Eastsea Academy
Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao watched helplessly as Xie Xie dragged the unconscious Tang Wulin into the dorm by the back of his collar.
Yun Xiao looked at the blood on Tang Wulin's right shoulder and couldn't help swallowing. "Xie Xie, did you really have to hit him that hard?"
Xie Xie tossed Tang Wulin onto the bed and rolled his eyes.
"I hit him hard? He nearly punched me into heroic fragments!"
"As for him..." Xie Xie looked at the unconscious Tang Wulin on the bed and folded his arms. "He passed out because he put too much force into his own punch. I didn't knock him out."
Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi looked as if their brains had crashed, smoke practically rising from their heads, so Xie Xie simply changed the subject.
"By the way, what time is it?"
Yun Xiao snapped out of his daze and checked the time. "It's not past mealtime yet."
Suddenly, Tang Wulin sat bolt upright from the bed like a corpse coming back to life, startling Xie Xie all over again.
In the blink of an eye, Xie Xie felt a gust of wind sweep past him. When he looked back at Tang Wulin's bed, it was empty. Tang Wulin had already disappeared.
"What's... wrong with him?" Yun Xiao scratched his head, baffled.
Xie Xie spread his hands. "Guess I triggered a keyword~"
As soon as he finished speaking, a fluffy head peeked around the dorm doorway. The cowlick on top of it curled toward Xie Xie.
Xie Xie turned to look. It was still Tang Wulin's familiar pair of big eyes.
"Xie Xie, want me to bring you some food?"
"No need!!"
After sending Tang Wulin away again, Xie Xie climbed onto his bed and fell asleep.
He slept until evening, when the rustling from the lower bunk suddenly woke him. Annoyed, Xie Xie pulled off his blanket.
Yun Xiao, in the upper bunk across from him, had also been woken up.
They exchanged a look, then both turned toward the lower bunk.
Tang Wulin was up in the middle of the night, doing God knew what. His eyes were squeezed shut in fear as he shakily pricked his index finger with an embroidery needle.
"Um, Tang Wulin..." Yun Xiao sat halfway up, looking a little awkward. "What are you doing in the middle of the night... performing some kind of ritual? This is kind of creepy."
Xie Xie nodded in full agreement. "If you really need help, I know an expert."
Tang Wulin looked embarrassed. "No! It's just a misunderstanding!"
Morning.
As usual, Xie Xie was woken by Tang Wulin. Still half asleep, he followed Tang Wulin to the cafeteria for breakfast, then followed him to the classroom and picked a seat at random.
The moment the bell rang and Wu Zhangkong strode in wearing heeled ankle boots, Xie Xie snapped awake.
Today, Wu Zhangkong wore a fitted, ice-blue turtleneck sweater beneath a white, cinched-waist trench coat, with black high-waisted straight-leg pants.
When she lifted her eyes to look around the classroom, the corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, and she unconsciously radiated a cool, haughty air.
For Xie Xie, that was—absolutely perfect!!
He nearly slammed his hands on the desk and shouted, "I'm Teacher Wu's dog!"
It was obvious whose soldier she had trained.
It wasn't just Xie Xie. The whole class was transfixed.
"Starting today, classes will officially begin."
Wu Zhangkong spoke calmly. "I'll personally instruct you in most of your courses. Everyone, stand up."
All the students rose quickly.
"Follow me."
Wu Zhangkong swept her gaze around the room, then walked out with her hands in her pockets.
The students hurried after her.
Since they were all new students, they had no idea how to line up. They looked disorderly, yet were strangely quiet.
Wu Zhangkong led them to the field.
"Form pairs and line up."
Everyone quickly formed up. As expected, Xie Xie ended up standing beside Yun Xiao.
Wu Zhangkong folded her arms, her expression unchanged. "Today's first lesson is sparring. Real combat is always the best way to test your abilities."
A female student raised her hand with a silly grin. "Um, hehehe... Teacher Wu, I'm a weapon-based Soul Master. Do I have to fight, too?"
Wu Zhangkong gave her a cold glance.
"If we were on a battlefield and I were your enemy, would I spare your life just because you were a weapon-based Soul Master?"
