Special Training

During the day, Su Jiu followed Gu Yuena's example and divided his body's access permissions into levels, allowing A-Qi to teach the Class Five students in his place. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, A-Qi never lingered for even a second; it immediately withdrew from Su Jiu's body.

This gave the students of Class Five a lasting impression:

In class, Teacher Su was a stern teacher who never smiled and showed no emotion. Outside class, he was a cheerful, easygoing older brother next door. The contrast between the two was extreme.

Even Na'er was completely bewildered by this.

"Su Na'er, please answer this question: what are the advantages and disadvantages of Blue Silver Grass absorbing Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo?"

"Huh?"

Na'er really had no idea what Solitary Bamboo was. How was she supposed to answer?

"Teacher Su, I don't know."

"First warning. Don't daydream in class next time."

"Got it, Teacher Su..."

Gu Yue, sitting beside her, snickered. Don't you always brag to me about how nice Su Jiu is to you?

That's it? That's all?

"Gu Yue, you answer this question."

Gu Yue: "..."

"Teacher Su, Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo can successfully make Blue Silver Grass transition between a grass-like and a wood-like state, greatly increasing its resilience and making it resemble a springy pole. It also grants the divine skill, Pole Vault."

"Good answer. Sit down."

"Hmph!"

As soon as Gu Yue sat down, she lifted her little chin haughtily and glanced at Na'er, her voice brimming with smugness. Learn from that. If you're bad, practice more.

Na'er didn't pay her any attention at all. She was immersed in her own thoughts, silently fleshing out the beginnings of a certain plan.

After school.

The horizon still blazed with fiery clouds, painting the whole sky crimson and flushing the cheeks of the young boys and girls.

They were in the prime of youth, their finest days still ahead.

Su Na'er, Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie stood in a neat row. To everyone's surprise, Gu Yue wasn't throwing a tantrum this time.

"Ahem."

Su Jiu cleared his throat, breaking the quiet.

"I'll tailor my teaching to each of you, based on your Martial Soul's characteristics and your own strengths and weaknesses. So the four of you will have completely different training plans from here on."

"Gu Yue, here. Take this book and head back first. Tomorrow, I'll quiz you on the first chapter."

Gu Yue accepted the book Su Jiu handed her, looking completely bewildered.

The booklet wasn't very thick, only about a hundred pages, but the two words Physics on the cover made her frown slightly.

What was this, exactly?

She couldn't begin to grasp what the words meant. Yet as her fingertips brushed the pages, she felt an indescribable weight to them. Somehow, she could tell that these words carried no small significance.

Oh no, this feels like it's going to make my brain grow!

And that was exactly what it was. Su Jiu had discovered that research into physics on Douluo Continent had lagged far behind after all these years. So he'd had A-Qi print out material from its database on elements—temperature, energy, and waves—from Blue Star and hand it to Gu Yue.

Gu Yue possessed the World-Shocking Wisdom of the Dragon God. There was a good chance she could understand it, right?

"Next, Tang Wulin."

"Go wait for me at the throwing training ground in the East District. I'll finish explaining things here, then join you."

The nervous knot in Tang Wulin's stomach unraveled at once, and he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew full well that the others standing there had talents far beyond his own—so far that they were in a different league.

He'd never been able to understand why Teacher Su Jiu had chosen him.

After all, in the eyes of the world, his Martial Soul was nothing but the worthless Trash Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass.

But when Su Jiu had looked at him just now, there hadn't been the slightest trace of disdain or contempt in his eyes. Instead, they were filled with certainty and expectation.

Sure enough, Su Jiu and I are like the Gangsan Friendship of old!

I won't look down on myself for being weak, or write myself off as useless.

Tang Wulin silently vowed to train hard and not bring shame to Su Jiu!

"Xie Xie, your Martial Soul is the Twin Dragon Daggers, but you're lacking in stamina, endurance, and explosive power. It's obvious you haven't trained much. My advice is to spend the first month combining running with pull-ups. For the next two months, I'll teach you blade techniques."

"Oh, and go warm up by jogging two laps around the track first. Later, I'll teach you a breathing technique so you won't be gasping so much when you run."

As soon as Xie Xie heard he had to run laps, he immediately began to lose heart, resisting the idea with every fiber of his being.

His face fell, and he looked utterly hopeless.

But then he thought of his determination to grow stronger. He could only grit his teeth and put up with it. He'd endure three months and see how much the training helped. He'd just have to die once.

That left Na'er alone. Her Martial Soul was the Silver Dragon Spear, and she should already know the spear techniques the Dragon God knew. The biggest problem for now was that she was out of practice and lacked experience. In that case, they'd arrange one-on-one combat.

"Na'er, tell me, how much of the Dragon God's spear technique have you mastered?"

Na'er scratched her head and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Brother A-Jiu, I've only learned the theory. I've never actually tried it, so..."

"You've got nine of your ten orifices open, and the last one's still blocked, is that it?"

Su Jiu exposed Na'er's true level without mercy. She grew even more embarrassed, though the way she puffed out her cheeks clearly showed she was protesting.

"Brother A-Jiu, you're mean..."

"Smack!"

The little girl was getting coquettish now, was she?

Su Jiu immediately swatted her mischievous little bottom—the same one she'd used to tempt him yesterday. It felt surprisingly nice, too.

"Brother A-Jiu, how could you do that!"

"Na'er, haven't you kept saying you want to separate from Gu Yuena? Have you thought about what you'll do if your relationship falls apart after you separate from her?"

Su Jiu's words left Na'er speechless. They'd certainly opened her eyes.

It was true. Once she and Gu Yuena separated, how was she going to snatch Su Jiu away from Gu Yuena?

So...

Read, misunderstood.

"I taught you before: know your enemy and know yourself, and you'll never be defeated. Na'er, even if you don't understand Gu Yuena's Seven Elements, you do know her spear techniques. Master their essence and tricks. If she ever turns against you, you might be able to catch her off guard!"

Na'er nodded, a smile of agreement spreading across her face.

"Na'er, practice your spear techniques here at the training ground. You'll have to put up with the boredom!"

Na'er didn't answer. The clumsy spear techniques she danced through with the Silver Dragon Spear in her hand spoke for her!

'''''' East District Training Ground.

"Tang Wulin, I heard you're a blacksmith. Could you take out your blacksmithing hammers and let me have a look?"

Tang Wulin didn't understand why Su Jiu wanted to see his hammers, but he did as asked.

"Here you go, Teacher Su."

The pair of hammers looked to weigh about eighty kilograms apiece. Those things were not to be used for hitting people.

"Tang Wulin, try twisting Blue Silver Grass into a rope and tying it to the hammer handle. Then use this thing to hit people."

"Huh???"

Wouldn't Blue Silver Grass break?

No, wait. Teacher Su had said to twist it into a rope first. But could he do that? Could his Blue Silver Bind really manage it?

"Having second thoughts?"

"Tang Wulin, a great man once said, 'Nothing is difficult in this world for those with a willing heart.' You have to try before you can discover the problems and difficulties. Then try to think of a solution yourself and solve them yourself. If you really can't, come find me."

With that, Su Jiu left.

Tang Wulin watched Su Jiu's back and silently encouraged himself. I can do it. I definitely can!

"Hey, Little Gu Yue, what brings you here so soon? Run into a problem?"

"Old Su, take a look. What kind of writing is this?"

Su Jiu raised his eyes and saw the word Physics!

Damn, it's English!

He'd messed up. He'd only asked A-Qi to print the material; he hadn't told it to watch out for details like this.

A-Qi, are you getting back at me on purpose?

A-Qi: "..."