If you had managed to kill the Crystal Bear without getting injured,
Wu Zhangkong continued coldly, looking directly at Tang Wulin,
"Then with the strength of the four of you, even if you encountered that pack of green wolves, you'd still have had a chance to break through.
Gu Yue wouldn't have needed to throw herself in harm's way, and Nan Fusheng and Xie Xie wouldn't have had to split their attention to protect you.
Their sacrifices—all stemmed from your mistake."
Wu Zhangkong's voice felt especially cold in Tang Wulin's ears.
He had never imagined that the battle he was once so proud of… was actually like this?
Yes—if this had been a real battlefield, his mistake would have caused the team's collapse.
His teammates would have all died because of him.
Could such a victory even be considered a victory?
Wu Zhangkong continued calmly,
"From now on, you need to enhance your understanding of soul beasts.
Don't assume that just because soul beasts are rare these days, that studying them is pointless.
It's quite the opposite—understanding the traits of soul beasts will benefit your future cultivation greatly.
Studies show that over 90% of the soul skills human soul masters possess originally came from soul beasts."
"So the more you understand soul beasts, the more you understand your future rivals.
And more importantly, it'll help you survive longer in the Spirit Ascension Platform, which has produced countless elite powerhouses."
"You've already experienced it for yourselves—the longer you last on the platform, the greater the benefits.
Your path is still a long one."
The joy Tang Wulin had felt from his soul spirit's evolution had completely vanished.
It was true—because of his lack of knowledge, he had caused harm to his team.
"This morning's lesson," Wu Zhangkong announced, "Will be a breakdown of the soul beasts you encountered yesterday—their unique traits and abilities at different cultivation levels."
After their Spirit Ascension Platform ordeal, the six students were now focused and diligent to a shocking degree—as if they'd been buffed by an amplification soul skill.
Even Zhang Yangzi had set aside his competitive hostility toward Tang Wulin. All six of them were training and studying harder than ever before.
From that point on, entering the Spirit Ascension Platform once a week became a required course for Class Zero.
As their training continued, Nan Fusheng and the others grew more cautious during each expedition, especially when engaging soul beasts—they moved with strategy and restraint.
But of course, caution alone didn't guarantee success.
Luck played a big role. If you encountered a soul beast far beyond your capacity to deal with, you'd still get eliminated easily.
Nan Fusheng continued using these training sessions to experiment with his first soul skill.
After repeated tests, he confirmed that being killed by that Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear last time had just been a freak accident.
That bear simply had a bad temper and a busted brain—every time it encountered anything, its first response was to issue a threat.
If you didn't flee immediately, it would unleash a Darkgolden Terrorclaw without hesitation.
One time, Nan Fusheng possessed a Hundred-Year Flame Lion King, leading a pride of lions through the platform.
They ran into that bear… and before they could retreat, the bear tore through the pride like paper.
Fusheng's lion host was brutally shredded by those terrifying claws.
However, these encounters allowed Nan Fusheng's first soul spirit to successfully evolve into a Hundred-Year Soul Spirit.
He also came to understand just how absurdly oppressive bloodline suppression could be.
No matter what kind of soul beast he possessed, whenever it faced the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, its body would involuntarily tremble in fear.
This had nothing to do with consciousness—it was pure biological instinct.
Like a mouse seeing a cat. Like a gazelle spotting a lion. Like prey sensing a predator.
Sure, part of this came from the fact that the beasts Nan Fusheng could possess didn't have strong bloodlines.
But the Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear? It was a top-tier bloodline species.
Why didn't he just possess that bear, then?
Simple—Nan Fusheng's soul skill required visual contact with the target to begin possession.
He didn't need to physically touch them, but he had to see them directly.
Given how powerful that bear was, if his team even caught a glimpse of it, they'd probably get torn to shreds before he could try anything.
Besides, the bear usually stayed deep within the inner regions of the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Nan Fusheng and his squad typically stuck to the outer zones, focusing on fighting manageable soul beasts and honing their combat skills.
They rarely had a chance to encounter that kind of apex predator.
Time flew by, and soon it was the end of the first semester of Year One.
"Teacher Wu, are we… having a final exam?" Tang Wulin asked in surprise.
There was no doubt about it—final exams seemed completely unnecessary for them.
That wasn't arrogance. Class Zero had only existed for three months, yet all six students could feel that they'd been completely transformed.
The rest of the class looked equally surprised.
Nan Fusheng, however, remained calm, as if he'd already expected this. And truthfully, he had.
After all, he still retained memories from his previous life.
Plus, just knowing that Wu Zhangkong came from Shrek Academy was enough to know things wouldn't be so simple.
Shrek was notorious for its… creative approach to education.
As a pure Shrek disciple, Wu Zhangkong lived by the school's motto:
"Might makes right."
Naturally, he would carry on Shrek's proud and brutal traditions.
And truthfully, by now, everyone's strength had grown significantly.
A standard exam wouldn't challenge them anymore.
Gu Yue had already reached the peak of Rank 19, just one step away from Rank 20.
Tang Wulin had reached the peak of Rank 15, on the verge of Rank 16.
In just half a year, his soul power had gone from Rank 11 to nearly 16.
As for Nan Fusheng, his progress was like cheating.
He'd already shot past Rank 20, overtaking Gu Yue entirely.
Even Xie Xie, who had reached Rank 22, kept asking if Fusheng was secretly taking drugs.
More importantly, their combat capabilities had grown exponentially.
Thanks to the constant pressure of the Spirit Ascension Platform, everyone trained with unmatched intensity.
Now that all six had turned ten years old, their actual combat ability far exceeded expectations for kids their age.
It was nothing short of miraculous.
President Yu Zhen had invested heavily in Class Zero, giving them the best training equipment and top-tier resources.
Combined with their regular Spirit Ascension battles, these little monsters were the result.
"Yes, there will be a final exam," Wu Zhangkong said flatly.
"You'll be tested in two subjects. The first is—the Spirit Ascension Platform."
The Spirit Ascension Platform?
In just three months, they had entered the platform eleven times.
From the confusion of their first entry to their current confidence, they had made massive strides.
As long as their luck wasn't abysmal, they could now survive for over an hour every time they entered.
The record so far?
Over five hours, held by none other than Nan Fusheng.
With each session, they came to appreciate the platform's training value more and more.
Whether it was soul skill mastery or real combat tactics, the platform was invaluable.
At this point, entering once a week had become something they genuinely looked forward to.