Chapter 51 – Match
Chapter 51 – Match Peng!
Zhou Zhangxi staggered backward continuously. He finally couldn’t stabilize himself from the force and landed on his butt.
However, Tang Wulin stood grounded just like before, though his upper body swayed a bit.
‘How could this be?’ Zhou Zhangxi was at a loss. If one could say he’d been defeated during the match that day due to being careless, what about today? He’d released his martial soul and even utilized his soul skill, Power Amplification, yet Tang Wulin’s strength still crushed his. It was simply unrivaled and had even forced him on his butt.
“Stop!” Wu Zhangkong commanded icily and pointed at Zhou Zhangxi. “You. Out.”
If a Power System Battle Soul Master lost to their opponent in strength during a match, then there was no longer a need to continue the match.
“Why didn’t you use your martial soul?” Wu Zhangkong eyed Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin answered, “He wanted to compete against me in strength.”
Wu Zhangkong’s expression turned frosty. “If he told you to eat shit, would you? Take on every match as if it were a battle. Winning that battle is your sole objective. Even a lion has to give its all to catch a rabbit. You can’t
allow even the slightest chance for your opponent to defeat you. You advance, wait for the next match.”
Losers were kicked out and winners were reprimanded. The stress level of the students multiplied rapidly.
“Next match.”
The second pair were Yun Xiao and Xie Xie, the two whom had stood closest to Tang Wulin and Zhou Zhangxi.
Yun Xiao, with a bitter face, begged Xie Xie to be easy with his actions.
“Please be lenient on me! I’m just anAuxiliary System Battle Soul Master. I can’t endure much.”
Xie Xie commented, “To each their own.” “Start!”
As soon as Wu Zhangkong announced this, Xie Xie dodged to the side. A yellow ring of light shone beneath his feet at almost the same time. His
speed was unimaginably fast. His Light Dragon dagger had a bright golden glow coming from it and it neared Yun Xiao within a short span of time.
Right at that moment, a miracle appeared. The white glow flashed from Yun Xiao’s body, making the students feel as if there were a flower of light before them. When Xie Xie ambitiously struck, his dagger met nothing but air.
Tang Wulin had fought twice with Xie Xie, and agreed to a third battle. Thus, he was focusing hard on this match. He realised that Yun Xiao had been holding something glimmering when Xie Xie had rushed towards him. In the blink of an eye, their positions swapped, and Xie Xie’s attack failed.
However, Xie Xie’s response was quick. When he realized that his opponent disappeared, he’d already shifted his Light Dragon Dagger backwards. It appeared that his arm had moved into an unbelievable position as if he were jointless. Light and shadow came together as if to protect his back.
Yun Xiao was quick enough to only use his soul skill once, but it was soon shrouded by Xie Xie’s Light Dragon Dagger. In addition, Yun Xiao’s soul skill didn’t allow for continuous use.
Just as Yun Xiao was about to be sliced apart by the Light Dragon Dagger, a huge palm appeared and dragged him to the side.
“Stop!”
Xie Xie turned around with the dagger at his chest. Though his actions were swift, there was no trace of panic. His small, handsome face was full of ice, causing the eyes of the girls in their class to shine.
“Not bad. You advance.” Wu Zhangkong nodded towards Xie Xie before turning towards Yun Xiao. “You activated your soul skill at the precise time. However, you had underestimated the abilities of your opponent. You should have distanced yourself from him after activating your soul skill.
When an Auxiliary System Battle Soul Master is restrained by an Agility System Battle Soul Master, you should find ways to strengthen your
chances of survival.”
“Yes. Thank you, teacher.” Yun Xiao held a round disc in his hand which seemed to have many intricate lines on its surface. He had listened to Wu Zhangkong’s words, but Yun Xiao still thought, ‘How did Tang Wulin
manage to give Xie Xie, whose skills are unrivaled, those swollen cheeks?’
Facts have proven that the Eastsea Academy’s teachers had a unique vision when determining how the classes were sorted. After almost every match, the participants would be berated by Wu Zhangkong.
Of the 20 students, eight of them were Tool Soul Masters and were not
equipped with any battle skills. Their capacity for assisting abilities were hopeless as well. Of all the Battle Soul Masters in class, three of them were close to the level of the trash martial soul, Bluesilver Grass.
Within these matches, there were even two Tool Soul Masters with no battle skills at all. They were merely pushing at each other within the duration of the match.
Although Wu Zhangkong had guessed that the caliber of the class as a
whole was bad, he hadn’t expected that it would be to this extent. If not for the free compulsory education, it would have been meaningless for the
students within this class to continue their training. Reaching the rank 20 would be next to impossible.
From the current situation, only Xie Xie had caught Wu Zhangkong’s eye within the mass of students.
“Second round starts. You and you. Both of you shall compete.” Wu Zhangkong, with a severe-looking expression, pointed at Tang Wulin and a female student.
The female student whom Wu Zhangkong pointed to was petite. She looked cute with her short light blue hair and big eyes. A glance at her direction reminded Tang Wulin of Na’er. He faintly remembered that Li Chushui was her name and that her martial soul was a cat.
“Start!”
Li Chushui gave off an impression of shyness. She bowed towards Tang Wulin before releasing her martial soul.
Half of her light blue hair turned white, and one of her blue eyes turned green. A white soul ring rose beneath her feet and a cute little white cat appeared on her shoulder.
White fur grew over her palms and claws sprang out from her fingertips. She crouched slightly and sprang agilely towards Tang Wulin’s direction.
Her actions were lithe and her speed was fast; it was her speed that had won her the previous match. Like Xie Xie, she was an Agility System Battle Soul Master.
Keeping in mind Wu Zhangkong’s remark about his previous match, Tang Wulin brought out his martial soul as well. Blades of Bluesilver Grass
appeared from his palms, and a little grass snake appeared, twirling around his wrist.
After continuously using his soul skill, Bind, continuously these past few days, he was exceptionally familiar with it. He released his vine-like
Bluesilver Grass, but the blades didn’t flow towards his opponent. Instead, they appeared around him. They weaved into a big, asymmetrical web that stood near his body.
If Li Chushui were to continue at her original speed towards Tang Wulin, she would’ve knocked into and been trapped by this web.
She seemed intimidated and halted abruptly, then got to the ground on all fours without a sound. Shifting her body to the side, it seemed as if she were about to attack Tang Wulin from his side.
