Growing stronger! Challenging the Heavenly Apex Class [Two updates]

By the time Ning Chengyi woke up, it was already afternoon.

Su Yao kept looking at him strangely that afternoon.

It left Ning Chengyi feeling a little uneasy.

He had seen that look on Bibi Dong before, though hers had been somewhat different.

But he and Su Yao had known each other for less than three days.

Had I stood out too much yesterday? Was Teacher Su Yao looking at me like that because she was so eager to nurture talent?

Ning Chengyi shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Instead, he followed Su Yao's instructions and performed dozens of sets of coordination exercises that afternoon.

Each set demanded a different level of coordination.

They started with the simplest, which posed no challenge to Ning Chengyi at all.

But as the difficulty increased, he gradually found that his limbs seemed to refuse to obey him. Some of the unnatural movements were even more ridiculous than yoga poses.

It required not just coordination between his limbs, but control from his brain as well.

By the time he finished the full routine, night was falling.

"Very good, very good. You've reached the beginner level now. You've developed endurance and coordination. Tonight, we'll train your perception and reflexes."

Su Yao praised Ning Chengyi as she watched him dripping with sweat.

"Reflexes?" Ning Chengyi asked instinctively. With a movement of Su Yao's delicate hand, dozens of Soul Tools appeared before them.

"It's simple. Use your perception to dodge the hidden weapons these Soul Tools fire. Each round lasts half an hour. If you're hit fewer than five times within that half hour, you pass. After that, we'll increase the difficulty step by step."

"If you're hit more than five times, the timer resets. We'll keep going until you succeed!"

"Don't forget the weights on your arms and legs."

Su Yao pointed at the Soul Tools before them. Each resembled a table tennis ball launcher, but fired with far greater speed and force, rivaling even a tennis ball launcher.

Of course, this was only the initial training.

"Next, I'll seal your soul power. You'll have to rely entirely on your physical senses. Are you ready?"

Ning Chengyi said nothing and simply nodded. Su Yao's soul power instantly enveloped him, sealing his own completely. Then she turned off all the lights. In an instant, the special training room became pitch-black and frighteningly quiet.

"Special training... begin!"

As Su Yao's voice faded, rubber balls shot from every direction like cannon shells.

The rubber balls sliced through the air. Ning Chengyi concentrated and held his breath, relying entirely on his ears to distinguish the faint sounds. Every pore on his body seemed to open as his skin sensed the subtle movements of the air.

Whoosh!

He sidestepped the first rubber ball. Before he could even smile, the second, third, fourth... countless rubber balls came firing at him relentlessly, as though they cost nothing, leaving him struggling to keep up!

Here, he had to rely entirely on perception to catch those faint disturbances and respond to sudden danger.

"One minute left!"

After fending off who knew how many waves, he suddenly heard Su Yao's voice coming from every direction. Ning Chengyi's concentration slipped for a moment, and the third rubber ball slammed into him, followed immediately by the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

"Failed!"

"Again!"

Ning Chengyi brushed the unseen dust off himself, his eyes startlingly bright in the darkness. His refusal to accept defeat surged up, and he closed his eyes as he spoke.

The moment his words fell, another wave of attacks began.

He lost count of how many times he repeated it. Every attempt fell just short.

Just a little more, and he would have passed.

The first time, he had lasted twenty-nine minutes and fallen short by three balls because Su Yao had called out the time.

The second time, it was again because Su Yao called out a reminder.

The third time, it was still because of her.

Whenever he was on the verge of succeeding, Su Yao's reminder would ring out.

One more chance. Stay calm and focused, Ning Chengyi told himself over and over.

He could no longer remember how many times he had failed and started again.

He knew only that he had to succeed this time.

"Ten, nine, eight..." Su Yao's countdown echoed through the dark training room, accompanied by the sounds of rubber balls cutting through the air.

"Time's up."

As Su Yao spoke, Ning Chengyi dodged the final rubber ball.

"Congratulations. You've completed today's task."

With those words, the lights in the training room came back on. Su Yao stood two meters in front of him, smiling warmly. Her eyes held admiration and... a hint of something he could neither explain nor define.

By the end of that night's grueling training, Ning Chengyi's sweat had dried and soaked him again over and over. His eyes looked weary, yet a trace of excitement remained deep within them.

Su Yao checked the time and told him to go back and get some proper rest. They would begin on schedule tomorrow.

Ning Chengyi dragged his exhausted body back to his room and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Even for a soul master, training this intense meant nine parts exhaustion for one part gain.

Still, Ning Chengyi was thoroughly satisfied.

Even setting aside his breakthrough in his dream, the results of today's training were almost visibly better than anything he had achieved by practicing blindly on his own. No amount of exhaustion mattered.

After waking, he returned to rigorous training.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds. He broke through two levels in those seven days.

He was now a rank-seventeen soul master.

But today, Su Yao had not called for him. Puzzled, Ning Chengyi went to her door and knocked gently. "Aren't we training today?"

His voice was quiet, but just loud enough to carry inside.

Dressed in pajamas, Su Yao sleepily checked the time and date. The date was circled, with the word "battle" written in the upper-left corner. Only then did she slowly get up. Her loose clothing did nothing to hide her ample curves, instead lending her a touch of allure.

"We're going to the Heavenly Apex Class today. You'll take them on one-on-one."

Outside the door, Ning Chengyi's eyes lit up. He had yet to achieve his goal. Ye Heng still had not backed down, so he could hardly consider his agreement with Xue Qinghe fulfilled.

"All right."

Ning Chengyi waited quietly outside until Su Yao emerged.

Today, Su Yao wore a fitted, practical outfit that outlined her graceful figure. Her collar was slightly open, and a few strands of hair fell beside her neck, adding to her captivating allure. Even Ning Chengyi could not help stealing a few extra glances.

Noticing his gaze, Su Yao turned her back to him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

She gestured with her right hand for him to follow, a mature woman's sultry smile on her face.

"Ning Chengyi will be taking on your class one-on-one today. Anyone who objects is welcome to challenge him."

Su Yao brought him to the Heavenly Apex Class and went straight to the point without wasting words.

Her announcement immediately caused an uproar among the Heavenly Apex Class students. Under Ye Heng's gaze, several Soul Grandmasters promptly stepped forward to sign up.

"Little Ye, remember this: there can only be one voice in this class. If it weren't against the rules, I'd kill you right now."

Ning Chengyi looked at Ye Heng, who was once again sitting on the sofa, and spoke in a low voice.

His words reached Ye Heng clearly, turning his face livid. Ye Heng shot Su Yao a wary glance. "You're nothing but trash hiding behind a teacher."

"A fight to the death. If you disagree, you're welcome to try!"

When it came to trading insults, Ning Chengyi had never feared anyone.

Besides, even if they truly fought, the outcome might have been uncertain when he first enrolled, but now Ning Chengyi dared to say that Ye Heng would definitely be the one to die—especially after he had absorbed the Moonlit Perching Butterfly Flower.

Watching the two clash, Su Yao interrupted. "Enough talk. Go to the sparring room."

"Hmph! Only after you can beat them and become a Soul Grandmaster will you be worthy of being my opponent!"

Ning Chengyi gave Ye Heng the middle finger, a disdainful smile on his lips, then followed Su Yao out and headed straight for the sparring room.

The Heavenly Apex Class students filed out after them, all brimming with anticipation and curiosity.