Five Against One?

Su Yu jogged through Eastsea Academy.

Soon, he arrived at the door of Class Five's classroom and called out loudly,

"Reporting!"

At that moment, a cold gaze fell upon him from the podium.

"You're late!"

"Sorry, Teacher. I went to obtain a Soul Ring today!" As he spoke, Su Yu summoned his Martial Soul, and a Soul Ring descended around him.

"Late is late! Stand at the back first, and add ten laps to your training later!" Wu Zhangkong said.

"Yes!" Su Yu obediently went to stand at the back of the classroom and watched Teacher Wu begin the lesson.

After saying a few simple words, Wu Zhangkong had the class head to the field.

Su Yu, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie were called out separately.

Wu Zhangkong swept his gaze across the four of them and spoke calmly.

"You four have good talent, so you'll participate in the Class Promotion Tournament a month from now."

"Yes!" the four replied in unison.

"Good!" Wu Zhangkong paused before continuing.

"With four participants, the Class Promotion Tournament will be a team battle. From now on, you four should work on coordinating with one another."

"How are we supposed to coordinate?" Xie Xie scratched his head and asked in confusion.

"Soul Master combat," Wu Zhangkong said simply.

"I want to practice with Tang Wulin!"

Xie Xie knew he definitely could not beat Gu Yue or Su Yu.

He could at least maneuver around Tang Wulin and avoid getting beaten too badly.

"What I mean is, the four of you will face me in a Soul Master Showdown!" As soon as Wu Zhangkong finished speaking, he pulled the belt from his waist.

Xie Xie said fearfully, "Teacher Wu...!"

"I'll only use the Soul Power of a two-ringed Soul Master."

"But...!"

Xie Xie still wanted to say something, but Wu Zhangkong cut him off bluntly.

"Cut the nonsense. Enemies won't give you time to prepare!"

The moment he spoke, the belt turned into a sword and instantly shot toward Xie Xie.

Xie Xie's eyelids twitched wildly. They had been talking just a moment ago, yet the attack was already before him.

"Watch out!" Tang Wulin stepped in front of Xie Xie and swung the Dark Steel Hammer in his hand.

Clang!

The belt and the Dark Steel Hammer struck each other with a crisp metallic ring.

However, Wu Zhangkong did not retreat. His belt moved like a nimble snake, darting toward Tang Wulin's vital points.

"Wulin!" Gu Yue fired an ice spike and a fireball at the same time.

Su Yu did not stand idle either. As he summoned Snorlax, he began trying out a new move.

He raised his right hand, and a layer of dark crimson energy briefly covered it.

Fighting Move: Karate Chop

Power: 50

He could barely use such a simple Pokémon move, but both its power and speed were far inferior. He needed to train it properly.

It was nowhere near as effortless as Double Team and Quick Attack.

Without hesitation, Su Yu said calmly, "Snorlax, Body Slam!"

Immediately afterward, he turned into a streak of white lightning and charged at Wu Zhangkong, using the speed of Quick Attack to slash down with Karate Chop.

At that moment, Gu Yue's attacks arrived as well!

Facing all three attacks, Wu Zhangkong neither dodged nor avoided them. With his belt sword in hand, he flicked it out repeatedly.

The fireball and ice spike were struck and dissolved into elemental particles.

Su Yu and Snorlax's attacks were redirected by a subtle force.

"Again!"

Su Yu used Double Team and Quick Attack. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Wu Zhangkong, Karate Chop poised in his hand.

At the same time, his first Soul Ring lit up.

In an instant, dark crimson light flashed all over Su Yu's body.

Karate Chop came slashing down at Wu Zhangkong.

This time, Su Yu sensed that his Karate Chop was vastly different from before.

Lighting up his Soul Ring not only increased the damage of Fighting Attribute Energy, but also greatly enhanced his control over it.

Wu Zhangkong remained unhurried in the face of Su Yu's attack. With a flash of his body, he dodged it.

At that point, Wu Zhangkong had widened the distance from the others, leaving only Su Yu nearby.

This is bad! Su Yu thought.

Wu Zhangkong's belt stabbed toward Su Yu's vital points.

"No, it's too fast!"

Su Yu could not see the speed of Wu Zhangkong's attack at all.

"You've been eliminated!"

Wu Zhangkong's figure vanished from before Su Yu, and the attack from just now had not even landed.

"This is two rings? Isn't that cheating?"

Next, Tang Wulin and the others were eliminated one by one under Wu Zhangkong's fierce attacks.

Afterward, the four stood in a row!

No, it was four people and one Pokémon!

Snorlax stood to Su Yu's left, while Gu Yue stood on his other side.

Wu Zhangkong stood before them with a gloomy expression.

"You've truly disappointed me!"

"Teacher Wu, this is our first time working together. It's only natural that we don't have coordination!" Xie Xie raised his hand and said.

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "It's true that this is your first time working together, so I won't blame you for lacking coordination. But for the next month, don't you dare complain about being tired."

"Don't, Teacher Wu!"

At that moment, Su Yu stood quietly where he was, thinking about the battle just now.

If I could have seen the attack's trajectory clearly, could I have dodged it?

Suddenly, he remembered a move!

Fighting Move: Detect!

Effect: Completely evades the opponent's attack. Repeated use is likely to fail.

There was another Normal-type move with a similar effect: Protect!

The two moves were fundamentally different.

Detect saw through the opponent's movements to block their attacks, while Protect condensed a shield to block them.

"Looks like I need to practice Detect!"

Su Yu acted as soon as he thought of it. He directed the Fighting Attribute Energy he controlled toward his eyes, and in the next second, the scene before him changed.

The surrounding environment seemed to slow down.

However, he could only maintain that state for a short time before Su Yu had to withdraw from it.

His eyes felt as though they were burning, and tears began streaming down uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with you?" Gu Yue froze when she saw the tears on Su Yu's face.

"You didn't cry just because you got scolded, did you?" Xie Xie called out loudly.

Su Yu glared fiercely at Xie Xie. "I just got sand in my eyes!"

"Alright, go do your physical training! Your body is the foundation of a Soul Master!" Wu Zhangkong turned and left after speaking.

"Let's go!" Tang Wulin was the first to run toward the field.

Su Yu first recalled Snorlax into its Poké Ball, then jogged to the field as well and began running.

At that moment, Tang Wulin came up beside Su Yu and asked, "Su Yu, what was that thing you gave me before?"

"You mean the Energy Cube?"

"This is an Energy Cube? But the Team Rocket doesn't seem to sell Energy Cubes with that kind of effect!" Xie Xie interjected.

Earlier, after Tang Wulin ate the Energy Cube Su Yu had given him, his hungry stomach instantly felt full.

It was as though he had eaten hundreds of pounds of food, and after finishing it, he could even feel his blood and vitality surging.

Tang Wulin had never expected such an effect, so he desperately wanted to know what that little cube was.

If he could eat this for every meal, he could use the time he spent eating to cultivate his Soul Power and forge.

"This is an Energy Cube specially made by the Team Rocket for Snorlax. Snorlax is the Pokémon I summoned earlier!"

"Oh." Tang Wulin nodded.

At that moment, Gu Yue asked, "Excuse me! Is Snorlax a Soul Beast?"