Practical Combat Training

Soul power was the foundation of a Soul Master; combat strength was their cornerstone.

The reason Soul Masters were the most esteemed profession on Douluo Continent was because top-tier Soul Masters possessed terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth—enough to alter the course of the world.

Wu Changkong had no desire for his students to become a group of useless fools who possessed soul power but lacked any real combat ability.

After teaching everyone the meditation method, he began preparing practical combat training for Class One. Before that, however, he needed to confirm some information.

"Everyone has participated in the Star Network Ladder Tournament, right?"

Seeing the entire class nod, Wu Changkong continued.

"Now, those whose Ladder Tournament rank is Tier One, raise your hands so I can see."

Swish, swish, swish—small hands shot up one after another like bamboo shoots after rain. Nearly the entire class raised their hands, while only a few students remained seated, watching the hands held high around them.

"Mm." Wu Changkong nodded.

This was exactly what he had expected.

The class he taught was First Year, Class One. Most of the students were one-ring Soul Masters, corresponding to Tier One in the Ladder Tournament.

"Alright, you may put your hands down. Now, those whose Ladder Tournament rank is Tier Two, raise your hands."

One, two, three, four, five. Five small hands rose high in succession, standing out conspicuously in the spacious classroom.

The owners of those five hands were none other than Tang Wulin and Wei Xiaofeng, both Soul Grandmasters, as well as Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi, who each possessed nineteen ranks of soul power.

Tier Two in the Ladder Tournament corresponded to Soul Grandmasters. Tang Wulin and Wei Xiaofeng naturally belonged at this rank, while Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi, though not yet Soul Grandmasters, had reached rank nineteen and possessed formidable martial souls. As long as their luck was not too bad, winning their promotion matches would not be a problem.

Yet the students' gazes were not drawn to the owners of those five raised hands. Instead, they all looked toward Xu Xiaoyan, who sat in the back row of the classroom.

They remembered that during introductions, Xu Xiaoyan had said she was a rank-twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster. Yet she had not raised her hand. Could her rank be above Tier Two?

Holy crap! It wasn't impossible!

A nine-year-old rank-twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster, and a control-system Battle Soul Master at that. Overcoming a three-rank soul power gap and a thousand-year soul ring to win a promotion match did not seem entirely unacceptable.

As for the two people beside Xu Xiaoyan, was there any issue with them not raising their hands? Wasn't it only natural for three-ring Soul Elders to have ranks above Tier Two?

Xie Xie told himself to stay calm. There were many geniuses in this world; he had understood that truth three years ago.

But the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth still betrayed him.

The Xie Family and the Xu Family were both local powers in East Sea City. While the two families could not be called intimately familiar with every detail of each other, they were certainly well acquainted. How had Xu Xiaoyan of the Xu Family become so much stronger than him, the heir of the Xie Family?

He did not understand, but he was greatly shaken.

"Alright, you may put your hands down. Now, those whose Ladder Tournament rank is Tier Three, raise your hands."

Wu Changkong's voice rang out again, and under everyone's watchful gazes, Xu Xiaoyan raised her small hand high.

Hmph, just as expected... Wait, something seemed off.

Everyone shifted their attention from Xu Xiaoyan to Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena, instantly realizing what was wrong.

Hey, hey, can you hear us, big shots? Stop zoning out. Did you hear Teacher Wu? Those whose Ladder Tournament rank is Tier Three, raise your hands!

Feeling the gazes converging on him, Meng Xinghe put down his book.

Wow, the big shot heard him. Yes, that's it, hurry and raise your hand. And while you're at it, big shot, please remind the other big shot beside you—she still hasn't heard him!

Meng Xinghe raised his left hand with perfect posture and said calmly, "Teacher, I'm Tier Four."

Everyone: ...

"Alright, I understand." Wu Changkong nodded with an even expression.

Everyone: ...

Wu Changkong did not continue asking, because he knew that Gu Yuena was also Tier Four.

Gu Yuena was the most dazzling genius at Spirit Pagoda headquarters. There was plenty of information he did not need to seek out himself; he could simply hear it from his colleagues.

"Teacher," Xie Xie kindly reminded him when he saw that he seemed to have forgotten something, "Gu Yuena still hasn't stated her Ladder Tournament rank."

Wu Changkong answered concisely, "She's also Tier Four."

Xie Xie: ...

Everyone: ...

Teacher Wu knew Gu Yuena's Ladder Tournament rank without even asking. Did that mean that Teacher Wu and his wife, Teacher Long Bing, were also from Spirit Pagoda?

Xie Xie recalled how, during the opening ceremony, Meng Xinghe had introduced Gu Yuena as being from Spirit Pagoda. That was how he came to this conclusion.

As for why Teacher Wu did not know Meng Xinghe's Ladder Tournament rank, that was easy to understand.

Even classmates had people they knew well and people they did not. Much less a colossal organization like Spirit Pagoda.

Wu Changkong led everyone from the classroom to the training grounds, where they found Long Bing already waiting.

Long Bing's martial soul, the Prismatic Ice Mirror, possessed both light and ice attributes, along with a certain degree of spatial affinity.

The healing ability of the light attribute and the rescue ability of the spatial attribute allowed Long Bing to ensure the students' safety during practical combat training.

For the first match of practical training, Wu Changkong arranged for Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena to fight.

There were two reasons for this arrangement. First, he wanted them to show off their strength and prove that they truly possessed Tier Four Ladder Tournament combat ability. Second, he wanted everyone to witness the gap between themselves and the Federation's top geniuses.

Objective facts would tell them that true geniuses were never made through boasting. Geniuses were geniuses because they possessed strength that made others wholeheartedly concede.

In the spacious training grounds, the two teachers, Wu Changkong and Long Bing, stood in a corner with the students, their eyes fixed on Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena in the center of the field.

They truly wanted to know just how strong nine-year-old Tier Four Soul Masters could be.

This was a highly professional training ground. There was no need for a teacher to act as referee and call for the match to begin; the facility itself came equipped with a countdown device.

Three, two, one—the match began!

Gu Yuena did not move, yet three purple soul rings appeared around her, drawing cries of surprise from everyone.

Wind began to blow. Red, yellow, blue, and cyan lights of four elements rippled through the air.

Red was fire, yellow was earth, blue was water, and cyan was wind. They blended together into a multi-element fusion attack that howled in from all directions, sealing off Meng Xinghe's paths of escape.

Meng Xinghe's sky-blue eyes were deep and tranquil as three purple soul rings likewise emerged around him.

The instant those elemental attacks approached within one meter of him, they turned into the purest energy and dissipated into the air.

The subsequent elemental attacks, as dense as a barrage of bullets, likewise followed in the footsteps of their "predecessors."