Combat Training

It was noon, and the sun blazed overhead.

Sunlight poured down, baking the entire training ground.

Tang San stood at the edge, looking around curiously.

The place looked like an arena. Its floor was paved with diamond, polished smooth, while an outer ring of yellow stones marked the training area.

"This is the training ground reserved for teachers."

With his hands behind his back, Yu Xiaogang explained, "The special training class will gather here for training on the first two days of every week."

Soon, Ming Dashan approached from a distance with several students.

Yu Chen had his arms folded across his chest, his posture relaxed.

Xiao Wu skipped along, her ponytail swaying, brimming with youthful energy.

Xiao Chenyu stood to one side, his hands hanging obediently at his sides.

There were also two older students: the tall, thin one was Liu Long, and the slightly plump one was Ling Feng.

"Teacher, don't Liu Long and Ling Feng lack Soul Rings?"

Tang San asked quietly.

He was not surprised to see Xiao Chenyu here. After all, he was a Soul Master too.

But were Liu Long and Ling Feng also qualified to participate?

A few days earlier, the two had represented the noble students in the grove, where Tang San had given them a thorough beating. In his eyes, their strength was about on par with Wang Sheng's.

"They're both close to level ten."

Yu Xiaogang's tone was cool, carrying a trace of disdain.

After word of the special training class spread through the academy, quite a few parents had sent Ming Dashan gifts, hoping to squeeze their children into it.

Personal combat instruction from a Soul Ancestor was an opportunity you could not find even with a lantern in hand.

Liu Long and Ling Feng had gotten in through connections.

As far as Yu Xiaogang was concerned, dragons did not dwell among snakes.

Tang San, Yu Chen, and Xiao Wu were the true geniuses, destined to reach the pinnacle of the Soul Master World.

As for the other children, no matter how powerful their backgrounds or how many gifts they sent, they were only fit to stand at the sidelines and gaze up at them.

"Xiaogang, everyone's here. Let's begin."

Ming Dashan glanced at the students standing in a row and spoke.

Yu Xiaogang took two steps forward, his gaze slowly sweeping over each face.

"The special training has two parts. The first is practical combat instruction, which Principal Ming will personally oversee."

"The second is tactical coordination, which I will teach. I'll devise different tactical plans based on the characteristics of each of your Martial Souls."

"Now, those whose names I call, step forward-Ling Feng, Liu Long!"

The two at the side exchanged a glance. They had not expected to be called first.

They had joined the training only to build a closer relationship with Ming Dashan. Once it was over, they could call themselves the principal's disciples.

In Nuoding City, a powerful Soul Ancestor was like a divine pillar anchoring the seas.

The two jogged to the center of the arena, their faces nervous yet expectant.

At least it was a chance to show their faces.

"Ling Feng's Martial Soul is a swallow. A Beast Martial Soul cannot possess its user before obtaining a Soul Ring. Liu Long's Martial Soul is a staff, which gives him an advantage."

"Neither of you will use your Martial Souls. Compete with fists and feet alone."

Yu Xiaogang took out a notebook and opened it to a blank page, his pen hovering above it, ready to record.

Ling Feng and Liu Long exchanged a look, assumed their stances, and charged.

They traded blows for more than a dozen exchanges.

In the end, Liu Long swept Ling Feng's lower leg, sending him crashing onto his backside with a yelp.

"Liu Long wins."

Frowning, Yu Xiaogang quickly wrote something on the page.

At the sidelines, Yu Chen nodded.

Their fighting seemed chaotic, with Ling Feng running and hopping wildly while Liu Long swung his fists at random. But Yu Chen noticed that they were repeating the same few sets of moves.

I heard both their fathers serve in the city defense force. Perhaps they're using military fist techniques.

Yu Chen thought to himself.

"Next pair, Xiao Wu and Xiao Chenyu."

Yu Xiaogang looked up and tapped the paper with his finger.

"Ah-"

Xiao Chenyu shuddered on the spot and walked forward with a miserable expression. "Sister Xiao Wu, please go easy on me."

A few days earlier, Xiao Wu had given him a vicious beating in the grove.

The bruises on his back still had not faded.

Xiao Wu rolled her wrists and flashed her small white teeth. "Hehe, Little Yu, you'd better pray for good fortune."

The two took their positions.

Ming Dashan waved his hand, and Xiao Chenyu moved first.

But he did not attack. Having learned his lesson last time, he avoided meeting Xiao Wu head-on and instead circled along the arena's edge.

Xiao Wu chased him all over the arena. Several times, she almost caught him, only for Xiao Chenyu to slip away, making her stamp her feet in anger.

They tangled for a while.

Xiao Wu seized an opening. Her first Soul Ring lit up, and she unleashed Waist Bow.

Xiao Chenyu flew into the air, flipped twice, and landed sprawled on the ground with a dull thud.

"Xiao Wu wins."

Yu Xiaogang made a couple of notes in his notebook, then added, "Xiao Chenyu performed reasonably well too. He's learned to avoid strong points and strike at weak ones."

"Hmph."

Xiao Wu tossed her braid and snorted.

