Flender's stern voice rang out, and everyone immediately stopped chatting and stood in a row. Behind him, Zhao Wuji followed close on his heels.
Standing to one side, Li Changsheng held a slip of paper in his hand. His expression was calm as he looked at the Shrek Seven Devils before him and said:
"In the days ahead, you may struggle to adjust and want to give up, but I can tell you clearly that if you persevere, the results will be beyond your imagination!"
"If you truly want to become Little Monsters, grit your teeth and keep going! Now, I'll devise a specialized cultivation plan for each of you."
Only after he handed out all the slips of paper did they understand what they needed to train.
Stepping on wooden stakes, shattering bowls with controlled force, restricted one-on-one combat, special team encounter combat, and so on.
These exercises were described very clearly on the paper. The more everyone read, the harder they seemed, and at first glance, they hardly appeared to help with cultivation at all!
"I know you're all puzzled, but these are only the exercises everyone must practice. I also have individual plans to assign to each of you."
"But a road must be walked one step at a time. Start with these."
Li Changsheng waved his hand, and several rows of porcelain bowls stacked higher than Zhao Wuji instantly appeared in the clearing. At a rough glance, there were probably several hundred.
"Teacher Changsheng, how big is your storage space? Did you use it all to store bowls?"
Looking at the bowls stacked far taller than himself, Ma Hongjun's eyes nearly popped out. There were actually more bowls than he had eaten his way through!?
"These are all for you to use. Without using Soul Skills, shatter them with your Soul Power alone. If only a small piece breaks off, your Soul Power output is too low. If it explodes outright, your output is too high. But if you can make it shatter just right, that's the ideal result!"
The purpose of shattering bowls with controlled force was to let them release and withdraw their Soul Power at will. This would prevent excessive waste of Soul Power and could even allow them to create new Soul Skills.
"Since today is the first day, I'll walk you through it once."
As he spoke, Li Changsheng casually picked up a porcelain bowl. Platinum-colored Soul Power surged in his hand, gradually enveloping the entire bowl. Slowly, cracks began spreading across the little bowl.
Crack!
Bang!
A crisp shattering sound rang out. Not a single fragment flew outward; like sand, all the fragments of the little bowl fell straight to the ground.
"Wow!"
All seven exclaimed in unison. Li Changsheng had very clearly demonstrated perfect control!
Afterward, Flender and Zhao Wuji both tried as well. The former could also shatter the bowl perfectly, while Zhao Wuji struggled somewhat, though he barely passed.
Having reached the cultivation level of a Soul Saint, their control over Soul Power was up to standard no matter what.
"Once you can shatter a bowl perfectly in this exercise, you don't need to keep trying. You can move straight to the next stage. Does anyone else want to try? I can guide you now, but later, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
"I'll do it."
The speaker was none other than Li Changsheng's personal disciple, Tang San. He walked forward confidently, picked up a little bowl, and began releasing his Soul Power.
Unsurprisingly, the little bowl shattered perfectly as well. After all, he had studied under Li Changsheng since his days at the Junior Soul Master Academy, so naturally, he was highly proficient in controlling Soul Power.
Xiao Wu went next, and she could do the same. Even without Li Changsheng's guidance, as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, she should have been able to achieve it.
"You're amazing, Third Brother!"
"Aren't you just as good, Xiao Wu? Now we can move on to the next stage."
Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu pass so easily, Dai Mubai and the others refused to be outdone. Each picked up a little bowl and began experimenting.
Bang!!
For a moment, the sounds of explosions came from everywhere.
"Stop! You're too impatient. Little San and Xiao Wu have studied under me since they were six, so naturally, their mastery in this area surpasses that of many others. I think you still need more practice."
Li Changsheng shook his head. Looking them over, he saw that Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai had both made their bowls explode, while Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar had merely broken theirs.
The two outcomes directly revealed their respective characteristics.
"Zhu Zhuqing, you're an Agility Attack System Soul Master, so the requirements for your Soul Power control are even stricter. When to strike a target and cripple rather than kill, and when to strike straight at a vital point and kill with one blow-these are all things you need to consider."
"Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, you're Power Attack System Soul Masters. Improper control will cause unnecessary expenditure of your Soul Power. Once you run out of Soul Power in battle, who will suffer? Ning Rongrong and Oscar!"
"Next are Ning Rongrong and Oscar. You're Auxiliary System Soul Masters, so your Soul Power output matters greatly as well. Too much is wasteful; too little provides insufficient enhancement."
Li Changsheng's string of remarks made everyone lower their heads, because they could find nothing wrong with anything he had said. They were simply riddled with openings!
Watching the children lower their heads in acknowledgment of their mistakes, Flender shot a smug look at the dumbstruck Zhao Wuji beside him.
"Well, Old Zhao? Isn't Changsheng awesome?"
"He's incredible! Who'd have thought there was so much to Soul Power control alone?"
Zhao Wuji truly hadn't expected Li Changsheng to be so charismatic once he became serious. Even a grown man like him loved it!
"Third Brother, this is my first time seeing Teacher Changsheng so stern!"
"Ahem, Xiao Wu, stop talking. Teacher is lecturing us. Listen carefully!"
After giving everyone a few minutes to reflect, Li Changsheng spoke again. This time, however, he wasn't very stern, and instead said gently:
"It's only the first day, after all. Take your time. You're all exceptionally talented children. As long as you take it seriously, they're just a few bowls!"
"Then, Teacher Changsheng, can we hear about the training that comes afterward?" Ma Hongjun couldn't resist raising his hand to ask Li Changsheng.
Hearing this, Li Changsheng didn't keep them in suspense and said directly:
"Of course there's more, but you'll be told about those exercises at specific times. For now, get back to shattering bowls. I want to see just how many hundreds of bowls you fellows will break during practice!"
"You're underestimating us! A few dozen will be enough!"
Dai Mubai shouted excitedly. He was genuinely fired up now. If Little San and Xiao Wu could do it, why couldn't he!?
Shatter! Bowls were what he would shatter!
Only once everyone had properly begun training did Li Changsheng pull Flender aside.
"Flender, sorry for the trouble, but please open the hot spring room. Keep several buckets of hot water ready there at all times."
As he spoke, Li Changsheng took out several packets of medicinal herbs. "These are for medicinal baths after they finish training. They can strengthen their bodies, relax their bodies and minds, and relieve fatigue."
"No problem. You've really thought of everything, Changsheng!"
After the brief explanation, Flender didn't hesitate in the slightest. Taking the medicinal herbs, he flew off toward a spot nearby.