Combat Training

The morning sun filtered through scattered clouds and fell gently across the vast earth.

Warm with the tenderness of waking and brimming with life, a new day quietly began in the bright, peaceful dawn.

They all had new lessons scheduled that day.

Besides their regular combat training in the morning, they also had to choose a class monitor.

The rest of the lessons would be targeted training for the class tournament.

In truth, Wu Changkong had found himself in a difficult position when choosing the roster.

If he sent Li Qingyue, Xie Xie, and Na'er onto the field together, it would frankly be bullying.

As far as Wu Changkong knew, Class One had only three Second Ring Soul Masters.

Class Five also had three.

And he could clearly sense that Li Qingyue's Soul Power Level was probably already very close to Third Ring.

That level of Soul Power both surprised him and made him wary.

The same could hardly be said of the others.

Even if Li Qingyue was only a Support Soul Master,

with such an overwhelming Soul Power Level, defeating Class One would be no challenge at all.

But if Wu Changkong arranged things that way, his teaching ability would never come into play.

The problem was that, without Li Qingyue and the other two, the remaining students were hardly up to the task.

Not that they might be useless—they were useless in the literal sense.

Aside from the boy named Tang Wulin, who had at least some fighting skills,

the rest were either Support Soul Masters or could barely contribute anything.

Zhou Changxi's Martial Soul was decent enough, but he was only First Ring.

He was still a long way from Second Ring, let alone capable of fighting powerful Second Ring Soul Masters.

Faced with this, Wu Changkong was caught between a rock and a hard place.

So the roster he finally settled on consisted of Zhou Changxi, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin.

In the end, he left Li Qingyue and Na'er off the team, though neither of them minded.

Once the morning lessons were over, they were scheduled for a special combat class that evening.

It was Wu Changkong's signature combat training.

Besides the three competitors, he had made a point of bringing Li Qingyue and Na'er along.

After a short rest in the afternoon and dinner that evening, the five of them arrived at the Combat Training Room.

The Combat Training Room was rather unusual. It looked a little rough,

but it had all the basic facilities, so it was adequately equipped.

Wu Changkong took his place, his calm gaze slowly sweeping over the five youths before him.

Four boys and one girl, to be precise. There was scrutiny in his eyes.

He was certain Li Qingyue was the strongest among them.

Next came Na'er, then Xie Xie, followed by Tang Wulin, with Zhou Changxi last.

In terms of talent alone, Zhou Changxi could not compare with the others.

But his level was what one would expect of an ordinary child.

To reach Second Ring at their age required not only a powerful Martial Soul, but ample resources.

Under normal circumstances, Xie Xie could not have reached Second Ring at his age.

But Xie's Mother was still alive, and the Xie Family had begun pouring more and more resources into him.

Moreover, he often stayed close to Li Qingyue. Perhaps Li Qingyue's bloodline—or his inheritance—was simply too powerful.

Even casual contact with Li Qingyue had made Xie Xie's cultivation speed and abilities in every respect far surpass those of ordinary people.

Xie Xie himself knew nothing of this.

But Xie's Mother had a vague inkling, though she concealed it extremely well.

Perhaps it was also because Xie Xie's father still had not appeared, even by the time of Xie's Mother's death.

At this stage, she held the family's resources more tightly than ever.

She invested even more of them in Xie Xie's development, hoping with all her heart that her son would shine brighter.

That was why Xie Xie's Soul Power Level had risen steadily of late.

He had not only broken through level twenty but had already reached level twenty-four or twenty-five.

With the Xie Family's full support, he had even visited the Spirit Pagoda two or three times.

His Soul Spirit had also evolved from an ordinary hundred-year Soul Spirit to one roughly four or five hundred years old.

Ordinarily, Xie Xie should have been stronger than Na'er in his current state.

But the problem lay with Na'er's Martial Soul. Or rather, the Martial Soul of the Na'er inhabiting this body was the Silver Dragon Spear.

And although she was only Second Ring, her Soul Rings were an uncanny purple.

Whether it was because they suited Na'er herself or for some other reason, her Soul Rings were purple.

In overall strength, then, Na'er far surpassed Xie Xie.

Wu Changkong did not know all these details.

But that did not mean he could not sense how strong they were.

The one he remained most wary of was Li Qingyue.

Even Wu Changkong himself could faintly sense a trace of danger from him.

It was not a strong feeling.

But Wu Changkong was a Soul Emperor, and he possessed Two-Word Battle Armor.

For the boy before him to pose a threat even so, his talent and strength were almost absurd.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wu Changkong had no intention of wasting words.

He said evenly, "You'll have this combat training class every evening from now on. Consider it extra training just for you."

"Make the most of it. What you learn here will help you greatly in the future."

"Now, all of you come at me. Show me everything you've got and let me see the strength of your Soul Power."

As he spoke, Wu Changkong looked calmly at the five before him.

Zhou Changxi was the first to step forward.

He took a deep breath. Hair rapidly sprouted along his arms, and the phantom of a Baboon suddenly appeared behind him.

Without a moment's pause, he charged straight at Wu Changkong.

Tang Wulin fell silent for a second at the sight of Zhou Changxi's lone Soul Ring.

His gaze darted over the other three.

Xie Xie stood there casually, one hand resting on his hip.

A faint arrogance glinted in his eyes, setting his expression apart from the others.

Where Xie Xie stood, he seemed to be shielding the two behind him.

They were the breathtakingly beautiful boy and the equally lovely girl.

To be honest, Tang Wulin merely thought Li Qingyue was exceptionally good-looking.

But toward the girl behind him, Na'er, he always felt an inexplicable fondness.

Or perhaps it was an urge to be close to her. The feeling was powerful, yet he had no idea why he felt it.

Xie Xie felt nothing in particular about Tang Wulin's gaze.

He turned his head slightly to look at Li Qingyue behind him.

When Li Qingyue did not move, Xie Xie simply watched Zhou Changxi charge at Wu Changkong.

Zhou Changxi was actually starting to panic.

He had neither exceptional talent nor great strength.

Yet everyone else stood still. He had charged out first, and not one person had followed him. All he could do was grit his teeth and keep going.

Watching Zhou Changxi rush toward him with a fighting style devoid of technique and a mediocre, rather feeble Martial Soul, Wu Changkong felt little of anything.

He calmly raised a hand without even using his Martial Soul.

With that casual motion, a wooden branch appeared in his hand. He flicked it lightly forward.

In Wu Changkong's hand, the branch was like a keen-edged longsword.

With an offhand upward flick, he sent Zhou Changxi flying. The boy slammed heavily into the floor nearby.