Su Hao's training method for the Water Scale Beast was simple: climb upward against the force of the waterfall.
At first, it could step on the rock face, and once it got the hang of it, it would tread on empty air entirely.
Fall down? Perfectly normal.
Those who succeed must first have their bones ground and their bodies pained.
The Water Scale Beast, having never experienced devilish training, was instantly stunned.
The Fire Wool Crow extended a wing and patted it.
As if to say, don't panic, little buddy, you'll get used to it.
It had been through this too...
"You're going too." Su Hao looked at the Fire Wool Crow. "My requirements for you aren't as high. Find a spot with weaker force, then use your Fire Feather stance. Once you can maintain the Fire Feather stance in the waterfall for five minutes, you're good."
Fire Wool Crow: "Σ(⊙▽⊙"a"
Can't do it, caw—!!!
...
"Yeah, like that, a little more to the left."
Su Hao was guiding the Water Scale Beast step by step.
Helping it grasp the rhythm of resisting the waterfall's impact.
On the other side.
A Fire Wool Crow held its breath for a long time. Finally, in the misty area, translucent flame-like feathers emerged atop its black plumage, neatly arranged, with rings of red light spreading outward.
Majestic and imposing.
It let out a "caw," charged forward with an air of no return, and dove straight into the Skyfall Waterfall.
Boom!
The water crashed onto the Fire Wool Crow, water and fire colliding. Under the high heat, bursts of steaming mist exploded... enough to steam a sauna.
The red glow on the Fire Wool Crow in the waterfall flickered unsteadily, like a dying lightbulb.
After a dozen seconds...
Boom!!
The Fire Wool Crow became a drenched crow, its wings spread out as it floated on the water, drifting to the shore like it had been worn out.
"Caw~"
Su Hao picked it up and shook it.
Seeing the Fire Wool Crow still looking dazed and lifeless, he wasn't surprised.
He pulled out the pre-prepared Type Three Jade Powder set.
It emitted an irresistible allure.
The Fire Wool Crow shuffled over.
Su Hao snapped the lid shut.
"Caw???"
Too cruel, caw!
Su Hao said to it, "If you can hold out for one minute today, you can eat as much as you want.
"Even if you can't hold out today, you'll still have to train tomorrow, but... there won't be any reward. Think about it—wouldn't that be a loss?"
S-seems like it, caw.
If the Dream Butterfly were here, it would surely let out a disdainful "Guno."
But it wasn't.
Su Hao figured giving the Dream Butterfly a day off wasn't a bad idea.
The missed training could just be made up with interest later.
The Fire Wool Crow went back to struggling.
The Water Scale Beast, meanwhile, was stuck in a cycle of climbing up, being washed down, climbing up again, and being washed down again, constantly honing itself.
But being a water type with thick scales and tough skin, getting battered by the waterfall wasn't too unbearable.
And it had an energetic nature.
As it kept at it, it even started to enjoy it.
Growing more excited, it chirped "Xilu xilu."
Su Hao rubbed his chin.
He seemed to have figured out the trick to sparking the Water Scale Beast's fighting spirit.
Pretty good.
"Student, is your Water Cloud Horse a second-generation spirit? Training in Cloud Step?"
Su Hao turned his head and saw a middle-aged man with thick, jet-black hair walking over.
The man looked at the waterfall and spoke casually.
"When training Cloud Step, you can first have the Water Cloud Horse move along a specific route, planning each landing point. It makes it easier for the spirit to learn the technique."
He offered a few tips about route planning for the Water Cloud Horse.
Finally, he said, "...You've raised your spirit well. Keep it up."
He patted his thick hair again and walked off.
Su Hao: "..."
Based on his judgment, this was probably a school instructor.
Instructors, like students, often frequented various training grounds.
'But, it should just be an ordinary instructor.'
He had a basis for this judgment.
The instructor had thick, jet-black hair, neatly combed.
His attire was also very tidy and stylish.
Ask yourself... which strong person dresses like this?
A true strong person wouldn't come to a basic training ground like the 'Skyfall Waterfall.'
He quickly dismissed the middle-aged instructor from his mind.
He continued supervising (scratch that) guiding the Water Scale Beast and Fire Wool Crow in their training.
...
After Crow King left and reached a secluded spot.
A force enveloped him.
In an instant, he vanished, reappearing high in the sky.
He hovered there, rubbing his chin, letting the wind blow without messing up his hairstyle.
Behind Crow King was a spirit as tall as a person, resembling a puppet.
Its eyes were very lively.
Countless translucent threads shot out from the puppet's hands, their ends hidden in the air.
The evolved form of the String Puppet, the Puppet Master.
Wood Mind, a dual-type spirit.
Its telekinetic force held Crow King aloft and blocked all nearby detection.
Even if someone looked up, they wouldn't see Crow King's figure.
Only a clear sky and white clouds.
"Little Su, not bad at all."
Crow King had actually been observing for a while.
He had seen Su Hao's efforts and understood his character.
Excellent students longed to follow good instructors.
But as a King-level professor at the university, he too wanted to take on a satisfactory student.
He too wanted to teach a strong person.
Crow King could already imagine a future gathering of old friends.
One King: "I've trained another main spirit."
Crow King: "My disciple reached King-level."
Another King: "I've created a new secret technique."
Crow King: "My disciple reached King-level."
Another King: "I'm in the new world..."
Crow King: "My disciple reached King-level."
How satisfying would that be!
Crow King rubbed his chin. "My guidance will help Little Su's spirit learn Cloud Step more easily. With today's groundwork, when formal classes start and it's time to choose instructors, Little Su will see me, and then notice the striking King-level emblem... he'll probably be pretty surprised."
He felt this student was in the bag.
Everything was ready, just waiting for the semester to begin.
Crow King decided not to stick around.
He still had plenty to do.
"Let's go."
...
At Whale Island University, each King-level had their own estate on campus to house their spirits.
They also had a logistics team to take care of them.
Many were certified spirit nurturers.
At that moment,
At the entrance of Combat King's estate, a burly young man with a bare upper body, muscles like rocks, walked in.
A Great Ape followed behind the young man, mimicking his swinging arm movements.
"Teacher, I've grasped the essence you mentioned!"
He said 'I,' not the spirit.
As a disciple of Combat King Butcher, their lineage believed in advancing together with their spirits.
Though human strength was limited,
That wasn't a reason to give up on self-improvement.
As the bare-chested young man entered, he saw Butcher King, whose body was twice as wide as his, lying prone, one hand behind his back, the other thumb pressing into the ground, doing one-handed thumb push-ups.
Up and down, incredibly fast.
After finishing a set, Butcher King stood up without a hint of fatigue.
He too was bare-chested, with extremely developed muscles, a broad upper body, and an inverted triangle shape.
Standing up, he was half a head taller than the bare-chested young man, casting a large shadow like he was blocking the sun.
Incredibly imposing!
He was almost as impressive as the Great Ape behind the young man!
The bare-chested young man chatted with his instructor about his training process.
A few sets of moves.
How long he held out.
As he talked, he mentioned seeing Crow King.
"Old Crow? What's his relationship with that new student? Could he be Old Crow's illegitimate son?"
Butcher King showed an interested expression.