The girl shivered involuntarily, instantly snapping out of her lovestruck daze. She nodded, trembling.
"I-I understand..."
When Wu Zhangkong turned her gaze to the other students, they all shook their heads to show they had no objections.
"Good, then." Wu Zhangkong pointed without much thought. "First pair, get ready. We'll start over there."
Her casual point landed on Tang Wulin and Zhou Changxi.
Zhou Changxi immediately grew excited.
He still resented Tang Wulin for punching him out the window last time. On top of that, the dean had explicitly forbidden them from fighting, so he'd been holding back for a long time. Especially since Xie Xie had beaten Tang Wulin, which gave him a lot of confidence.
Xie Xie: ?
Xie Xie: That wasn't me! I didn't do that!
So this time, he would definitely—
"Bang!"
It was still the same plain, unadorned punch. Zhou Changxi was once again sent flying, spinning 360 degrees in midair before crashing to the ground. He lay there peacefully, hands folded over his stomach.
So this time, he would definitely lie down with grace.
"You're out."
Wu Zhangkong said coldly to Zhou Changxi. Her icy gaze then fell on Tang Wulin. "Why didn't you use your Martial Soul?"
Tang Wulin answered without hesitation, "He said he wanted to compete with me in strength."
Wu Zhangkong's gaze turned even colder.
"If he told you to eat shit, would you do it?"
"Combat isn't child's play. Your enemy won't reason with you or follow the rules. If you were on a battlefield, winning would be the only way to survive. It would be your sole goal."
With that, Wu Zhangkong stopped looking at Tang Wulin and turned away. "You advance. Next pair."
Wu Zhangkong's words left Tang Wulin standing there, lost in thought.
The second pair to step forward was Yun Xiao and Xie Xie.
Yun Xiao wore a miserable expression as he pointed at the 20/20 health bar above his head. "Bro, could you go easy on me? I'm just a support-type Soul Master. I'm fragile!"
Xie Xie smiled. "No problem, I..."
"Begin!"
"I lied!"
At Wu Zhangkong's command, Xie Xie shot forward once more. The Hundred-Year Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up in an instant, and the Light Dragon Dagger swept out in a streak of piercing golden light toward Yun Xiao.
Just then, white light flashed around Yun Xiao.
Most of the students only saw a blur. Xie Xie's Light Dragon Slash struck empty air.
As a support-type Soul Master, Yun Xiao's first Soul Skill was to switch positions. At that critical moment, he and Xie Xie had swapped places, allowing him to dodge the Light Dragon Slash.
But before he could catch his breath, Xie Xie appeared right in front of him like a ghost, the Shadow Dragon Dagger pressed against his throat.
"Stop!"
Wu Zhangkong nodded to Xie Xie. "You advance."
"But before that..." Wu Zhangkong fixed Xie Xie with her dark green eyes, radiating a powerful sense of pressure. "How did you get in front of Yun Xiao just now?"
On the other side, Tang Wulin, who had been watching closely, furrowed his brow.
He had fought Xie Xie before, so he'd watched especially carefully, but he hadn't seen how Xie Xie had suddenly appeared in front of Yun Xiao.
"Huh?" Xie Xie tilted his head, confused.
He didn't know why Wu Zhangkong would suddenly ask him that.
But seeing Wu Zhangkong's serious expression, Xie Xie casually tossed the Light Dragon Dagger. At a flick of his mind, he appeared beside it the next instant.
Xie Xie caught hold of the Light Dragon Dagger again. "Just like that."
"Does it consume Soul Power?" Wu Zhangkong asked.
"Of course it does." Xie Xie explained, "The Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger are like two anchor points I've set. I can move back and forth between them. The farther apart they are, the more Soul Power it consumes."
At that, Xie Xie grew a little excited.
Wasn't this the signature Flying Thunder God Technique used by Four and his teammates?!
He didn't even know how he'd done it. It was just a feeling the two daggers had given him, and he'd instinctively acted on it.
Thinking this, Xie Xie froze.
Huh?
No way?
Could he actually be a genius?!
Before you continue