Tang Wulin had tasted what it was like with Xie Xie when they were up close. He was clear that when being near an Agility System Battle Soul Master, with his own speed, he had practically no defense against such an
attack so closely. Therefore, he quickly turned his Bluesilver Grass towards Li Chushui’s direction and continued to maintain his web of defense,
waiting for the opponent to collide with his web.
Li Chushui changed positions continuously as she tried to find gaps. Tang Wulin’s gaze was nailed to her without hesitation as he waited for her move. Though his opponent’s martial soul was released at the same time as his, his opponent had been moving at high speed, so he could just wait and consume less energy than her.
With his insufficient knowledge of controlling Bluesilver Grass, it was best to stay in one place when dealing with the immense movements of his opponent.
While his opponent constantly changed directions, Tang Wulin continued to adjust his Bluesilver Grass web, fixing the blades so they looked more orderly, finding and mending any gaps or holes that may appear.
The blades of the Bluesilver Grass gave off a sparkling luster. As Tang Wulin checked his web, he found thin golden lines at the roots of the Bluesilver Grass in his palm. They were just barely visible.
Chapter 52 – Victory Streak
Chapter 52 – Victory Streak
Li Chushui was, nonetheless, only a nine-year-old child, and her fighting
experience wasn’t abundant. As Tang Wulin had expected, the continuously quick and ever-changing movements that Li Chushui used to seek her opponent’s weak points had eventually tired out her rank 11 spirit power.
She couldn’t wait any longer; she didn’t have the strength to sustain her soul skill for much longer.
Li Chushui gritted her teeth and seemed to have suddenly vanished as she maneuvered herself behind Tang Wulin with a sudden spurt of speed. At the same time, the white soul ring on her body lit up. With a wave of her claws, two blades emitting white light shot in front of her, followed by her body.
Tang Wulin obviously wasn’t as fast as her. However, his action of merely changing direction was much simpler. His Bluesilver Grass moved quicker and congealed together.
The two white blades slashed quickly at the Bluesilver Grass, a so-called trash martial soul. However, the envisioned image of Bluesilver Grass being torn to bits didn’t happen. The white blades flickered gently with light as they both disappeared, and Li Chushui crashed into the web of Bluesilver
Grass.
Long blades of blue, narrow vines twirled upwards and bound her petite body. Tang Wulin pulled his right hand into a fist and punched toward Li
Chushui’s bound figure before him. However, he abruptly stopped his fist a mere few centimeters in front of her.
Xie Xie unknowingly felt his cheeks warm up as he watched. ‘This jerk! Why didn’t he stop when he was competing with me?’
There was a flash of light in Wu Zhangkong’s eyes. ‘That’s no ordinary Bluesilver Grass! His character is free from arrogance and his control is pretty good too.’
“Tang Wulin wins.”
Tang Wulin loosened his Bluesilver Grass and helped Li Chushui steady herself. Li Chushui blushed as she exchanged glances with Tang Wulin’s large eyes that were in close proximity to her. She said to him shyly, “Thank you.”
Tang Wulin simply smiled in response, stunning her. She felt as though his smile radiated like the sun.
Round two proceeded onward and Xie Xie successfully defeated his opponent. There were 5 remaining students after that round concluded.
Tang Wulin originally thought that he would be placed against Xie Xie in his second round, but Wu Zhangkong purposely placed him away from Xie Xie. The same happened during his third round.
“Tang Wulin, Tao Liufan, both of you can start first,” Wu Zhangkong said, monotonously.
Tao Liufan wasn’t tall, but he looked quite sturdy. He had a head of messy, short, brown hair.
Both stood ground facing each other as they released their martial souls.
Tao Liufan’s martial soul was a Willow Tree. His soul power rose, and as he raised both his hands as if to support the sky, strips of willow twigs flowed out and up from both his limbs. They swayed as though they were a part of the willow tree. At first glance, it seemed similar to Tang Wulin’s
Bluesilver Grass.
Blades of Bluesilver Grass reappeared. Control type versus control type, what would happen?
This was what Wu Zhangkong was waiting for. In the match before them, Tao Liufan seemed to be abiding with the rules. With their current strength levels and under normal circumstances, a ControlSystem Battle Soul Master would’ve been advantageous in the match since none of them had a powerful soul skill.
Out of the whole class, Xie Xie was the only one with a hundred year spirit soul, while the rest only had ten year spirit souls. Therefore, Tao Liufan’s
soul ring was also a white one. What was more interesting was that he shared the same soul skill as Tang Wulin – Bind.
His spirit soul was of the snake family as well, but Tao Liufan’s spirit soul was a little green snake. His green snake looked significantly stronger than Tang Wulin’s Goldlight, both in mass and vigour.
“Start!”
Willow branches and Bluesilver Grass struck at the other at almost the same time. It looked as if the quantity of the willow’s branches held a visible
advantage; Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass only sprouted out from his right palm and there was none from his left hand.
Both had almost the same amount of control, but everyone had guessed the results by sheer comparison of quantity.
Of course, the willow branches flew in the direction of the blades of Bluesilver Grass as they intertwined in the air. Tao Liufan, having the
advantage of numbers, directed the remaining branches towards Tang Wulin in an attempt to bind him.
Tao Liufan’s gaze revealed a hint of exciteness. Though his martial soul wasn’t very strong, he felt that his willow branches were stronger than Bluesilver Grass and the current situation only served to back up his thoughts. Trees would be stronger than grass, wouldn’t they?
Tang Wulin wasn’t frantic at all when the willow’s branches arrived in front of him. Faced with its branches, he abruptly pulled on the Bluesilver Grass in his right hand, twisting their two martial soul’s together and transmitted his physical strength through their intertwined martial souls.
Tao Liufan only felt a sudden wave of strength coming towards him before his body was pulled in Tang Wulin’s direction. At this very moment, his
willow branches had been strongly bound by Tang Wulin.
Tao Liufan’s response was pretty quick. As his body was yanked into the air, he was still able to raise both his knees. ‘You wanted to pull me over right? I’ll come by and knock you out.’
However, he caught view of Tang Wulin’s expressionless face, followed by a sudden movement of his arms as he shattered all the willow branches that had bound him. He caught Tao Liufan’s lower thigh with a quick raise of his hand, and pressed him against the ground.
The tender willow branches swung profusely in an attempt to bind or push away Tang Wulin. However, struggling was useless against the strength of their opponent.
Neither of them had a powerful martial soul, and it was only through his absolute strength that Tang Wulin was able to achieve victory in the third round.
