Problem Child An Ping

When Wu Changkong's wooden sword thrust toward Tang Wulin's chest, Tang Wulin first tried to control it with Blue Silver Grass, but it had no effect.

Recalling the state he had been in while fighting Xie Xie, he held the hammer in his right hand before his chest to block the wooden sword, while raising the hammer in his left hand high, intending to attack once his right hand stopped the sword.

At that moment, an inconspicuous Gray Light shot over at incredible speed, striking the wooden sword just before it made contact with the hammer.

As the wooden sword came into contact with the Gray Light, it suddenly seemed to turn into dust, scattering through the air in a soft shower.

Decomposition Spell was a spell An Ping had learned while studying Alchemy. Its purpose was to break down structures, and it was usually used together with Shaping Technique.

Seeing this, Tang Wulin took advantage of the moment and hurled out the hammer he had originally intended to use for defense.

With a loud bang, Wu Changkong released the sword hilt and met Tang Wulin's Forging Hammer with his right fist. Tang Wulin was sent staggering backward by the impact.

Feeling the immense force coming from the blow, Wu Changkong thought, What incredible strength. "Stop!"

He waved for them to gather around, then looked at An Ping first. "What was that final gray light just now? It actually passed through my Soul Power and landed on the wooden sword. Its effect was quite bizarre as well."

An Ping said calmly, "I call it Decomposition Spell. As for penetrating Soul Power, I hadn't noticed that effect before. But its ultimate effect is decomposition. A wooden sword has a simple structure and is easy to analyze. Decomposition Spell uses the repulsion between different elements to break matter down into its basic structure."

Hearing that it could break matter down into its basic structure, they could not help but shudder.

Wu Changkong looked thoughtful. "Decomposition Spell? The name certainly fits. Still, I think this ability of yours is dangerous. Try not to use it unless the target is an enemy."

An Ping shook his head. "It is not particularly dangerous. The human body's structure is far too complex, and analyzing it would be unimaginably difficult. It has little practical value against living creatures. If I used Decomposition Spell on a living being, I would have died countless times during the analysis."

Wu Changkong turned to Tang Wulin again. "There is something strange about your hammer."

Tang Wulin said, "This is a Sinking Silver Hammer. It is somewhat heavier than an ordinary Forging Hammer."

"How heavy is it? Let me see." Curious about the hammer that had caught Wu Changkong's attention, Xie Xie reached out to grab it from Tang Wulin's hand.

There was a loud crash as the hammer fell to the ground. Xie Xie was dragged down by its enormous inertia and sprawled on the floor.

Xie Xie cried out, "Ow! What is this thing? Why is it so heavy?"

"Just now, I could clearly feel three separate forces coming from it. Did you control that, or is it an inherent property of the hammer?"

Tang Wulin hesitated for a moment before explaining why the hammer had such an effect.

Afterward, Wu Changkong tested Tang Wulin's strength again. "All right, we'll stop here for today. Go back and rest."

Soon, the next day arrived.

After dinner, Wu Changkong brought the four of them to a room filled with futuristic technology, its interior lined with instruments.

"Today, we will conduct a Spiritual Power Test. I will not say much about the importance of Spiritual Power. I believe you were taught about it at Primary Academy."

"Xie Xie, you first."

Xie Xie obediently sat down in the Spiritual Power Test apparatus. The results came out quickly. "Twenty-nine points. Not bad. You are already close to the middle stage of the Spirit Origin Realm."

"An Ping."

As the test began, the indicator on the display moved rapidly. It passed one hundred almost instantly, then continued rising—two hundred, three hundred, four hundred...

In the end, the needle stopped at five hundred. The sight left everyone dumbfounded. Only after a long while did Wu Changkong slowly speak. "Five hundred Spiritual Power. Peak Spirit Connection Realm, only one step away from the Spirit Sea Realm. You have the strongest Spiritual Power I have ever seen in someone your age."

"Seriously? The machine is not broken, is it? Peak Spirit Connection Realm?" Thinking of his own twenty-nine points, Xie Xie felt like life had lost all meaning.

"Tang Wulin."

"Forty-four points. Middle stage of the Spirit Origin Realm. Very good."

"Gu Yuena."

"Four hundred and thirty-three. Another astonishing result."

"Are you two even going to let anyone live? You are all monsters, aren't you?" Xie Xie could not help sighing.

They went through another practical combat training session. During the training, Xie Xie and Tang Wulin were somewhat distracted, unable to understand how the gap between Peers could be so great.

"All right, we'll stop here today. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, remember that falling behind now does not mean you will fall behind in the future. Go back and adjust your state of mind."

Soon, more than two months passed just like that.

After this period of special training, Xie Xie had reached a level only one rank away from the Second Ring. The others had also each raised their Soul Power Level by one rank.

An Ping began trying to use Soul Power in place of Magic Power to communicate with the elements, and he had begun seeing results. Though it was not as effective as Magic Power, it could barely serve as a response measure.

The four followed Wu Changkong to his office.

Wu Changkong was generally quite satisfied with the people before him. There were no longer any major problems with their coordination.

The only thing giving him a headache was the two students, An Ping and Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuena had merely had some coordination problems at the beginning. After being told a few times, she had improved considerably.

An Ping alone was simply a problem child. It was not that he had trouble coordinating with the others, but that he never allowed himself to be placed in danger and regarded his own safety as extremely important.

For example, if he had to choose between a teammate being injured and himself being injured, An Ping would always use Blink Spell without hesitation. Even if it was a rare opportunity, he never considered sacrificing himself to help a teammate.

After one training session,

Wu Changkong kept Gu Yuena and An Ping behind. "First, Gu Yuena. Your coordination with An Ping is very good, but you must also try to coordinate with your other teammates. He is not your only teammate."

"I will try." Gu Yuena nodded to show that she understood.

Wu Changkong nodded, then looked at An Ping. "Next, An Ping. May I ask why, when Tang Wulin was attacking my back just now, you chose to blink away instead of persisting with your control over me for a little longer? You should know that if you had held on just a little longer, Tang Wulin's hammer would have struck me."

An Ping replied as if it were only natural, "But I calculated it. If I did that, I would definitely be injured."

"I have said that you must treat every battle as a battlefield. You must understand that on a real battlefield, opportunities are often fleeting." Wu Changkong's tone was somewhat cold.

An Ping pondered for a moment. "Teacher Wu, on a real battlefield, opportunities may indeed often be fleeting. But if it were a real battlefield, I would only have one life as well."

"On the battlefield, no one would be willing to have you as a teammate."

An Ping shook his head. "Perhaps. That is why my dream was never to become a warrior who goes onto the battlefield."

"What if it were your family facing danger? Would you still rather let them be injured in order to protect yourself?" Wu Changkong asked the question that struck at his soul.

"Not in that case. But, Teacher Wu, I am sorry. I do not have any family." An Ping's tone remained calm.

"You are simply afraid of death!" Wu Changkong was somewhat angry.

An Ping pressed his lips together and said nothing. Afraid of death? Perhaps. An Ping knew that, having died once already, he truly feared death more than most. Of all his spells, the ones he had mastered most thoroughly were Blink Spell and Magic Barrier.