Phoenix Soaring

Spatial Blade used Magic Power to stir space into a linear spatial fluctuation, achieving the effect of cutting through a target.

Spatial Blade was incredibly fast and almost instantly reached Wu Changkong. Seeing a linear distortion in the space before him and sensing a trace of danger, Wu Changkong flashed to the side.

The moment Wu Changkong moved aside, an extremely thin crack appeared on the blackboard behind him.

After dodging, Wu Changkong flicked his Pointer and thrust it toward An Ping. As he moved, he continually swung it to disperse the Fireballs Gu Yuena sent out. Wu Changkong was extremely fast, reaching An Ping in the blink of an eye.

Silver Light flashed around An Ping, and he evaded Wu Changkong's incoming Pointer, appearing some distance behind him as he silently calculated Wu Changkong's movement trajectory.

Wu Changkong turned his wrist, and the Pointer in his hand lashed toward Gu Yuena. His hand suddenly felt lighter. A section of the Pointer was missing, and the severed piece fell to the floor with a snap—it had struck a Cutting Technique An Ping had calculated in advance.

Wu Changkong did not stop moving. He changed the lash into a thrust, and the shortened Pointer continued toward Gu Yuena. Silver Light flashed around Gu Yuena as well, and she appeared behind Wu Changkong.

Wu Changkong moved with strange footwork, his body suddenly spinning much faster. In an instant, he appeared before the two of them. With two sharp smacks, his Pointer sent them flying into the blackboard.

An Ping had placed multiple Magic Barriers on the two of them in advance, so neither was injured.

"Alright, that's enough."

Wu Changkong signaled for the two, who were still preparing to attack, to stop. Then his gaze swept across the others. "I believe you all saw it. Just now, I did not use my Martial Soul or Soul Skills. This is the purpose of combat techniques: using minimal Soul Power consumption to achieve your objective."

"For a long time to come, I will train you in this area until your combat techniques satisfy me. Only then will we begin the next stage of training."

After witnessing the dazzling battle, the onlookers all seemed thoughtful. So basic techniques could actually achieve something like this.

Xie Xie was the most excited. As a Melee Soul Master, he could better understand its importance. "Teacher Wu, how are we supposed to train our combat techniques?"

Wu Changkong glanced at Xie Xie. "You will engage me in actual combat. None of you are allowed to use Soul Power. This will train your combat techniques."

For a time, Class Zero's classroom was filled with endless cries of agony. Perhaps because Gu Yuena was the only girl, Wu Changkong did not hit her too heavily. Meanwhile, An Ping had undergone an initial physical transformation after advancing to an Official Wizard, and his progress was extremely rapid.

Those days continued for quite some time. One day, Wu Changkong entered the classroom and said, "Today, you will undergo a series of physical tests. Actual combat training is suspended."

Hearing that they would not need to spar, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they would not have to get beaten up.

Following Wu Changkong to the testing area, they first underwent the Spiritual Power Test.

Wu Changkong took out a form and began recording. "Xie Xie, you're first."

Xie Xie's Spiritual Power had increased by two points compared to the last test. Wu Changkong recorded it.

Next was Wang Jinxi, but he only had eighteen points.

Seeing that number, Wu Changkong recorded it as he said, "Wang Jinxi, your Spiritual Power is a little low. If you do not work to improve it, you will be unable to fuse with more Spirit Souls in the future."

Then came Zhang Yangzi with forty-one points, which was fairly good. Tang Wulin's sixty-six points, however, startled both Wu Changkong and Xie Xie. He had only had forty-four points during the last test, yet he had improved so much in such a short time.

Tang Wulin was initially stunned by his result, then recalled the feeling after absorbing the Golden Dragon King Essence. Joy rose in his heart. He had expected some improvement, but he had not expected it to be this great.

Then came Gu Yuena: four hundred and ninety-five points, also a tremendous improvement over last time.

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi, who had not experienced the previous test, were utterly shocked by the number before them.

Finally, it was An Ping's turn. He still had five hundred points. It was not that he had not improved. With his advancement, he could feel that not only had his Spiritual Power increased enormously, but his control over it had reached an incomparable level.

An Ping knew that reaching the peak of the Spirit Connection Realm could still be explained by exceptional talent. However, reaching the Spirit Sea Realm and then making such tremendous progress in so short a time would be abnormal. Therefore, An Ping had kept a faint, nearly imperceptible thread of Spiritual Power focused on the Monitor. When the needle reached five hundred, he forcibly severed the connection between his Spiritual Power and the Instrument.

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi were shocked again, but Wu Changkong and the others did not react much. They felt that this was normal enough. Reaching the Spirit Sea Realm required not only hard work, but also an opportunity.

Wu Changkong said, "You do not need to be discouraged either. The Spirit Sea Realm is not something one can reach through effort alone. When the opportunity comes, you will naturally break through."

An Ping nodded and said nothing. Only Gu Yuena gave An Ping, who had stepped down from the Instrument, a strange look, but she did not speak either.

"Next is the strength test." With that, Wu Changkong led them to the strength-testing Instrument.