“You truly are worthy of being called a Rice Bucket; it seems all that food didn’t go to waste.” Tao Liufan threw his comments ferociously towards Tang Wulin before escaping out of the circle.
Wu Zhangkong frowned. This was not the battle he’d been expecting.
Without much doubt, Xie Xie had won another round. There was only one student who hadn’t competed at all. As the matches progressed, only three competitors remained.
The only student who hadn’t competed was a female student. This was a chubby girl who looked a little dumb.
All of the students’ gazes were directed towards Wu Zhangkong. There were three remaining students, so how would the competition proceed?
Wu Zhangkong drew a slight breath and decided, “Tang Wulin, Han Lan, both of you may compete first. The winner will compete against Xie Xie.”
Xie Xie’s face revealed a glint of triumph and he looked towards Tang Wulin with arrogance. He was trying to show that the teacher’s opinion of him was higher.
However, he didn’t realise that through his arrogance, he forgot that he was continuously competing against an opponent with the trash martial soul,
Bluesilver Grass.
However, Tang Wulin didn’t even bother a look towards Xie Xie’s direction as he returned to the competition grounds.
Although Han Lan had only experienced two rounds of matches, she had left Tang Wulin with a deep impression. It wasn’t only for her size, but also for her martial soul.
Han Lan’s martial soul was the Earth Element, a fine martial soul. Her soul power was at rank 13, and one wouldn’t have considered placing her in
Class Five by the look of her capabilities.
“Start!” The the fourth round of match started with Wu Zhangkong’s command.
Chapter 53 – Hammering Through the Stone Prison
Chapter 53 – Hammering Through the Stone Prison
As he watched Han Lan, Tang Wulin’s expression grew serene. Having observed Han Lan’s previous two battles, he had already come up with a plan for her.
A white ring twinkled beneath Han Lan’s feet before a spirit soul that looked like a lump of dirt appeared. She didn’t hesitate at all as she held up both her palms in Tang Wulin’s direction.
In response, a yellow ring of earth appeared under Tang Wulin’s feet. Stone pillars arose from the yellow ring in a flash, entrapping Tang Wulin inside a stone prison.
If it had been Xie Xie in this situation, he would have likely rushed out of the stone prison’s range as soon as Han Lan had raised her hands. However, Tang Wulin clearly didn’t possess such speed, so he hadn’t bothered moving at all.
At the peak, the stone pillars curved inwards, completely sealing off all avenues of escape.
Han Lan had won her previous two matches by controlling the earth in order to contain her opponents. Although her first soul skill was only a ten year one, it was unusually powerful as it was able to directly restrain her opponents. However, it was still a ten year soul skill and its restrictions
were not small. For example, after using this soul skill, there was a cooldown period of 20 seconds before she could use it again.
If this were a true battlefield, she would’ve likely only had one chance to use this skill.
Wu Zhangkong began counting down the seconds that Tang Wulin was trapped. If he reached ten seconds, then it would count as Tang Wulin’s loss.
Han Lan had won her first match with the same method. In the second match, however, she’d won even sooner. Her opponent had tried to rush out of the stone prison’s range as soon as the match started, but the creation of the stone prison was simply too fast. Just as he had approached the outer range of the stone prison, he’d been directly sent soaring by the top of a
stone pillar. If Wu Zhangkong hadn’t caught him, he might’ve been crippled by the fall.
Tang Wulin didn’t want to challenge the prison at the risk of being thrown to such a height, so he decided to remain stationary and let it entrap him.
“Ten…” Wu Zhangkong began to expressionlessly count down the seconds. After the first match had ended, Wu Zhangkong had said that being trapped by a Control System Battle Soul Master for more than ten seconds was no different than death. Thus, he gave them a ten second time limit. If he was
able to break out of Han Lan’s trap within ten seconds, then it would count as Han Lan’s loss. If he wasn’t able to break out, then Han Lan would win. It was just this simple and rough.
Tang Wulin wasn’t the least bit anxious as he unhurriedly raised his arms. Two gray lights flashed, then a pair of forging hammers appeared in his hands.
“Nine…” Bang!
He swung the Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers in his hands and brazenly smashed the two stone pillars in front of him. Dust flew out as the stone pillars were smashed to pieces!
The count of “eight” didn’t even leave Wu Zhangkong’s lips as Tang Wulin lifted his hammers out from the rubble.
“This…” The whole class simply stared at him and they couldn’t help but suck in a breath of air. Even Xie Xie, whom had battled with Tang Wulin before, didn’t expect Tang Wulin to use such a method to break out of the stone prison.
The eyes of Wu Zhangkong shone as he revealed an unusual expression. He nodded. “Tang Wulin is the victor.” With his eyesight, he had been able to
clearly examine the two hammers in Tang Wulin’s hands. The hammers hadn’t been reinforced by any soul power at all, thus indicating that they weren’t soul tools. Even if they had been soul tools, what level of efficacy could Tang Wulin even reach with his current soul power? ‘This brat’s
strength is truly prodigal!’
Xie Xie’s eyes widened in shock. ‘This guy was actually holding back when he fought me?’
In reality, Tang Wulin hadn’t held back at all. He simply hadn’t thought of using his forging hammers to do battle before. He had only taken out his Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers today due to his need for destructive power. He hadn’t thought that a single attack of his would have such remarkable results.
Wu Zhangkong turned towards Xie Xie. “Xie Xie, it’s your turn.”
Xie Xie leapt onto the stage. He was feeling a bit gloomy at the moment as he recalled the amount of food that Tang Wulin had eaten this morning. If he’d known earlier that he would face him in class today, then he wouldn’t have bothered to treat Tang Wulin to a meal!
Hammers in hand, Tang Wulin changed his stance to face Xie Xie. He
wasn’t confident in his victory at all. Although he had won the last time, it was simply due to a miracle. But now, with these hammers in hand, he
suddenly felt wonderful. It seemed that these Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers had already integrated with his body. When he held them, his
confidence surged.
Right as Xie Xie was mulling over his thoughts of how to deal with Tang Wulin, a cold voice suddenly cut in from the side.
“The fourth round, second match. Xie Xie versus Wu Zhangkong.”
“What?” Xie Xie nearly lost his voice as he cried out in alarm. He turned to look at the Icily Arrogant Prince Charming.
Wu Zhangkong coldly glanced at him. “Did you really think that an unfair situation would occur in my class? You will receive one of my attacks.
Then you will face Tang Wulin.”
