Currently, Gu Xun, Dong Qianqiu, and Lan Mengqin were participating in a practical combat training session within the virtual world of Tian Dou Academy.
To pass, they had to survive eight hours in the virtual Spirit Beast Forest, where the soul beasts were stronger than those encountered during the final exams.
As team leader, Lan Mengqin naturally determined their route. After scanning left and right, she finally chose the left path.
"Let's go this way,"
Lan Mengqin declared, pointing left. Gu Xun and Dong Qianqiu naturally had no objections.
"Oh, take these golden apples. Eat one before battle."
Gu Xun handed one golden apple each to Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu, who accepted them.
"Hey, Gu Xun, what exactly is your second martial spirit? Why does it keep switching between food-type and summoning gate?"
Lan Mengqin grew curious about Gu Xun's second martial spirit. Currently, his second martial spirit slot held the Summoning Divine Coin, a god-tier martial spirit.
The Sword of Passion, however, had become a divine artifact residing in Gu Xun's backpack, ready to be drawn and wielded at a moment's notice.
"Food is an innate skill. Summoning is the spirit skill."
Gu Xun casually explained. Lan Mengqin suddenly understood—it seemed Gu Xun's martial spirit was of exceptionally high quality.
Lan Mengqin coveted Gu Xun's ability to enhance cultivation efficiency through his culinary skills, and now she was scheming to keep it hidden.
What if Gu Xun's abilities were exposed? What if others scrambled to claim his food? Then she and Dong Qianqiu would be out of luck.
For her own future, Lan Mengqin had no choice but to treat Gu Xun with sweetness and politeness. It wasn't just his food she coveted, but also his ability to summon reinforcements.
"Your martial spirit is seriously insane—you can just summon a mob to gang up on people. Hey, if we're in the virtual world, can you still summon people?"
Lan Mengqin looked at Gu Xun curiously as she asked. Dong Qianqiu also stared at him, eager to see if this martial spirit could summon people in the virtual realm.
"Yes. Back then, I summoned Lan Xuanyu right here in the virtual world. Which means—"
"If we're in the Spirit Pagoda, I can summon people to join us for Spirit Ascension."
Gu Xun's words left Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu speechless. Seriously? That's actually possible?
Just as they were chatting, a thousand-year-old unicorn dinosaur appeared. Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu immediately readied themselves for battle.
"Manifest True Form! Alright, you're enhanced. Go finish it off!"
Gu Xun beckoned, signaling Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu to advance. Feeling their surging power, Dong Qianqiu charged forward without hesitation, spear raised.
"What powerful support! My ice-attribute attack power has at least tripled!"
Lan Mengqin stared in disbelief, her beautiful eyes filled with awe as she sensed her newfound strength.
Dong Qianqiu knocked back a golden apple before thrusting his spear forward. The millennia-old unicorn dinosaur countered by charging its horn at him.
Boom!
A dull thud echoed as Dong Qianqiu staggered back several steps. A large chunk shattered off the hardest part of the unicorn dinosaur's horn.
The unicorn dinosaur let out a painful wail. Seeing Dong Qianqiu about to take it down instantly, Lan Mengqin immediately joined the fray.
"Give me a chance to fight too! Blizzard!"
Lan Mengqin felt power surging through her body, desperate to battle a powerful spirit beast. But Dong Qianqiu nearly finished it off, leaving Lan Mengqin anxious.
She instantly summoned her martial spirit—the Snow Maiden—which materialized instantly, followed by two yellow soul rings.
Hearing Lan Mengqin's shout, Dong Qianqiu quickly backed away, giving her space to unleash her power.
Lan Mengqin fired a Blizzard spell, instantly freezing the thousand-year-old unicorn dinosaur.
"So powerful! I've never felt this strong in my life!"
Lan Mengqin felt her ice element damage triple, an exhilarating sensation.
The thousand-year-old unicorn dinosaur perished instantly. Seeing this, Gu Xun withdrew the buff.
As the power within her dissipated, Lan Mengqin felt a sudden emptiness. She immediately turned to Gu Xun.
"Brother, you're my real brother. Will you be my dedicated support from now on?"
Lan Mengqin was genuinely coveting Gu Xun's support role. She immediately approached him with a fawning expression, grabbing his hand and attempting to lure him away.
"Nice try. I can't just support ice elements."
Gu Xun shot Lan Mengqin a dismissive glance. She actually wanted him to be her dedicated support? Nice dream. Seeing this, Lan Mengqin still wanted to give it a shot.
"Bro, wouldn't it be great to support your little sis? Or do you want to support some other guy? Am I not pretty enough? Not charming enough?"
Lan Mengqin's cheeks flushed slightly as she tossed her hair. She was a beauty, after all—she was confident in her looks.
Besides that Nana teacher, she figured she ranked pretty high, right?
"Your full of yourself."
Gu Xun watched her and spat out the three words. Lan Mengqin instantly flew into a rage, thrusting her delicate fist at him—though she didn't actually hit him hard.
"How can you be so annoying! I'm not playing with you anymore!"
She stomped away two steps, sulking right there beside him.