Chapter 31

By the midpoint of the terrain simulation battle, the situation had completely tilted in Tang Wulin's favor.

Zhang Yangzi's Dark Phantom Eagle had been forced down from the zipline three times by Gu Yue's Ice Spears. He tried to use the tree canopy for cover and take flight again, but every time he spread his wings, a Water Mirror would condense out of thin air above him, scattering his reflection everywhere—Gu Yue had him completely pinned down. After Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon Shield Armor withstood two of Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Skybreaks head-on, it finally left a half-second opening as it shed the force. Xie Xie seized the chance, darting in from Wang Jinxi's blind spot at the left rear and lightly tapping his waist with the Light Dragon Dagger.

"Stop! Wang Jinxi is dead. Retreat to the edge of the field." Wu Changkong was absent, and Lu Menge's voice came from the sidelines, steady as if keeping time to a beat.

Wei Xiaofeng was the last to go down. He tried to ambush Xie Xie with an Earth Spike, but before he could burrow into the ground, Gu Yue's Elemental Imprisonment had already sealed both his legs. He struggled a few times before finally giving up, collapsing onto the ground and gasping for air. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's team had won cleanly and decisively, without the slightest suspense.

Lu Menge set her thermos beside the training log and clapped her hands. "Mid-break. Round two in five minutes."

Xie Xie dropped onto a bench, took the water bottle Tang Wulin handed him, and gulped down a mouthful. He was still riding the high of victory. "Teacher Lu—I'm not saying anything, but we won way too easily without Teacher Wu here! Gu Yue predicted Zhang Yangzi's flight path every single time, and Wu Lin had Wang Jinxi's shield armor's rhythm figured out too—we might get out of class early today!"

Zhang Yangzi stood by the water barrel, wiping away sweat. His lips twitched as if he wanted to argue, but he ultimately said nothing. Wang Jinxi planted his Bone Dragon Shield Armor on the ground and lowered his head to examine his wrist—the edge of his armor had developed extremely fine cracks when it took Golden Dragon Skybreak head-on, and they were still slowly healing.

Lu Menge tilted her head at Xie Xie, the curve of her lips completely unchanged. Only after he lowered the water bottle did she speak lazily. "Xie Xie, when you cut in from Wang Jinxi's left rear just now, your Light Dragon Dagger was out. But where was your left hand?"

Xie Xie's smile began to freeze.

"Your left hand was swinging to maintain balance. But you're an agility attack-type soul master—your left hand should have drawn a second dagger at the same time to block your opponent's counterattack route. If Wang Jinxi had truly gone all out, his Bone Dragon tail spike would have pierced your back before your first dagger struck him."

Xie Xie opened his mouth, his water bottle hanging in midair.

"And when you circled behind the tree to wait for Gu Yue's signal—you crouched too close to the roots, and you didn't clear away the fallen leaves. If Zhang Yangzi had flown a little lower then, his Dark Dive would have let him see your footprints from above. For an agility attack-type soul master, exposing your position is the same as handing over your life."

Xie Xie set down the water bottle. The smug delight from moments ago had vanished from his face, replaced by the stiffness of someone having their every flaw picked out from between their bones. Every point had landed. He really had thought it was fine to leave his left hand empty. He really had crouched in the pile of dead leaves without noticing his footprints. He really had focused only on speed when cutting in and forgotten to seal off the opponent's position.

"You think you won easily?" Lu Menge lifted her thermos and took a sip, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the cafeteria menu. "That was because Gu Yue and Tang Wulin handled every bit of trouble for you up front. With another pair of teammates, your mistakes would have gotten you killed three or four times."

She set down the thermos. She did not raise her voice, yet the entire training ground became so quiet that only the wind could be heard.

"Second round of terrain battle, same original teams. But Xie Xie and Wei Xiaofeng will switch sides—Xie Xie goes to the other team. Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, both of your cultivation suppression levels will be lowered to one ring. If I catch anyone secretly exceeding two-ring soul power, you'll do five extra sets."

Everyone in Class Zero held their breath at once. Lowering the cultivation of the two strongest members to one ring? And moving Xie Xie to the other side? It was like pulling out Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's two sharpest fangs, then handing the other side their fastest dagger.

Xie Xie stood frozen in place, his expression shifting from stiff to horrified. "Teacher Lu—I was just saying it casually—"

"I was just making a casual adjustment too." Lu Menge smiled. "Didn't you just say you won too easily? Now I'm giving you a chance not to win so easily."

Xie Xie's face went pale.

The second terrain battle fell into a bitter struggle from the very beginning.