She clearly had not had her fill of fighting. Xiao Chenyu had been as slippery as a loach, and she had chased him for ages before finding an opening. She had barely landed any solid punches.

Xiao Chenyu scrambled up, dusty and bedraggled, and bowed to Yu Xiaogang. "Thank you for your guidance, Grandmaster."

The title "Grandmaster" rolled smoothly off his tongue.

"Mm."

Yu Xiaogang remained expressionless, but inwardly, he felt immensely pleased.

He raised his chin slightly and turned to the next page of his notebook.

"Last pair, Tang San and Yu Chen."

Yu Chen strode into the arena.

In fact, he had been the one to suggest that Ming Dashan establish this special training class.

Pokémon moves and Soul Masters' Soul Skills were, in the end, two different things.

Pokémon moves were used by Pokémon.

Soul Masters, however, had to enter battle themselves. The timing of Soul Skills and the pathways through which Soul Power flowed were things he would never learn without practice.

He could not keep hiding behind Xiao Bai in battle.

Besides, he had a second Martial Soul.

Combat training was especially important!

"Yu Chen, don't use your Martial Soul's fire abilities."

Yu Xiaogang spoke up.

"Why?"

Yu Chen instinctively asked.

Fire attacks were Xiao Bai's strongest weapon. Even her wind element came second.

"Your flames counter Blue Silver Grass too heavily."

Yu Xiaogang said bluntly, "The purpose of this training is to improve combat skills, not to win through elemental suppression. That wouldn't reveal the true gap between you."

Yu Chen nodded.

Indeed, if he opened with Sunny Day, no one here except Ming Dashan could withstand it.

"Begin."

At Yu Xiaogang's command, Tang San moved first.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

His Soul Power surged, and several strands of Blue Silver Grass emerged, rapidly spreading along the ground. Like snakes, the grassy vines coiled toward Yu Chen's ankles.

Yu Chen did not dodge, allowing the strands to bind him tightly.

He carefully tested the sensation. The Blue Silver Grass was slender, resilient, and smooth, and it held him quite firmly.

It worked already?

A flicker of joy had just risen in Tang San's heart when, a second later, Yu Chen tensed his calves. With a series of sharp cracks, the strands of Blue Silver Grass snapped, falling to the ground in broken lengths.

At the sight, Yu Xiaogang was slightly startled.

After Tang San absorbed his first Soul Ring, his Blue Silver Grass had become vastly tougher.

An ordinary Soul Master caught in it would have had to struggle for a while.

Yet Yu Chen had broken free through sheer brute force?

"First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Entanglement!"

Rather than retreat, Tang San advanced, spreading the fingers of his right hand as his first Soul Ring lit up.

This time, it was no mere probing attack. Dozens of vines surged from beneath his feet at once, blanketing the sky as they swept toward Yu Chen.

"So powerful!"

At the sidelines, Xiao Chenyu felt chills run down his back as he watched the Blue Silver Grass fill the air.

Back in the grove, this very move had trapped him.

Tang San's first Soul Skill was anything but simple. Once caught, the more one struggled, the tighter it bound them, and it also carried a paralyzing toxin.

After that fight, he had taken ages to recover.

This time, Yu Chen did not try to withstand it head-on.

With a thought from him, the Xiao Bai Dragon on his shoulder beat her wings fiercely.

"First Soul Skill, Hurricane."

A white rush of air swept forward with a howling roar.

Caught in the hurricane, the Blue Silver Grass instantly thrashed in every direction.

Tang San swayed as well. The next moment, the gale actually lifted his feet off the ground and sent him flying backward, completely out of control.

Thud.

Tang San's back struck the ground, and he rolled twice before steadying himself.

Silence fell around the arena.

"W-what kind of Soul Skill is that? A gust of wind just blew him away?"

Xiao Chenyu's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment too.

"As expected of a six-hundred-year Soul Ring!"

"Tang San's Soul Power is still too low. He has no way to fight back against this hurricane!" Yu Xiaogang said in astonishment.

"That's not all."

Ming Dashan folded his arms, his gaze settling on the Xiao Bai Dragon.

"This move should have an attack forme as well. He simply didn't use it."

His Sword Martial Soul was Wind-type, so he knew all too well how the wind element could be wielded.

That hurricane had only blown someone away. But if Yu Chen wished, he could mix a few Wind Blades into it, and Tang San would suffer far more than a simple tumble.

Outside the arena.

Tang San got up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

He looked a little dejected. That attack really had caught him completely off guard.

He still had many methods he had not used: Hidden Weapon techniques, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. He had not had time to deploy a single one.

But Yu Chen's Soul Skill was too powerful. It had given him no opportunity to act.

Inside the arena.

Yu Chen looked at Tang San and smiled. "Let's continue. Tang San, you're capable of far more than this, so don't worry about the rules."

He was not satisfied with such a hasty finish.

What he wanted to learn were real techniques.

Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record was a treasure. If he could pick up even a smattering of it during combat, he would have gained a tremendous bargain.

Tang San paused, then looked up at Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang nodded slowly. Ming Dashan also gave a slight nod.

Tang San turned his right hand over, and a pebble appeared in his palm. A sharp edge entered his gaze.

"Yu Chen, watch out."