Chapter 202: Chapter 197: The Wrong Teaching Method

The round moon lit up the edges of the clouds, casting a silver halo in the dark night sky and painting a picturesque scene. Mu Chen lowered his head slightly to gaze at the face he had never before studied so closely, and a small smile touched his lips. She was perfect. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly in her sleep, a faint smile occasionally gracing her gorgeous face. Her even breaths carried a refreshing fragrance, like orchids and musk.

Watching her, just watching her, Mu Chen became lost in deep memories...

The sky gradually grew hazy without him realizing it. Dawn was the time for dewdrops and mist to form. Mu Chen gently released his Primordial Power, creating a faint barrier around himself and Mu Bingling to prevent the damp air from waking her. This was the first time Mu Bingling had fallen asleep in his arms, and he wanted her to have a complete, uninterrupted dream.

Time always flew by when he was with the one he loved. A red sun finally began to rise on the horizon, its warm rays shining directly on Mu Chen and Mu Bingling’s faces. Mu Bingling’s brow furrowed before she slowly opened her clear blue eyes, staring blankly for a moment at Mu Chen, who was watching her intently.

"Morning. Did you sleep well last night?" Mu Chen asked with a gentle smile.

A faint blush crept onto Mu Bingling’s face as she whispered, "Mhm... It was the first time I’ve ever slept so peacefully..."

’Is that so? From now on, I’ll make sure you sleep this peacefully every night...’ Mu Chen vowed to himself.

Suddenly, Mu Chen remembered he hadn’t brought Mu Bingling here just to see the scenery. He said, "Bing’Er, I asked you here last night to give you two things."

Mu Bingling tilted her head slightly, her gaze shifting to Mu Chen. "Give me things? What are they?" she asked.

Mu Chen gave a mysterious smile and flipped his palm over. A brilliant, ice-blue sphere appeared in his palm. The sphere was the size of a fist with a surface that wasn’t perfectly smooth; instead, five small protrusions were distributed around it. This was the Ice Soul Essence Pill Mu Chen had acquired from the Shanjin Auction House. Previously, he’d only been able to see three of its faces and had already spotted four protrusions. But looking at it again now, Mu Chen was stunned to discover there was one more protrusion on the other two faces.

"This is... a Demon Beast Essence Pill..." Mu Bingling said, stunned.

Just as Mu Chen was marveling that this Ice Soul Essence Pill was actually Fifth Grade, he heard Mu Bingling’s words. "You know about Demon Beast Essence Pills too?" he asked.

Mu Bingling nodded. "I’ve read some information about Demon Beast Essence Pills in the Holy Hall Book Pavilion. I can only tell that it *is* a Demon Beast Essence Pill, but I don’t know what grade of Primordial Pill it is."

Mu Chen said, "A Fifth Grade Ice Soul Essence Pill."

"Fifth Grade!"

"When I bought it, no one at the auction house could determine the Grade of a Demon Beast Essence Pill, so they just guessed it was the Primordial Pill of a Level 2 Ice Soul Beast. I didn’t expect it to be Fifth Grade. Looks like my luck is pretty good," Mu Chen said with a laugh.

With that, Mu Chen handed the Ice Soul Essence Pill to Mu Bingling. "Bing’Er, take this Ice Soul Essence Pill and refine it when you get back. It should increase your Cultivation speed by thirty percent in the future, which will be a great help to you. Also, take these Gathering Essence Pills. Swallow one every day when you cultivate; they’ll be very effective."

Mu Chen paused, and with another flick of his wrist, three purple Jade Bottles appeared. They were filled with countless purplish-red pills—unmistakably Gathering Essence Pills.

Mu Bingling looked at the two items in her hands. "Chen’Er, if you give all of this to me, what about you? I feel like you need them more than I do."

Mu Chen shook his head. "This Ice Soul Essence Pill is perfect for you. As for the Gathering Essence Pills, every student in the Demon Castle gets them. I’ll be handing them out to the class later. You’ll be a member of the Demon Castle in the future, so of course, you’ll get some too."

"Then I can accept the Gathering Essence Pills, but you should keep the Ice Soul Essence Pill for yourself."

Mu Chen smiled. "This Ice Soul Essence Pill is most effective when used by an Ice Attribute Martial Artist. Although I’m also an Ice Attribute Martial Artist, there’s something I’ve been hiding from you, Bing’Er. Watch."

Mu Chen closed his eyes, and a scorching wave of Primordial Power erupted from his body, raising the surrounding temperature. Immediately after, a fiery red Primordial Energy Vortex enveloped him completely.

Mu Bingling’s mouth fell open. "Fire Attribute Elemental Power! Chen’Er, you’re a Dual Attribute Martial Artist?"

Mu Chen couldn’t help but smile. "That’s not all."

As he spoke, Mu Chen shifted his focus, and the turbulent, fiery red vortex suddenly transformed into a gentle, light blue one. Mu Chen’s entire demeanor became calm and mild.

Mu Bingling was shocked again. "Water Attribute Elemental Power... How is this possible?"

