Promotion Tournament Begins

"Brother Meng, I wasn't talking about you. I was just joking." If you asked Xie Xie who he respected most in this school, it was definitely the Meng Li standing before him.

Not only was he obnoxious, he was shameless too. Most importantly, he was obnoxious.

"Since you said I'm not human, I'm not buying water for an ungrateful brat like you." Meng Li rolled his eyes.

He tossed a bottle of drink each to Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Yun Xiao.

"Thanks." Gu Yue took the water and had a sip.

"Thanks, Brother Meng." Tang Wulin had always thought with his stomach. Anyone who gave him food was a good brother.

"Thanks, Brother Meng." Xie Xie grinned, trying to gloss over what had just happened.

"No need to thank me. You can owe me for the water for now. Remember to pay me back." Meng Li spoke calmly.

After they finished eating, they followed Wu Changkong to an indoor training ground.

Wu Changkong led the four of them to the center of the venue and stopped. "Starting today, you will follow me for special training every night. Work hard for the Promotion Tournament three months from now."

After Wu Changkong finished speaking, he tossed Meng Li a manual of techniques and began training with the other three.

Xie Xie did not understand why Meng Li was not training with them, but since Wu Changkong had not said anything, he did not dare ask.

"The three of you will be sparring with me next. Show me everything you've got."

"Huh?" Xie Xie was incredulous. The three of them against a Six Rings Soul Emperor? What the hell were they supposed to fight with?

A flash of light appeared in Wu Changkong's hand, and a wooden sword was already there. "I won't use my Martial Soul's power or Soul Skills. Go all out. Begin!"

While Wu Changkong fought fiercely against the three students, Meng Li studied the book Wu Changkong had thrown to him.

The book illustrated various moves used by Soul Masters. It could also be considered a book for practicing the basics.

This was exactly what Meng Li needed. He had Soul Power but knew no techniques. He could only fight by trading punch for punch, which made him look rather foolish.

Following the movements shown in the book, Meng Li practiced every move and stance. After training for an entire night, he felt that his control over his body had improved considerably. It was no longer like at the beginning, when his body would not obey his brain.

When the four of them left that night, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were both bruised and battered. Meng Li and Gu Yue were fine. Meng Li had not trained with them.

As for Gu Yue, she was a girl, so naturally she received a girl's treatment.

Over the next few days, everyone in the class except Tang Wulin and Meng Li underwent physical training.

Tang Wulin practiced controlling Blue Silver Grass, while Meng Li spent another two million to forge a blade and trained in saber techniques.

The blade was named "Murasa." With a rather twisted sense of humor, he borrowed the name of that blade from his previous life. By using certain materials, he made it look as though blood would stick to it, as if it had been washed by rainwater.

This blade was sharper than the previous Ghost Cutter, and its meteoric steel had been refined to a higher degree.

During this time, the four of them underwent Spiritual Power tests.

Xie Xie's Spiritual Power was twenty-nine. That was already quite a good result among people his age, close to the mid-stage Spirit Origin Realm.

Tang Wulin's Spiritual Power was forty-four, placing him directly at the mid-stage Spirit Origin Realm. However, he did not mention that his previous test result had only been thirty-eight.

Gu Yue's Spiritual Power was as high as one hundred and nineteen.

Just as Xie Xie was secretly delighted by his respectable Spiritual Power, he fell silent when he saw Tang Wulin's score.

When he saw Gu Yue's score, he became even more silent.

When he learned that Meng Li's Spiritual Power was ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, he was certain the machine had malfunctioned.

How could anyone possibly score that high?

Sure enough, the second results came out. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue's scores had not changed, while Meng Li's alone had become twenty.

This delighted Xie Xie immensely. After waiting so long, he finally had something he was better at than Meng Li.

Xie Xie patted Meng Li's shoulder, suppressing his laughter. With seventy percent sympathy and thirty percent sincerity, he offered words of encouragement. "Brother Meng, don't be sad. Even though your Spiritual Power is worse than mine, you can still improve it later. I'll treat you to dinner tonight to comfort your wounded heart."

"Bring me too." Tang Wulin's eyes lit up the moment he heard about food.

"Would you believe me if I said the first result was actually mine?" Meng Li asked seriously.

All three shook their heads.

Three months passed quickly.

The Promotion Tournament was an annual grand event for Eastsea Academy. Only during the Promotion Tournament did every grade and the entire academy participate.

The weather was fine today, with a clear blue sky stretching without a cloud in sight. In the center of the intermediate division's field stood a competition platform. Calling it a platform was not quite accurate—it was actually a hundred-meter-wide circular area paved with metal plates ten centimeters thick.

It occupied a large portion of the field. Specialized Soul Guidance barrier generators surrounded the competition platform, preventing accidents during matches.

The teachers of Class Four and Class Five each delivered some harsh words before gathering their students for the contest.

Meng Li held Murasa. Over the past few months, he had been honing his martial skills. He had spent a month and a half learning saber techniques, and he had also finished reading the martial arts manual Wu Changkong had given him.

His strength could be said to have improved by a great deal.

The four students of Year One Class Four had barely stepped onto the stage before they began rubbing their fists together aggressively.

Meng Li, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie stood ready.

When the match began, everyone saw only a blur flash past. The four Class Four students all collapsed at once.

"Damn, that was fast!" Xie Xie cried out. He had not even begun drawing his sword when they had already fallen.

Gu Yue was stunned as well.

Tang Wulin nodded repeatedly. No need to fight.

"Sorry, you were one step too late." Meng Li smiled lightly and sheathed his saber in a dashing motion, leaving only his back in view.

For some unknown reason related to his body, his speed far surpassed Xie Xie's. Wu Changkong's explanation was that it was due to his bloodline.

"We're Class Four now, right?"

"How is that possible?" Class Four's homeroom teacher stared at the scene in disbelief. It had ended before it even began. The students his class had sent out were their strongest, yet they had all been dealt with by one person.

This person was far too fast.

Luckily, he's in my class. If he were in another class, that would be troublesome. Wait, wasn't he assigned to Class Five because he skipped class too many times? Wu Changkong nodded in satisfaction.

"Year One Class Five wins. Until the Promotion Tournament ends, you will remain Class Five for the time being. The classes will be rearranged after the tournament concludes. Tomorrow, you will continue by challenging Year One Class Three." the referee announced.

"Who exactly is that kid? It would be one thing if he were strong, but he's shameless too." Long Hengxu had developed some interest in Meng Li.

As for the other three, he was interested in them as well, just not as much.

"That junior is so handsome."

"Not only is he handsome, he's strong too!"

"What junior? He should be my future husband."

"You cradle robber, have some shame!"

"Look, that blue-haired junior is pretty good too. Those eyes are simply gorgeous."

How can these little girls be so forward? Meng Li broke out in a cold sweat.