Xie Xie stared at him, dumbstruck. “Teacher Wu, are you playing a joke on me? You’re a teacher.”
Wu Zhangkong had already strolled over to Tang Wulin’s side. With a simple wave of his hand, Tang Wulin was carried over to the sidelines,
hammers still in hand. Wu Zhangkong patted his waist with his right hand, undoing his belt.
“Teacher, what are you doing?” Xie Xie vigilantly retreated two steps back. However, he soon discovered that Wu Zhangkong’s pants were very form fitting. Even after untying his belt, his pants hadn’t budged at all.
Wu Zhangkong shook his wrist, causing the belt to become completely taut and perfectly straight. With an indifferent voice, he said, “I won’t release my martial soul. You only need to receive one of my attacks.” As he spoke, Wu Zhangkong took a step forward with his left foot as his belt-sword had already thrust towards Xie Xie.
Xie Xie’s combat experience could be considered the richest amongst his classmates. The moment he released his martial soul, he retreated like lightning.
What a joke. Was Wu Zhangkong powerless only because he didn’t release his martial soul? With the support of just his soul power, there was no difference between his belt and a sharp sword. Running away was Xie Xie’s best option at that moment.
Xie Xie was extremely confident in his speed. As he retreated, he held his Light Dragon Dagger in front of himself protectively.
However, a horrifying scene happened before his eyes. Although he was rapidly retreating, Wu Zhangkong’s belt-sword stayed in front of him from beginning to end. This attack seemed to be a simple thrust, but no matter what Xie Xie did, he was unable to dodge it.
Bang!
“Aiyou!”
The belt softened just a moment before it pierced into Xie Xie’s shoulder. However, it simply smacked Xie Xie’s shoulder and sent him flying. After rolling over the floor twice, Xie Xie was finally able to get up. He clutched his shoulder and grimaced in pain.
Xie Xie’s forehead dripped with sweat. The most terrifying thing was that in the moment before Wu Zhangkong struck him, Xie Xie actually felt as if his life were about to end. This kind of powerful and oppressive strength
would cause anyone’s spirit to tense up. After he was sent flying, Xie Xie was able to loosen up a bit, but he was still left with this appearance.
‘Too scary. In the end, how deep is Teacher Wu’s strength?’
“You have one minute to rest. After that, the finals will begin.” Wu Zhangkong shook his wrist once again, wrapping the belt around his waist before walking off to the side.
Chapter 54 – Treating Him Like Metal
Chapter 54 – Treating Him Like Metal
After seeing that one strike from Wu Zhangkong, the students dared not break the silence out of fear. Their lineup was even more orderly now. In front of this teacher of theirs, they all felt as if they were under great pressure.
Tang Wulin blinked a few times. Just a moment ago he had been seriously watching the match. When Wu Zhangkong’s sword thrust forth, Xie Xie had begun to dodge, yet his futile attempts only resembled a prey caught in a spider’s web to Tang Wulin. No matter how much Xie Xie struggled, it would’ve been impossible to escape from this large web.
It was done with such a simple sword, but had neither the aid of a martial soul or a soul skill. Yet, Wu Zhangkong easily suppressed Xie Xie. What kind of cultivation was needed for this!?
‘Teacher truly is too formidable!’ Tang Wulin began to revere the so-titled Icily Arrogant Prince Charming in his heart. Even as he revered Wu Zhangkong on the inside, he also stealthily returned the soul camera to his Heavy Silver Rings. Senior Sister Liu Yuxin had requested a favor from him. Even though it was his first time doing such a thing, he was still prepared.
Xie Xie wiped away his sweat as he stood there with a pensive look. He was pondering over the oppression he’d just faced from Wu Zhangkong moments ago.
Wu Zhangkong hadn’t attacked blindly with his sword. In front of this kind of pressure, Xie Xie had felt as if he were trapped. He felt that he was about even with Tang Wulin, but when he was in front of Wu Zhangkong’s sword, he felt as if any decision he made would only result in his death. There was no chance of escape at all. In this kind of situation, even if he had wanted to rush out, how was he supposed to do so?
“One minute has passed. Get ready.”
Xie Xie raised his head and rested his gaze upon Tang Wulin who had his hammers in hand. In return, Tang Wulin stared at him as well.
Looking back, this was their third battle.
Xie Xie had lost in the previous two battles, and now held a slight fear towards Tang Wulin. He still clearly remembered that golden light. This time, however, he would be on guard against it.
“Begin!”
Wu Zhangkong announced the start of the match, thus raising the curtains for the final showdown within class five.
Xie Xie released his martial soul and his Light Dragon Dagger twinkled in his hand. However, he didn’t impatiently rush towards Tang Wulin and, instead, began circling around him.
Tang Wulin had also released his Bluesilver Grass the moment the match begun and had weaved Bluesilver Grass in a manner similar to the style of his first match against Li Chushui. The blades of grass weaved into a large net, just waiting for someone to walk into its trap.
Xie Xie’s heart stirred. ‘Wasn’t Wu Zhangkong’s sword pressure simply a formless net? Was Teacher giving me guidance on how to break through Tang Wulin’s net? But Teacher, you don’t know how tough this guy’s
Bluesilver Grass is. It’s basically impossible to break through!’
The very first time they had fought, Xie Xie had underestimated the resilience of Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass! This mistake had allowed Tang Wulin to send him flying.
‘This guy isn’t even using his fists anymore, but hammers! If he smashed my face with those…’
When Xie Xie saw the two shiny black hammers in Tang Wulin’s hands, he immediately got a bad feeling.
Tang Wulin was neither in a hurry, nor impatient to start. He just calmly waited for Xie Xie to attack while constantly moving the net in his direction. In reality, Tang Wulin knew in his heart that Xie Xie and Li
Chushui were as different as black and white. With Xie Xie’s soul power level, the one whose stamina would be depleted first would likely be Tang Wulin.
Even faced with such circumstances, Tang Wulin wasn’t anxious at all. He just waited for Xie Xie to attack so that his golden scales could appear
again.
Xie Xie continued circling around Tang Wulin thrice before pouncing forward like lightning. Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass spread out in a flash, sealing off Xie Xie’s attack route.
He waved his Light Dragon Dagger, its tip striking towards Tang Wulin.
Pu! The blade tip descended on the Bluesilver Grass, and, in flash, a ring of light dissipated, causing the Bluesilver Grass to undulate with blue ripples. Although the interwoven Bluesilver Grass had easily dispelled the attack, Tang Wulin’s soul power had also dropped a bit.
