Practical Combat Training

Soul Power was the foundation of a Soul Master; combat strength was their true foundation.

Soul Masters were the most esteemed profession on the Douluo Continent 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 intention of letting his students become useless fools with Soul Power but pathetic 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 whole class nod, Wu Changkong continued asking:

"Now, those whose Ladder Tournament rank is Tier One, raise your hands and let me 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 lifted high around them.

"Mm." Wu Changkong nodded.

This was within his expectations.

The class he taught was First Grade Class One. The students were basically all One-Ring Soul Masters, corresponding to Tier One in the Ladder Tournament.

"Alright, you can 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 enormous classroom.

The owners of those five hands were none other than Tang Wulin and Wei Xiaofeng, who possessed Soul Grandmaster cultivation, along with Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi, who had nineteenth-level Soul Master cultivation.

Tier Two in the Ladder Tournament corresponded to Soul Grandmasters. Tang Wulin and Wei Xiaofeng, as Soul Grandmasters, naturally belonged at this rank. Though Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi were not Soul Grandmasters, their Soul Power had reached level nineteen, and their Martial Souls were not weak. As long as their luck was decent, winning the Promotion Tournament would not be a problem.

Yet the students' eyes were not drawn to the owners of those five raised hands. Instead, they all turned their gazes toward Xu Xiaoyan, seated in the back row.

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

Holy crap! It was not impossible!

A nine-year-old level twenty-seven Soul Grandmaster, and a control-type battle Soul Master at that—overcoming a three-level Soul Power gap and a Millennium Soul Ring to win the Promotion Tournament did not seem entirely unacceptable.

As for the two beside Xu Xiaoyan, was there any issue with them not raising their hands? Was it not only natural for three-ring Soul Elders to rank above Tier Two in the Ladder Tournament?

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

However, the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth still gave him away.

The Xie Family and the Xu Family were both local powers in Eastsea City. They might not know every detail about one another, but they were certainly familiar enough. 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 deeply shaken.

"Alright, you can 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 eyes, Xu Xiaoyan raised her small hand high.

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

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

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

Feeling the gazes fixed upon 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, remind the other big shot beside you—she still hasn't heard him!

Meng Xinghe raised his left hand with textbook-perfect posture and said calmly:

"Teacher, I'm Tier Four."

Everyone: ...

"Alright, I understand." Wu Changkong nodded calmly in response.

Everyone: ...

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

Gu Yuena was the most dazzling genius at Spirit Pagoda headquarters. He did not need to actively investigate much of the information; he could hear it from his colleagues.

"Teacher," seeing that his teacher seemed to have forgotten something, Xie Xie kindly reminded him, "Gu Yuena still hasn't said what her Ladder Tournament rank is."

Wu Changkong answered succinctly:

"She's also Tier Four."

Xie Xie: ...

Everyone: ...

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

Xie Xie recalled Meng Xinghe introducing Gu Yuena as being from the Spirit Pagoda during the opening ceremony, which led to his current speculation.

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

Even classmates had those they knew well and those they did not. All the more so for a colossal organization like the Spirit Pagoda.

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

Long Bing's Martial Soul, the Prismatic Ice Mirror, was a dual-element Martial Soul of light and ice that also possessed a certain spatial attribute.

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

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

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 power. 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 talked into existence. Geniuses were geniuses because they possessed strength that made others wholeheartedly submit.

In the spacious training grounds, Teachers Wu Changkong and Long Bing stood in a corner with the students, their gazes fixed on Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena in the center.

They were genuinely curious. Just how strong was a nine-year-old Tier Four Ladder Tournament Soul Master?

This was a highly professional training ground. There was no need for a teacher to act as referee and call the start; the training ground itself had a built-in countdown device.

Three, two, one, the match began!

Gu Yuena did not move, but three purple Soul Rings emerged around her, drawing cries of surprise from everyone.

The 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 merged together into a Multi-Element Fusion attack that howled in from every direction, sealing off Meng Xinghe's paths of retreat.

Meng Xinghe's sky-blue eyes remained deep and calm as three purple Soul Rings also emerged around him.

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

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