Lily's flawless coordination, her elemental control, and her instinctive decision to shield Ray with her own body despite the weight and danger.

And Raziel Phoenix—

Staying behind.

Bleeding.

Fighting until the very end.

Protecting his comrade when retreat would have been easy.

The injuries felt real. The pain was real.

Yet he never ran.

The staff member had never seen such a performance from first-time entrants, especially not from children with only one or two soul rings.

Alfred stepped forward, his voice flat but absolute. "From today onward, you five are a mini battle squadron. Ray is captain. Raziel Phoenix is vice-captain. We're leaving."

He turned and walked toward the elevator.

The five students exchanged stunned looks.

Mini squadron?

Barbara lowered his head, shame burning in his chest. His earlier pride and ambition had been completely crushed.

Compared to Ray's strength, Lily's sacrifice, and Raziel Phoenix's resolve, his own actions felt painfully lacking.

Volt glanced at Ray, then at Barbara, silently understanding.

On the way back, none of them spoke much.

Barbara was filled with regret.

Ray replayed every moment of the battle in his mind.

One thought stood out clearly above all others.

So this is what fighting a soul beast feels like.

Even knowing it was virtual, the fear, pressure, and desperation were real.

And that was exactly why it mattered.

Cultivation like this… was worth far more than quiet training.

A gentle warmth suddenly bloomed from Ray's spine, spreading outward through his body like a slow tide.

At first, it was so faint he barely noticed it. But the closer they drew to the academy, the clearer it became. The warmth flowed into his limbs, seeped into his bones, and wrapped him in a comfort so profound it made his eyelids unbearably heavy. Along with it came exhaustion, deep and irresistible.

Lily was the first to notice something wrong.

Ray's steps grew unsteady, his body swaying as if the ground beneath him had softened.

"Ray?" She quickly reached out to support him, her brows knitting with concern. "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know," Ray murmured, his voice sluggish. "I just feel… really sleepy…"

The moment he leaned against her, it was as though a switch had been flipped. His strength vanished completely, and he collapsed into Lily's arms.

Alfred halted mid-stride and turned around instantly, surprise flashing across his usually impassive face. The others also stopped, finally realizing Ray's condition wasn't normal.

In a blink, Alfred was in front of Ray. He seized Ray's wrist, his senses probing carefully.

A golden-blue sheen flickered across Ray's skin. His breathing was uneven, his consciousness already drifting away.

"This situation…" Aaron arrived beside them, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. A certain guess surfaced in his mind, making his gaze sharpen.

Alfred bent down and lifted Ray onto his back. "He's fine," he said calmly. "His spirit soul is evolving."

"What!"

All four students cried out at once.

Spirit soul evolution?

Raziel Phoenix had explained the possibility of spirit soul evolution before, but only as a theoretical chance. In reality, spirit soul evolution was rarer than winning the grand prize in a lottery.

Entering the spirit ascension platform even once was already an extraordinary opportunity.

Killing powerful soul beasts inside it was even rarer. As for a thousand-year Crystal Bear… that was a foe so formidable that even three-ring Soul Elders would struggle against it. In most cases, it would take a coordinated team of seven or more just to bring one down.

And yet—

Alfred continued evenly, his words cutting through their shock. "Ray's spirit soul was originally weak, which actually makes it easier to evolve. In the spirit ascension platform, every soul beast you kill grants one-tenth of its cultivation energy. That energy is distributed evenly among your soul rings.

"A ten-year soul beast gives one year of energy. A hundred-year soul beast gives ten. A thousand-year soul beast gives one hundred."

He paused briefly, letting the numbers sink in.

"Ray's spirit soul was only ten years old. He gained at least twenty years of energy from the hundred-year Horned Dragon, and one hundred years from the thousand-year Crystal Bear. Since he only has one soul ring, all of that energy was concentrated into it. That's why his spirit soul crossed the threshold and evolved into a hundred-year spirit soul."

The four students stared, stunned.

"As for the rest of you," Alfred continued, "you have two soul rings. The energy you gain is split. To evolve your spirit souls, you would need to kill at least eighteen or nineteen thousand-year-old soul beasts. Keep that in mind, and work harder."

