"Brother Tao, go easy on me later, okay?"
As they arrived at the battle arena, Tang Wulin looked toward Zhao Tao in the distance. Though his words were modest, his eyes gleamed with intense fighting spirit.
He wanted to find out just how big the gap between him and Zhao Tao really was!
"Good. Let's see how your recent training has paid off!"
At Tang Wulin's words, Zhao Tao smiled faintly, circulated his Soul Power, and summoned his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul.
"Begin!"
Wu Changkong calmly swept out a hand as he watched Zhao Tao and Tang Wulin, both eager to fight, and announced the start of the battle!
"Entwining!"
At Wu Changkong's words, Tang Wulin immediately activated his Soul Skill. The first White Soul Ring behind him flashed, and vines surged toward Zhao Tao!
Tang Wulin's reaction was already quick, but Zhao Tao was faster!
"Time Burial Sword!"
As soon as Tang Wulin's vines appeared, Zhao Tao had already finished releasing his Soul Skill and summoned the Time Burial Sword!
At the same time, Zhao Tao rapidly closed in on Tang Wulin, his Time Burial Sword flashing through a flurry of sword arcs as it stabbed straight for Tang Wulin's neck!
"Not good! How is he so fast?"
Watching Zhao Tao's lightning-fast attack, Tang Wulin inwardly cried out in alarm!
However...
By then, it was too late for him to change the release of his Entwining Soul Skill. He could only swing the pair of Heavy Silver Forging Hammers in his hands, trying to block Zhao Tao's attack.
But the collision Tang Wulin expected never came.
Zhao Tao's Time Burial Sword seemed about to touch the Forging Hammers in Tang Wulin's hands, yet it also seemed to exist in a different parallel space.
With just a flicker, Tang Wulin's Forging Hammers struck empty air. He stumbled and nearly fell.
As for the Time Burial Sword in Zhao Tao's hand, its tip stopped precisely at Tang Wulin's neck—not a fraction too far or too close. It hadn't even scratched a single hair on Tang Wulin's skin!
"Brother Tao, h-how did you do that?"
"My Forging Hammers clearly hit the sword you summoned. How did they end up missing?"
With the blade right before his eyes, Tang Wulin could only admit defeat.
Then, gazing at the Time Burial Sword in Zhao Tao's hand, he asked in bewilderment.
"That's the power of time!"
"Zhao Tao's Martial Soul and Soul Skill have the ability to subtly alter the flow of time around him!"
"Your attack seemed to hit, but the power of time deflected it, so it missed!"
At Tang Wulin's question, Wu Changkong's eyes lit up. He explained excitedly.
His gaze toward Zhao Tao was filled with delight!
The power of time—that was the power of time, one of the most powerful laws!
Martial Souls connected to time were almost always top-tier. And Zhao Tao's First Soul Skill was a Thousand-Year Soul Skill!
That meant the First Spirit Soul he had fused with was a Thousand-Year Spirit Soul!
Everyone knew that a Soul Master had to reach the Spirit Connection Realm in Spiritual Power to qualify to fuse with a Thousand-Year Spirit Soul!
This also meant Zhao Tao's Spiritual Power talent far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Masters!
Thinking of this, Wu Changkong was secretly pleased!
It seemed he really had found a treasure this time!
"The power of time? Brother Tao, you're incredible!"
On the other side, after hearing Wu Changkong's explanation, Tang Wulin nodded as understanding dawned.
His gaze toward Zhao Tao was even more admiring and respectful.
After all, the power of time—the ability to change the flow of time—sounded incredibly impressive!
It was countless times stronger than his own Blue Silver Grass.
What was more, Zhao Tao had just defeated him with overwhelming ease.
At that moment, the small bit of pride Tang Wulin had gained from winning several matches in a row vanished completely.
He recognized reality once more: the gap between him and Zhao Tao was enormous.
"Wulin, you did well to take second place. Keep working hard!"
At Tang Wulin's words, Zhao Tao smiled faintly and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
"Mm, I'll definitely work hard, Brother Tao!"
Encouraged by Zhao Tao, Tang Wulin nodded firmly, feeling greatly heartened.
"After watching your battles, I think your fighting skills and physical fitness are both far too poor. You need to improve urgently!"
"So starting tomorrow, every morning you'll take turns doing physical training and combat skill drills. We'll target your weaknesses and improve your fundamentals!"
"Of course, theoretical knowledge is essential for Soul Masters as well. That will be scheduled for every afternoon!"
"For now, you can go back and rest. This afternoon, we'll cover theories related to meditation. Everyone else, meet each other. Zhao Tao, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin, the three of you, come with me!"
Wu Changkong briefly outlined the plan for the Class Five students, then led Zhao Tao and the other two to his office.
"Zhao Tao, Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, the three of you are the best students in Class Five. So from now on, you'll represent Class Five in the upcoming Class Promotion Tournament!"
"Although you're in Class Five now—the lowest-ranked class—you can switch class rankings by defeating the classes ahead of you. You could become Class Four, Class Three, or even the strongest, Class One!"
"You can even challenge classes in higher grades. If you win, you'll receive generous rewards!"
Looking at the three of them, Wu Changkong explained why he had called them over.
"Don't worry, Teacher Wu. We can fight our way through the entire first year!"
"After all, if it weren't for someone stirring up trouble, that someone and I should've been assigned to Class One in the first place!"
At Wu Changkong's words, Xie Xie chimed in confidently, then cast Zhao Tao a somewhat disgruntled glance.
"Oh? Are you really that confident?"
"From what I understand, this year's Class One has three Soul Grandmasters!"
Hearing Xie Xie, Wu Changkong gave a dismissive snort before replying.
"W-what? Three Soul Grandmasters?"
Xie Xie was stunned, staring at Wu Changkong in shock.
"That's right, three Soul Grandmasters!"
"The Class Promotion Tournament will take place in three months."
"The task I'm giving you is simple: turn Class Five into Class One!"
"To make that happen, I'll give you extra training every night from now on!"
Leaning back in his chair, Wu Changkong nodded calmly and explained.
"Th-then what if we can't do it?"
At Wu Changkong's words, Tang Wulin asked without thinking.
"If you can't do it, hehe, then get ready for my hellish punishment!"
Wu Changkong smiled at Tang Wulin. But seeing that smile, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie felt a chill crawl over them, and every hair on their bodies stood on end!
Clearly, they had to win this battle!
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