A Teacher Questioning Her Life

"Mm, the shield's strength is actually pretty good. You can test it," Zhongli said after thinking for a moment.

"Hmph, you're quite confident."

The tall female teacher smiled. Three Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—appeared around her, naturally radiating the Soul Power fluctuations of a Soul Elder. A pitch-black staff appeared in her hand. This was her Martial Soul: the Black Iron Rod!

"Is this the Soul Power of a Soul Elder? Why does it feel... much weaker than I imagined?"

Mo Yuqing quietly muttered to herself.

She had once faced a Four Rings Soul Ancestor Evil Soul Master head-on. Although that man's Spirit Ring configuration was poor, his presence had been genuinely terrifying. She had felt as though she could lose her life at any moment; the pressure he exuded had been immense.

Compared to that Soul Ancestor-level Evil Soul Master with such heavy killing intent, this female teacher's presence seemed much gentler. At most, she had a somewhat heroic air about her, with none of that terrifying feeling.

"My Soul Power is level thirty-nine, and I'm a Power Attack System Weapon Soul Master. My attack power is very strong. To avoid accidentally hurting you, I'll gradually increase the strength of my attacks to test your shield's durability," the tall female teacher said with a slight smile, swinging her staff as it whistled through the air.

"I understand."

Standing Tall Like a Cliff!

Zhongli casually reached out, and Vortex Vanquisher instantly appeared in his hand. A thin, pale yellow shield emerged as well. He simply gripped Vortex Vanquisher, planted it into the ground, and said, "I'm ready. You can begin at any time."

"A One Ring Soul Master..."

The female teacher's gaze shifted slightly as she looked at the Spirit Ring that had appeared alongside Zhongli's Martial Soul. Although Zhongli had only one Spirit Ring, the Soul Power fluctuations from it were not weak at all. It was clearly no ordinary Spirit Ring. Moreover, Zhongli had activated his shield incredibly quickly. Setting aside the shield's strength, that activation speed alone showed great potential.

Such shield activation speed meant that it would be virtually impossible for anyone to interrupt him when he wanted to raise a shield, and he could deploy it instantly at critical moments. Its practical combat value was extremely high!

"Very well, I'm attacking."

The female teacher swung the black staff in her hand, striking the Jade Shield with considerable force. Ripples spread across the Jade Shield, and the already dim pale-yellow shield seemed to grow even darker.

Unfortunately, that was just an effect from being hit...

It can withstand an attack from a One Ring Soul Master, but it's already on the verge of collapse afterward? As expected, a shield granted by a Spear-type Martial Soul isn't reliable. Thinking it could serve as a Support System ability was too naive.

With that thought, the tall female teacher withdrew her staff and said, "That's enough. Your shield has dimmed considerably. If I continue attacking, I might break through its defenses and hurt you. You don't have the potential to be in the Support System."

"Are you sure?"

Zhongli raised an eyebrow slightly, pointed at the Jade Shield that had already returned to normal, and asked in return.

"Hm? The shield can recover quickly? That's still useless. Your shield's upper limit is right there. No matter how quickly it recovers, it can't be your main Support System ability," the teacher said somewhat disdainfully.

"Um..."

Mo Yuqing quietly raised her hand and looked timidly at the teacher. "Actually, no matter how hard you hit the shield, it always has this effect. Being able to break through its defenses is really just your illusion."

"An illusion?"

The teacher's expression changed slightly as she looked at the two children. She bit her lip and revealed an amused smile. "Then let me see just how thick your shield really is."

As soon as she finished speaking, she gripped the black iron staff again and viciously lashed it at Zhongli's shield.

"Bang!"

This strike was clearly stronger than the last one, but the shield changed exactly as it had before. Zhongli, standing inside the shield, did not move in the slightest. His gaze remained exceptionally calm as he held Vortex Vanquisher upright with one hand and quietly said, "Please continue."

"Hmph, how arrogant!"

The female teacher's expression changed again. She increased the force behind the staff she swung at Zhongli once more, smashing it fiercely into the Jade Shield with a sharp whistle through the air.

"Bang!!"

The shield reacted exactly as before, as though the teacher's three attacks had been almost identical in strength. Those slightly dim ripples clearly indicated that the attacks had an effect, yet they still placed tremendous pressure on her, because she had no idea how much of the shield's durability she had depleted.

Because they were all the same...

This kid is no ordinary person!

I'll use fifty percent of my strength for the next attack!

The tall female teacher took a step back with one leg and exerted force through her arm muscles once more, sweeping her staff horizontally into the shield. Yet the shield only dimmed slightly as before. The teacher frowned deeply and asked, "Just how hard is your shield? How much shield durability do you have left? Can you sense it?"

Zhongli sensed it slightly. The shield's durability had not changed at all. The damage this teacher dealt was not even as much as its automatic recovery. At this level of force, she could keep attacking until the shield's duration expired and still fail to break it.

Of course, he definitely would not say that.

As Solid as Bedrock!

Zhongli raised both hands, and his shield showed signs of being refreshed. He looked directly at the teacher and said, "My shield has been fully restored. You can continue attacking. As for how much shield durability I have, I don't really know either."

"Fully restored?"

The tall female teacher's expression abruptly changed, and her mindset nearly collapsed. She lightly bit her lip and asked again, "What is the approximate cooldown for your shield-refreshing ability? Can you keep refreshing its durability like this without any conditions?"

Zhongli thought for a moment before answering, "No. After the shield breaks, the cooldown is one hour. However, the efficiency of refreshing the shield is increased by one hundred percent. Fifteen minutes can restore the equivalent of thirty minutes, which is fifty percent of the shield's durability, and the duration is refreshed as well. The cooldowns of these two abilities are independent of each other, so it isn't much of a problem."

Of course, that was what he said.

As for the actual situation... hehe...

"Quite a good ability..."

The teacher's expression grew increasingly grave. To her, the ability Zhongli described made him seem like a little monster. Soul Masters of the same level would probably find it difficult to break through his defenses. If they could not break through his defenses, how were they supposed to fight him?

I need to get a little more serious!

The female teacher let out a soft breath, gripped the iron staff tightly with both hands, and swung it with all her strength, smashing it viciously toward Zhongli's shield.

"Thud!"

A dull sound rang out. The iron staff in the teacher's hands was actually knocked away by the recoil, making the web between her thumb and forefinger ache sharply. When she looked back at Zhongli's shield, its changes were still exactly the same as before...

What kind of shield was this? She was a dignified level thirty-nine Soul Elder, yet her full-force strike could not even budge it. This was not scientific!

"Are you really only level thirteen right now?"

The teacher frowned tightly and looked at Zhongli with a face full of suspicion.

There was a full twenty-six levels of Soul Power between her and Zhongli. How could she fail to break through his defenses even with a full-force strike? Unless this fellow's Soul Power level was not thirteen at all—he would need to be at least level forty for this to make sense! But wouldn't a six-year-old child with level forty Soul Power be even more outrageous?