Chapter 508: Class Begins

Staring down the abyssal throat of a shadowy being, Jasmine could only freeze in place. Its maw slowly widened to engulf her in its darkness.

"What the hell are you freezing up for, you idiot!" Sam shouted as he punched the monster in the side of the head—his fist wreathed in earth Qi. His words snapped her back to reality, and she swiftly lashed out with her whip, obliterating the beast. As it faded into the surroundings like smoke caught in a breeze, pure Qi flowed into her body, bringing her ever closer to the peak of the Soul Fire Realm, a stone's throw away from the elusive Star Core Realm.

"Hey?" Sam said, stepping in front of her while rolling his shoulder as if that punch had taken a lot out of him. "What are you spacing out like that for? If I hadn't come in at the last second, the Slaughter Princess's beloved disciple would have been eaten!"

"Sorry, sorry," Jasmine said while rubbing her head. She glanced away from the irritated Sam and instead looked down the staircase toward the town.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked. "We can always head back down, you know? We have class with Elaine later today anyway."

Jasmine shook her head. "It's nothing, really. I just felt a sudden wave of anxiety from Stella through our link, which threw me off as I haven't felt much of anything from the link in a long time."

"The Slaughter Princess is anxious about something?" Sam snorted. "Are you sure it wasn't anger?"

"Don't speak ill of the Princess," Ray, the other person in their trio, scolded Sam. After fighting off the beast tide together, the three of them had become close friends, and since their cultivation stages were around the same, they had decided to work their way up Tartarus's staircase together.

Sam frowned at the blue-haired girl but eventually conceded as he understood he was crossing a line.

"It actually takes quite a bit nowadays to tick her off," Jasmine added, which was what made it concerning. Since the mental link had returned to being strong over the last few days, she assumed Stella had returned from the Eternal Realm. While she wanted to go back and greet her Master as soon as possible, there were still matters she had to attend to here, and Tartarus was no place to be distracted.

Shaking her head, Jasmine walked past Sam. "We've all worked hard over the last few hours to battle through those shadow fiends for this," she gestured at a demonic tree ripe with many fruits and, most importantly, cradling a chest among its roots. It was right on the border of the first Star Core Realm step, so the loot had to be good.

"I'll harvest the dangling fruits first." Gathering nature Qi into her foot, she unleashed a new technique she had learned: grappling vines. Stamping down, the staircase cracked ever so slightly as two arm-thick vines erupted from the ground. Usually, this technique was used to hold an opponent in place, but she could also control them like limbs, and they worked great for yanking down the fruits.

Sam got into position under the tree and used his cloak like a bowl to catch the falling fruits. After a few minutes, the vines retreated into the ground, as the tree was now bare of any more fruit. In total, it had been quite the haul.

"You two can keep them," Jasmine said nonchalantly, making both of their eyes sparkle.

"Really, Jasmine? Are you sure?" Ray questioned in a mouse-like voice, as if terrified she would change her mind and demand a share. Instead, Jasmine just smiled and waved them off. What use did she have for some Soul Fire Realm fruits? Her Master had already given her the best fruits, grown directly by the Patriarch. It would be far too selfish of her to take these fruits, but the contents of the chest interested her.

After Sam and Ray amicably split the fruits and stored them away, Ray offered, "I'll check if the chest is a mimic."

Jasmine and Sam both winced at the reminder. It was an incident they would prefer not to mention ever again.

"Please do, Ray," Jasmine said, and she stepped back with Sam to give the girl space to work.

Ray swiftly conjured a ball of water and engulfed the chest in it. When nothing happened after a while, she released the water, and it splashed onto the tree's roots.

"It didn't react like it was drowning, so this one should be safe," Ray said, grinning at them. "Who wants to do the honors?"

"I can," Sam said. With earth Qi still faintly lining his skin as if he wasn't totally sure, he approached the chest and opened it. There was a locking mechanism that required physical contact, likely to prevent people from using telekinesis or similar techniques to loot the items from a distance. After a resounding click, Sam pried the chest open and peered inside. An excited gasp escaped his lips, compelling Jasmine to try to look over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Ray asked excitedly from behind them, unable to see over Sam's broad back.

"An item." Sam slowly brought out a staff that was far too long to fit inside the chest. It was crafted from dark metal with a blue tint and ended in a fork. "A trident of some kind?" Sam guessed, inspecting it. "This has to be Elder Mo's work, I can sense a spirit inside it."

