Violetta had originally thought that one month would be more than enough to prove herself. After seeing the results just now, however, she finally understood how vast the gap was between her and the other three.

She raised her hand hesitantly. "Teacher Wu, I want to test my spiritual power again… at night."

"Hm?" Alfred turned to her. "Does nighttime affect your spiritual power?"

"Mn." Violetta nodded.

This was her greatest secret, one she had never intended to reveal. Yet her competitive nature pushed her to speak up.

"Alright," Alfred agreed without hesitation.

"The combat test will begin shortly. You'll fight in pairs. Ray with Violetta. Raziel Phoenix with Lily."

Raziel Phoenix fell silent.

Lily frowned and immediately objected. "Teacher, that's not fair. Raziel and I both have two rings, while they only have one. A one-ring should be paired with a two-ring. I'll go with Ray, and Raziel Phoenix can pair with Violetta. His soul power is the highest."

Her words nearly brought Raziel Phoenix to tears.

Just how much do you dislike me?

Even if my soul power is high, if you and Ray are together, how is my side supposed to fight?

In his mind, Violetta already felt like a doomed teammate dragged in from some previous life.

"Do as I said," Alfred replied flatly. "Whoever said combat had to be fair?"

*

Violetta stood beside Ray while Raziel Phoenix and Lily faced them from across the field.

A calm, steady aura emanated from Ray, unconsciously giving her a sense of reassurance.

"Are you the same type as your brother?" Ray asked softly.

Violetta nodded. "I'm a long-range elemental attacker too. My first soul skill is Ice Wheel, the same as his, but my control is better. Actually… I'm much stronger at night."

Ray smiled. "That's a pity then. It's still daytime. Stay behind me, I'll protect you. Let's do our best together."

He didn't have a good impression of Veyron after the incident with Ouyang Uriel, but he felt no hostility toward Violetta. If anything, he sympathized with her. Having only one month to prove herself reminded him painfully of his own past, when his Silverfalls Vine had yet to mutate.

"Mn! Mn!" Violetta nodded repeatedly.

"Begin," Alfred said calmly from afar.

"Then I won't hold back, Ray! Wahaha!" Raziel Phoenix laughed strangely as his body blurred forward like a gust of wind.

Lily raised her hand, launching fireballs toward Ray while simultaneously wrapping Raziel Phoenix in the wind element. She advanced steadily behind him.

That far away? Ray frowned slightly. Fireballs shouldn't be able to reach them from fifty meters out.

Lily immediately shattered that assumption.

After flying ten meters, the fireball split into five smaller ones aligned in a straight line. One after another, they accelerated and slammed into the fireball ahead, compressing together into a single, denser projectile.

The new fireball was smaller, wrapped in a faint orange glow, and shot toward Ray like an artillery shell.

A piercing screech tore through the air as heat distortions rippled behind it.

Raziel Phoenix nearly jumped out of his skin as the blazing projectile whizzed past him.

The fireball arrived.

Ray had never underestimated Lily. He knew all too well that she could suppress him with ease. He didn't even consider using his Heavy Silver Hammers.

Strength came from oneself. Even battle armor was only an extension of that truth.

Violet light flashed in Ray's eyes.

He stepped forward with his left foot and drove his right fist straight out. Golden scales rippled across his arm as Silverfalls Vine burst from his back like a peacock spreading its tail. Several strands wrapped tightly around Violetta's waist, linking her to him, while the rest wove together into a protective barrier.

Boom!

His fist smashed head-on into the fireball.

A violent explosion erupted, golden light blazing across his scales. Not a single spark touched his body, and the remaining flames were completely blocked by the Silverfalls Vine.

Raziel Phoenix inhaled sharply as he closed in.

Then his expression froze.

A brilliant purple soul ring rose beneath Ray's feet.

Purple.

A thousand-year soul ring!

Gold, the grass snake,slithered onto Ray's left arm. Now over a foot long, it coiled around him three full times. A dazzling golden radiance erupted, instantly turning all of Ray's Silverfalls Vine gold. Sapphire light pulsed along its veins.

Thousand-year?

When did his spirit soul evolve again?

Even Director Aaron, who had come to observe, was left utterly stunned.

Alfred had deliberately asked him to come watch today's test.

The moment he arrived, he was greeted by that unmistakable violet glow.

In that instant, Aaron realized the academy's investment into class zero was worth everything.

Ray might only have one ring, but it was purple. That alone surpassed having three ordinary soul rings. It meant his future soul rings would be thousand-year and above.

He wasn't a genius.

He was a monster.

No wonder Alfred insisted that class zero only accepted monsters, not ordinary people. That creed came straight from Central Academy, the source of its terrifying confidence.

The peacock-like Silverfalls Vine writhed wildly as Ray narrowed his eyes.

A strange sensation surged through him.

He could feel the vitality of every strand of Silverfalls Vine. Each one was connected to his mind, responsive to his will.

Their thickness hadn't changed, but their essence had.

Before, they were vines.

Now, they were living serpents.

Quick, resilient, tenacious, obedient.

This was his thousand-year Silverfalls Vine.

Raziel Phoenix was already within ten meters, but he immediately backflipped, slashing out with Light Dragon Blade while summoning his Shadow Dragon Dagger.

The Silverfalls Vine instantly knitted together into a shield.

Light exploded on impact.

When the glow faded, the result shocked everyone.

Not a single scratch marred the shield.

Sharing.

After reaching the thousand-year level, Ray's Silverfalls Vine could distribute incoming damage evenly across all strands.

This wasn't a soul skill, but a natural extension of his spiritual control. How much damage could be shared depended entirely on how many strands he could command in that instant.

Trying to retreat?

The shield instantly transformed into countless spears that shot after Raziel Phoenix.

Ray activated his first soul skill.

Bind!

This was the thousand-year Bind.

Silverfalls Vine interwove in midair, forming a massive net. Ray recalled their struggle against the Man-Faced Demon Spider and its terrifying webs.

Now, he could replicate that control with ease.

Control subdued agility.

This was an ironclad truth in the world of Soul Masters.

Before, Ray couldn't restrain Raziel Phoenix at all.

But now—Everything had changed.

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