Test

Wu Changkong's voice was icy and clear as his gaze swept over Na'er.

He briefly explained the whole sequence of events behind the combat training, then deliberately emphasized at the end, "That was only a routine spar. The 'ambiguity' you saw was merely an accident in the transition between movements. There's no need to overthink it."

A spar?

Na'er looked suspiciously at Gu Yue.

How could others not know when she did? This had to be Gu Yue's scheme, deliberately trying to seduce her Su Qiu!

But it didn't matter. Now that she had come here, no matter what schemes Gu Yue used to seduce men, she would crush them all without mercy!

"Introduce yourself first. Name, Martial Soul, Soul Power Level."

"Hello, everyone. My name is Na'er. My Martial Soul is the Golden Dragon, and my Soul Power..." Na'er shot Gu Yue a glance. "Level 31 Soul Elder."

The moment Na'er finished speaking, the Training Grounds fell noticeably quieter.

Xie Xie's eyes widened instinctively, and he couldn't help crying out, "Level 31?! Another Soul Elder—she's almost caught up to Su Qiu!"

Tang Wulin and the others nodded as well, their eyes filled with surprise.

As a fellow member of Zero Class, Na'er's Soul Power Level was nearly an entire major realm ahead of theirs.

First Su Qiu, then Na'er.

Two Soul Elders.

And Gu Yue was close to breaking through Level 30 as well.

Gu Yue glanced at Na'er, her expression remaining calm. Naturally, she had heard the deliberate provocation in Na'er's reported Soul Power Level.

I'll break through tonight, she thought silently.

Leaning against the side, Su Qiu was somewhat surprised. Na'er and Gu Yue actually had different Soul Power Levels?

"Level 31." After a brief moment of thought, Wu Changkong felt that the strength Na'er had displayed meant it was time to put Zero Class's physical tests on the agenda.

"Class dismissed. Get to know each other first." Wu Changkong turned and left. "The basic physical tests will begin this afternoon."

Get to know each other?

How were they supposed to do that?

Seeing Na'er and Gu Yue occupy both sides of Su Qiu the instant class ended, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and the others exchanged looks and tactfully walked away.

"Na'er, long time no see." Only now did Su Qiu properly greet Na'er. "To celebrate our reunion after so long apart..."

"Meet at the cafeteria. My treat!"

Na'er was thrilled.

Gu Yue tilted her head in confusion. The cafeteria? His treat?

The usually bustling cafeteria was now utterly silent, with only the sounds of ravenous eating echoing through it.

From time to time, the students couldn't help turning toward the source of the noise.

The table in front of Na'er had long since been piled into a small mountain of plates. Empty bowls were stacked nearly half her height, and freshly served hot dishes were cleared away within minutes.

Xie Xie and the others passing by were nearly dumbstruck. Even Tang Wulin looked like a rookie in front of her!

Her left hand gripped the edge of a plate while her right hand wielded chopsticks, shoveling rice into her mouth at incredible speed. Even with her mouth stuffed full of food, she didn't pause, shouting indistinctly at Su Qiu, "Another ten portions!"

Su Qiu treating her to a meal had made her so happy that her appetite had exploded.

"Brother Su is treating me to a meal! No amount will ever be enough!"

Gu Yue's expression turned strange, and she couldn't help reminding her, "This doesn't count as treating you. Zero Class members already eat for free in the cafeteria."

Grr.

With her cheeks puffed out, Na'er glared viciously at Gu Yue and bared her teeth. "Ha!"

"Who asked you?! No one will think you're mute if you don't talk!"

Sighing helplessly, Gu Yue once again felt fortunate that separating Na'er from her body had been an incomparably correct decision.

Otherwise, the one currently being fooled into stupidity by Su Qiu would have been her.

That afternoon, Wu Changkong led the members of Zero Class into a room brimming with a technological atmosphere.