"What's it saying?"

"It's not saying anything I can understand," Sam replied, passing it to Ray. "I think you should take this."

"Huh? Why me?" Ray paused, and her eyes widened the moment she touched the staff. She stood there, frozen in place for a long few seconds, her knuckles turning white. Eventually, she snapped out of it and looked the staff up and down in wonder.

Jasmine was deeply curious. "What happened, Ray?"

"The spirit inside showed me the ocean," she replied, her voice filled with wonder and her eyes sparkling with enlightenment.

"You saw the ocean?" Jasmine said, and then realized that while she knew the ocean existed from books and stories, she had never seen it. "What was it like?"

"An endless body of water that was impossibly big and stretched all the way to the horizon. It's impossible to describe! I... where should I begin? Um, while calm on the surface, apart from the waves crashing into the shore, great danger lurks in the dark depths," Ray stuttered as she tried to narrate what she had seen. Fanatical tears appeared in the corners of her eyes as she continued. "I just can't believe it—I've spent my whole life listening to the heavens' whispers regarding the vast power of water without truly grasping what it was saying, but now I understand. Having only seen rivers, lakes, and rain until now, the ocean dwarfs the visualization I could ever get from those."

Jasmine smiled, happy to see her friend experiencing a moment of enlightenment. "You should keep that trident," she suggested, and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Can I really?" Ray asked, hugging it. After they both nodded to confirm, she beamed. "Thank you both so much!"

Sam rubbed his chin. "Mhm, I just can't believe Elder Mo has seen the ocean. I know he's one of the older Elders in the sect and fought in many wars, but where is the ocean? Apart from in books and stories, I've never heard anyone say they have seen it before. Jasmine, has your Master taken you to see it?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No, and I don't think she has seen it either. By the way, was there anything else in the chest?"

"A few random pills and a small pile of spirit stones," Sam said, reaching back in to grab them. "It seems that the trident was the main prize, but I had really been hoping for a medallion to the Eternal Realm." He glanced up at the step before them. "What if we..."

"No," Jasmine instantly shot that idea down.

Sam frowned. "Isn't the whole idea of being a cultivator to push your limits? Look, there aren't too many shadow fiends on the next step, as they were cleared out by Amber and Ryker yesterday. I'm sure that chest on the nearest tree has been restocked by now."

"There's pushing your limits, and then there's ignorance," Jasmine said sternly, crossing her arms. "Clearly, you didn't learn anything from the fight in the arena we had. Did you hit your head so hard you forgot the power Star Core Realm cultivators can unleash? Besides, unlike me, you aren't even in the 9th stage of the Soul Fire Realm. Forget trying to reach the next step for now."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Sam took in her words, processed them, and then decided to ignore them. "I didn't come all this way for a few pills and spirit stones," his focus narrowed on the chest that seemed so close. Just a single step away and guarded by two shadow fiends—though she did have to point out that the steps were sized for titans, evident by the fact that trees could grow on each step. "I want to see what is in that chest."

Jasmine almost couldn't blame Sam for his arrogance. The way the staircase was set up made the difference between steps seem arbitrary. There was no obvious barrier preventing weaker cultivators from trying to ascend higher, and in a way, Sam was right; the whole point was to push as far as they could.

But up an entire realm? He clearly needed to learn the hard way.

"Go ahead," Jasmine said, "I'll watch from here, though."

Sam clicked his tongue. "For a disciple of the Slaughter Princess, you sure are level-headed," he grumbled as he strode toward the next step. Earth Qi flared to life across his body, showing he was at least sensible enough to take it seriously.

"Is he going to be okay facing those shadow fiends?" Ray asked, clutching the trident close to her chest.

Jasmine shook her head. "They will rip him apart, but it's not the fiends I'm worried about. I don't think he will even make it half a step before collapsing."

"Because of the soul pressure?" Ray inquired. "Is it really that strong?"

"The difference in soul pressure between entire realms is nigh overcomable, especially considering Sam is in the mid-stages of the Soul Fire Realm, rather than at the peak," Jasmine explained as Sam reached the border of the step. "Look, you will see. I've spent a lot of time around my Master, who is in the Star Core Realm. There's no way Sam will survive up there."

