"Are you sure you've found a trace of that box?"
"About seventy to eighty percent."
"Where is it?"
"It's with a little guy… Don't worry, everything is under control."
After a pause, the middle-aged man in a black hood continued in a low voice:
"The academy is investigating quite rigorously right now, so there's no rush. That little guy won't be able to open the wooden box anyway… Once the heat dies down, I'll reel it in."
In the shadow across from him, an indistinct figure nodded slightly:
"Praise the Void!"
"Glory to our Lord!" The middle-aged man also nodded earnestly.
---
Chen Xiang gently pushed, and the old wooden door let out a heavy and grating creak.
The door opened.
The classroom looked rather strange, with desks and chairs scattered around, and a large open space in the center, creating an overall circular shape.
An old man hunched over, standing in the open space, beside him stood a young man, along with a gigantic wooden box covered with black cloth, reminding Chen Xiang of that small wooden box.
There seemed to be not many students, around forty to fifty, all of whom turned to gaze curiously at this unexpected visitor.
"Late for your first year?"
The old man adjusted his glasses, looking quite displeased, and said coolly:
"Go sit down."
"Professor…" Chen Xiang glanced at the professor's badge hanging on the old man's chest, wanting to explain, but was interrupted by the old professor.
"Do I need to invite you?"
Chen Xiang forced a smile but still explained:
"Professor, I'm the new teaching assistant…"
The old professor was surprised but didn't pay much attention, waving his hand:
"Oh, then you can stand next to me… It would save Instructor Lin some trouble to have two teaching assistants…"
Chen Xiang obediently stepped forward, and many students cast curious glances at him, accompanied by whispers.
"A new teaching assistant? He's so young! He looks about the same age as us…"
"He must be a genius. I wonder how advanced this new teaching assistant is in the Mystic Arts. Is he better than Assistant Wu?"
"Speaking of which, I remember that each lecturer can only have one official teaching assistant. With Assistant Chen here, does that mean Assistant Wu is…?"
Amidst the chaotic murmurs, Chen Xiang stood honestly beside the old professor, nodding politely at another young man in formal attire and glasses.
The latter just maintained a smile.
Meanwhile, the old professor, hunched over, spoke slowly and clearly:
"I'm here to substitute, so I'll only be teaching you this lesson. Your previous teacher was Lin Yulang, right?"
"Yes!"
The students shifted their gaze from Chen Xiang and replied in unison.
The old professor nodded, his hands behind his back:
"My teaching method is different from Instructor Lin's… He's too slow."
As he spoke, the old professor patted the gigantic box covered in black cloth beside him.
He asked:
"Do you know what this is?"
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The students shook their heads.
The old professor continued:
"Before revealing it, let me ask again, you've all taken the classes on Spiritual Navigation and Soul Travel, right?"
The students replied in unison:
"Yes!"
"Good. Then let me ask you, what is the Spiritual Realm?"
A crisp voice rang out.
"The Spiritual Realm completely overlaps with reality, yet exists above reality, transcending it, inhabited by countless extraordinary beings, even gods... Above the Spiritual Realm, there lies an indescribable space said to be home to the most malevolent of gods, known as the Subspace."
Chen Xiang swallowed hard; the Spiritual Realm, Subspace…
These legendary concepts seemed so close at hand.
These terms were both unfamiliar and familiar to him; he had heard of similar things in his past life, so although he didn't understand the specifics now, he had a rough outline in his mind.
He looked at the speaker, a girl around his age, dressed simply, with silver hair cascading down, every strand clearly visible and neatly arranged.
Her facial features were gentle, her skin like jade, and her eyes resembled a pool of clear water, not still, but rippling with a hint of cleverness, as she lazily leaned against her desk.
As she spoke, the old professor pushed up his glasses and lifted his head:
"Classmate Wei is correct. The Spiritual Realm is home to countless extraordinary creatures, dangerous, yet not as perilous as the Misty Sea… For example, this time the Sixth Prince of Donghong Kingdom is visiting via the Spiritual Realm instead of crossing the Misty Sea… I digress."
Then, the old professor turned to the side:
"Uncover the cloth."
Assistant Wu remained motionless, while Chen Xiang stepped forward and grabbed a corner of the black cloth, pulling it off suddenly.
The whole classroom gasped!