After Gu Yue's elements were suppressed to one ring, her Ice Spears became as small as pencil knives, her Water Mirrors could only remain the size of a palm, and Elemental Imprisonment's duration dropped from fifteen seconds to less than two. Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Head lost its knockback effect, while Golden Dragon Skybreak could only blast apart a few branches when it struck. The two of them barely held on for a quarter of an hour with Blue Silver Grass and earthen walls. Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger chased every gap in their defenses as if it had eyes—after Lu Menge publicly picked apart his mistakes one by one, he had been holding back a fire in his chest, and the more he fought, the faster he became. After several precise flanking maneuvers from him, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi's offensive actually became more coordinated than their previous teamwork.

"Stop."

Lu Menge rose from her chair at the edge of the field and set the training log aside. She walked to the center of the field, and the six members of Class Zero automatically arranged themselves into two rows, their breathing not yet even.

"Today, I'm going to teach you something." Her voice was not loud, but every word was crystal clear. "The strongest person in Class Zero—is not Tang Wulin, nor is it Gu Yue."

The entire field fell silent. Tang Wulin raised his head to look at her, while a thoughtful glimmer flashed through Gu Yue's black eyes.

"The strongest is—" Lu Menge tilted her head. "I haven't even stepped onto the field yet. You did well today, but don't get carried away. Especially you, Xie Xie—when you win, you grin from ear to ear; when you lose, you hang your head. Someone praises your soul skill for looking good twice, and you think there's no one left in Class Zero? Let me tell you, there are people in Class Zero. Not just one, either. It's just that until someone puts a blade to your throat, you think they're all teammates."

Xie Xie lowered his head. His lips moved, but in the end, he only gave a muffled acknowledgment.

Lu Menge put away the training log, and her smiling expression returned as though those words had not just come from her mouth. Carrying her thermos, she headed toward the teaching building, her white lab coat puffing slightly in the afternoon breeze. Little White Tiger leaped down from a branch and landed on her shoulder.

"Practical combat continues this afternoon. Your Teacher Wu should be done with his meeting by then—he'll take over in the afternoon."

The Class Zero students watched her back disappear at the end of the forest path. Only then did Xie Xie let out a long breath and slump across the bench. "Did she almost kill me just now? She was obviously smiling, so why did she feel even scarier than Teacher Wu...?"

Wang Jinxi pulled the Bone Dragon Shield Armor from the ground and slung it over his shoulder. As he passed Xie Xie, he paused. "Teacher Wu points out your mistakes afterward and makes you do extra training; Teacher Lu can make you understand how you'll die before your mistake has even taken shape. After you die, you still have time to wonder why you died, then realize everything she said was right. That's scarier than dying itself."

Zhang Yangzi, with his sweat towel draped over his shoulder, also paused as he passed by. "You were the one she targeted. You didn't see when she drilled us through our soul skills—she can take apart my dive trajectory from beginning to end, even tell me exactly how many percentage points my center of gravity shifts when I'm flying. It's no surprise she went after you today. Her practical combat classes never distinguish between her own people and anyone else. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue have been cut down by her more times than all of us combined."

Xie Xie looked even more despairing. "...Then why do those two look completely fine?"

Tang Wulin was retracting the Blue Silver Grass into his wrist. Hearing that, he looked up at Xie Xie and answered honestly, "Because we don't brag before getting chewed out. Last time, I said my Golden Dragon Skybreak was already fast enough. She told me to train for another two years before talking to her about speed—then she spent an entire day pinning me to the training field and making me repeatedly chop wooden stakes. From now on, don't grin when you win in front of her. She hates people who grin after winning the most. Grin once, get cut down once."

Xie Xie weakly buried his head between his knees. Wei Xiaofeng walked past him and, unusually, patted his shoulder. His tone carried the pity of someone who had been through it. "You'll get used to it. The biggest difference between her and Teacher Wu is—Teacher Wu breaks your body, while Teacher Lu breaks your mindset. Pick one."

Xie Xie kept his head down, his muffled voice coming through the gap between his knees. "...I pick Teacher Wu."

"You don't get to choose. Class Zero uses a dual-instructor system. One is responsible for training you, the other is responsible for training your soul. You thought Teacher Wu went to a meeting, so why did she suddenly come substitute today? She came specifically to deal with us. Yesterday, she said we needed to 'grow up quickly.' That means she and Teacher Wu will take turns teaching our training classes from now on."

Xie Xie said nothing more. He leaned against the bench and looked up at the canopy overhead. Wu Changkong had taught him how to take a beating, while Lu Menge was teaching him how to see an opponent's movements before the beating even came—together, those two things were why Class Zero improved twice as fast as everyone else. He had once only thought Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were strong. Now, he was slowly beginning to understand that those two had been honed by both blades for three years before becoming what they were today.