The area where Korra killed the thousand-year-old green fur ape was quite spacious and scenic, well, except for the splatter of blood and chunks of flesh. In this world, only the person who kills the spirit beast can absorb its ring. For this, Chu Chang had specifically impaled the shoulder of the green fur ape with multiple grass mines and then hired Korra's assistance to destroy the beast from an internal explosion. This meant that it was Chu Chang's methods that technically killed the beast, and the result was evident when he started refining the glimmering purple spirit ring.

While multiple students spread out, more than willing to use this chance to search for valuable herbs and fortuitous encounters, the more sensible ones remained. Korra wasn't one of them. She was 'ultra' sensible. Right now, in her Berserk Arctic Bear transformation, Korra ran across the forest wildly. This transformation was the spirit skill she received from a seven-hundred-year-old Arctic Bear. Needless to say, in the dense forest, finding a lone Arctic Bear was simply a stroke of luck. Right now, Korra smelled another stroke of 'luck,' and her bulky body shot past the trees, not minding the shallow scratches from the branches and leaves of the surrounding.

Her speed was greater than ordinary speed type spirit masters. The answer could be summarised into two words— Transformation and Experience. The Arctic Bear transformation spirit skill allows Korra's muscle density and body mass to skyrocket while her bones are affected and enhanced appropriately. Though a yellow spirit ring, Korra continued to practice movements and martial arts under the transformation long before Nik had even arrived. While many know that bear spirit beasts major in power, Korra used her experience to put her body into full use and also divert the path from strength to flexibility and speed.

This was the reason why she could match those with two spirit rings and, after Nik's training, destroy arrogant snobs with three spirit rings. It was all her hard-earned experience. Right now, she was rushing towards a particular scent that enticed her senses while she was luring the green fur ape into a spacious location and then activating the mines once she was in the process of mincing the beast. 

A formidable spirit beast!

Just the thought sent a tingle down Korra's spine, and after a few moments, her body reverted, and she observed the calm bear with glowing golden totems running down its back. The bear was almost 2 meters tall, slightly taller than Korra's full transformation, but the greatest feature of this bear was its dark-gold claws that glimmered magnificently under sunshine.

A Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear!

And from the circular totems on its broad back, this was a thousand-year-old newborn. 

Still, Korra would be a fool to underestimate the strongest species of bears that ever walked within the forest. According to the past records, presented in the classes, a duskgold dreadclaw bear has the potential equivalent of dragons of the myth. 

'But can I absorb a thousand-year-old spirit ring?'

The brief bout of hesitation was swept away when she recalled Asami's second spirit ring. If she could refine a thousand-year-old spirit ring as her second one, why couldn't Korra? 

Now that the first obstacle was tackled, Korra silently waited—

The bear was sleeping!

Korra grinned madly, her body grew in size once again, and for the first time, her spatial ring glowed, and a warhammer equivalent to Nik's height appeared in her right palm.

While Korra charged, more than willing to ascend her current self and break her limits, Nie Li, who had been wandering with a slightly vacant expression coincidentally came across a tree with a deep claw imprint. Lu Piao and Du Ze accompanied the main group in the resting area, so Nie Li was adventuring alone. Seeing the claw mark, Nie Li stepped forward and observed the surroundings with great interest. It was only after discovering tiny dark-gold fur within the claw marks that his expression changed.

Not willing to remain leisurely in his investigation, Nie Li continued to test the surroundings. Finally, once he concluded that this area was indeed marked by a duskgold dreadclaw bear did Nie Li rush towards the main group. His heart was beating wildly while thinking of the implications. If the duskgold dreadclaw bear really returns, then escaping alive was already the brightest possibility even with all his previous knowledge. After all, Nie Li could vividly recall the Bear Lord— one of the six deity beast— a duskgold dreadclaw bear slashing and tearing his reinforced body quite easily.