Wu Zhangkong’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
Xie Xie’s attack was meant to let their teacher see that Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass wasn’t ordinary at all.
After committing to an attack with no results, Xie Xie rapidly retreated, once again distancing himself from Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin didn’t control his Bluesilver Grass to chase after Xie Xie since his movements were simply too fast. Moreover, Xie Xie’s dodging ability was astonishing. If Tang Wulin showed an opening, Xie Xie would be in front of him in a flash.
Xie Xie was extraordinarily patient this time as he continuously circled Tang Wulin, searching for an opening. With soul power at rank 18, he had more than enough time. Occasionally, he would attack Tang Wulin, but immediately drawback afterwards.
Xie Xie gradually began to reveal a smile. This was because he’d realized that Tang Wulin’s soul power was only at rank 11.
Although his Bluesilver Grass was marvelous, the gap between their soul power was simply tremendous. As long as Xie Xie exhausted Tang Wulin’s soul power, it would be his win. What else could possibly stop him?
The match between the two was taking longer than all of the previous matches. However, Wu Zhangkong wasn’t anxious at all. His arms were folded in front of him as he silently watched the match go on.
Tang Wulin’s soul power was finally approaching the point of exhaustion, which left him with no choice but to withdraw his Bluesilver Grass.
During the split second he’d begun withdrawing his Bluesilver Grass, Xie Xie’s body flickered. Immediately, he appeared at Tang Wulin’s side with his Light Dragon Dagger in hand.
In the face of Xie Xie’s speed, it was practically impossible for Tang Wulin to dodge.
However…
Ding! A brittle note echoed out and sparks flew everywhere. Tang Wulin and Xie Xie’s weapons were interlocked in a showdown. Xie Xie’s Light
Dragon Dagger had missed Tang Wulin’s body.
Tang Wulin’s eyes narrowed. It was as if he had entered some sort of
special state. The Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammer in his right hand was held behind him, obstructing Xie Xie’s attack.
In disbelief, Xie Xie spun to the other side, slashing out once again.
Dang! The same thing happened as before. Tang Wulin’s other hammer accurately blocked Xie Xie’s second attack.
‘How could this be? How could he be so quick?’ Xie Xie’s eyes were full of disbelief. ‘Could it be..? This guy was disguising himself as a pig to eat a tiger? I’ve actually lost to him twice when he was acting as a pig?’
Yes! How fast!
While he faced off against Xie Xie, Tang Wulin was continuously thinking of ways he could could counter Xie Xie’s speed. His opponent was an
Agility System Battle Soul Master while he could be considered both a
Control System Battle Soul Master and a Power System Battle Soul Master; he would lose out to his opponents speed either way.
If this continued on, he would definitely lose. He also couldn’t rely on his golden scales to appear miraculously.
While he had been pondering over this dilemma, he finally had a brilliant idea.
His body’s speed couldn’t possibly compare with his opponent. However, there was still one area that he was exceptionally fast in. That was… forging!
In the three years he had spent forging, he had grown so familiar with hammers that they were like an extension of his body. Especially when his strength exploded out; that familiar sensation was even more intense.
If he used the heavy Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers, he wouldn’t be able to dominate with speed. However, with his lighter
Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers, he would be able to make these hammers fly. It would be like the test he took at the Blacksmith’s
Association. He would dazzle Xie Xie with his ability of wielding his tungsten hammers.
He would treat Xie Xie like a lump of metal!
Chapter 55 – Shouldn’t There Be Rewards?
Chapter 55 – Shouldn’t There Be Rewards?
That was right, this was precisely what Tang Wuling did. In Tang Wulin’s mind, Xie Xie was no longer a person, but a piece of metal that he was
currently forging. His mind gradually entered the forging phase where one emptied out their thoughts and cleared their mind. Xie Xie’s previously dizzying actions seemingly slowed down and became clearer.
It was in this situation that the pair of Thousand Refined Tungsten
Hammers were waved around, hammering twice each time to shield off Xie Xie’s attacks.
Though Xie Xie hadn’t started his third move, he felt a gush of vile wind blowing in his direction. Tang Wulin struck his hammer towards Xie Xie. From the ear-splitting sound it produced upon moving through the air, one could easily judge the heaviness of a single strike.
Xie Xie hastily dodged. However, Tang Wulin unfolded his hammers and started hammering down, his strikes, worthy of being called a ferocious
thunderstorm, were aimed towards Xie Xie. The hammers produced a ‘wu- wu’ sound as they struck down, causing dust to rise from the ground. The repeated strikes left Xie Xie cowering in retreat.
Xie Xie didn’t dare use his Light Dragon Dagger against Tang Wulin’s
attacks. He was an Agility System Battle Soul Master. He knew that even though his opponent was just using pure power, he wasn’t confident he
could muster the strength to match it. If one compared both their strengths, the difference was simply too great.
With a flash of his body, Xie Xie quickly retreated and distanced himself from Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin didn’t give chase; he knew that his speed was of no match to Xie Xie’s. Involuntarily, he halted his hammering, but his gaze remained glued to Xie Xie and his every action.
‘This bastard!’ Xie Xie cursed in his heart. His gaze sharpened.
Xie Xie’s expression turned solemn as he caught his breath. The Light
Dragon Dagger in his right hand waved slightly. At the same time, he raised his left hand. His entire person suddenly became more vigorous and powerful.
He pressed lightly against the ground with the tips of his toes and pushed out, shooting into the air. As he shot up into the air quickly, faint
afterimages of himself trailed behind him. He unleashed a speed that had increased by at least 30% more than before.
Pelted by the wind Xie Xie produced, Tang Wulin raised both his hammers.
With his body in the air, Xie Xie gave Tang Wulin’s Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers a light tap using the Light Dragon Dagger in his right hand. As he turned, Xie Xie’s energy was recharged. Simply by borrowing
some from Tang Wulin in that little move, he was able to direct his left hand towards Tang Wulin.
Pu!
Tang Wulin’s back was marred with yet another scar.
The stabbing pain brought Tang Wulin back to his senses and he staggered a little, feeling the burning pain in his back. Despite that burning pain, a wave of heat flowed into his body from his spine.
Tang Wulin’s shock was eradicated by his joy. ‘Are the golden scales
appearing? So it was true that the golden scales will only appear under the circumstances of being attacked?’
