More than half an hour later, Tang Wulin shoved the last meat bun into his mouth and didn't go back for more food.
It wasn't that Tang Wulin couldn't eat any more. It was just that class was about to start, and he was already seven or eight tenths full.
Only then did Tang Wulin notice that he was surrounded by people, all staring at him with astonished expressions.
"He's already blown past the record set by the previous champion of the Big Eater Contest, hasn't he?" someone in the crowd remarked.
There's a record for that? Tang Wulin wondered.
"All right, everyone, I'm about to be late. Sorry for the trouble, but please let me through!"
Tang Wulin stood up, gently pushed his way through the crowd, and ran out of the cafeteria. Only then did Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao realize they were about to be late, and they hurried after him. As for Xie Xie, he had probably left long ago.
At last, the three of them reached the classroom door just as the bell rang for the final time.
But Teacher Wu was already standing at the lectern. He glanced at the three of them as they hurried in, his gaze lingering especially long on Tang Wulin.
"Come in! Don't let me catch anyone cutting it this close again!"
"Thank you, Teacher Wu!"
The three hurried into the classroom and found their seats.
Tang Wulin had missed the first day of school the day before, so the only seat left for him was in the back row. But he was already one of the tallest students in class, so sitting at the back was no problem.
"I'm sure you've figured out by now what it means to be in Class Five!" Wu Zhangkong said coldly. "It means you're the worst class in the entire grade. In other words, you're all useless."
"You don't need to feel wronged, because what I said is true. You really are all useless."
Not one of the twenty students in the classroom argued back. They didn't have the nerve. Most of them had only reached the eleventh rank in Soul Power, and all of them had Ten-Year Soul Rings. Not many were confident they could even break through to the twentieth rank.
Xie Xie was the exception. His Soul Power was at the eighteenth rank, and his Martial Soul was high quality. With his strength, he shouldn't have been in this class. But after getting into a fight with Tang Wulin on the first day of school, he had been transferred to Class Five.
Wu Zhangkong's words didn't falter, even as the students' spirits sank.
"I won't tolerate useless students in my class. Over the next few years, I'll make sure you shed that label."
"Starting today, I'll personally instruct you in all your classes. Once you meet my standards, the other teachers can come in and teach you theory."
"Now, everyone, come with me."
Wu Zhangkong waved his hand and headed out of the classroom.
The students didn't quite understand what Teacher Wu had in mind, but they were disciplined enough to line up and follow him.
Wu Zhangkong led them to a training ground and had them form ranks.
"Next, I'll put you into pairs, and you'll fight one another."
Fighting in the very first class?
Most of the students were already grumbling about Wu Zhangkong's lesson. They had little real combat experience and were still somewhat afraid of fighting, especially in pairs where they would have to work together.
"Tang Wulin, Yun Xiao. You two are a team." Wu Zhangkong called out the first pair.
"Tang Wulin, I'm counting on you!" Yun Xiao said with a smile. He knew how strong Tang Wulin was.
Tang Wulin gave a slight nod and walked aside with Yun Xiao.
"Xie Xie, Xu Xiaohui."
Xu Xiaohui was a girl with pink hair. When she heard she'd been paired with Xie Xie, her cheeks turned a little red.
"Don't worry, I'll carry you to victory!" Xie Xie said, giving her a thumbs-up. He was clearly excited. Today, he'd get to fight Tang Wulin again.
"Zhou Changxi, Ye Sheng."
"Tao Liufan, Li Chushui."
A few minutes later, the twenty students had been divided into ten groups.
"You four, you're up first!" Wu Zhangkong pointed to Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao's team, along with Zhou Changxi and Ye Sheng's.
"Okay!"
The four of them quickly walked onto the central ring, while Wu Zhangkong stood between them.
"Begin!"
At Wu Zhangkong's command, Zhou Changxi was the first to release his Martial Soul. A white Ten-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.
The Great Strength Divine Ape was a strength-type Martial Soul. Its quality wasn't particularly good or bad. But ever since Tang Wulin had punched him flying last time, Zhou Changxi had been quietly resentful. He was a strength-type Soul Master, after all. How had a control-type Soul Master managed to send him flying?
Ye Sheng's Martial Soul was a longbow, and his Soul Ring was also a Ten-Year Soul Ring.
Yun Xiao released his Martial Soul as well. It was a Star Disk, a typical support-type Soul Master's Martial Soul, and his Soul Ring was another Ten-Year Soul Ring.
While the other students below the ring were still guessing who would win this sparring match, a ring of purple light burst into bloom on the platform.
Tang Wulin released his Martial Soul and Soul Ring.
"That's a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
"Oh my god! Tang Wulin's Soul Ring is a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
"How is that possible? He absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his first Soul Ring. Why didn't he explode and die?"
"How did a genius like him end up in our Class Five?"
Yun Xiao stared at Tang Wulin in shock. "Weren't his Soul Rings hundred-year ones just two days ago? Did I see it wrong?"
Only Zhou Changxi and Ye Sheng, standing opposite Tang Wulin, could truly feel the pressure of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Under its oppressive force, neither of them dared move carelessly.
Seeing this, Wu Zhangkong sighed faintly.
"Zhou Changxi, Ye Sheng, what are you doing? Are you giving up just because your opponent's Soul Ring has a higher age? If this were a battlefield, you'd already be dead."
These students' mental fortitude really was poor. Still, Wu Zhangkong was rather curious about Tang Wulin's Thousand-Year Soul Ring himself. The only way he knew of to raise a Soul Ring's age was through the Spirit Ascension Platform at the Spirit Pagoda, but Tang Wulin was just an ordinary nine-year-old student. There was no way the Spirit Ascension Platform would be open to him.
"I'll risk it!" A flash of white light shone from Zhou Changxi's Soul Ring. "Strength Boost!"
Zhou Changxi seemed to grow larger all at once. He swung his fist and charged at Tang Wulin.
Ye Sheng gritted his teeth behind him and used his Soul Skill. Several arrows shot toward Tang Wulin.
Facing Zhou Changxi's attack, Tang Wulin didn't use a Soul Skill. He simply raised his fist and punched back, making it look like two ordinary people fighting.
But after absorbing the first layer of the Golden Dragon King's seal, Tang Wulin's strength had far surpassed what it had been before. Even after Zhou Changxi used Strength Boost to increase his own strength, Tang Wulin still sent him flying with a single punch—and that was with Tang Wulin holding back.
As for the arrows Ye Sheng shot at him, Tang Wulin simply used his Blue Silver Grass to block them, completely negating the attack.
With his arrows rendered useless, Ye Sheng found Tang Wulin right in front of him in the space of a single breath.
A gust of wind from Tang Wulin's punch swept Ye Sheng's hair upward. His fist stopped just inches from Ye Sheng's face.
Yun Xiao didn't even get a chance to step in. Tang Wulin won the match in an overwhelming rout.
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