Chapter 757 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 24

Chapter 757 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 24

“Once your psychic power reaches One-Star Second Stage, you can begin attempting to extract skills from one-star beast cores.”

Yan Shuang’s voice echoed through the training room, reaching every student’s ears with perfect clarity.

“My original requirement was for all of you to reach this threshold within three months. Based on today’s test results, every single one of you has exceeded expectations—some have even reached One-Star Third Stage, or Fifth Stage!”

There was little discernible fluctuation in Yan Shuang’s tone, but those who knew her well could detect the faintest hint of satisfaction.

Her words were like stones cast into a still lake, instantly sending ripples through every student’s heart!

Exceeded expectations? Did that mean… could their field practice begin ahead of schedule?

Nearly everyone’s eyes lit up at once, their burning gazes all trained on Instructor Yan Shuang in unison.

The longing for wondrous magic, the boundless anticipation of obtaining their very first beast core skill, the yearning to truly set foot in a mirror space for exploration—all of it peaked in this moment.

“…” Yan Shuang took in everyone’s reactions without missing a thing.

She had been young once herself. How could she not understand the near-obsessive anticipation students at this stage felt about obtaining their own beast core skill?

But she still didn’t relent.

In fact, this collective milestone of reaching One-Star Second Stage today had always been part of her plan.

The remaining month was not an idle wait but a crucial buffer and preparation period before departure. She had other arrangements in mind.

The excited whispers in the training room gradually died down as everyone held their breath, waiting for their instructor’s final decision.

Yan Shuang swept her gaze around the room, looking at each face brimming with expectation, and slowly spoke—but what she delivered was not the departure order they had been hoping for: “《Eastern China Alliance Mirror Space Illustrated Guide (Deer Cry Volume)》, 《Skill Systems and Skill Combinations》, 《Common Beast Core Skill Analysis》… You’ve all finished self-studying these textbooks, correct?”

The sudden mention of textbooks caught everyone slightly off guard, but they quickly nodded one after another.

Over the past two months, they had been drilled half to death with body tempering and combat training, yet no one had dared to neglect the initial requirements Instructor Yan Shuang had set. Everyone had scrambled to complete the self-study.

“Good.” Yan Shuang nodded, finally revealing the next step. “For the field practice one month from now, our destination will be—the Kaleidoscope Wilderness.”

The Kaleidoscope Wilderness! The students’ hearts stirred as they immediately began recalling every piece of related information they could.

“Each of you,” Yan Shuang’s voice grew heavier, carrying an unmistakable tone of command, “will write a practice plan for hunting mirror beasts in the Kaleidoscope Wilderness. Target mirror beast species, hunting methods, potential dangers, contingency plans, required supply lists… the more detailed, the better!”

She paused briefly, then gave the deadline: “Submit them to me before next Monday.”

With that, she didn’t spare a glance at the students’ stunned or contemplative expressions. She turned crisply and teleported away, leaving behind only a final warning:

“If even one person’s plan is unsatisfactory, the practice will be postponed. Research independently and complete it based on your own circumstances. Asking others for help is forbidden—unless you want someone else directing your every move in every future mirror space exploration!”

Her icy parting words dissipated into the air, yet they struck like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing the impatience that had just begun to surface and transforming all that anticipation into heavy pressure and a task that demanded their absolute best.

Every student shared the same clear understanding: in this class, even the slightest hint of slacking could get you mercilessly expelled.

What Yan Shuang gave them was never a multiple-choice question—it was always a target that had to be met.

For their year, Deer Cry Middle School had opened a full twelve Mirror Explorer Classes to meet the demand for mirror ruins exploration talent. Roughly the top four hundred new students from the Deer Cry Mirror aptitude test were all placed here.

However, only their Class One was special. Even now, students in the other classes were still stuck at the perception stage of psychic power cultivation—they couldn’t even be considered beginners.

The body-tempering elixirs that could toughen bones and stimulate potential were merely a once-a-week “privilege” for the other classes.

As for the live-combat, life-and-death martial training? Not even a shadow of it existed for them. Their schedules were still filled with foundational theory and general education courses.

Whether in terms of resource concentration provided by the school, training intensity, or overall learning progress, the other classes couldn’t hold a candle to Class One—the gap was like heaven and earth.

Because of this, Mirror Explorer Class One of Deer Cry Middle School had long since set its sights beyond what other classes aimed for—merely getting into a regular department at the Eastern China Alliance’s top institution, Eastern China Academy, or other reputable mirror exploration academies within the Alliance.

Their goal, from beginning to end, was one and only one—the Elite Institute within Eastern China Academy, where geniuses gathered and monsters emerged!

That was the true cradle of the Eastern China Alliance’s elite, a sacred ground that every talented youth fought tooth and nail to enter.

As long as you could keep pace with Mirror Explorer Class One’s brutal curriculum and survive two years in this pressure cooker without being eliminated, you could essentially secure admission to the Elite Institute.

It was practically an unspoken shortcut, paved with sweat and talent.

And only by first crossing the threshold of the Elite Institute would there be that slim yet precious chance, when the time came for higher education, to make a bid for the institution that represented humanity’s highest temple of mirror ruins exploration—Mirror Ruins University.

Instructor Yan Shuang’s demands were harsh, but they were all meant to help the students grow faster. No one objected.

They had all read the textbooks, yes—but being asked to immediately figure out which mirror beasts to hunt, what tactics to employ, and how to mitigate risks left them momentarily at a complete loss. There were a thousand threads to untangle, and they had no idea where to begin.

Moreover, the deeper they dug, the more they realized the textbook knowledge was far from sufficient.

Over the next few days, Mo Lan noticed that the Mirror Explorer Class library had become much livelier than before.

Previously, aside from her and Chen Xingye who frequented the place, no one else had shown any interest in it.

Now, it had practically become Class One’s second classroom, permeated by an unspoken tension.

Figures moved between the bookshelves, and the section labeled with materials related to the Kaleidoscope Wilderness was especially packed, surrounded so tightly you couldn’t squeeze through.

The air was filled with nothing but the rustle of rapidly turning pages, the urgent scratch of pens across notebooks, and the occasional hushed exchange.

“Where’s 《Kaleidoscope Wilderness Common Mirror Beast Atlas》? It was right here a moment ago!”

“Wang Jingnan took it. Go ask him if he’s finished with it…”

“Who has 《Kaleidoscope Wilderness Four-Season Cycle》? Let me have it when you’re done! Actually, forget it—I’ll just have my dad buy me a batch of reference materials!”

…

Every student was racing against time, absorbing every bit of knowledge that might prove useful, trying to find theoretical support and detailed substance for the hunting plans taking shape in their minds from within the vast ocean of records.