***

"Ho~ This scenery is quite tantalizing," Nik praised loudly while gazing at the entirety of the institute from this vantage point. The breeze was sharp and crisp, which allowed Nik to feel extremely pleasant and refreshed. The roof of the library was quite small with a thick, metallic cone constructed in the middle for aesthetic's sake. Surrounding the parameter was a railing on which Nik leaned against. With his [Perfect Eyesight], Nik could enjoy the scene better than others. 

But he was merely a passing admirer. The scenery was nothing but a delightful sprinkle on his main objective. With a twirl of his ankles, Nik turned around and leaned back against the railings dangerously. At the peak of the conical construct, Nik could see a curvaceous woman looking down at him with a smile.

"You know, that invisible inscription pattern would not work on me now I am— this— close to you," Nik smirked while extending his palms with his thumb and index almost touching each other. The breeze blew once again as Nik admired the fluttering loose robe of the blonde, blindfolded woman with astonishing curves and otherworldly charm. Her small smile seemed far alluring than a harlot's entire body. For a moment, Nik found himself dazzled by her beauty. This was something not even Gojira could achieve.

With an astonished chuckled, Nik shook his head and broke the natural trance erected around him by her spellbound features, and then gazed at the glimmering runes surrounding her. "What are you?" Nik inquired without any need for pretenses as the hooded beauty leaned over her stick extended out to a sword handle. Her robes were just loose enough to trap her bosom in a jiggling cleavage that did not push ahead and exposed her pink wonders. 

"A Goddess, if you can believe it," the woman replied with a smile, her tone jesting, and it was unfortunate that Nik couldn't see her eyes. Still, once he regained his composure, he grinned. "Of course, I believe. Now, all I need to find out is the Principal's name."

The woman smiled and stood straight once again. "Back then, I was named Samya by my parents. But later in the realms of Gods, I was titled, Sword Maiden." 

Nik fell silent for a moment. He honestly couldn't care for other gods... but goddesses...

He felt incredibly moved. 

If goddesses are real...

Just the thought served to push his cock against the constriction of his pants. 

"I have already understood what happened. Yang Xin came to the office to request to start recruitment drives and also stated that she would bring the required materials in a few days. Meanwhile, I do not bear any responsibility for San Mo's actions. He saved me, and I rewarded him."

Samya stated while Nik frowned, "Then why are you still here?"

Samya turned silent and did not reply to Nik. To expose her weakness to a virtual stranger was not something Samya was capable of doing. Yes, Nik was interesting with all his abilities, but that also made him dangerous. Since there was no need to grow chummy with him right from the start, the Sword Maiden shifted the conversation to a different topic— San Mo.

"What did you do to San Mo?"

She inquired with interest as Nik floated with his legs crossed and flew up to Samya's direction. The inscription patterns surrounding her in a sphere did not obstruct Nik. And he 'sat' beside her while gazing at the view once again. He did not answer Samya's inquiry regarding San Mo's treatment and smiled, "Can you see? I mean, can you actually see the world. The colors and all the wonders?"

Samya nodded. Even if her eyes hadn't healed, she was still capable of visualizing the world vividly. But still, with her eyes recovered, the burden on the inscriptions fell by a lot of margins. "Yes, I can," Samya replied with a smile. Nik then turned his head towards her and asked with a heated expression, "Can you tell me about this— the realm of gods? What it's like? Who are the most beautiful goddesses? Can goddesses get pregnant or not?"

For a moment, Samya was in a daze. The realm of gods was a cruel place where battles occurred at every corner. She was one of the most beautiful goddesses in general, human aesthetics. Meanwhile, many beast gods had their own sense of beauty and, thus, a diverse list of top beauties. And of course, she was a living being. Getting pregnant, though hard at her age, was still possible.

"Why do you ask?"

She inquired but had Samya not already understood Nik's true roguish and unruly nature. A good teacher he might be, but it was only under the moonlight when his inner wolf emerges with the flickering greed of devouring every beautiful flower.