However, when he tried stabilising himself again, the sudden heat wave he felt a moment ago disappeared. It didn’t rise through his body like it did during his previous experience, when it transformed into a huge volume of strength, along with the appearance of golden scales.
“Stop!” Wu Zhangkong suddenly appeared between the both of them and halted the match.
“Xie Xie wins!”
Xie Xie sighed in relief, a strand of glee appearing in his eyes. He finally won! He had finally won for the first time and tears were flowing down his cheeks. But Xie Xie was curious as to why Tang Wulin’s golden scales didn’t appear. Could it be that he was still concealing them from others? Or that he was speaking the truth and didn’t know how to control those golden scales?
Wu Zhangkong spoke to Xie Xie, “You will be in charge of getting Tang Wulin a new uniform set.”
“Eh…”
‘Didn’t I win the match? Shouldn’t I be rewarded?’ Xie Xie felt his
surroundings darken with despair. ‘How is this Tang Wulin guy always finding ways to cost me money!?’
‘How!’
Wu Zhangkong turned and faced the class. He spoke coolly, “The
competition has ended and all of you have witnessed it. What are your feelings?”
“Rotten wood cannot be carved!” This Icily Arrogant Prince Charming answered his own question.
“It is no wonder why all of you have been sorted into class five, you are all a bunch of trash. However, even if you are all merely scrap iron, I will take pride in tempering all of you. As all of you would’ve seen from the
previous match. What is Tang Wulin’s martial soul? It is the widely- recognised trash martial soul, Bluesilver Grass. However, Tang Wulin has
successfully made it all the way to the finals, and even almost won the final match.”
“I was the winner, right?” Xie Xie grieved silently, why did it sound as if he lost the match?
Wu Zhangkong ignored him and continued. “He relied not only on his martial soul, but his body strength as well. Some say that physical power is useful in your current stage, but would be useless when everyone has upgraded their ranks and accumulated many soul skills.
“However, let me mention this; you are in no position to even think about accumulating many soul skills. You should first ask yourself, how many of you are able to reach the stage where you are able to possess a second soul skill? How many more can possess a greater number of soul skills? As you are in charge of your body, would you not think that having a strong physique is useful?
“Soul power is no longer the only criteria used to assess an individual’s potential in becoming a Mecha Master. Possessing a powerful enough
energy storage soul tool would allow ordinary people to become aMecha Master as well. However, a strong physique is the foundation of all Mecha Masters. Without a good body, you will not be able to withstand the strong impacts that exist within a mecha, nevermind the high intensity combat.
Therefore, those with a weak martial soul should start your physical fitness training with me tomorrow. Physical training in the morning, then theory
and knowledge class in the afternoon.
“This morning’s class will end here. With regards to the competition earlier this morning, I want all of you to think about it. I will be teaching meditation for this afternoon’s theory and knowledge class. Class dismissed!”
This speech was one of the longest speeches the Icily Arrogant Prince
Charming had given during his capacity as their teacher, yet it didn’t feel like a lecture. Rather, it was a mere statement of facts. Regardless of
whether he was calling them trash or announcing the initiation of special training, his tone remained confident.
“Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, follow me.” Shortly after he finished that last sentence, Wu Zhangkong headed for the Academic Building.
‘Is he giving me a reward?’ A flash of jubilance appeared in Xie Xie’s eyes.
Prior to his arrival to the school, he had heard of rewards being given out after matches within school grounds. These rewards weren’t too bad. He was, after all, the champion of class five. What would the reward be for a teacher as powerful as Wu Zhangkong? He started to imagine it.
Wu Zhangkong brought both students into his office. This office of his was pathetic in size, a mere ten square meters. The room was bare except for a desk, a cupboard, and a chair.
“The trash I referred to in my speech included both of you as well!” The Icily Arrogant Prince Charming’s first sentence killed all the good feeling within Xie Xie’s heart.
‘Shouldn’t there be rewards? If not, just a little encouragement?’
Wu Zhangkong looked towards Tang Wulin, “Your performance in the matches was fine. However, you didn’t give your all in the matches. That must be a variant Bluesilver Grass. Its tenacity looked extraordinary, but your soul power seemed weak and couldn’t last for a long period of time. In this situation, you won’t stand a chance if your opponent’s soul power is higher than yours. What’s with your hammers?”
Tang Wulin spoke with reluctance, “I’ve learnt forging before.”
Chapter 56 – Does Your Face Still Hurt?
Chapter 56 – Does Your Face Still Hurt?
Wu Zhangkong raised an eyebrow. “Forging? You’re a Soul Master, but you learned how to forge? The clumsy bird flies early into the forest. You’re a
clumsy bird, yet you actually wasted your time on such a pointless thing.”
Tang Wulin lowered his head and said, “But everyone told me that my martial soul is trash. And my spirit soul isn’t that good either…”
Wu Zhangkong interrupted, “So you decided to become a blacksmith? What a farce! Remember this, you are my student. Unless I deem you to be useless, you must put all of your efforts into developing as a Soul Master.”
Off to the side, Xie Xie’s mouth unexpectedly began to twitch. ‘Didn’t you just say I was useless?’ At this moment, he could sympathize with Tang Wulin. Of course, he was only able to do so because he had won.
“Oh.” Tang Wulin agreed. However, there was no way he would actually give up forging. He couldn’t possibly renounce forging after all he had
achieved. As for his martial soul, he only felt defeated when he cultivated!
Wu Zhangkong turned and looked at Xie Xie. “What are you laughing for? You think you’re better than him? Is it really that fun to hide your twin martial souls? You have rank 18 soul power and are gifted with twin martial souls. Just because you were born with a higher level of soul power, you think you can be proud of yourself?
Xie Xie raised his head, staring at Wu Zhangkong in astonishment. ‘How does he know all this?’
Wu Zhangkong coldly said, “You’ve still go a long ways to go. Even twin soul holders can be rubbish people. As an Agility System Battle Soul
Master, what glory is there in being forced to use your twin souls by a Soul Master with Bluesilver Grass?”
“I…” Xie Xie’s face turned red with embarrassment, speechless.
“Teacher, what are twin martial souls?” Tang Wulin curiously asked.
Wu Zhangkong’s eyebrows wrinkled into a frown. “How incompetent was your elementary academy teacher? They didn’t even teach you about twin martial souls? Twin martial souls means that you have two martial souls.
