Up There!

Tang Wulin scratched his head and looked at Zhong Shenxiu with some difficulty. He knew Zhong Shenxiu was strong, but three against one still felt a little... like bullying?

"Teacher Wu, isn't this a little inappropriate?" he asked tentatively.

Wu Zhangkong looked at him. "What's inappropriate about it?"

"Well..." Tang Wulin searched for the right words. "The three of us against one—what if we hurt him..."

Before he could finish, he stopped himself.

Because he saw Zhong Shenxiu's golden vertical pupils calmly watching him. There was no anger in his gaze, no disdain, only a faint... confusion?

As if he were saying, "You're worried about me?"

Tang Wulin suddenly realized that he might have been overthinking things.

Gu Yue said nothing, merely glancing at Zhong Shenxiu.

As the Silver Dragon King, her perception of dragon aura far surpassed that of ordinary people. She knew clearly just what terrifying power lay within this nine-year-old child.

Three against one?

Interesting!

Xie Xie was still muttering at the side. "What's wrong with Teacher Wu? Everything was fine just now, so why did he suddenly make us fight three against one... Did Zhong Shenxiu offend him? That must be it. Just look at that face of his—anyone who saw it would want to hit him..."

"Xie Xie." Wu Zhangkong's voice rang out.

Xie Xie immediately shut his mouth.

"Any other questions?"

"No, no." Xie Xie frantically shook his head.

Wu Zhangkong looked at Zhong Shenxiu. "Do you have any questions?"

Zhong Shenxiu shook his head.

The battle began.

It had to be said that after a month of study and training, the three who were nearly inseparable in class had become increasingly mature in their coordination.

Tang Wulin charged straight ahead. Blue Silver Grass spread wildly from the ground, transforming into pale green vines that coiled around Zhong Shenxiu's feet like living creatures. His Soul Power was only level twelve, but his control over Blue Silver Grass had already reached an exquisite level. Every vine moved exactly where it needed to, not seeking to defeat Zhong Shenxiu in one strike, only to limit his room to move.

Xie Xie circled from the side, daggers in hand, his figure flickering like a ghost. He was faster than he had been a month ago. The Light Dragon Dagger and Dark Dragon Dagger crossed and swung, leaving trails of interwoven light and shadow in the air. He no longer attacked rashly. Instead, like a cheetah waiting for its chance, he waited for the instant Zhong Shenxiu exposed an opening.

Gu Yue stood twenty meters away, her hands raised slightly as the four elements of ice, fire, earth, and wind flowed around her. She did not attack in haste, instead condensing the elements into tiny strikes and firing them precisely at Zhong Shenxiu's escape routes—not to injure him, but to seal off his path.

The three worked together flawlessly, establishing a suppressive advantage almost the moment they exchanged blows.

The Sky Light Dragon Spear condensed in Zhong Shenxiu's hand, blazing white light flowing across its shaft. One thrust forced back Tang Wulin's frontal charge; a sweep of the spear blocked Xie Xie's ambush from the side; a flick of its tip scattered the ice spikes Gu Yue had fired.

But his movements were clearly half a beat slower than usual.

Facing the three-sided assault, he could only fight while retreating, stepping back again and again.

The Sky Light Dragon Spear moved in broad, sweeping arcs, yet it still struggled to withstand the tide-like assault of all three.

Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass attacked from beneath his feet. Just as he lifted a foot to evade it, Xie Xie's dagger stabbed in from the side; when he swung his spear to block, Gu Yue's fire serpent lunged straight at him.

Retreat.

Retreat again.

Keep retreating.

Zhong Shenxiu had already been forced to the edge of the field, his back nearly against the barrier.

At the sidelines, the students of Class 1-5 stared in stunned disbelief.

"Zhong Shenxiu is actually being suppressed?"

"That's one against three! Tang Wulin and the others are way too fierce, aren't they?"

"It's not that Zhong Shenxiu is weak. The three of them just work too well together..."

Wu Zhangkong stood at the edge of the field with his arms crossed, watching the scene.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

This should make Zhong Shenxiu realize the importance of a team, shouldn't it?

He recalled what Zhong Shenxiu had said beneath the locust tree earlier. "No time," "one person doing the work of three," "these matters don't need you to handle them."

That child was too strong, so strong that he needed no one.

But precisely because he was too strong, he had never experienced the feeling of fighting side by side with companions.

Wu Zhangkong had once been that kind of person too. More than anyone, he understood what someone would miss by walking too fast alone.

But things were different now.

Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie—these three children, with their month of seamless cooperation, were telling Zhong Shenxiu that some things could not be done alone.

As long as Zhong Shenxiu lost this match, he would understand—

Wu Zhangkong's thoughts suddenly froze.

Because he saw Zhong Shenxiu's eyes.

Those molten-gold vertical pupils were calmly watching the three before him.

There was no panic.

No unwillingness.

No tension at the prospect of defeat.

Only a faint... scrutiny.

As though he were evaluating something.

As though he were confirming something.

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Wu Zhangkong's heart.

He seemed to have forgotten something.

The ones surrounding Zhong Shenxiu were three equally gifted genius students. Tang Wulin possessed the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, Gu Yue was the incarnation of the Silver Dragon King, and Xie Xie had Twin Martial Souls—any one of them would be considered among the best of their peers.

Likewise, Wu Zhangkong had also forgotten...

Since the start of school, Zhong Shenxiu seemed never to have truly displayed his real strength.

When he fought Xie Xie, he used only one move.

When he fought Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, he had not gone all out either.

He cultivated every day, improved every day, and grew stronger every day.

What level was his Soul Power now?

Wu Zhangkong suddenly realized that he did not know. He only knew that Zhong Shenxiu had been level sixteen when he enrolled, and had become level seventeen after his confinement ended. What about after that?

A month had passed.

Had he broken through?

In the field, Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Zhong Shenxiu's ankle once more.

"Xie Xie!" he shouted.

Xie Xie moved at once, both daggers striking out as they stabbed straight toward Zhong Shenxiu's back.

At the same time, Gu Yue's elemental attacks sealed every retreat route Zhong Shenxiu had—ice spikes shot in from the left, a fire serpent lunged from the right, wind blades pressed down from above, and earthen spikes erupted from below.

Enemies on all sides.

There was nowhere to run.

At the sidelines, students had already begun cheering.

"They won!"

"Tang Wulin and the others won!"

Xie Xie's daggers were less than half a foot from Zhong Shenxiu's back.

Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass had already coiled around Zhong Shenxiu's calves.

Gu Yue's elemental attacks had sealed every direction.

The next second, Zhong Shenxiu would be hit.

Yet in that instant—

Zhong Shenxiu moved.

His movement was incredibly slight, incredibly fast—so fast that everyone present, including Wu Zhangkong, failed to see it clearly.

They only saw a flash of faint golden light.

Then—

Xie Xie's daggers struck empty air.

Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass snapped.

Gu Yue's elemental attacks... vanished.

Xie Xie froze in place, still holding his stabbing posture, but Zhong Shenxiu was no longer before him.

"Where is he?" he blurted out.

"Up there!" Gu Yue's voice rang out.