"You woke up early," Miriam said, looking at us sitting on the bed. us smiled back at her. He had woken up quite early and decided to chat with the senior. Since he couldn''t use the Bead for now, as it was suspended in the golden energy he had yet to absorb, he could only ask about the things he wanted to know.


    Having memories of one''s past is indeed valuable, and us was eager to learn more. The senior answered his questions to the best of his ability, though the karma involved in understanding some of these things was too much for us to bear at the moment.


    "So, what are your ns now that we won''t be going back to Ross City for a few more days?" Miriam asked her tone hinting that she was teasing him about his ns to train with Lulu.


    "You can always go back first if you want," us replied, refusing to give her the satisfaction.


    "Get dressed. I want to see how much you can learn as a Spirit Master," Miriam said, pushing him off the bed. us just smiled and got up to get dressed.


    He really needed this training. Ever since he awakened as a warrior, he hadn''t had the chance to train with anyone before, so this was a big deal for him.


    He wanted to see how well he could fare against Lulu, even after the senior had told him he wasn''t her match. Unlike us, who had only just started training as a Spirit Master, Lulu had been at it for years, so naturally, she was much better than him.


    Her mental strength was stronger, and her control was superior to his. us had already lost a duel to Aoi Hiroshi, making him realize how much wascking when the sword was put in question. Now, he wanted to measure his progress against Lulu who was stronger than him at the moment.


    "You''reing too?" us asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Of course. Why, are you scared I''ll spoil your game?" Miriam responded with a teasing smile. us knew she would go back to her emotionless self the moment they stepped out of the room. Still, seeing her like this made him smile slightly.


    "Just don''t get jealous," us said before running out of the room. Miriam smiled and followed him. Shortly after, they arrived at the training ground where Lulu was already doing some light stretches.


    "You couldn''t sleep, huh?" us, being us, couldn''t resist teasing her. As expected, she blushed lightly.


    "By the way, how are we going to do this? And for the record, I only use Needles, and currently, I can only control 64 Viper Piercing Needles," us said as he took out his needle set. The 64 needles immediately flew into the air, making us grit his teeth slightly.


    "Impressive. How long have you been practicing?" she asked, though she genuinely looked impressed.


    "A couple of weeks," us replied.


    Lulu raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "A couple of weeks and you can already control 64 needles? That''s remarkable," she said, though her tone carried a hint of yful doubt. "But you do know that control isn''t just about numbers, right? It''s about precision."


    us chuckled. "I''ll leave precision to you, Lulu. I''m more of a ''let''s see how many I can throw at once'' kind of guy."


    Lulu smiled as she brought out her own needles. They were five-inch-long needles, an inch longer than us''s Viper Piercing Needles.


    With a simple thought, 250 of her needles flew from their case, floating effortlessly in the air before her. us''s eyes widened in shock, making a few of his own needles fall to the ground from the distraction.


    "250?!" he muttered under his breath, disbelief creeping into his voice. She looked calm andposed, unlike him, who was already struggling to control just 64.


    ''That''s wild,'' he thought, his mind racing.


    ''How is she making it look so easy?''


    Lulu caught his expression and gave a small, knowing smile. "Control, us. It''s not about how many you can summon; it''s about how well you can handle them."


    us gritted his teeth, the 64 needles already having a huge impact on his mental capacity. He knew she was right, but it didn''t make the situation any less frustrating.


    Seeing hermand such a vast number of needles with ease made him realize just how much further he had to go. Still, he wasn''t about to back down.


    Even so, us knew that in anypetition they entered, he would lose—and lose badly at that. Miriam, sitting a few meters away, smiled as she watched the expression on his face.


    ''Finally, something somebody is better at than him,'' she thought, amused. She couldn''t have asked for a better morning.


    "No need to feel weak. I''ve been practicing for almost two years now, so it''s only natural that I''ve developed the mental fortitude to handle this many needles," Lulu said, her needles swirling around her effortlessly.


    "You controlling 64 after just a couple of weeks is already a big deal."


    us let out a smallugh. "Still, I need to do better if I want to have a shot at mastering this Spirit Master thing."


    "Then you''d better hurry and get into the Academy. There are many avenues there that can help you train your mind to handle multiple tasks," Lulu advised.


    "I will," us replied, nodding in agreement.


    "Alright," Lulu continued, "let''s test your control. Show me how well you can manage those needles."


    She pressed a small button on the floor. From the ceiling, several small balls descended, projected into the air. They began to move. They were a mix of colors, their paths seemingly random.


    "Use your needles to destroy all the green balls. Let''s start at 1.2x speed," Lulu said, pressing another button. The balls began moving, weaving through the air with increasing speed.


    us took a deep breath and concentrated, his 64 needles hovering in the air, ready to move. This was a test of precision, and he knew that brute strength alone wouldn''t help him here. He focused on the green balls, watching their erratic movements closely.


    "Here goes nothing," he muttered under his breath as he sent his needles darting through the air toward the targets.


    The needles moved swiftly, popping the green balls almost instantly. us didn''t even seem stressed as he skillfully maneuvered the needles through the air. In just over a minute, all the green balls were destroyed, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.


    "Impressive," Lulu stated as she nced at the score. The screen showed that us had popped 720 green balls, along with 12 red and 10 yellow, in 1 minute and 24 seconds.


    "My first trial, I popped 720 green, 54 red, and 32 yellow in 4 minutes and 45 seconds," Lulu said, clearly impressed. "You''re something else, us."


    us grinned, his golden eyes gleaming with pride. Although he doesn''t show it, hearing she was far behind his score lightens his mood a bit


    "Guess I''m not as bad as I thought."


    Lulu smiled back, but there was a hint of challenge in her eyes. "You''ve got talent, no doubt, but don''t get toofortable. The next levels aren''t as easy."


    The pace doubled, and us went back to work.


    The balls were much faster now.


    He hadn''t really used the needles individually before; he always kept them in the Void Piercing Needle form. Because of this, he hadn''t mastered taking out multiple targets at once with them.


    If he had been using the Void Piercing Needle form, the green balls would have been destroyed in under 20 seconds. Still, he was doing well, popping the balls effortlessly. It was mentally exhausting, but he was managing.


    A little over two minutester, he had finished. All the green balls were popped, along with 20 red and 16 yellow ones. Although he wasn''t used to fighting with isted needles, after just two trials, he could feel his mind growing stronger.


    Lulu was genuinely impressed. But when us asked her to try it out, he witnessed just how terrifying a Spirit Master could be.