The benefit of having two martial souls is obvious; people born with twin martial souls usually have innate rank 10 soul power. It’s much easier for them to cultivate and they are able to acquire more soul rings in the future. It’s just that in this age of spirit souls, they are restricted by their spiritual power, which means their advantage isn’t that big anymore. There isn’t
anyone who possesses the spiritual power necessary to sustain eighteen soul rings worth of spirit souls. Perhaps it would be possible if one possessed a
spirit type martial soul like the Spirit Pagoda’s founder, but each spirit soul would need to be extremely powerful in order to bestow a total of eighteen soul rings.”
Tang Wulin looked towards Xie Xie. They were both people, but why was life so unfair? He had a trash martial soul, yet Xie Xie had twin martial
souls. The disparity was simply enormous.
Wu Zhangkong suddenly asked Tang Wulin, “Do you think his martial soul is good?”
Tang Wulin stared back at him. Was there really a need to say it out loud?
Wu Zhangkong lips curled. “It isn’t necessarily better than yours. His martial soul is a dagger, and his second martial soul should also be a dagger. But, it’s just a concealed dagger, that’s all. The attack range of a dagger is
very short. In this modern era of mecha conflicts, what do you think of it now? An Agility System Battle Soul Master gains the most restrictions when they become a Mecha Master.”
Xie Xie’s eyes widened in shock as he started at Wu Zhangkong. ‘Could it be that Tang Wulin is actually his long lost son? Why else would he belittle me in order to boost Tang Wulin’s confidence? This is simply too biased!’
However, Wu Zhangkong didn’t even spare him a glance. “Alright then. Down to business.”
Xie Xie’s spirits were roused. ‘Is he finally giving out rewards?’
“Every new academic year, the academy has a grand tournament. There’s one for both the intermediate division and the advanced division. Our intermediate division has a total of six grades, and all of them will be participating. This tournament is known as the Class Promotion Tournament.”
“Class Promotion Tournament?” Tang Wulin’s eyes were full of doubt.
Wu Zhangkong continued, “The weakest class starts first and each class picks the students that participates. Class five will challenge class four, and so on. If the challenger is victorious, then the class numbers will be
switched. In other words, if we beat class four, we won’t be the lowest ranked class five anymore, but the first grade’s class four. The class rankings depend on the victor of the challenge. If challengers are victorious, they can continue to challenge higher ranked classes until they lose. For all six grades, the most victorious will become their grade’s class one. If they then proceed to challenge the next grade and win, they will be rewarded.”
Xie Xie said, “Our class is the first challenger?” For all six grades, there were five classes and class five was always the worst. In other words, they were currently in the worst class of them all.
“Correct!” Wu Zhangkong nodded. “This can be considered a battle of glory for the classes. And if the challengers are able to skip grades, the rewards will be very generous.”
Xie Xie proudly said, “That’s no problem Teacher Wu. Just leave it to me. I’ll fight them all and go all the way to challenge the sixth grade.”
Wu Zhangkong coldly snorted. “The minimum number of participants is a pair. Do you actually think that having twin martial souls makes you peerless? Do you know what kind of people are selected to represent class one? There is no lack of geniuses in this world. Although many geniuses lose their way, within the intermediate division, your gifts can only be
considered average.”
Xie Xie had zoned out and hadn’t heard Wu Zhangkong’s last few words.
He only paid attention to Wu Zhangkong’s first sentence and turned to Tang Wulin in shock. “Teacher, you’re saying that I’ll be competing in the tournament with him?”
Wu Zhangkong leaned back in his chair, suddenly exuding an air of magnanimity. “If you have any better options, then go ahead.”
“I…” Xie Xie wanted to say ‘I don’t want to be with him,’ but after recalling the horrible display of abilities by his other classmates, he wasn’t able to speak.
No matter what was said, this guy in front of him had already beaten him twice. Moreover, he also had the power of those mysterious golden scales.
Wu Zhangkong said, “The tournament should begin in a month. Thus, from tomorrow onwards, outside of regular classes, I will have you two undergo special training every night. I’ll formulate a simple schedule for you two so you better turn our class into the first grade’s class one.”
Tang Wulin couldn’t help but ask, “What if we are unable to do that?”
“Hehe!” Wu Zhangkong laughed. He was originally very handsome, but when he laughed, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie couldn’t keep their eyes off of him and could only stare blankly. Moreover, while they were stunned, the two of them felt a coldness rise up from their tailbones, penetrating them deeply.
After leaving Wu Zhangkong’s office, Tang Wulin’s brows gradually relaxed. A smile even appeared on his face. Although it was because the other students hadn’t put in enough effort, he’d still been chosen to represent their class in this tournament. This could be considered an honor for a Soul Master. Has he finally taken his first step into the world of Soul Masters? Apart from Teacher Mang Tian, Teacher Wu had also said he held promise.
“Hey!” Xie Xie coldly called out to him.
Tang Wulin turned around to face him. “What is it? I’ll fight you again once we get back. I’ll also pay you back for the food.”
Xie Xie stared at him blankly for a moment. ‘Doesn’t this guy really love money? How surprising…’
“I don’t want to talk about that. I wanted to tell you to not drag me down during the tournament in a month,” Xie Xie proudly said.
Tang Wulin gently sighed. “Does your face still hurt?”
Chapter 57 – Mu Xi’s Depression
Chapter 57 – Mu Xi’s Depression
Tang Wulin gently sighed. “Does your face still hurt?”
The arrogant expression present on Xie Xie’s face hardened in response as he clenched his fists tight.
Tang Wulin patted his shoulder. “I have something to do tonight. How about tomorrow night, I’ll spar with you then.”
After having been through a few matches against Xie Xie, Tang Wulin was no longer against battling. During these few matches, he had progressed and greatly improved his combat abilities. The stress that Xie Xie exerted onto him didn’t go unrecognized.
As the morning class ended earlier than usual, Tang Wulin didn’t return to his dorm. Instead, he went off to the advanced academy.
When the bell rang to signify the end of class, Tang Wulin spotted Liu Yuxin walking out of the classroom together with a few female students.
“Senior Sister Yuxin.” Tang Wulin waved in her direction.
Liu Yuxin spotted him easily and, together with her group of classmates, walked quickly in his direction.
“Wow, Yuxin, I didn’t realise you have a soft spot for cute little boys. This little brother of yours is so handsome. He’ll grow up into a nice-looking hunk.” A girl with red phoenix eyes from the advanced academy said as she gave Liu Yuxin a dubious smile.