The walls and floor were entirely covered in silver metal panels. The moment they entered, it felt as though they had stepped into a silver space, where several precision Soul Tools had been placed.

"We'll begin with the Mental Power test. Xie Xie, you're first." Wu Changkong held a recording sheet, his voice as cold as ever as his gaze swept across the group.

Xie Xie stepped forward in response and completed the test according to the machine's instructions. The results showed that his Mental Power had grown steadily, increasing by a full two points since the last test—within the range of normal progress.

Tang Wulin and the others went next, and none of them exceeded one hundred points.

Wang Jinxi's was only eighteen points, far below the normal level.

Wu Changkong looked at the data, his tone calm but carrying a warning. "Wang Jinxi, you need to improve your Mental Power as soon as possible. It's far too low right now, and it's already affecting your future development."

Wang Jinxi merely nodded silently and did not say another word.

Na'er, Gu Yue, and Su Qiu were the only ones left.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Changkong called, "Next. Gu Yue."

Gu Yue walked steadily toward the Mental Test Device.

Her expression remained calm. As the device slowly descended and fitted over her head, the value on the screen began to jump rapidly.

One hundred. Two hundred. Three hundred.

It finally stopped at 538 points.

"538 points?" Wu Changkong looked at the number on the chart, and rare shock flashed through his cold eyes. "Spirit Sea Realm!"

One had to know that Wu Changkong's own Mental Power had only reached the Spirit Sea Realm. Gu Yue's talent was truly remarkable.

Wang Jinxi was already beginning to doubt his life. He had suffered the harshest blow—he only had eighteen points!

Compared to Gu Yue's 538 points, he was like a primitive man.

Na'er raised her brows as she watched from the side. When Wu Changkong called her name, she eagerly stepped forward.

This time, the device displayed 539 points.

Exactly one point higher than Gu Yue.

"How boring." Gu Yue knew very well that, after being reincarnated, Na'er's talent in Mental Power could not possibly surpass hers.

Obviously, Na'er had just drawn upon the small portion of the Silver Dragon King's power that Gu Yue had split from herself and sealed within her.

Just to beat her by a single point.

"Using it for something like this—are you an idiot?"

At that moment, Gu Yue and Na'er came to the same conclusion: the other was a stupid dragon.

"Last one, Su Qiu."

Su Qiu straightened up from beside the wall and slowly walked toward the Mental Test Device. The numbers on its screen began to rise.

At first, they climbed steadily. Soon, they surpassed Tang Wulin and the others' results. When they passed 500, the fingers gripping Wu Changkong's chart tightened slightly.

The numbers showed no sign of slowing down. Clearly, Su Qiu's Mental Power far exceeded 500 points.

The value continued to climb—540, 550, 600... The air around them seemed to fall silent. Everyone stared fixedly at the screen, even unconsciously quieting their breathing.

Su Qiu's suppressive presence had always been too terrifying. No one had ever been able to force him to go all out. Now, it seemed they could glimpse a corner of his true strength through these numbers.

Wang Jinxi had long since lowered his head. Compared to the number before him, his eighteen points were like dust compared to the stars. Before this, he had never cared much about Mental Power, believing eighteen points were enough and focusing only on strength.

Now, he admitted that he felt inferior. The more he looked at those eighteen points, the lower they seemed.

Xie Xie's mouth hung open, his earlier shock having turned into numbness.

Na'er found it perfectly natural. Her Su Qiu was the greatest genius!

When the number shot up to 1,000—

Crack.

The device suddenly crashed.

Wu Changkong knew very well that this device's upper limit for testing Mental Power was 1,000 points. After all, it was only meant for intermediate students. There was no need to use anything better; the cost would be far too high.

After painstakingly recording the original work's values, I discovered they were a mess to begin with. This will be the only time specific values are written; from now on, Mental Power will be expressed through realms instead of points.

The same goes for strength. Specific weights in jin will not be mentioned later.