You're a civil official, so you're noble! [Seeking follows]

As Xiao Mu's words fell, most of the students in the classroom felt their cheeks burning with a stinging pain.

It was as if someone had slapped them hard across the face.

Zhang Yangzi's eye twitched. Wang Jinxi's knuckles turned white from gripping so hard. Wei Xiaofeng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

Xie Xie whipped his head around, his eyes wide as copper bells.

Gu Yue turned her head and glanced at Xiao Mu. Her gaze was indifferent—neither angry nor mocking—yet it made the air grow several degrees colder.

The suspicion among the group was almost unanimous: was this guy calling them idiots? Yes, that had to be it.

A sense of stifled frustration was clearly written on every face.

Tang Wulin didn't react much. He was a third-rank blacksmith, so this assessment didn't apply to him; he even felt the others shouldn't be doing too badly either.

Na'er, however, stood up with a "swish." She placed her hands on her hips, lifted her chin slightly, and let confidence shine in her eyes. She was a second-rank repairer, and looking at these dejected people, she was certain they couldn't be as impressive as her.

"Xiao Mu, what rank are your sub-professions? What right do you have to say that?" Xie Xie asked, unconvinced. It was impossible for someone to have high soul master cultivation and be strong in sub-professions too, right?

"Mecha manufacturing third-rank, mecha design fifth-rank, mecha repair third-rank, blacksmith third-rank," Xiao Mu said, ticking them off on his fingers. In truth, if his soul power hadn't been lagging, his mecha manufacturing could have reached the seventh rank; with mechanical assistance, he could even construct seventh-rank soul guidance arrays.

As for mecha repair, that was pure laziness. He had gone to the Mecha Master Association's repair department three times: once to drop Na'er off for school, once for her first-rank exam, and once for her second-rank, and then he had reached the third rank himself.

As for why he knew blacksmithing—well, when someone else's manufactured parts weren't up to par, he had to do it himself, specifically to slap people in the face.

The folks at the Blacksmith Association could only curse him for being picky now.

Hearing this, Tang Wulin and the others fell silent. There were only four professions in total, right?

"Why are you all silent? I'm not even good at combat; it's normal for my sub-professions to be a bit stronger."

Xiao Mu's tone was natural, but the group fell even deeper into silence. He called this "not good at combat"?

You civil official, you are so high and mighty.

"Ahem..." Wu Zhangkong coughed lightly again, bringing everyone back to their senses. "Alright. That's enough about mecha knowledge for today. Remember, you need to determine a second profession related to mecha for yourselves within three years."

"Someone like Xiao Mu is an exception."

Tang Wulin suddenly asked excitedly, "Teacher Wu, when can you let us see real Battle Armor!"

Wu Zhangkong glanced at him. "Once you complete the first stage of practical training, I will let you see Battle Armor. Whoever finishes first gets to see it first. As you are now, you don't have the qualifications."

"Now, let's talk about your match yesterday."

"Tang Wulin, you all knew about Xiao Mu's abilities from the start, yet you didn't prepare sufficiently. Letting Xiao Mu utilize all his preferred methods was a major strategic failure in combat."

Xiao Mu suddenly interjected, "Report, I didn't use everything! I still have the ability to make others share in my suffering!"

Wu Zhangkong was choked up. Xiao Mu hadn't even used his second soul ring the entire time, so it was true he hadn't shown his full strength, but there was no need to undermine him in front of everyone.

He tried hard to calm his mood, telling himself that this was still just a child.

Then, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

"The six of you who participated in the competition yesterday share a common problem. You are severely lacking in practical experience and combat techniques, relying instead on your basic combat power when using your martial souls."

So-called basic combat power was the strength one possessed when using a martial soul.

"Isn't that a waste of your own abilities?" Xiao Mu felt this was just sophistry. If you didn't use your strengths, weren't you just attacking someone else's strengths with your own weaknesses?

Wasn't that the behavior of a fool?

"If that is what you believe, then let's conduct a test. I will not use any soul skills, and I will suppress my soul power to the same level as yours to see if you can defeat me."

As he spoke, Wu Zhangkong turned, picked up a pointer from the podium, and returned to the center of the room.

Xiao Mu looked around. "What a pity for this classroom! Let's have the dean change it for us later."

Wei Xiaofeng looked at Xiao Mu and said, "Boss, are you really going to fight him?"

"Fight, why wouldn't I?" Two soul rings appeared around Xiao Mu's feet, and the next moment, his first soul ring suddenly brightened.

An invisible force field propelled him forward, and he rushed toward Wu Zhangkong at an incredible speed.

The faster the speed, the greater the mass, and the more powerful the impact.

The air in front of Xiao Mu was compressed into a white, cone-shaped air wave, and his figure blurred into a residual image as he accelerated.

The podium, desks, and chairs—all objects in his path were pushed aside by the force field, fluttering away like paper.

Xiao Mu pulled his right fist back, kinetic energy accumulating to its limit, the tip of his fist whistling as it cut through the air.

Wu Zhangkong stood where he was, surprise showing in his eyes. This was a two-ring Great Soul Master?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of purple light crossing his pupils. Xiao Mu's fist rapidly enlarged in his vision, the air in front of the fist twisting like a shattered mirror.

The next instant, he took a step, his figure shifting to the left, leaving a residual image behind.

Tang Sect secret technique: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Xiao Mu's fist pierced through the first residual image, the force field tearing the phantom into mist.

His speed was too fast, his momentum too great; it was too late to turn. With the force of a mountain, his fist slammed straight into the wall at the front of the classroom.

"BOOM—"

A sonic boom exploded instantly. Bricks, cement, steel bars... all matter disintegrated and shattered within the force field, the kinetic energy pouring out like a flood, blasting a three-meter-wide hole in the wall.

Xiao Mu stood at the edge of the hole. He turned back to see Wu Zhangkong standing on the other side of the podium, his white robes as pristine as snow, not even the hem fluttering.

"You dodged quickly." His voice was calm. That last punch had utilized three different applications of his first soul skill.

He controlled his own acceleration, stored the kinetic energy generated by his body during that acceleration, and finally unleashed it all in one explosive burst.

The only drawback was that his body had an upper limit for how much kinetic energy it could store.

Otherwise, he would have truly dared to step on his own left foot to launch himself into the sky.

At his maximum speed, his body had to withstand immense force when coming to a sudden stop, and he could not turn mid-motion.

"Not bad," Wu Zhangkong said calmly. "The power is sufficient, but your aim is lacking."

Xiao Mu smiled, though there was no warmth in his eyes. "Teacher Wu, why did you dodge? Could it be that you couldn't catch it?"

He activated his force field once more, his speed even greater than before, a faint sensation of being pulled tugging at his body.

His fist locked onto Wu Zhangkong's actual form, and this time, the power was even greater.

Wu Zhangkong's pupils constricted slightly as he deployed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track once again, leaving behind layers of afterimages that blurred the line between reality and illusion.

Yet, this time, Xiao Mu was actually able to turn, crashing directly through the phantoms without even attempting to distinguish the real one.

This time, the attack slammed directly toward Wu Zhangkong's body.