Chen Xiang's breath quickened, his pupils dilated, blood rushed through him, and his heart pounded…
What was before him was a dog's head.
A dog's head the size of a human, with red eyes, its mouth wide open, and flames burning on its teeth.
As the flames scorched, Chen Xiang seemed to hear wails, cries, and screams intertwining…
"An Abyss Hound."
The old professor seemed quite pleased with the students' frightened expressions and chuckled:
"An Abyss Hound from the Spiritual Realm, a lowly, inferior extraordinary being, yet it possesses a unique and hard-to-ignore trait—this small patch of flame on its teeth."
As he spoke, the professor's expression became serious, directing his gaze at the girl who had just answered:
"Little Wei, you come and tell everyone about this flame."
A somewhat dazed Chen Xiang came back to himself, looking at the silver-haired girl, who leisurely began to explain:
"The Abyssal Black Flame belongs to one of the legendary Nine Outer Gods, the Lord of the Abyss. These creatures from the Abyss side of the Spiritual Realm are merely borrowing the authority of that being, but…"
Little Wei propped her head up:
"Why does this dead Abyss Hound still retain the Abyssal Black Flame? This doesn't align with logic; the black flame is the [authority] of an Outer God!"
The old professor smiled:
"The dean personally intervened, briefly capturing this cluster of black flames, preventing it from returning to the [Dancer], thus conveniently allowing for the imprint of the Mystic Arts visualization."
After a pause, he sighed:
"But after all, being one of the Nine Outer Gods, even a single wisp of that indifference black flame… The dean paid a huge price, only managing to capture a bit of the black flame's [essence], its power nearly completely lost."
"No wonder." The silver-haired Little Wei nodded, her hair slightly trembling, revealing her long, pale neck as she pondered:
"Professor Wang, isn't this a class on the Mystic Arts? Why did you bring a dog's head here?"
The old professor chuckled, seemingly on good terms with the girl, and did not answer directly, instead saying:
"It's well-known that practicing the Mystic Arts requires a visualization."
Beside him, Chen Xiang silently shouted in his heart, I don't know!
The old professor continued:
"The Mystic Arts consist of three steps: the first step is to train the flesh, muscles, and bones; the second step is to train the organs; the third step is already extraordinary, seeking a strong spirit and will. These three steps solidify the foundation, allowing one to endure the onslaught of extraordinary currents and step into the extraordinary secret path…"
"Digressing again. To get back to the point, everyone knows that visualizations are created to capture a thread of truth from extraordinary beings.
Visualizations are also categorized into various levels: low-grade for ordinary extraordinary beings, high-grade for pseudo-gods, and as for true gods' visualizations… that's too far away, best left unsaid."
After a moment, the old professor raised his head slightly:
"But even a low-grade visualization of an extraordinary being is extremely precious, so it's no exaggeration to say that many of you here can't even practice the Mystic Arts and can only study some theoretical courses."
The students listened quietly, and Chen Xiang perked up his ears.
Visualizations, the Mystic Arts, the extraordinary…
While he was excited, he also felt a bit anxious.
According to the old professor, the Mystic Arts is the foundation of the extraordinary, and the visualization is the foundation of the Mystic Arts, and it's highly precious…
Where could he find a visualization?
"And I borrowed this dog's head to give you an opportunity—to touch this thread of black flame essence and try to visualize the Abyss Hound in your mind…"
The old professor smiled:
"Thus, even without a visualization, you all have the qualification to take the first step into the Mystic Arts… Assistant, you come and demonstrate."
The formally dressed Assistant Wu's eyes flickered but did not move, instead gesturing for Chen Xiang to step forward.
Chen Xiang felt a bit like a deer caught in headlights.
Demonstrate?
How do I demonstrate?
He knew even less than the students!!
Under everyone's gaze, he steeled himself, recalling the old professor's words, and resolutely reached out toward the black flame.
"Are you crazy?!" The old professor nearly choked, but it was evidently too late.
Chen Xiang's finger rested on the Abyss Hound's teeth, where the dark flames flickered.
Murmurs, wails, and cries intermingled with auditory hallucinations surged forward.
At that moment.
It felt as if he saw his great-grandmother.
Chen Xiang's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing, everything in his sight blurred, but the auditory hallucinations in his ears were crystal clear.
"Abyssal Black Flame authority…"
"Has been partially completed."