"Are you sure you two don't want to join me?" Sam asked confidently over his shoulder. "I won't be sharing any of the loot I get if I have to fight on my own!"

Jasmine's expression soured. "Are all earth cultivators such blockheads like this?"

"Is that a no, then?" Sam shrugged, and after pumping himself up for a moment, he stepped onto the next step. The sudden jump in soul pressure was evident as he instantly crumbled to one knee with a surprised yelp. His muscles tensed as he strained just to keep his head upright, only to see one of the shadow fiends take notice and begin to approach.

"See," Jasmine smirked. "Told you he wouldn't make it half a step."

Ray panicked. "We should help him!"

Jasmine debated it for a moment. "Do we have to?"

"Yes!" Ray insisted, looking at her with desperation in her eyes. "Can't you do something?!"

"I could..."

"Don't be mean like your Master," Ray said, frowning. "Sam is our friend, you can't leave him to die just because he's got rocks for brains."

Jasmine, of course, had no plans to leave Sam to his self-induced fate, especially after he saved her from being eaten only a little bit ago. It was just fun to see Ray so panicked, and she hoped coming close to death would teach Sam a lesson. If they were going to be a team moving forward, they had to be better than this.

"Fine, fine. Just because you asked, I'll save Sam," Jasmine stepped forward and empowered her whip with Qi. "You're going to want to step back for this one," she said, pulling back her arm.

"Jasmine?! Ray?! Help me!" Sam cried out, his pride finally faltering as he was unable to move a muscle under the crushing soul pressure of Tartarus and was about to become a shadow fiend's lunch.

Narrowing her eyes, Jasmine threw her whip forward. It let out a loud crack as it lashed through the air and lassoed around Sam. Pulling back as if she had caught a big fish, Sam was yanked back to the lower step, where he belonged. The shadow fiend instantly lost interest and slowly returned to guarding the demonic tree.

"Ow, ow, ow," Sam hissed in pain, the thorns of the whip digging into him. Jasmine pushed Qi into the whip, making it relax its hold on Sam and uncoil like a disinterested snake.

"So, where's the Star Core Realm loot you so valiantly went to claim?" Jasmine asked sarcastically, grinning ear to ear while standing over him.

"Very funny," Sam said, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet. "But yeah," he glanced at the step, "that was quite dumb of me. Thank you for... you know, helping me out—"

"Saving you," Jasmine corrected.

"Yes, right, saving me. The Star Core Realm pressure was way more intense than I was expecting, considering the gradual increase of the pressure hadn't been too bad until now."

Jasmine laughed. "Of course, it's not been too bad! The difference between stages is nowhere near as vast as the gap between realms. Come on, you know this and got too eager."

"Yeah, yeah, you've made your point," Sam sighed.

"Good, and if it makes you feel any better, you can keep the pills and spirit stones," Jasmine said, turning to look down the staircase at the town. "I don't need them."

Sam smirked. "Right, yeah. Of course you don't, since you're the sole disciple of the Slaughter Princess and get all the help—ow ow! Let go of my ear! I'm sorry!"

Jasmine pulled down hard to bring Sam to her height, as he was both a boy and many years older than her. "I was being nice," she hissed. "Do you want those pills and spirit stones or not?"

"I do!"

"Then take them without bringing my Master into it," Jasmine said, roughly letting go of Sam's ear. "Now then," Jasmine brightened up, turning to Ray, "should we return to White Stone Peak for Elaine's lecture?"

Ray nodded while glancing between the two of them as if to make sure they hadn't had a falling out. Jasmine was a little mad, but overall knew this was just how Sam could be sometimes.

"Great, let's go."

***

"I thought you said Elaine was teaching the class today?" Sam whispered harshly under his breath.

"She should be," Jasmine replied, frowning at the scene before her.

"Then why is your Master standing at the front of the class?"

Jasmine side-eyed Sam. "I have no idea. Don't you think I would have told you if I knew this was going to happen?"

"Should we run?" Ray suggested. "I could pretend to have a stomach ache."

"A cultivator with a stomach ache?" Jasmine glanced at Ray in disbelief.