Silence followed.

Only now did they realize the hidden advantage of having a single soul ring.

After returning to the academy, Alfred dismissed the others without explanation, instructing them to return to their dorms and cultivate. Today's experiences needed time to be digested.

As for Ray, he would remain unconscious until his spirit soul completed its evolution. Any discussion could wait until tomorrow.

Alfred personally carried Ray back to his dorm.

And unlike usual, he stayed.

Ray was different.

With his mutated martial soul and mysterious bloodline, Alfred couldn't afford to leave anything to chance during this evolution.

Inside his dorm, Ray lay peacefully on the bed.

His experience this time was nothing like breaking the first seal. Instead of agony, he felt as though he were soaking in a warm pool. The warmth flowed gently through his body, easing his exhaustion, dissolving his fatigue. His battered body relaxed, his frayed spirit soothed.

He didn't even want to open his eyes.

Gradually, the golden light surrounding him shifted, taking on a soft blue hue.

Strand after strand of Silverfalls Vine extended from his palms, spreading out around his body like living vines.

Alfred reached out and gently twined one strand around his finger.

His eyes brightened.

"Is this really Silverfalls Vine…?"

It wasn't strange for Silverfalls Vine to grow elastic or vine-like. What shocked him was what lay within it.

Faint energy channels were clearly visible, glowing with a subdued golden light. Combined with the blue radiance of the grass itself, it mirrored the golden-blue sheen covering Ray's body.

Even more astonishing were the delicate vein-like patterns running along the grass, growing clearer under the glow, as though etched into its very essence.

Alfred's thoughts raced.

Just as I suspected. His bloodline is forcing another mutation of his martial soul. And this mutation… is beneficial.

Ray already possessed the Golden Dragon Claw, granting him strength far beyond his rank. Though limited in duration and restricted to close combat, it was still an immense advantage.

The only question was whether this bloodline could continue evolving.

If it could…

That would truly be something extraordinary.

At that moment, a faint golden light flickered from Ray's chest.

Gold slithered out.

It was now about ten centimeters long, as thick as Ray's little finger. Still slender, but its golden scales gleamed far more brilliantly than before. The scale on its forehead shone brightest of all, dazzling with every breath it took. Its once-cloudy eyes were now clear and lively.

A dim yellow halo rose from its body, far stronger than the previous white glow.

Alfred nodded slowly.

"It evolved."

A hundred-year spirit soul.

Ray's once-defective spirit soul had finally crossed the threshold, forged by brutal combat in the spirit ascension platform and strengthened by his mysterious bloodline.

Alfred's gaze deepened.

Not bad. He's finally compensated for his greatest weakness.

But the real question remained.

How would his soul skill change now?

As a teacher, Alfred understood Ray's situation clearly.

His strengths were obvious: divine physical power and a bloodline capable of suppressing peers.

But his weakness had always been the same.

A Soul Master's foundation lay in their martial soul.

Physical strength and bloodline power alone had never carried anyone to the pinnacle of cultivation.

For Ray to truly walk far on this path, his martial soul had to grow stronger.

And now—

That growth had finally begun.

Ray's martial soul had long since become an extension of his own body. However, when it came to actual combat, his control over it was crude at best. Most of the time, he treated his Silverfalls Vine like an ordinary rope, relying on brute force rather than finesse.

Alfred saw these shortcomings clearly.

Yet he deliberately chose not to point them out.

He understood Ray's nature better than anyone. This child possessed astonishing perception. Given enough time and experience, Ray would discover these flaws himself. Any guidance offered too early would only limit his growth.

More importantly, Alfred had been waiting.

He wanted to see whether Ray's bloodline power would display new characteristics after reaching Rank 20.

But now, there was no need to wait.

The answer had already revealed itself.

If things continue like this, then the future growth of his martial soul will be truly worth anticipating.

Alfred had never believed that Silverfalls Vine was inherently weak. After all, the strongest figure among the first generation of the Central Seven Monsters, also the strongest Soul Master in all of history, had begun his path with Silverfalls Vine.

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