Bang!
The sound tore through the air. The soul-power-infused teaching whip was held horizontally in front of Wu Zhangkong, its body bending into a fragile arc as it groaned under the strain of the incoming fist.
Xiao Mu's force field erupted the instant they made contact. The accumulated kinetic energy surged out like a flood bursting through a dam, pouring along the face of his fist.
Wu Zhangkong's feet carved two deep furrows across the platform.
His body slid backward under the tremendous force. The teaching whip shuddered violently, and his hand went numb.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie watched in amazement. Xiao Mu really was a ruthless one—he'd actually managed to force Teacher Wu this far.
"I really did underestimate you!" The more Wu Zhangkong watched Xiao Mu, the more tempted he was to lure him over to Shrek Academy.
"This isn't over yet!" Xiao Mu drove his force field, stacking a second surge of kinetic energy on top of the first.
The teaching whip bent even further. Wu Zhangkong's knees flexed and his body sank. He could only use his physical strength to resist the force now.
He had suppressed his Soul Power to rank twenty-nine, but his physical fitness was the real deal.
Boom!
With a loud crack, the teaching whip finally snapped. The broken pieces spun through the air, like a withered branch broken in two.
Xie Xie jumped to his feet and shouted, "Xiao Mu actually did it! He broke the teaching whip!"
Wu Zhangkong stumbled backward with the momentum, stopping only when his back hit the wall beside the window.
Xiao Mu stood where he was as the force field before his fist slowly faded. Weariness crept across his face.
"I really am no good at fighting! I threw just two punches, and I'm already this tired."
He took a couple of breaths and recovered almost at once. He felt he ought to look into how carbon dioxide could be synthesized into starch.
That would let him recover his stamina quickly.
Wu Zhangkong straightened up, brushed the dust from his shoulder, and looked at Xiao Mu. "Since you defeated me, today's lesson will be about the importance of basic combat strength."
"Not everyone has Soul Skills as powerful as Xiao Mu's."
"Basic techniques are the foundation of everything. They can be applied to Battle Armor and ordinary mechas as well. So starting today, basic combat training will be one of your most important subjects for a long time to come."
Xiao Mu looked at Wu Zhangkong, feeling rather speechless. He was a scholar, yet he had to learn all this stuff.
News of Class Zero's establishment soon spread throughout the academy, but Xiao Mu paid no attention to the outside world. He was busy gathering information for the Periodic Table.
Ten days later, they finally got a break from combat class. Over the past few days, Wu Zhangkong had beaten almost all of them up. Only Xiao Mu hadn't felt any pressure at all.
All the force Wu Zhangkong used against him was absorbed and reflected back.
Energy couldn't be destroyed; it could only be transferred.
Wu Zhangkong led the eight of them into a room filled with futuristic technology. One high-precision instrument after another stood inside.
They started with a mental power test. Xie Xie's mental power was thirty-one points.
Wang Jinxi still scored eighteen.
Zhang Yangzi scored forty-one, and Wei Xiaofeng forty-three.
Tang Wulin scored sixty-six.
When Gu Yue's results came in at two hundred and fifty, she looked at Xiao Mu with a cool, confident gaze, thinking victory was in the bag. But when Na'er's score of three hundred and forty-five appeared, Gu Yue was stunned.
She'd hidden too much. Damn it.
But after seeing Xiao Mu's mental power, she wondered whether everyone else's was just absurdly low.
Seven hundred and ninety-nine.
At that moment, everyone present fell silent.
The Spirit Sea Realm: the mind as vast as the sea, boundless and immeasurable. Only when mental power truly reached a high level could it serve as the foundation of strength. Whether one aspired to become a top mecha pilot or a top Soul Master, reaching this level of mental power was essential.
It could support up to five yellow Soul Spirits, or three purple Soul Spirits, or one black Soul Spirit.
Xiao Mu had already reached that number.
Silence. Everyone remained silent.
Even Wu Zhangkong was shocked by the figure. Xiao Mu's mental power was outrageously high. Even a top-tier spiritual-type Soul Master would probably only be around Na'er's level.
Unless they had a spiritual-type Martial Soul of the body type and completed a Second Awakening of their Martial Soul.
But Xiao Mu looked like a strength-type Soul Master, if anything.
After a long silence, Wu Zhangkong said, "Next, we'll test your strength!"
The first to be tested was undoubtedly Gu Yue. Left fist: 175 kilograms. Right fist: 193 kilograms.
Zhang Yangzi, Xie Xie, and Wei Xiaofeng were dumbfounded.
Xiao Mu, meanwhile, thought that was pathetically weak. She'd clearly been faking it, judging by how hard she'd tried. How could a dragon be so weak?
After those three finished their tests, their strength was clearly inferior to Gu Yue's. They were already starting to withdraw into themselves.
Wu Zhangkong spoke again. "Next, Wang Jinxi."
Left hand: 423 kilograms. Right hand: 468 kilograms.
He nodded, unsurprised. "Next, Na'er."
Left hand: 553 kilograms. Right hand: 538 kilograms.
Na'er's results made the Autistic Trio even more withdrawn. How could a girl that cute be so strong?
After her came Tang Wulin. In his normal state, his left hand reached 1,156 kilograms, and his right hand 1,348 kilograms.
With the power of the Golden Dragon King, his right hand reached 2,700 kilograms.
The Golden Dragon Claw was even stronger. When its crushing effect activated, it wrecked the machine and registered 3,998 kilograms.
At last, it was Xiao Mu's turn. He stood before a brand-new testing machine and asked, "Teacher Wu, what number do you want? With my Soul Skill, I can hit anything under ten thousand pounds."
The reason he said ten thousand was that it was the machine's upper limit.
The Autistic Trio fell even quieter at his words. Just look at that. Was that something a civil official ought to say?
If you weren't good at fighting, you became a general instead?
"The greater the strength, the better. I'm mainly testing your limit," Wu Zhangkong said helplessly. This student really was a troublemaker.
Xiao Mu was speechless. He threw a punch and slammed it into the machine. His left fist registered 3,500 pounds, and his right fist 4,500 pounds.
After using his first Soul Skill, the strength in his arms exceeded ten thousand pounds.
Everyone was silent. This civil official had astonishing physical strength and a tongue that could kill.
A master of both letters and arms.
Seeing the results, Wu Zhangkong began to wonder whether Xiao Mu's Martial Soul really was listed as "hands" by the Spirit Pagoda. Surely the Spirit Transmitter hadn't been blind?
And what exactly was the effect of his first Soul Skill? How could it be so versatile?
After that came the reflex test. Xiao Mu came first again. His mental power was simply too strong, and his body itself was his Martial Soul.
His strength was impressive in every way.
When the tests were over, Wu Zhangkong coolly strode off.
Xiao Mu didn't hesitate. He called to Na'er, "Na'er, let's go. We need to keep working on the Periodic Table."
"Are we going to look for those glowing stones again?" Na'er asked curiously. She had no idea what elements Xiao Mu was looking for.
"Of course. They glow but don't give off heat," Xiao Mu said with a calm smile. "If they give off heat but don't glow, I don't want them. Those aren't the elements I'm after."
When she heard the word "elements," Gu Yue hurried over. "What elements are you talking about? My Martial Soul is an 'Elementalist.' I'm sure I can help you."
At that, Xiao Mu took out a sheet of paper.