Chapter 531:Training.

Chapter 531: 531:Training.

Silver’s expression softened.

"Ravenna."

She looked up.

He smiled faintly.

"You don’t owe me repayment for loving you," he softly said.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Silver continued, "Besides, you’ve done plenty for me. You’ve fought beside me, saved my life, and put up with my terrible jokes. That last one alone deserves compensation."

She laughed softly, then leaned forward and hugged him.

He wrapped his arms around her.

For a moment, neither spoke, then she whispered, "I’m going to become stronger."

He smiled.

"I know."

"Strong enough that you won’t always have to protect me," she said.

He shook his head.

"Ravenna, you already protect me."

She looked up.

He smiled.

"More often than you realize."

The following morning, Ravenna began integrating the Phoenix Heart Catalyst under Silver’s supervision inside one of the academy’s approved private training rooms.

The process was considerably more intense than she’d expected.

After consuming the catalyst, she immediately felt a surge of concentrated heat spreading through her soul-energy pathways. The Phoenix Heart Seed responded almost instantly, releasing a powerful current of crimson-gold energy that circulated through her body with increasing intensity.

She gritted her teeth as her skin became warm, then hot, then almost unbearably hot. A faint crimson glow appeared around her.

Silver stood several meters away, watching carefully.

"Ravenna?"

She shook her head.

"I’m fine."

He frowned.

"You don’t sound fine," he worriedly said.

She exhaled sharply.

"Just... give me a moment."

He nodded.

"All right."

She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Rather than attempting to suppress the foreign energy, she gradually guided it through her existing fire pathways, allowing the catalyst to stabilize the connection between her ordinary flames and the dormant power contained within the Phoenix Heart Seed.

The process lasted nearly two hours. By the end, sweat covered her forehead, and her breathing had become heavy but the results were extraordinary.

Silver read the results to her from insight.

[Phoenix Heart Seed Integration Increased.]

[Integration Progress: 78% → 94%.]

[Fire Energy Compatibility Improved.]

[Fire Control Efficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Flame Edge Lv2 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Burning Arc Lv2 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Phoenix Energy Foundation Stabilized.]

[Current Rank: Two.]

[Energy Saturation: 95%.]

Ravenna slowly opened her eyes and a small crimson flame appeared above her palm, but at its center, a faint golden glow remained stable.

She stared at in wonder before smiling.

"Silver," she happily called.

He approached her.

"What?"

She raised her hand.

"Look."

He examined the flame.

His eyebrows rose.

"That’s new," he said.

Ravenna nodded.

"I can feel it."

She slowly compressed the flame. The golden center brightened, then the surrounding crimson energy condensed into a smaller, denser shape.

He smiled.

"That’s impressive," he praised her.

She looked toward him.

"I haven’t unlocked the Phoenix Flame yet."

"I know."

She smiled.

"But I think I’m getting closer."

He nodded.

"Definitely."

Ravenna extinguished the flame and laughed softly.

"I can’t wait to test this properly," she excitedly said.

Silver grinned.

"Just don’t burn down the academy."

She looked offended.

"That happened once."

He pulsed his lips.

"Really, once?" He sarcastically said.

She smiled innocently.

"Technically."

He laughed.

Silver’s own training began that afternoon.

Unlike Ravenna, whose immediate objective was to complete her Rank Two foundation and prepare for advancement, he concentrated on improving the quality of his existing abilities.

He consumed the Superior Meridian Reinforcement Serum first.

The medicine produced an intense sensation of pressure throughout his body as his soul-energy pathways gradually expanded and strengthened. His spatial abilities had always placed considerable strain on those pathways, particularly whenever he attempted to combine Short-Step, Spatial Displacement, and Spatial Distortion in rapid succession.

The serum improved his capacity to withstand the stress produced by repeated spatial manipulation.

[Superior Meridian Reinforcement Serum Absorbed.]

[Soul Energy Pathway Stability Increased.]

[Spatial Backlash Resistance Improved.]

[High-Consumption Skill Recovery Efficiency Increased.]

He exhaled slowly, then retrieved the Advanced Spatial Comprehension Crystal.

The crystal was small, transparent, and filled with faint silver threads that seemed to move whenever he changed the angle at which he held it.

He sat cross-legged and activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv3 Activated.]

The surrounding environment unfolded within his perception.

Silver closed his eyes and began absorbing the crystal. Almost immediately, an enormous amount of unfamiliar information flooded his mind.

Distances, angles, spatial relationships, movement trajectories, the difference between shifting an object and altering the space surrounding it and the relationship between displacement, distortion, and barriers.

His expression tightened.

For a moment, he felt as though he were standing inside an endless network of invisible lines, each representing a possible movement or connection between points in space.

Then the information began organizing itself.

He understood something.

Short-Step wasn’t simply teleportation over a short distance, it was a controlled movement through compressed spatial intervals.

Spatial Displacement wasn’t simply forcing a target to move, it was altering the relationship between the target’s position and the surrounding environment.

And Spatial Distortion applied the same fundamental principle as a normal barrier. Space could be stretched, compressed, redirected or temporarily stabilized.

Silver’s breathing slowed, then he smiled.

So that’s how it works.

[Advanced Spatial Comprehension Crystal Absorbed.]

[Spatial Comprehension Significantly Increased.]

[Spatial Sense Lv3 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Short-Step Lv3 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Spatial Displacement Lv1 Proficiency Significantly Increased.]

[Spatial Skill Integration Compatibility Improved.]

[New Combat Principle Understood: Localized Spatial Manipulation.]

He slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand towards a small training sphere resting several meters away.

[Spatial Displacement Lv1 Activated.]

The sphere shifted for only ten centimeters but the movement was almost effortless.

Silver laughed.

"Oh."

He activated the skill again.

The sphere moved another ten centimeters, then another. The energy consumption was considerably lower than before.

He smiled.

"Now that’s useful."

He stood and activated Short-Step.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

His figure disappeared and reappeared near the opposite wall. But unlike his previous attempts, the movement felt smoother, more natural and less wasteful.

Silver grinned.

"Excellent."

The remaining disciplinary period passed in a strange mixture of frustration and rapid personal growth.

He continued completing his mandatory assignments while using every available opportunity to train. His spatial abilities became increasingly refined, and his Advanced Swordsmanship improved through repeated practice against supervised combat instructors.

The Advanced Physical Tempering Essence strengthened his body further, improving his endurance, recovery, and ability to maintain Primal Strength and Iron Bones during prolonged engagements.

Ravenna, meanwhile, continued stabilizing the Phoenix Heart Seed and gradually increasing her Rank Two saturation. After consuming the High-Grade Soul Energy Condensation Elixir, her progress accelerated noticeably.

She always requested Silvers observations after learning how useful it was.

[Rank Two Energy Saturation: 95% → 98%.]

[Phoenix Heart Seed Integration: 94% → 96%.]

[Rank Three Advancement Conditions: Nearly Complete.]