"Well," Nik pondered with the roll of his eyes, "I guess, once you hear that gods exist, you just need to know everything about them. Who knows, I might get to meet other goddesses, too."

Samya's lips twitched as she stomped her iron pole softly, attracting Nik's focus, "Anyway, Nik, isn't it time for you to leave?"

"Really?" Nik inquired innocently. Who was even counting the seconds here? "Before I leave, just tell me one thing," Nik asked patiently.

"Yes?"

"What's higher than this world? I mean, aside from spirit rings, there must be other conditions one needed to fulfill before becoming a god, right?"

Samya frowned before deciding to stay silent. It is not easy for her to completely believe in a person she has unintentionally observed for days. She just felt slightly comfortable, that is all.

Seeing that Samya wouldn't budge, Nik nodded and flew down to the roof before standing straight and waving his arm, "I'll come back tomorrow."

Nik stated with a smile and descended from the roof. Before he left the library, he snapped the trembling and enlightened San Mo from his illusion and made Ye Sheng's memories regarding the previous event overlap with an illusion where instead of fighting, Nik and San Mo heartily discussed the bodies of female students.

Next, he continued to spend his day according to the routine— giving lectures in other classes and then finally meeting up with Asami for lunch. Asami taught intermediary and apprentice classes. Since Nik's and Asami's lectures didn't overlap, they could only meet after the classes were concluded. Occupying their usual seat in the inn, Asami and Nik ordered their food. While Nik enjoyed the uncommon intake of sour dishes, Asami was practically a fan of this taste. The only reason the duo even came to this inn was due to the sweet-sour wine produced locally.

"For real?" Asami cut a small piece of sweet radish and dipped it into the green snake sauce before inquiring Nik. Without waiting for his reply, Asami parted her lips and ate the delicacy, with her eyes narrowing in pleasure and content.

"Yea," Nik gripped the charcoal end of the chunk of meat and sunk his teeth in. The flesh was incredibly soft and did not even have any chewy texture. Instead, it felt like cotton candy. After chewing and licking his lips to lap up the natural sauce smeared, he continued, "Yang Xin provided the same details of recruitment drive the three of us came up with, and this was voluntary. I don't need to work for them for providing the students."

"Is it because of your battle with the Demon Lord? Even if you managed to kill him, Yang Xin shouldn't be privy to that information," Asami whispered. 

She was correct.

Nik shrugged and continued to eat. He only spoke when he had finished entirely and ingested all the chunks of meat, or else, he might spit them out accidentally when he talks. "I'll find out once I meet up with Yang Xin this evening. Anyway, did you prepare the questionnaire for your subject?"

Nik's question made Asami gloomy as she shook her head. "Do you think that written exams are like the martial performance? I have to carefully form the correct questions based on the current state of the forest. If I fail to keep the questions of the exam practical while also adding a few exotic inquiries, only then would there be any meaning to score."

The first month of the academy comprises of teaching, examination, contest, and a week-long vacation. Due to such a cluttered schedule, the examination of the first month is usually easy. Once the students are sorted based on the result of the first exam, only then will the teachers be allowed to dive deeper into each subject and draw a more comprehensive examination. 

Usually, after the first exam, the institute also observes a spike in students absorbing their spirit rings. Lastly, as an incentive, the top 10 students of each class are allowed to delve into the Star Dou forest with a teacher's protection and incorporate a spirit ring better than their peers.

"Hey, do you know how hard it is to test martial performance?"

Nik snorted and chewed on his meal unhappily. 

Asami gazed at him from the sidelines and sneered, "Yes, of course. How could I forget that martial performance is not only done on the stage."

Only now Nik felt better since Asami recognized his hard-work.

"As long as you understand."

"Shameless."

Asami smiled and ate her food silently.

Just like she stated to Korra, Nik was a rare treasure. A shared one, but a treasure nonetheless.