Turn and Turn and Turn and Turn and Turn

The next day.

Wu Changkong led the four members of Class Zero to undergo a full set of tests.

Gu Yue and Tang Wuling had already been brought by Wu Changkong to complete their tests on the day the Class Advancement Tournament ended.

Wu Changkong had also learned about the changes in Tang Wuling's body.

The only ones who truly needed testing today were Xie Xie and Chen An.

The metal-textured testing equipment stood silently in the center of the evaluation room, its cold display waiting for data to be entered.

The spiritual power tester lit up faintly, and the final number settled at 31.

Among the four of them, that number was glaringly low, not even reaching half of Tang Wuling's level.

Next came the strength tester. His fists struck it in turns, and the final result stabilized at around 160 kilograms.

That was only a little higher than Gu Yue's, who did not need to engage in close combat.

Xie Xie looked at the number on the screen, the corner of his mouth twitching fiercely as helplessness filled his face.

Next, it was Chen An's turn.

He had already made his calculations. He deliberately suppressed his spiritual power by half, and the display flashed a number: 200.

Wu Changkong, watching from the side, slightly raised his brows, his expression visibly changing.

Gu Yue's previously measured spiritual power had been 153 points. Even after Chen An deliberately suppressed his by more than half, it was still considerably higher.

Chen An walked to the strength tester. Without using soul power, he relied purely on the foundational strength of his body as both fists struck the testing target in turn.

The results of both tests stabilized at around 1,000 kilograms. Compared to Tang Wuling's normal physical strength of 1,300 kilograms, it was 300 lower.

Standing behind him, Xie Xie stared at the astonishing string of numbers, completely stunned in place, his eyes wide and round.

One thousand kilograms—at his current level, that number was an utterly unreachable chasm.

Scenes from the Class Advancement Tournament arena replayed in Wu Changkong's mind, every detail of those exchanges flashing through his thoughts.

He looked at Chen An and asked.

"Does your martial soul's Scale Armor attachment provide physical enhancement?"

"Yes," Chen An answered frankly.

His current physical foundation came from the transformation he had undergone after absorbing the Golden Dragon King essence for the first time before entering the academy.

With Dragon Scale possession, Tang Wuling's normal strength was 2,700 kilograms. After activating Dragon Claw, her peak could reach 3,900 kilograms.

Since Chen An could confront Tang Wuling head-on on the arena after her Dragon Scale attachment, there was no longer much point in hiding his strength in this regard.

Besides, he was rather curious about exactly how hard he could hit.

With a thought, crimson fish scales emerged from the surface of his skin, covering both fists.

Chen An took a deep breath. With all the strength in his body, suppressed to level 19 soul power, pouring forth, his left and right fists slammed into the testing target.

Buzz! The tester shook violently, the numbers on the display jumping madly before finally settling at around 3,600 kilograms.

On the panel, it was only slightly lower than Tang Wuling's peak.

If the Ripple effect was included, Chen An would not fear Tang Wuling's Dragon Claw at all. He would be even stronger.

In roughly another two months, even his strength in a suppressed state would completely surpass Tang Wuling's.

Wu Changkong silently recorded this entire set of data.

The following tests were completed one after another.

Apart from his physical strength being slightly inferior to Tang Wuling's, and his deliberately restrained soul power being held at level 19,

Chen An ranked first in Class Zero in every other category, including speed, neural reaction, and physical resistance.

Once the entire set of tests was complete, Wu Changkong organized training plans based on the data of all four.

Beyond the group's basic training, each of them had their own special training targets.

For example, Xie Xie's spiritual power was too low. Breaking through 40 before the end of the semester was one of his targets.

Chen An returned to Class Zero's private single dormitory. Without a roommate, he could enter meditation much faster on his own.

An exquisite soul tool clock hung in one corner of the wall, its hands turning slowly.

Four dormitories, day and night revolving in turn, as time hurried past.

Pale morning sunlight streamed through the window.

Tang Wuling straightened her school uniform and dressed neatly.

She had a habit of going for morning runs, something Wu Changkong had retained from her earlier physical training.

After confirming his condition, Chen An opened the door and stepped out. Bright sunlight filled the entire room.

Not until dusk fell, with the setting sun illuminating only half the bed, did Xie Xie drag his exhausted body through the door. He barely had the strength to take off his coat before collapsing headfirst onto the bed.

Moonlight, like water, spilled into the room through the window curtains.

Gu Yue had no sleepiness at all. She stood alone by the window, quietly gazing up at the stars, seemingly lost in thought.

The days slowly moved forward amid this tedious yet fulfilling training.

After class one day, Wu Changkong stopped Chen An as he was about to leave.

"Explain your soul skill in full."

"The essence of the soul skill is the propagation of tangible soul power vibrations."

Chen An explained honestly.

"Vibration Ripple can penetrate the body and interfere with the circulation of soul power within the target. For a short time, it makes it difficult for an opponent to mobilize their soul power steadily."

Wu Changkong had read countless ancient texts, yet he had never seen this kind of martial soul or soul skill. A strong desire to investigate arose within him.

During the Class Advancement Tournament, Wu Changkong had discovered that Chen An's first soul skill possessed no offensive power, but the disturbance caused by its ripples could even affect Chen An himself.

From then on, after every class, he kept Chen An behind alone and had him study his soul skill.

"A soul skill has more than one application."

Wu Changkong even demonstrated one of his own soul skills for this purpose.

Likewise, he told Chen An that such unfixed soul skills had a wide range of uses.

For instance, they could test how soul power vibrations generated kinetic energy, how kinetic energy could further be converted into thermal energy, and how thermal energy could ignite flammable objects.

These matters took up a considerable amount of Chen An's time after class.

In the past, Chen An had stood at the entrance to the cafeteria waiting for Tang Wuling.

Now, their roles had switched.

People came and went at the cafeteria entrance, the crowds bustling about. Tang Wuling stood beside the steps, patiently waiting for Chen An to finish his after-class experiments.

When she spotted Chen An approaching from the direction of the teaching building in the distance, light immediately rippled through the girl's eyes, and a genuine smile appeared on her face.

The two always paused to chat for a few moments before walking into the cafeteria side by side.

Previously, Gu Yue had always secretly watched the interaction between the two, like a scouting agent.

Now that they were in the same Class Zero and the distance between them had shortened, she stood even closer, her gaze resting lightly upon them as though calculating something.

Behind Gu Yue was another pair of eyes.

Xie Xie stood with his arms folded, taking in every scene before him in full.

He understood now. He was sharing a table with two people and serving as a third wheel.

The slender leaves rustled.

The figure stroked the beard he did not have.

"So, how much faster has your progress become?"

Chen An had completed today's meditation and sat on the grass chatting with him just before waking up.

"My spiritual power has reached 420. My cultivation has returned to level 30 these past few days, and I feel like I can reach 500 by the end of this semester."

The figure stopped moving.

"However, I need to remind you not to get too excited after reaching 500."

Chen An was puzzled. "Why?"