Following Wu Changkong's instructions, they tested one after another while Wu Changkong stood to the side, watching the Monitor and recording the results.

As expected, Tang Wulin took first place with both fists exceeding one thousand kilograms of force. In his Dragon Claw form, he even reached nearly four thousand kilograms, drawing cries of astonishment.

After that came An Ping, who had deliberately held back, with over nine hundred kilograms. Even so, Wu Changkong gave him a sidelong glance. He had not expected An Ping, who never clashed head-on with others, to possess such great strength.

They then underwent reaction and speed tests. To everyone's surprise, An Ping took first place in both.

Xie Xie became rather depressed. "Are you the Agile Attack System Soul Master, or am I?"

Looking at the delighted and dejected students, Wu Changkong said, "Alright. Today was only a test of your physical abilities. It does not represent everything. Martial Souls are equally important. Those with poorer results should not lose heart. Tang Wulin, come with me. Everyone else, dismissed."

With that, he left with Tang Wulin. An Ping also headed toward the dormitory. Since he rarely had free time, he decided to make the Alchemy Tool he had promised Gu Yuena.

Although Gu Yuena had said that it only needed to look good, An Ping could not possibly make something useless. After thinking it over for some time, he decided to create a set of Alchemy Tools that could amplify the elements.

They needed to be easy to carry and convenient for engraving Magic Runes. In the end, An Ping chose a Bracelet and Necklace. These were the most common amplification tools; the only difficult part was making them look good.

An Ping had no inspiration. When he asked Gu Yuena, all he got was, "You decide." After racking his brains, he inexplicably thought of his Phoenix Spirit Soul and decided to use a Phoenix theme.

He first sketched out a rough Blueprint, then filled it with Magic Runes. After more than ten versions, he finally settled on the final design.

Following the completed design, he took out Mithril, melted it, shaped it, and engraved a Rune Array.

After testing it, the effect was fairly good, and it did not reject Soul Power. An Ping simply made a Box and placed the set inside.

He knocked on Gu Yuena's door. Before long, she opened it. "What is it? Are you going to ask me what I like again?"

An Ping shook his head and held the Box out before her. "No. I finished it. It's a set of tools that amplifies elemental effects. Take a look and see if you're satisfied."

Upon hearing that, Gu Yuena took the Box and stepped aside, signaling for An Ping to enter.

An Ping shook his head. "I won't go in."

Gu Yuena pulled An Ping into the dormitory, pressed him into a chair, and said with a smile, "What? It's not like I'm going to eat you. Let me see what you made. If I'm not satisfied, you'll have to remake it."

As she spoke, she sat on the bed and opened the Box. Inside was a pair of Bracelets and a Necklace.

The Necklace was a Phoenix raising its head and spreading its wings. Its long tail feathers extended in an arc toward its head, while gorgeous runes formed the feather patterns across its body. The whole piece was circular, with a slender silver-white Mithril chain passing through the crest atop its head.

Two Phoenixes joined head to tail formed the body of the Bracelets, their feather patterns likewise made of gorgeous runes.

At a glance, they were simply stunning. Gu Yuena nodded, indicating that she was fairly satisfied.

"Not bad." As she spoke, she put on the Necklace and Bracelets. Then she suddenly thought of something and shook the Bracelet on her wrist. "There's no problem now. The Necklace is fine, but what about the Bracelets? Once I grow up, won't I be unable to wear them?"

In terms of appearance alone, this set of Jewelry truly suited Gu Yuena—or rather, it suited Gu Yuena's current adorable little-girl appearance.

An Ping shook his head and explained, "That won't happen. Mithril is extremely malleable, and I engraved corresponding runes on them. You can use Soul Power to control their size. You can try it."

She tried it as instructed, and it was indeed true. Then she tested the elemental amplification. It was as high as thirty percent. Gu Yuena's face filled with delight. "The elemental amplification is thirty percent. Ordinary Battle Armor probably only has this much amplification ability, right?"

Seeing Gu Yuena's expression, An Ping could tell that she was clearly satisfied. He let out a breath and said, "Battle Armor? I've never seen Battle Armor, so I don't know what the difference is. The data is roughly similar to my test data. If you nurture them with your Spiritual Power and your own energy over a long period, the effect will become even better. As for how far it can ultimately reach, I don't know."

Gu Yuena nodded and teased, "Alright, I'm very satisfied. You do not need to keep worrying about this anymore. By the way, did you give such beautiful Jewelry a name?"

An Ping froze, then waved a hand. "A name? Whatever. It's not that important."

Gu Yuena pondered for a moment. "Then let's call it Phoenix Soaring. Alright, that's settled."

With that, she pulled An Ping up. "Come on. Big sis is happy today, so I'll treat you to a meal."

At Gu Yuena calling herself big sis, An Ping merely shook his head and did not care. He muttered softly, "It was free to begin with. Why would you need to treat me?"

"Of course I don't mean the school cafeteria. I mean we're going out. The food at the academy may be nutritious, but it tastes terrible," Gu Yuena said, shaking her head.

As she spoke, she pulled An Ping out the door.