Siddharth stood by the prana-filled lake, the echoes of the recent battle still lingering in the air.
"It's time for me to return to Ayodhya Gurukul," he said. "The year-end evaluation is about to begin."
Kailash, coiled calmly near his feet, lifted his head.
"I will go with you."
Siddharth paused, then shook his head. "You're far too big. If I take you back like this, you'll attract more attention than I can handle."
Kailash's eyes glinted with amusement.
"I have a solution."
Before Siddharth could respond, Kailash's massive body shimmered. In the span of a breath, his form compressed, scales folding into one another until—
He was no longer a towering sacred beast.
Now, he was a small, sleek serpent around nine inches long.
Siddharth blinked. "You can do that?"
"In this form, I can even fly," Kailash replied calmly. "And I can hide easily within your clothes."
Siddharth considered it carefully, then nodded. "You can come with me—on one condition."
Kailash waited.
"You obey every order I give you without question."
Kailash lowered his head. "I agree."
Siddharth returned to Ayodhya, Kailash hidden within the folds of his robe. This time, he was not empty-handed. His storage ring was filled with valuable monster materials gathered from the Forbidden Valley.
He went straight to a merchant guild.
The sale took time, but by the end of it, Siddharth's pouch was heavy with coins.
As he turned to leave, Kailash's voice echoed softly in his mind.
"Buy Datura."
Siddharth stopped. "Why? What's special about it?"
Kailash replied calmly, "I am a sacred beast. I have lived for over a thousand years. I know things ordinary cultivators do not."
He continued, "With Datura, I can refine a medicinal liquid. Mix it into your bathing water. If you soak for three hours and circulate your prana according to my instructions, you will gain immunity to most poisons."
Siddharth's eyes narrowed.
Poison immunity was priceless.
Without hesitation, he spent all his remaining money on Datura.
Once again, he was broke.
But he smiled. "If I gain poison immunity, it'll be worth it."
That night, Kailash refined the medicinal liquid with practised ease. Siddharth followed his instructions precisely, soaking in the warm, herb-infused water while circulating his prana.
To his surprise, it didn't hurt.
Instead, it felt… comfortable.
Gentle.
As if his body welcomed the change.
The next morning, Siddharth overslept.
When he woke, the sun was already high.
"Damn," he muttered, throwing on his robe and rushing out.
He didn't return to his dormitory.
He went straight to the evaluation grounds.
The Year-End Evaluation consisted of four stages.
First Stage:
Punching a testing machine using raw physical power only. No martial arts allowed. The machine measured the force of the strike.
Second Stage:
A 100-meter sprint, completed in the shortest possible time—again, no movement techniques allowed.
Third Stage:
A vertical jump tests raw leg strength without any techniques.
Fourth Stage:
Final ranking.
Based on performance in the first three stages, students were initially ranked. Then—
Anyone with a lower rank could challenge someone ranked higher.
If the challenger won, they would take the loser's rank.
After all challenges were complete:
Top 20 students → Genius Class
Rank 21–50 → Expert Class
Below Rank 50 → Normal Class
Siddharth stood at the edge of the evaluation ground, eyes calm.
This time—
He wasn't here to survive.
He was here to rise.