Special Training

"Because this hammer is made of Sinking Silver. Sinking Silver is a relatively strong rare metal, and this piece has even undergone Thousand Refinement." Tang Wulin patiently explained.

"Thousand Refinement!" Xie Xie's expression changed dramatically. "You can do Thousand Refinement? What level of blacksmith are you?"

Tang Wulin nodded lightly. "Mm! I passed the Level Two Blacksmith test at the East Sea Blacksmith Association a couple of days ago. As for Thousand Refinement, I can only just manage it for now."

A Level Two professional.

Everyone was stunned. Most of them might not know what Thousand Refinement meant, but they all knew what it meant to be a Level Two professional.

For an ordinary family, the income of a Level Two professional was enough to cover its daily expenses. Level Two professionals were already the backbone of the Federation.

Wu Zhangkong didn't know much about blacksmithing, though he did know a little about Battle Armor.

Xie Xie, however, knew a great deal. He wasn't a blacksmith, but his family was a mech family. Mechs and blacksmithing were inseparable; without blacksmiths, mechs wouldn't exist.

Soon, Wu Zhangkong led everyone back to the classroom.

Wu Zhangkong stepped up to the lectern and looked at them all coldly.

"After this match, you should all know how useless you are. You have no ability, no teamwork, not even the most basic courage. I don't know what the academy was thinking when it admitted you!"

Wu Zhangkong's words tore into all twenty students. Even Tang Wulin and Xie Xie weren't spared.

"But since you've entered this academy and this class, and become my students, then even if you're useless, I'll turn you into the strongest class at Eastsea Academy."

"Some of you should already know that the Class Promotion Tournament is in two months. Every class in every grade will take part. The lowest-ranked class will challenge the class above it, and lower grades can also challenge higher grades. So I've set your minimum goal: you will become First Class One!"

Soft murmurs rose among the students. Some thought it impossible to challenge and defeat four classes in a row, while others felt that Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were so strong they wouldn't lose to the students in Class One.

Wu Zhangkong ignored the discussion and continued.

"For now, I'm appointing Tang Wulin as class monitor and Xie Xie as deputy class monitor. The two of them will take part in the Class Promotion Tournament in three months. But we can enter more than two people, so I'll be training all of you for the next two months. Anyone who meets my standards will be allowed to compete."

"Of course, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, after classes end each day, I'll give the two of you special training on your own."

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie both looked at Wu Zhangkong's impassive face. It seemed this special training wouldn't be easy.

Wu Zhangkong was a teacher who always kept his word. Over the next few days, everyone finally understood what Teacher Wu meant by training.

Almost all their class time was spent on physical conditioning. Most often, they ran laps around the track, and they couldn't stop until Wu Zhangkong said so.

The reason was simple: when everyone on a team had only one Soul Ring, strength was their greatest asset. They only had to look at Tang Wulin.

Everyone felt utterly miserable. How could Tang Wulin be the same as them? He was born with divine strength!

What they didn't know was that Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were the ones who truly wanted to cry.

After classes every day, Wu Zhangkong took Tang Wulin and Xie Xie to a secluded track for even more intense special training. Tang Wulin could just barely keep going, but Xie Xie's stamina wasn't much better than the others'. So after almost every session, Tang Wulin ended up carrying him back.

This went on for nearly a month. It had to be said that many students in the class had greatly improved their stamina through the training, and they had also gotten to know one another better. If they worked together in the future, their strength would surely improve as well.

Several students even advanced by one level in Soul Power during that time.

As for Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, the month of torment at Wu Zhangkong's hands hadn't been for nothing.

Xie Xie's endurance had clearly improved, which was excellent news for an agility-attack Soul Master like him. Tang Wulin was already very strong, so Wu Zhangkong focused more of his special training on his Blue Silver Grass.

Tang Wulin's First Soul Ring was a thousand-year one, so it couldn't be wasted. He had to make full use of its power.

The results were clear. Wu Zhangkong was very skilled at understanding and using Martial Souls, though Tang Wulin didn't know where he'd learned it.

During this period, Tang Wulin's control over Blue Silver Grass improved noticeably. He could even make it perform a few different kinds of attacks.

That afternoon, the day's training finally ended at Wu Zhangkong's command. Everyone dropped onto the ground, Tang Wulin included—though he was just hungry.

This intense training made Tang Wulin eat even more. Even when he ate until he was stuffed, he was still hungry again before long.

Some time earlier, Wu Zhangkong had suggested that Tang Wulin eat better. Grade C Meals simply weren't nutritious enough, so he recommended that Tang Wulin try Grade A Meals.

But Tang Wulin said he couldn't afford them. So Wu Zhangkong simply invited him to have Grade A Meals and told him to eat as much as he wanted.

What Wu Zhangkong hadn't expected was that Tang Wulin would eat a full hundred servings of Grade A Meals without showing any sign of stopping. Grade A Meals were highly nutritious; an ordinary student was usually full after one serving, and even strength-type students ate no more than five.

And one serving of Grade A Meals cost a thousand Federal Coins. A hundred servings came to a hundred thousand Federal Coins.

Wu Zhangkong's only source of income was the salary he received from the academy. He had no second profession and no desire to take one up.

In the end, Tang Wulin finally filled up after eating a hundred and thirty-five servings of Grade A Meals, but he had nearly eaten through Wu Zhangkong's entire savings.

Tang Wulin was still marveling at how delicious the Grade A Meals were, and didn't notice Wu Zhangkong's face turning green beside him.

Wu Zhangkong didn't have much desire for wealth, but there were plenty of things he needed money for!

After that, Wu Zhangkong never again offered to treat Tang Wulin to a meal. He only said that Tang Wulin was already a Level Two professional and should figure out how to earn money himself.

Tang Wulin had thought about taking blacksmithing jobs through the Blacksmith Association, but Wu Zhangkong's training schedule was simply too packed. He had no time to take jobs, and even if he did, he wouldn't have enough time to finish them. Failing to complete a job meant paying a penalty, so Tang Wulin had never taken one.

Still, Tang Wulin remembered one thing: Grandmaster Cen Yue had helped him sell Yao Lao's pill recipes through the Blacksmith Association.

A month had passed, and Tang Wulin was planning to find a time to ask about it.