Was running training useful?
It certainly helped a little, but that depended on the circumstances.
Jiang Mingyuan's stance was: I can fly. Why should I run?
And he had to run while carrying a twenty-jin Iron Garment. The wretched thing weighed on his shoulders until they ached. With the sun beating down, he ended up drenched in sweat.
All he could say was that Wu Changkong had truly learned the essence of Shrek.
On the field, Wu Changkong quietly watched the three of them. The icy heartthrob adored by countless girls actually wore a trace of distress.
The less gifted worked hard, while the talented ones were each lazier than the last.
Still, with Jiang Mingyuan so lackadaisical now, he probably hadn't been particularly diligent over the past three years, either. Even so, he had reached level 28 and become a Level Two Designer.
Just how terrifying was his talent!
Wu Changkong clenched his fists and silently swore that he had to help Jiang Mingyuan and Xie Xie break this bad habit.
That evening, streetlights illuminated the edges of the field.
"During this month of special training, I'll focus on developing your teamwork and bringing out each of your strengths."
"Next, I'll give you three minutes to discuss tactics. The three of you will challenge me together. Of course, to keep things fair, I'll lower my cultivation accordingly." Wu Changkong paused.
He had meant to say level 30, but after glancing at Jiang Mingyuan, he decided that wasn't quite safe enough.
He held up four fingers.
"I'll suppress my Soul Power to level 40 and use neither Soul Skills nor my Martial Soul." He took a wooden sword from his Storage Soul Tool and held it in his hand.
There wasn't much to discuss, really. They knew nothing about Wu Changkong's fighting style.
Tang Wulin took the main offensive role, bringing out the Thousand Refinement Tungsten Steel Hammers he used for forging. Xie Xie summoned two small daggers. As an agility-type Soul Master, he would constantly watch for openings to coordinate his attacks with Tang Wulin.
Jiang Mingyuan activated Martial Soul Possession, his body giving off a faint golden glow that lit up the surroundings.
The moment the match began, cold emanated from Wu Changkong, coating his wooden sword in a shell of frost.
Using the elemental properties contained within one's Martial Soul without releasing it was a fairly common technique.
Wu Changkong hoped this icy shell would protect his wooden sword from being burned to nothing by the Phoenix Flame.
Several pale golden feathers drifted down, applying buffs to Tang Wulin and Xie Xie that increased their strength and speed, reduced their Soul Skill consumption, and more.
Tang Wulin swung a hammer and hurled it like a meteor hammer, with his gold-patterned blue silver grass wound around its handle.
Facing the oncoming hammer, Wu Changkong flicked his wooden sword upward and deflected it.
Flames formed a longbow. Jiang Mingyuan drew the string, aimed at Wu Changkong, and loosed an arrow.
Wu Changkong flicked his wrist, thrusting his sword tip straight into the flaming arrow and cleaving it apart.
Tang Wulin wasn't idle, either. After retrieving his forging hammer, he gripped a large hammer in each hand. Under Jiang Mingyuan's covering fire, he advanced toward Wu Changkong step by step.
"Teacher Wu, watch out."
Tang Wulin swung his hammers with such force that the air roared. Wu Changkong knew better than to meet him head-on. With slight shifts of his feet, he deftly evaded Tang Wulin's attacks.
Xie Xie tightened his grip on his daggers. At some point, he had slipped behind Wu Changkong, and now he thrust both blades forward.
Wu Changkong turned his wrist, sweeping his wooden sword behind his back. Clang! Clang! Two crisp rings marked the blocking of Xie Xie's attacks.
But it wasn't over yet.
The next to enter the fray was Jiang Mingyuan.
Jiang Mingyuan lowered his body as far as he could, tensed his legs, and burst forward with an explosive push.
By the time Wu Changkong dealt with Xie Xie and turned back around, Jiang Mingyuan was already right in front of him. A fireball condensed in his palm, and he slapped it against Wu Changkong's abdomen. The fireball exploded immediately, catching Wu Changkong off guard.
With a beat of his pale golden wings, Jiang Mingyuan flew diagonally backward, escaping Wu Changkong's attack range.
Wu Changkong knew he could no longer hold back. His steps quickened, and his figure began to turn illusory. This was none other than the Tang Sect's secret technique, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
Neither Tang Wulin nor Xie Xie could keep up with Wu Changkong's movements.
The wooden sword in his hand seemed to have learned how to create shadow clones. They barely saw him move, yet his blade became dozens of overlapping sword shadows, thrusting toward Tang Wulin in a dense shower like raindrops.
Tang Wulin immediately brought his two hammers together to block. Jiang Mingyuan and Xie Xie seized the opening to launch their own attacks.
The fingers of Jiang Mingyuan's right hand danced, conjuring dozens of fireballs out of thin air that rained down one after another. He extended his left hand toward Xie Xie, instantly coating his Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger in pale golden fire. A closer look would have revealed a faint thread of blood-red hidden within.
Wu Changkong wanted to retreat, but Tang Wulin wasn't about to let him go. Blue silver grass had already crept out and wound itself around Wu Changkong's wooden sword.
Wu Changkong pulled his sword back, but the blue silver grass delayed him for a split second. The two forging hammers opened a gap for an instant, then clamped down on the wooden sword.
Wu Changkong tugged, but couldn't pull it free. He thought that perhaps the strength hidden within Tang Wulin's body was even greater than he had imagined.
Faced with the combined assault from Jiang Mingyuan and Xie Xie, he decisively let go, abandoning the wooden sword outright.
Xie Xie stood beside Tang Wulin, and Jiang Mingyuan quietly landed as well.
A hint of a smile finally appeared on Wu Changkong's icy face. These three children had done wonderfully.
Less than a minute had passed since the spar began, yet they had already made him suffer a setback.
Still, he wouldn't let them keep the upper hand from here on.
"You three had better be careful."
Wu Changkong slapped his right hand against his waist and pulled off his belt.
Tang Wulin reacted swiftly, covering Jiang Mingyuan's eyes.
"Don't look, Brother Yuan."
Jiang Mingyuan pulled Tang Wulin's hand away. What was there that he couldn't look at?
Wu Changkong held the belt and gave it a shake. The previously supple belt instantly became rigid. It was actually a sword.
Flexible swords had been common equipment for assassins in ancient times. Some women also concealed such items on their bodies for their own safety.
Since Wu Changkong had joined the Tang Sect, it was only natural for him to use something like this. Although assassination wasn't Tang Bai's main business on the Douluo Continent these days, those skills were still what had built its foundations. One couldn't forget one's roots.
Xie Xie felt the temperature rising, a sharp, stinging heat spreading across his skin. Instinct drove him away from Jiang Mingyuan. Twenty percent of the flames on Jiang Mingyuan's body had already turned blood-red.
Wu Changkong could sense the temperature of Jiang Mingyuan's Phoenix Flame steadily climbing.
There were more surprises in store!
Wu Changkong felt he must have saved the world in his previous life to have encountered such an outstanding student.
Jiang Mingyuan flew more than ten meters into the air. Vast amounts of Soul Power evaporated from his body, and wisps of flame drifted out, gathering into a dazzling, scorching disc before him.
He drew a deep breath, his chest swelling high, then abruptly bent his elbows and pulled his tightly clenched fists to his waist.
The next second, Jiang Mingyuan let out a thunderous roar. Driving power through his waist and abdomen, he fired both fists forward like cannonballs blasting from their barrels! They struck the flaming disc before him. Countless flaming fist shadows shot through it.
Phoenix Hundred-Crack Fist!