Mu Ye's Arrival

The next day, Wu Zhangkong brought Xiao Mu and the others for their practical combat lesson.

"Because you absorbed too much spiritual power in the Spirit Ascension Platform, the academy is currently coordinating to arrange your soul ring age tests and physical examinations over the next few days. Given your current conditions, the Spirit Ascension Platform is temporarily unsuitable for you, so our practical combat lessons must change as well."

As Wu Zhangkong spoke, he led them to the Academy Trial Hall.

This was a place specifically for students to practice soul skill combat. Because soul skills could be destructive, the area was equipped with soul device barriers for defense, making it difficult to cause damage.

The point was that it was difficult to cause destructive effects; excessively powerful attacks could still cause damage.

Walking into the third floor of the Trial Hall, the arena was very spacious, with a diameter of fifty meters.

Xie Xie was already eager to try, saying, "Teacher Wu, is it the six of us against Xiao Mu and Na'er?"

"Even if you six add up, you aren't my match," Xiao Mu said, speechless. "Face reality."

Wu Zhangkong fell silent. Xiao Mu's strength was truly a cliff-like lead; he could easily suppress a ten-thousand-year soul beast, though even he couldn't tell how Xiao Mu had managed to kill the creature directly.

Even if the other seven were tied together, they didn't seem to be Xiao Mu's match.

Although that move seemed to consume a great deal of Xiao Mu's energy, it could definitely kill these children with ease.

This wasn't the Spirit Ascension Platform; they had no possibility of resurrection.

If he fought them himself, he might not be able to hold back his strength while using his martial soul.

Therefore, it was still Xiao Mu and the others, two against six.

Both sides stood at opposite ends of the arena. On one side were Xiao Mu and Na'er, and on the other were Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng.

Gu Yue stood in the formation and looked up at Xiao Mu. The meaning in that gaze was clear—let them see your strength.

Receiving that look, Xiao Mu spread out his force field.

"Na'er, step back. I'll take on the six of them alone."

"Big Brother, I don't need to make a move."

"Then you can stand on the opposite side."

"Never mind, I'll just lie back and win."

Na'er giggled. Fighting Xiao Mu was something she would never dare to imagine in this lifetime; the way that Earth King had died was still vivid in her mind.

Xie Xie was the first to rush out, his Light Dragon Dagger spinning between his fingers as his figure split into three afterimages, stabbing from three directions simultaneously. Tang Wulin followed closely behind, his right arm's Golden Dragon Claw surging as he charged head-on.

"Boss, go easy on us."

As Wei Xiaofeng said this, he activated Green Shadow Overlap, and several phantom images flanked from the sides.

All attacks missed.

Xiao Mu's force field was like an open eye. Force field deflection—the trajectory of every attack was redirected the moment it entered the field.

Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger brushed past Xiao Mu's ear, stabbing into the air to his left. Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Claw was deflected by a gentle force that used a thousand pounds of leverage to move a ton. The Golden Dragon Claw slammed heavily into the ground, shattering two stone tiles.

Wei Xiaofeng's phantom images fared even worse, hitting what felt like a wall and rolling directly onto the ground.

"What kind of attack is this? Why is it so strong?" Before Xie Xie could finish his sentence, Xiao Mu raised his hand.

Directing the molecules downward, gravity doubled!

The knees of all six people buckled almost simultaneously. It wasn't a slow pressure; it was a sudden tripling of gravity, as if an invisible giant hand had suddenly descended upon everyone's shoulders.

Gu Yue was shocked; earth, water, fire, and wind elements merged into one and shot toward Xiao Mu.

But this terrifying energy was entirely converted by Xiao Mu's power until it vanished without a trace.

At this moment, the power of every struggle from the six, every soul skill released, and even the airflow created by their breathing was captured by the force field, stacking layer upon layer.

Seeing Xiao Mu raise his fist, the group vaguely sensed something was wrong; they absolutely could not let Xiao Mu continue to charge his attack.

"Zhang Yangzi!" Wang Jinxi gritted his teeth and roared, "Martial Soul Fusion!"

Zhang Yangzi nodded desperately, and the two struggled to pull together under the suppression of gravity. Zhang Yangzi's Dark Phantom Eagle martial soul and Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon King martial soul surged from their bodies simultaneously, attempting to intertwine in mid-air.

The two forces that should have merged into one collided, emitting a repulsive force, and the two of them were actually thrown directly away.

The martial soul fusion had failed.

But Xiao Mu's charged punch could no longer be stopped; it had already been unleashed.

All the energy accumulated in the force field exploded at his fist.

The air was compressed to the limit, the ground shattered in a fan shape from beneath Xiao Mu's feet toward the front, and the barrier flickered frantically.

The shockwave slammed into the barrier, and the glass on the entire third floor of the Trial Hall shattered simultaneously.

Fortunately, all six were skilled at dispersing force; they lifted their feet off the ground and flew with the wind, easily shedding most of the impact.

They were like six fallen leaves swept away by the wind, slamming into the barrier at the edge of the arena before bouncing back to the ground.

Dust and gravel fell like raindrops.

Seeing this, Xiao Mu breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, he had also studied the path of wind a little, so he hadn't caused much damage.

Before the dust had even settled, Wang Jinxi climbed up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and glared at Zhang Yangzi.

"What's going on? Your martial soul... why did it...?"

Zhang Yangzi sat on the ground with his head bowed. His eye sockets were red, and his fingers gripped his trousers so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"I don't know. It was clearly you who pushed me away."

It hadn't been like this before. Their martial souls had fused several times in the past; although they couldn't fully control it, it had never been like this.

Wu Zhangkong walked over, his boot soles crunching on broken glass. "Everyone, calm down."

His gaze swept between Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi. "You two, come to my office first."

He paused, then looked at the others. "Training ends here for today."

Wang Jinxi didn't speak. He cast one last look at Zhang Yangzi, his expression complex.

Zhang Yangzi stood up and followed him with his head lowered.

Xiao Mu, meanwhile, was well aware that these two were about to transfer. He pondered the so-called martial soul mutation; how should he put it? It was much like genomic recombination.

The Federation's blood testing technology was quite decent, and he had analyzed the differences between the two before and after the martial soul mutations.

Although the cases were few, the Federation could still provide them.

He didn't have enough knowledge regarding genetics; he would have to find Mendel for that.

That man had relied on nothing but a pair of hands and a plot of land, conducting over twenty-eight thousand experiments to single-handedly create the field of genetics.

No, if this great master came here, he could probably perfect the study of mutations on the Douluo Continent.

In the future, even getting married could come with a rate for benign martial soul mutations.

Things that the Farting Grandmaster couldn't figure out in a lifetime were just trivial matters to him.

He could open a research project in the Ming Capital in the future; he wouldn't have to do the research himself.

As soon as Xiao Mu walked out the door with Na'er, he saw someone standing at the school gate.

The man was wearing a white chef's uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two thick forearms.

He stood at the school gate just like that, as if waiting for someone.

Xiao Mu stopped in his tracks and was slightly stunned. He remembered that in the original work, there was only one person with a name who wore this attire.

The Sect Master of the Body Sect, Mu Ye.