Test

"Once your Martial Soul is countered, your soul skills are interrupted, and your Soul Power is sealed, are you just going to stand there and let others slaughter you?"

Wu Zhangkong's teaching rod pointed straight at Gu Yue.

"You are an Element Control user. Once someone gets close, interferes with you, or suppresses your spiritual power, no matter how strong your elements are, you won't be able to summon them. When that happens, what will you rely on?"

Gu Yue froze slightly, her brows knitting together, but she had no immediate retort.

"Zhang Yangzi, no matter how fast you are or how powerful your shadows may be, once your Soul Power is sealed, how many moves can that little bit of physical strength of yours endure?"

Zhang Yangzi's face went pale, and he lowered his head.

"Wang Jinxi, your Martial Soul is the Bone Dragon King. Once it is suppressed to the point where you cannot activate it, will that defense of yours still remain? Without basic combat ability, you're just a bone waiting to be smashed."

Wang Jinxi's body trembled, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Wu Zhangkong withdrew her teaching rod and turned her gaze back to the five of them.

"Starting today, Class Zero will have extra training every day."

"No Martial Souls or soul skills. You will only train basic combat, reactions, evasion, force redirection, and attacks on vital points."

"Only when you can defeat Xie Xie head-on in a one-on-one fight without using Martial Souls or soul skills will you be considered qualified for the first stage."

Xie Xie instantly straightened his back, looking smug.

Wu Zhangkong gave him an indifferent glance. "The same goes for you. If anyone defeats you in pure basic combat, you will train alone with me at ten times the intensity."

The smile on Xie Xie's face instantly froze, and he nearly burst into tears.

"No, Teacher Wu! No, no!!"

Over the following days, Class Zero underwent special training in basic techniques.

Taking Xie Xie's physical condition into consideration, Xie Xie and Tang Wulin took turns getting beaten up for the first ten days, their screams filling the entire classroom.

Zhang Yangzi had initially taken some pleasure in their misfortune, but after ten days, when he and Wang Jinxi recovered from their injuries and joined the sparring sessions, he immediately understood why Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had screamed so miserably.

Wang Jinxi had it slightly better. The Bone Dragon King Martial Soul made his body far tougher than that of an ordinary person.

But Zhang Yangzi had it rough. He was an agility-and-control type, and his physical constitution was only a little stronger than Gu Yue's.

When Wu Zhangkong lashed him a few times with her whip, it did not injure him, but the pain sank straight into his bones.

The only one who had it a little easier was Gu Yue.

Because she was a girl, Wu Zhangkong showed her a little more mercy.

Thus, even more miserable screams began to echo through Class Zero.

Of course, Wu Zhangkong was only one of their instructors. Other specialized teachers came to teach them different subjects as well.

News of Class Zero's establishment quickly spread throughout the academy, but because its teaching methods could not be disclosed, the academy returned to peace after a few days of curiosity.

"Today, we'll be conducting a series of physical tests. Practical training is suspended for one class."

That morning, as soon as Wu Zhangkong entered the classroom, she brought the five of them some good news.

"Really?!" Xie Xie shot up from his chair.

There was no helping it. The pain from practical combat classes truly sank into his bones. Wu Zhangkong always hit him the hardest, and by the end of every class, he was covered in bruises.

However, Xie Xie was thick-skinned. After class every day, he would go to Wu Zhangkong's dormitory to mooch some ointment.

Wu Zhangkong's bruise ointment not only smelled pleasantly of mint and felt cool when applied, but was also exceptionally effective at promoting blood circulation and dispersing bruises. Every time he used it, he would be fully recovered the next day, without even a mark left behind.

Wu Zhangkong led the five of them into a room filled with a sense of technology. The entire interior was covered in a layer of silver metal panels.

The room was lined with silver-white instruments glowing with faint blue light.

Wu Zhangkong first brought the five of them to the very center of the room, where a cylindrical testing chamber stood three meters tall.

The chamber was cast from a single piece of high-strength transparent crystal. Rings of alloy giving off a deep blue sheen were embedded around its edges, and the dense patterns on those rings flowed with faint light like star trails.

Wu Zhangkong tapped a few times on a blue screen, and the glass chamber door opened with a click.

"We'll test spiritual power first."

"Xie Xie, you're first." As she spoke, Wu Zhangkong took out a blank form and a pen, preparing to record the results.

Xie Xie stepped inside, and the glass chamber door slowly closed.

Suddenly, Xie Xie felt a chill sweep through his entire body. Then, a blue virtual screen popped up above his head, and the Arabic numerals on it began to climb continuously.

At last, the number slowly stopped at 121.

Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi's eyes widened on the spot. Was he seriously opening with a royal flush?!

Even Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were slightly surprised, because Xie Xie's spiritual power had indeed risen a little too quickly.

Only Xie Xie and Wu Zhangkong, who knew the truth, remained calm.

As Wu Zhangkong swiftly recorded the result, she said, "Next, Wang Jinxi."

Wang Jinxi's spiritual power was rather weak, only 18 points.

After recording the data, Wu Zhangkong raised her brows and glanced at him. "Wang Jinxi, you must work hard to improve your spiritual power. Otherwise, you won't be able to fuse with more soul spirits in the future."

Wang Jinxi was usually a man of few words. He simply answered, "Yes."

Zhang Yangzi was next.

Zhang Yangzi did all right, with 41 points of spiritual power.

"Spiritual power of 41. Not bad. Work hard and break through to the Spirit Origin Realm within a year," Wu Zhangkong said without looking up.

Zhang Yangzi nodded. "Understood."

Tang Wulin was second to last.

Zhang Yangzi kept his eyes fixed on Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin had been the one to break both his legs during the match, so Zhang Yangzi's competitive feelings toward him were the strongest.

Zhang Yangzi watched as Tang Wulin entered the machine and watched the number on the screen begin to rise. Even his heartbeat began to speed up along with the changing number.

In the end, the number on the screen stopped at 74.

Zhang Yangzi's expression visibly darkened.

Xie Xie patted Zhang Yangzi on the shoulder. "Quit looking so sour. It's not that big a deal. Just train harder."

Although Zhang Yangzi's expression remained somewhat unpleasant after hearing that, he ultimately said nothing.

After nearly a month together, he had realized that Xie Xie was actually a pretty good person.

Even though he and Jin Xi had beaten Xie Xie so badly that he was seriously injured, Xie Xie had seemed completely unconcerned. Instead, he waved his hand and casually said:

"It was a match. Accidents are bound to happen."

"Besides, we're classmates. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it."

Zhang Yangzi had been stunned for a long time when he heard those words. But from that day onward, he was no longer as hostile toward Xie Xie and the other two. As for just now, it was merely a young man's competitive streak acting up.

The last to take the stage was Gu Yue.

Sure enough, as soon as Gu Yue made her move, the astonishing figure of 153 on the screen shone like a blazing sun.

Even Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had to yield before her brilliance.

From the very first spiritual power test alone, the absurd results of Xie Xie and the others had already left Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi questioning their lives.

Wu Zhangkong had long since gotten used to it.

After Gu Yue left the machine, she continued, "Next, we'll test strength."

Unlike her grand finale appearance in the spiritual power test, Gu Yue was the first to go in the strength test.

Bang! Left fist, 115 kilograms.

Xie Xie could not help sucking in a breath. A single punch with three hundred jin of force—was that really the strength a mage was supposed to have? Were you some close-combat mage who had returned to cultivate from scratch?

Bang! Right fist, 143 kilograms.