Ray averted her gaze. "I... still get them sometimes. You know, when I try to defeat one of those restaurant food challenges the mortals like to run—"

"Take your seats," Stella's stern voice rang out through the room, causing Sam and Ray to stiffen like wooden beams. Despite simply standing there and not putting any effort or Qi into her voice, anyone could tell that Stella's existence commanded reality around her. The subtle power emanating from her gaze was enough to make any Soul Fire Realm cultivator tremble, but Jasmine could tell, as her Disciple, that there was more to it.

Stella had undergone significant changes, both physically and mentally, and her cultivation had advanced substantially.

Hadn't she been at the peak of the Star Core Realm the last time I saw her? Does this mean... she has stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm? Maybe even gone up a few stages as well? How? Is that what has caused the change in her demeanor?

"Why do you all look like frightened kittens? Aren't you supposed to be the elites of the sect?" Stella said as she leaned on the edge of Elaine's desk, crossing her arms disapprovingly and continuing to stare at them. "Come take a seat before I get impatient."

While it felt directed at her, Jasmine wasn't the only one stunned at the doorway. Many other members of the elite disciples hand-picked by Elaine had returned from Tartarus to attend the lecture, and nobody wanted to be the first to enter.

I can't believe it, Jasmine thought as she confidently took the lead and sat down in her seat. The rest slowly shuffled in, likely thinking she only dared to go first because she was Stella's Disciple. And while that was partially true, it was for another reason. A reason that nobody would notice, possibly not even her, without the Master-Disciple mental link.

Despite Stella's ever-confident facade, she was terrified right now as she stood at the front of the class.

There's no way Stella is anxious about giving a lecture to us... is there?

"Ahem," Stella coughed into her hand and winced as everyone's gaze focused on her. "Er, as you might have noticed, I'm not Elaine. She's away on a... sect mission. Yeah, let's call it that. So in the meantime, I've been entrusted as your teacher."

Stella? A teacher? It should be fine, right? It's just a lecture after all. Jasmine told herself, only half convinced.

"Now, I've been debating over the last few days what I should teach you all," Stella said as she walked around Elaine's desk and stood before a chalkboard. "Unfortunately, I've never sat through a lecture in my life and have come to the conclusion that I have no idea how to teach." Turning around, she faced them all with a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "So instead, I thought I'd teach you all something I do know a lot about—how to survive in this terrible world."

The blood vacated from Jasmine's face as memories of Stella's training methods flashed through her mind. She turned, pale-faced, and looked at Sam and Ray. Seeing her reaction, they also began to look afraid.

Stella fished something out of her cloak with telekinesis—a small golden medallion with an eye on it. "This here is an Eternal Realm medallion and is the top prize you can find in Tartarus," she closed her hand around it and placed her hands behind her back. "From now on, until I stop being your teacher, if a single one of you can land a hit on me by any means necessary, this medallion is yours."

Excited murmurs spread throughout the room.

"However! If none of you succeed, the weakest link will be executed," Stella said casually and smirked at the sudden silence. With a snap of her fingers, a portal manifested behind her. "Class is now in session."

With that, she backed through the portal, leaving behind a class of stunned students.

"Hey, is she serious?" Ray said, her voice trembling. "One of us will be executed if we can't land a hit? It's impossible—how can any of us compete with the Slaughter Princess?"

Jasmine was fairly certain that was a lie her Master had said to make them all take this more seriously... but one could never be entirely sure about anything when it came to Stella and her antics.

The portal remained open, meaning Stella was likely inviting them to follow her.

At least she is nice enough to not make us hunt her down, and I doubt anyone could do that with her Qi-hiding amulet, Jasmine thought as she slowly stood. This means she at least plans to make this challenge possible, so we might have a chance.

All attention landed on her as if she had become the class leader.

Did they think just because she was Stella's Disciple that she would have the faintest clue on how to land a hit against a possible Nascent Soul Realm cultivator?

Sam abruptly stood up with a determined expression. "I'll be the one to claim that medallion." He summoned his sword and rushed through the classroom toward the portal, leaping over tables like a madman. "The rest of you can sit here and wait for my triumphant return!"

His words seemed to draw everyone's attention away from the shocking revelation that someone might be executed and instead to the incredibly tantalizing reward—the medallion.

While Jasmine didn't expect to be the one executed should the class fail, she also likely didn't need the medallion to enter the Eternal Realm. Yet that didn't stop her rising excitement.

An opportunity to hit her master in the face only came by once in a blue moon, so she rushed after Sam. How could she possibly let him have all the fun?