Free Web NovelChapter 402: Chapter 389: Terrifying Memory
A new week began. Morning sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves at Wenquxing University, casting dappled shadows across the floor of the Cultivation Technique Class.
The classroom was much livelier than usual. A few boys in the back row huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, the girls in the front row kept glancing toward Gu Ming’s seat. Some had their arms crossed, smirking as if expecting a good show, while others had a hint of anticipation in their eyes.
After all, Gu Ming’s reputation as the "Creator of the Nine-Colored Technique" was too great. Everyone wanted to see just how much skill the renowned author truly possessed in a basic class.
Gu Ming had just sat down when he overheard the student next to him muttering to their desk mate:
"Did you hear? Someone saw Gu Ming asking Teacher Zhao for advice in the training room last night. It looked like he was practicing a New Technique."
"How many seconds do you think he’ll manage? Do you think his New Technique can push him past ten seconds?"
Another voice immediately retorted:
"You don’t get how hard Professor Zhang’s ’Spiritual Fragment Analysis’ is. We’d be lucky to hit eight seconds. Him? Get more than ten seconds over that? Impossible!"
Gu Ming ignored the chatter and simply released Cyan Treasure from his Beast Taming Space. The little creature coiled around his wrist, its tongue flicking.
It curiously surveyed its surroundings, its scales shimmering with a faint cyan glow in the sunlight.
The front row suddenly fell silent. Professor Zhang walked into the classroom holding his teaching plan. He was wearing a dark gray Daoist robe today.
His hair was combed immaculately and his face was expressionless. The moment he stood at the lectern, the buzz in the classroom vanished instantly.
He placed his teaching plan on the desk, his gaze sweeping over the class before finally landing on Gu Ming. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
’During our discussion last week, this kid proposed integrating a Dynamic Array into memory extraction.’
’Although it was full of holes, that determined drive and spark of ingenuity are still fresh in my mind. Not that I would ever admit it out loud.’
"Class," Professor Zhang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was piercing,
"We will now review last week’s assignment: extracting a Memory Fragment."
He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the lectern.
"Should we go by student number? Or..."
He trailed off, his gaze falling back on Gu Ming. "Why don’t we have our class’s ’model student,’ Gu Ming, go first?"
A low stir immediately went through the classroom, and someone couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"’Model student’? Professor Zhang is setting him up to fail!"
"Quick, look at Gu Ming. His face must be pale, right?"
Everyone knew that the Little Cyan Snake was not a Spiritual Element Pet Beast, which would surely make extracting a Memory Fragment extremely difficult.
But Gu Ming’s expression didn’t change. He simply stood up calmly, defying their expectations.
This sent a ripple of shock and uncertainty through the students.
’No way, did he actually pull it off? But that’s a Little Cyan Snake!’
Gu Ming placed Cyan Treasure on the lectern. The little creature seemed to sense the tense atmosphere, its tail wrapping gently around Gu Ming’s arm as its tongue flicked rapidly.
Professor Zhang watched him walk to the front and released his own Pet Beast from his Beast Taming Space.
It was a translucent Shadow Octopus, standing half as tall as a person, its eight tentacles drifting slowly in the air.
Its tentacles were covered in faintly glowing blue suckers, and its eyes were a deep purple, exuding the strange aura unique to a Spiritual Element Pet Beast.
"This is my partner, the Shadow Octopus,"
Professor Zhang explained.
"Its Spiritual Power Perception is even keener than mine. It can judge the quality of your extracted Memory Fragment most directly."
Gu Ming faced the professor and bowed slightly.
"Teacher Zhang, I’m ready.
"But I should warn you, the memory I’m extracting this time is a dream fragment from the Yichuan Ruins. It might contain a strong Spiritual Shock. Your Pet Beast..."
"Don’t worry."
Professor Zhang cut him off, his tone laced with a hint of impatience.
"The Shadow Octopus and I have worked together for years. What kind of Spiritual Shock haven’t we seen?
"Just get on with the extraction. If it lasts longer than six seconds, I’ll consider it a pass."
That’s what he said, but inwardly, he was fuming.
’Last week, this kid argued me into a corner. Today, I’m going to make him understand that you can’t just bluff your way through a basic class with clever tricks.’
Gu Ming said no more and gently patted Cyan Treasure’s head.
The little creature immediately raised its head. A faint cyan light washed over its scales, a hazy gray halo clouded its eyes, and its tongue flicked rapidly. Its body arched slightly, as if gathering Power.
Professor Zhang and the Shadow Octopus both focused their gazes on Cyan Treasure. The classroom was dead silent; even the whispering students in the back held their breath.
Suddenly, Cyan Treasure closed its eyes, and the cyan light around its body erupted, shattering into countless fine specks of light that drifted toward the Shadow Octopus like fireflies.
The Shadow Octopus’s tentacles paused for a moment, seemingly curious. It extended one to touch the specks of light.
The instant the tentacle made contact, the specks of light suddenly coalesced into a transparent, fingernail-sized crystal, inside of which countless images seemed to be flowing.
They were the scenes Gu Ming had witnessed in his dream of the Yichuan Ruins:
a boundless black cavern, its floor covered in glowing moss; massive shadows moving in the distance; and a suffocating pressure that filled the air.
"Starting the timer."
Professor Zhang took out a timer, his eyes fixed sharply on the Shadow Octopus.
The Shadow Octopus’s tentacle wrapped around the Memory Fragment and began to absorb the information within.
At first, its tentacle just pulsed normally, but soon it began to tremble violently, the glowing suckers flickering on and off.
A flash of terror appeared in its purple eyes.
Professor Zhang frowned. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, the Shadow Octopus let out a sharp shriek.
Its eight tentacles snapped back, flinging the Memory Fragment to the ground. Its entire body contracted into a ball as it hid behind Professor Zhang, tentacles still trembling uncontrollably, as if it had seen something utterly terrifying.
"What’s wrong?"
Shocked and angry, Professor Zhang grabbed one of the Shadow Octopus’s tentacles and used his Divine Sense to probe the memory it had absorbed.
The next second, Professor Zhang’s face turned deathly pale. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he staggered, nearly falling off the lectern.
The students were all stunned. Those in the front row could clearly see a pitch-black scene reflected in Professor Zhang’s pupils, as if something enormous was approaching, causing his lips to turn white and his breathing to become ragged.
After a good ten seconds or more, Professor Zhang finally snapped back to his senses. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze toward Gu Ming filled with shock and utter disbelief.
"What... what in the world was that memory you extracted?"
Professor Zhang’s voice was hoarse. He had never seen his Shadow Octopus lose its composure like this.
Even when he had probed the memory himself, it felt like being thrown into a boundless, deep sea as a colossal black beast that blotted out the sky swam overhead. The terror that stemmed from the depths of his very soul sent a chill straight through him, an Eight-star Beastmaster.
Gu Ming picked up the Memory Fragment from the floor. Cyan Treasure had already returned to normal and was nuzzling its head against his palm.
"A dream fragment from the Yichuan Ruins."
Gu Ming said calmly, "It should be a Memory Fragment from a certain Divine Beast, containing some battle scenes with Ancient Fierce Beasts."
"A Divine Beast?!" Professor Zhang cried out involuntarily.
He suddenly recalled Gu Ming mentioning the Dynamic Array last week. Then he considered the terrifying aura from the memory and the fact that the student had just returned from the Yichuan Ruins.
’This kid... It seems he gained quite a lot from the Yichuan Ruins, to be able to produce such a horrifying memory.’
’Wait, this kind of memory is...’