Mu Chen stopped his demonstration there. "See? I don’t just have the Ice Attribute, so the Ice Soul Essence Pill isn’t as critical for me. So, Bing’Er, please accept it. Just think of it as my first gift to you."

"Your first gift?" Mu Bingling stared blankly at the Ice Soul Essence Pill in her hand, a warmth spreading through her heart. But then her mind filled with too many questions. "But don’t all the records say that once a Martial Artist has two Attributes, the conflicting Primordial Power absorption will destroy the balance in their Dantian and cause their body to explode? With Three Attributes, won’t you...?"

"It won’t," Mu Chen explained. "My constitution is very special, so I won’t explode from conflicting forces in my Dantian. It’s also one of the main reasons I’ve grown stronger."

"Something like that is even possible?" Mu Bingling had never heard of such a thing.

"Mhm. Anyway, too many things have changed with me, and I can’t tell you everything right now. But trust me, I’ll tell you all of it in the future. So, Bing’Er, go back and refine it as soon as you can. It’s time for class now, and I have to get back to hand out the Gathering Essence Pills to the students. The sooner they start using them, the sooner we can surpass the Holy Hall."

"Mhm... You should go back. Classes at the Holy Hall are probably starting too, so I need to hurry back as well. I’ll try my best not to give them any leverage over me during this time." Mu Bingling nodded and, with a few flickers, vanished from the lakeside. She wasn’t an unreasonable or overly sentimental woman. In her eyes, Mu Chen was the most sincere person. She believed that if he could tell her something, he would do so without hesitation. If he kept something from her, it was likely to protect her.

Therefore, Mu Bingling would absolutely never tell anyone about Mu Chen’s constitution with Three Attributes... 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Watching Mu Bingling’s departing figure, Mu Chen suddenly felt a pang of loss. She occupied such a huge place in his heart that he didn’t want her to leave his side for even a moment. Shaking his head, Mu Chen turned and, with a flicker, also vanished from the lakeside.

A chorus of wails rose from the Demon Castle. The reason was none other than the arrival of Instructor Ling Yun. Her presence meant that a new day of hellish training was about to begin. But today, every student was sore all over, so much so that they didn’t even want to move, let alone train.

"What’s wrong with all of you? So listless. Was that little bit of training enough to defeat you?" Lingyun walked to the podium and looked down at the students slumped over their desks. "This is just the beginning. It’s only going to get harder from now on. If you can’t even adapt to this, then what’s all this talk about surpassing the Holy Hall?! What’s all this talk about becoming powerful?!"

Lingyun’s voice trembled slightly, and anyone could hear the mix of disappointment and expectation in it. Just then, Qiu He, who was sitting below, suddenly stood up and said with a frown, "Instructor Ling Yun, please don’t be angry. Please hear me out."

"Speak," Lingyun said, calming herself. She wasn’t particularly fond of this student named Qiu He, but yesterday’s training had left a deep impression on her. This seemingly weak young man had displayed astonishing perseverance. During the weight-bearing training that had even brought down Little Tiger, he had managed to hold on. He was the last one in the entire class left standing.

Qiu He chose his words carefully before speaking. "Instructor Ling Yun, I know you want us to become strong, and to do it quickly. You have high hopes for us and have placed great expectations on us, which is why you’re disappointed and angry with our performance. But Instructor, all learning and Cultivation must be gradual. We can handle harsh, strict, and arduous training, but please remember that they are just a bunch of teenagers. If we continue with this high-intensity endurance training, our progress will certainly skyrocket, but it will be at the cost of squeezing dry what little potential we have left. Once our potential is exhausted, it means our path of Cultivation comes to an end."

"That is definitely not what you want to see, is it? The Holy Hall, after all, has been the dominant power in the Xuanling Imperial Academy for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. It’s not impossible for us to surpass them, but if we surpass them in such a short time using this method, is that truly surpassing them? And after we’ve surpassed them? What awaits us then? A Martial Artist Realm from which we can never advance?"

By the end of his speech, Qiu He had grown unconsciously agitated. All the students in the class looked at their vice-monitor, who was usually quiet but always saw things through to the end, and a sense of admiration rose in their hearts.

’That’s right... What exactly am I demanding these children do? These are tasks meant for a year from now, yet in my madness, I’ve forced the students into this inhuman training right from the start. Is this what I truly wanted? They’re still just children.’

"Lingyun, the boy is right. We were indeed wrong about this, and we were getting further and further off track."

A voice suddenly echoed through the classroom. Qiu He and the other students all turned to look at the doorway. The newcomer was none other than Dean Di Cang, dressed in a black robe. His eyes held a mix of emotion and shame as he looked at the students, who winced in pain at the slightest movement but gritted their teeth to keep from making a sound. He gave a kindly laugh. "Heh heh... Children, don’t be alarmed. I’m not here to add to your Cultivation tasks. I’ve come to bring you some news."

"News?" the students said in unison.

The Profound Old Ghost nodded. "At the end of this month, there will be an important competition. The academy calls it the Internal Monthly Tournament..."