Everyone exchanged glances. In truth, aside from Nan Fusheng, each of them had indeed entertained the same thought at that moment—after all, their gains had already far exceeded expectations.
Wu Zhangkong said coldly, "Let me ask you a question. If, instead of the simulated environment, you had been in a real forest, surrounded by a horde of rampaging soul beasts—do you think you'd still be alive to stand here before me?"
No one answered.
Wu Zhangkong continued, "Remember this. No matter what the temptation is, no matter how great the potential gain, nothing is more important than staying alive."
Xie Xie raised a hand. "Teacher Wu, I have a question. If we ever really do encounter a soul beast like the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, what should we do?"
Wu Zhangkong replied flatly, "Run. If you can't outrun it, then prepare to die."
"Uh…" Xie Xie was left speechless.
Wu Zhangkong elaborated, "The Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear is an extremely unique soul beast. From the moment it's born, it stands at the apex of the soul beast food chain. Its strength can't be measured by age or cultivation alone. However, the chance of you encountering a real one is infinitesimally small. Most true Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears were hunted to near extinction long ago."
"Because they're dangerous?" Zhang Yangzi asked.
Wu Zhangkong shook his head. "No. It's because the probability of a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear yielding a soul bone is incredibly high."
"If we're talking about dangerous species, humans are the most greedy of all. The extinction of soul beasts didn't happen because they posed too much danger to us. It happened because they offered us too many benefits."
Upon hearing this, both Gu Yue and Tang Wulin were taken aback, while the others also seemed to fall into thoughtful silence. Nan Fusheng put on a look of solemn contemplation like the rest of them, but inwardly, he was indifferent.
Profit stirs the heart—that was a universal truth across all worlds. If soul beasts were hunted, it was because they were too weak to resist. As far as Nan Fusheng was concerned, so long as the rewards were great enough, he had no qualms about slaying soul beasts wholesale—even if they were down to their last few.
Meanwhile…
"Big brother, don't be mad…" Xu Xiaoyan said timidly.
Xu Xiaoyu's face did look grim, but not from anger. If anything, he was more disappointed in himself. Although he was a bit upset, it was mostly directed inward.
"I'm not mad. I'm just trying to figure out how to explain this to the family." Their clan had paid a hefty price to secure two entry tickets for the Violent Phase of the Spirit Ascension Platform—one each for him and his sister.
And yet, they didn't obtain the expected results. Now, he had no idea how to explain that they'd been eliminated early—was he supposed to admit he was outmatched and cleanly defeated?
The only thing he found comforting was that his sister had come out relatively unscathed. Although Xu Xiaoyu was the only male heir of the Xu family, his proud and stubborn nature meant that the elders didn't particularly favor him.
His younger sister, Xu Xiaoyan, on the other hand, was soft-spoken and reserved—the cherished pearl of the entire family.
Xu Xiaoyan was born with exceptional innate talent. Though she didn't enjoy cultivating, she'd been blessed with full innate soul power. Because of her brother's excellence, no one pressured her. However, just recently—three years after her spirit awakened—an internal test revealed that her soul power had unknowingly reached seventeen.
Not only that, but she also showed signs of the rare Starwheel Phenomenon, something not seen in their clan's history for ages. This discovery earned her newfound respect and recognition. The family suddenly realized she might be even more gifted than Xu Xiaoyu.
The Xu family was one of the most powerful noble families in Eastsea City. Their father served as the city's Finance Minister, holding enormous power. Upon discovering his daughter possessed the legendary family martial soul, he was overjoyed.
Pulling some strings, he managed to acquire another coveted Spirit Ascension Platform entry pass, sending both his son and daughter into the Violent Phase, reminding Xu Xiaoyu over and over to protect his sister and help her absorb as much soul power as possible.
But Xu Xiaoyan, timid as she was, couldn't bring herself to kill any soul beasts. Her fear made her hesitant throughout their mission, so she ended up absorbing very little. Just when Xu Xiaoyu had finally convinced her to make her first kill, they ran into Nan Fusheng's squad… and everything went downhill from there.
"That part of the Spirit Ascension Platform during the riot phase was probably assigned to soul masters from Eastsea City," Xu Xiaoyu mused. "Judging by their ages, they must be from a mid-to-upper-level academy. Could they be from Eastsea Academy?"
Xu Xiaoyan blinked. "Really? Then… that means they'll be my seniors someday!" As she spoke, her mind wandered to Nan Fusheng's cool, aloof face. He might've been a little cold, but the way he had saved them, he'd looked so heroic!
Sure, he'd saved both her and her brother… but in her heart, Xu Xiaoyan conveniently ignored her brother's presence. After all, big brother was strong—getting bit a few times wouldn't kill him, right?
Poor Xu Xiaoyu had no idea he'd already been mentally written off by his sister. If he found out, he'd probably give her two good flicks to the forehead.
"No matter who they are," Xu Xiaoyu muttered darkly, "if I see them again, I have to spar with them. I'll prove that I, Xu Xiaoyu, am not someone to be underestimated!"
"Okay, okay," Xu Xiaoyan replied lightly. "But big brother, weren't you already fighting with all your strength back there—and still lost? That guy didn't even use all his power."
"Besides, didn't he save us? And you even told him that if he needed help, he could come find you. If he does, don't go shouting about sparring and scare him off, okay?"
Xu Xiaoyu rubbed his sister's head with an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, yeah… but could you not keep bringing up the fact that I lost? I wasn't being serious, just caught off guard! He tricked me, ambushed me! If I'd been ready, I wouldn't have lost so easily!"
Xu Xiaoyan pouted. "You hit me. I'm telling Dad."
"That wasn't a hit—it was a gentle pat!" Xu Xiaoyu groaned helplessly.
"Then it's a deal! If he shows up to find you, you have to tell me, okay? I still don't know his name, and I want to thank him properly!" Xu Xiaoyan beamed.
'Huh? I don't recall agreeing to any of that. What do you mean by "deal"? Xu Xiaoyu was full of question marks.
But when he saw his sister's hopeful expression, Xu Xiaoyu suddenly felt a deep, nameless dread.
Please, Nan Fusheng… whatever you do, don't ever come looking for me again.