Gu Yue: What Elements Are You Talking About? I Might Be Able to Help [Seeking Follow-ups]

"Bang!"

The sound tore through the air. The teaching pointer, infused with soul power, was held horizontally before Wu Zhangkong. The rod bent into a fragile arc, groaning under the pressure of the fist striking it.

Xiao Mu's force field erupted the moment they made contact. The accumulated kinetic energy surged out like a bursting dam, pouring forth from the surface of his fist.

Wu Zhangkong's feet plowed two deep furrows into the platform.

His figure retreated under the immense force, the teaching pointer vibrating violently, leaving the webbing between his thumb and forefinger numb.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie watched this scene in astonishment. This Xiao Mu is truly ruthless, they thought. To think he could push Teacher Wu to this extent.

"I certainly underestimated you!" Wu Zhangkong felt his interest piqued; he wanted to poach this student for Shrek Academy.

"It's not over yet!" Xiao Mu channeled his force field, layering a second wave of kinetic energy atop the first.

The arc of the teaching pointer deepened sharply. Wu Zhangkong's knees buckled slightly as he sank his stance, forced to rely on his raw physical strength to counter the pressure.

Though he had suppressed his soul power to rank twenty-nine, his physical conditioning was the real deal.

"Boom!"

With a sharp crack, the teaching pointer finally snapped. The broken pieces flew through the air like a withered branch being broken in two.

Xie Xie stood up and shouted, "Xiao Mu actually did it! He broke the teaching pointer!"

Wu Zhangkong's body was sent reeling by the momentum until his back hit the wall by the window.

Xiao Mu stood where he was, the force field before his fist slowly dissipating, a look of fatigue appearing on his face.

"I really am not cut out for fighting. Just two punches and I'm already this tired."

He took two deep breaths and felt mostly recovered. He felt he should look into how to synthesize starch from carbon dioxide.

That would allow for rapid recovery of physical stamina.

Wu Zhangkong straightened up, brushed the dust off his shoulders, and looked at Xiao Mu. "Since you have defeated me, today's lesson is to teach you the importance of basic combat power."

"Not everyone is like Xiao Mu, whose soul skills are so potent."

"Basic techniques are the foundation of everything. The application of these basics remains the same whether you are using Battle Armor or standard mechs. Therefore, starting today and for a long time to come, basic combat training will be one of your most important subjects."

Xiao Mu looked at Wu Zhangkong, speechless. As a scholar, he had to learn so many things.

News of the Zero Class's formation quickly spread throughout the academy. Xiao Mu ignored the outside world entirely, busy as he was with his periodic table research.

Ten days later, they were finally spared from combat class. Over the past few days, they had all been beaten by Wu Zhangkong, with the exception of Xiao Mu, who felt no pressure at all.

The force of Wu Zhangkong's strikes was entirely absorbed and rebounded.

Energy is never destroyed; it only shifts.

Wu Zhangkong led the eight of them into a room filled with high-tech equipment, where various precision instruments were arranged throughout the space.

The first test was for mental power. Xie Xie scored thirty-one.

Wang Jinxi remained at eighteen.

Zhang Yangzi scored forty-one, and Wei Xiaofeng forty-three.

Tang Wulin scored sixty-six.

When Gu Yue's data of two hundred and fifty appeared, she looked at Xiao Mu with cold, arrogant eyes, thinking victory was hers. But when Na'er's score of three hundred and forty-five was revealed, she was stunned.

I held back too much. Damn it.

However, upon seeing Xiao Mu's mental power, she wondered if everyone else's mental power was just pathetically weak.

Seven hundred and ninety-nine.

At that moment, everyone present fell silent.

The Spirit Sea Realm—a mind like the sea, vast and boundless. This was the threshold where mental power truly reached a high level, becoming the foundation for becoming a powerhouse. Whether one was a top-tier mech pilot or a top-tier soul master, reaching this level of mental power was a necessity.

It could support up to five yellow soul spirits, or three purple soul spirits and one black soul spirit.

Xiao Mu had already reached this number.

Silence. Everyone remained in a state of silence.

Even Wu Zhangkong was startled by the figure. This mental power was ridiculously high; even a top-tier mental-type soul master would, at most, be on par with Na'er.

Unless a soul master with an innate mental-type martial soul completed a second awakening.

Yet, no matter how one looked at it, Xiao Mu was a power-type soul master.

Wu Zhangkong remained silent for a long time before saying, "Next, we test strength!"

The first to test was, unsurprisingly, Gu Yue. Left fist: one hundred and seventy-five kilograms. Right fist: one hundred and ninety-three kilograms.

Zhang Yangzi, Xie Xie, and Wei Xiaofeng were terrified.

Xiao Mu, however, felt this strength was pathetic. Putting in that much effort, it must be an act. How could the power of a dragon be this weak?

Soon after, the three of them finished their tests. Their strength was clearly inferior to Gu Yue's, and they began to wallow in self-pity.

Wu Zhangkong spoke again, "Next, Wang Jinxi."

Left hand: four hundred and twenty-three kilograms. Right hand: four hundred and sixty-eight kilograms.

He nodded, showing no surprise at all. "Next, Na'er."

Left hand, 553 kilograms; right hand, 538 kilograms.

The moment Na'er's data appeared, the Autistic Trio became even more withdrawn. How could such a cute girl have so much strength?

Next was Tang Wulin. In his normal state, his left hand was 1,156 kilograms, and his right hand was 1,348 kilograms.

With the help of the Golden Dragon King's power, his right hand reached 2,700 kilograms.

The Golden Dragon Claw was even stronger; triggering its crushing effect, it destroyed the machine with 3,998 kilograms of force.

Finally, it was Xiao Mu's turn. He stood before a brand-new testing machine and asked, "Teacher Wu, what kind of number do you want? If I use my soul skill, I can hit anything up to ten thousand jin."

The reason he said ten thousand was that it was the machine's upper limit.

The Autistic Trio fell into an even deeper silence upon hearing this. Look at that—is this something a civil official should be saying?

So, if you aren't good at fighting, you become a general, is that it?

"The more strength, the better. I mainly want to test your limits." Wu Zhangkong felt helpless; this student was truly a thorn in his side.

Xiao Mu was speechless. He threw a punch, slamming it heavily into the machine: 3,500 jin with his left fist, 4,500 jin with his right.

After using his first soul skill, the strength of his arms broke ten thousand jin.

Everyone fell silent. This civil official had astonishing combat power and a tongue that dealt massive damage.

He truly possessed both literary and martial talent.

Seeing these numbers, Wu Zhangkong began to doubt whether Xiao Mu's martial soul was really the "Hands" recorded by the Spirit Pagoda. Surely the Spirit Master couldn't have been that blind?

Furthermore, what exactly was the effect of his first soul skill? How could it be so versatile?

Next came the reaction test, where Xiao Mu took first place again. His mental power was too formidable, not to mention that his body was his martial soul itself.

His strength was comprehensive, covering every aspect.

Once the tests were finished, Wu Zhangkong walked away with his usual cool demeanor.

Xiao Mu didn't hesitate either; he called out to Na'er, "Let's go, Na'er. We need to continue perfecting the periodic table."

"Are we still looking for those glowing rocks?" Na'er asked curiously, though she had no idea what elements Xiao Mu was looking for.

"Of course. They must glow but not emit heat," Xiao Mu said with a calm smile. "If they emit heat but don't glow, I don't want them. Those aren't the elements I'm looking for."

Hearing the word "element," Gu Yue drifted over and joined them. "What elements are you talking about? My martial soul is 'Elementalist,' I can definitely help you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mu took out a piece of paper.