injuries.
More than anything, though, I realized the importance of teamwork!"
As he said this, Xie Xie glanced at Nan Fusheng.
Wu Zhangkong then looked to Tang Wulin, signaling it was his turn.
Tang Wulin paused to think,
"The forest felt so real. Even though I knew it was an illusion, once I was immersed, it was hard not to treat it like reality.
Especially the pain when getting injured—it felt completely real.
Fighting soul beasts in that environment helps with real combat training.
I think, with more practice there, we can truly become genuine soul masters.
We also need to keep improving our coordination.
Only with tight teamwork can we take down soul beasts stronger than ourselves.
This time, we managed to take down the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear thanks to Fusheng's control skill, increasing our margin for error,
and the distractions created by Gu Yue and Xie Xie allowed us to execute the plan smoothly."
Finally, it was Nan Fusheng's turn.
He thought for a moment but couldn't come up with anything eloquent, so he said dryly:
"This battle helped me understand the power of unity. Through our fights in the Spirit Ascension Platform, I believe our teamwork will only get stronger moving forward."
After hearing all six of their reflections, Wu Zhangkong gave a slight nod.
"If I were to give you all a score for this Spirit Ascension Platform training…
Zhang Yangzi: 0.
Wang Jinxi: 1.
Gu Yue: 5.
Xie Xie: 5.
Tang Wulin: 4.
Nan Fusheng: 5."
Zhang Yangzi had already expected his zero, and Wang Jinxi wasn't surprised either.
But when Wu Zhangkong announced only 4 points for Tang Wulin and 5 for Nan Fusheng, the others were visibly shocked.
If it weren't for Tang Wulin's raw offensive power and Nan Fusheng's exceptional control, the rest of the team might not have made it through alive.
Especially Nan Fusheng—he was the core contributor in both battles against the Hundred-Year Bipedal Horned Dragon and the Thousand-Year Crystal Bear.
Even in the final stand to protect Tang Wulin, without him, Xie Xie probably wouldn't have survived.
"Tang Wulin, Nan Fusheng—do you know why your scores are this low?" Wu Zhangkong stared intently at the two of them.
Tang Wulin lowered his head and began to reflect.
He, too, had been surprised by the score, but after thinking it over more carefully, he began to understand Wu Zhangkong's reasoning.
"Gu Yue scored higher than I because she orchestrated the final pincer attack. Her elemental control was key to our victory over the Crystal Bear.
Xie Xie earned his score by fighting off the wolf pack to protect me.
And Fusheng got high marks for leading the tactical command throughout the entire battle."
Wu Zhangkong responded,
"Not quite.
If Gu Yue hadn't caught you with her body when you fell while crystallized, you would've shattered on impact.
You wouldn't have died in the real world, but you'd have suffered something similar to Wang Jinxi—a deeply traumatic experience.
In terms of overall contribution, Gu Yue ranks just below Nan Fusheng."
"As for Xie Xie, he didn't score higher because he saved you at the end—he scored higher because his understanding of soul beasts surpassed yours."
"You lost points because of your lack of knowledge about the Crystal Bear.
If you had known that it releases a burst of crystallizing soul power upon death—something every Crystal Bear does, with stronger ones having wider coverage—you would've avoided being crystallized.
But clearly, you didn't know. That's a knowledge gap."
Then Wu Zhangkong turned his gaze to Nan Fusheng, waiting for his response.
Nan Fusheng caught the look and sighed inwardly before answering:
"My score is similar to Gu Yue and Xie Xie's because…
When I entered the Spirit Ascension Platform, I didn't prioritize regrouping with teammates.
For a soul master without strong offensive power or self-defense ability, that was extremely dangerous."
Wu Zhangkong nodded approvingly.
"Correct.
Under the circumstances, staying put and waiting for teammates wasn't the worst decision, but don't forget, this is a soul beast forest.
We can't guarantee the next thing to find you will be a teammate.
Staying still almost equates to slow death."
"Your soul skill is excellent, but your offense is lacking.
Your escape skills are also inferior to the others.
If you'd run into a powerful beast, or a pack of soul beasts like the green wolves, how would you have survived?"
Yes, Teacher Wu. I understand now, Nan Fusheng replied earnestly.