Liu Yuxin snapped back, “Stop speaking nonsense. This is Tang Wulin, our junior from the intermediate academy’s first grade. Wulin, what’s the matter?”
Tang Wulin took out the soul camera he’d brought with him.
“Senior Sister, I took some photos for you. But, I don’t feel good about this. Please take back the camera.”
Liu Yuxin blushed slightly and rolled her eyes at him. “Alright, alright. So be it. Thanks for your help, I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Tang Wulin shook his head immediately. “There’s no need for that. I can have my meal back at the intermediate academy.” He obviously had some self-awareness. There was no such thing as a free lunch from the third
window. A free meal would, at least, come from the second window. With his enormous appetite, he was afraid to eat Liu Yuxin into bankruptcy. That would be very awkward.
Looking at Tang Wulin’s retreating figure, the phoenix-eyed girl asked with complete doubt, “Yuxin, what did you get him to take photographs of?”
Liu Yuxin answered with an air of mystery, “Wulin is in Teacher Wu Zhangkong’s class.”
“Wow! The Icily Arrogant Prince Charming! Let’s look at the pictures!”
As the camera was switched on, the tiny screen displayed Wu Zhangkong’s figure. There were a series of continuous shots taken of Wu Zhangkong unlatching his belt, then removing it.
The few female students widened their eyes, then their cheeks flushed. They were nearly drooling.
“A meal from the first window. Yuxin, please sell me these photos for that. These are exclusives! I will never allow anyone to view these images of my prince charming, not of him removing his belt.”
“Two meals! That’s only reasonable!”
……
☀
Tang Wulin didn’t know about the intense competition his photographs had roused between the few seniors. After finishing his lunch, he continued with the afternoon class.
The meditation method that Wu Zhangkong taught was obviously much more complicated than the meditation method that was taught at the
elementary academy. However, the results had proven to be far better. Legends have it that this method originated from the continent’s legendary Shrek Academy, and was a simplified version of their great meditation technique.
Under the pressured stare of Wu Zhangkong, the students’ learning speed increased. They were able to grasp the basics of how to revolve their soul power within one afternoon.
After class, Tang Wulin was the first to enter the dining hall and fill his stomach with dinner before speeding out.
He had an important task tonight. Currently, he was on his way towards the Blacksmith’s Association to collect his blacksmith’s badge. He would also collect some tasks from the Association.
Savings were of the utmost importance to him, especially when he was saving it for a hundred year martial soul which cost a million federation
coins. If he was wealthy enough in the future, he would like to buy himself a meal from the first window.
Tang Wulin felt distinct differences in his body when he’d eaten a meal from the first window that morning. If he could afford to have it daily, how nice would that be?
Excitedly, he walked out of the Academy’s main gates. As he moved a bit away from the gates, a black soul car sped in Tang Wulin’s direction.
Shocked, he froze on the spot immediately.
“Out of the way!” A crisp voice came from behind.
Tang Wulin turned his head to find a long, golden-haired teenage girl staring back at him.
Involuntarily, he stepped aside. The teenage girl moved past him and, at that moment, a chauffeur stepped out from the car and opened the door for her.
Shortly after the teenage girl boarded the car, the chauffeur closed the door gently before returning to the driver’s seat and driving off. Only dust was left in the wake of the car.
Another child from a wealthy family!
To say that he was not envious was a lie. However, Tang Wulin wasn’t
completely jealous. He believed that wealthy people were once poor and worked very hard to get where they were now. He believed that if others could do it, he could too.
With a smile on his face, he took long strides towards the Blacksmith’s Association.
……
☀
Mu Xi was in a bad mood recently. It should’ve been her most glorious day two days ago. However, it was ruined by a sudden change in circumstances.
Just as she completed her forging and refining and had passed all the
assessments, thus gaining herself the title of second rank blacksmith, she was informed that during her assessment, a nine-year-old kid succeeded in the second rank blacksmith’s test.
Nine years old? Was that even possible? This was simply unbelievable!
Since the time not long after she was born, her favourite pastime had been to observe her father as he forged. Her father had mentioned that this rough and weight-laden process of forging was not suitable for girls, but was for men.However, the stubbornness in her kicked in and she stood by her
choice to become a blacksmith. She started training at the mere age of five, and started crafting small hammers. Her father thought that it was a joke at first. However, after seeing her persistence for two years, and mimicking his every action, it finally moved the heart of the Eastsea City’s
Blacksmith’s Association President, Mu Chen.
Mu Xi inherited her father’s martial soul. That alone made it suitable for her to become a blacksmith. In addition, she was willing to put in the extra
effort. Mu Chen couldn’t help but search for some rare herbs in order to try maintaining his daughter’s figure. While she was training to gain the
adequate strength to become a blacksmith, her figure had taken the toll and turned stockier in the process.
Mu Xi’s passion for forging came from the bottom of her heart. She was officially a first rank blacksmith at the age of eleven. Her progression grew at an exhilarating speed under Mu Chen’s tutelage. Not long after her thirteenth birthday, she took the rank upgrading test and passed immediately.
She had remembered clearly that her father mentioned that she had progressed faster than others her age. That she was worthy of being called a child prodigy in the world of blacksmithing.
However, how could she share this title of second rank blacksmith with a nine-year-old boy? Second rank blacksmith? He’d also been held in high
esteem by the surveyor. In fact, although the surveyor didn’t mention it, her gaze alone revealed her feelings. In her eyes, the boy was obviously
stronger than her.
Mu Xi heard that this boy would be at the Blacksmith’s Association
sometime today in order to collect his badge. She was keen to see who this boy was. Did he have three heads and six arms?
Chapter 58 – Birthing Life
Chapter 58 – Birthing Life
Tang Wulin looked up to see the large hammer on the sign, before taking large strides into the Blacksmith’s Association. Although he had only been here once before, he was already fond of this place.
After arriving in Eastsea City, this was the only place that felt familiar to him. This was also the place that gave him confidence.
Yun Xiaoling stood behind the front desk and saw Tang Wulin as soon as he entered. In reality, she had been ordered by her superiors to specially wait for Tang Wulin.
“Tang Wulin, you’ve finally arrived.” Yun Xiaoling briskly walked to Tang Wulin’s side with a smile and inquisitive eyes.
How could she possibly not be curious towards this guy?
At the age of nine, he became a second rank blacksmith! How did he accomplish this feat?
Reportedly, he had already broken the headquarters record.
The record for the youngest first rank blacksmith in the Blacksmith’s
Association was held by their current president with a record of eight years old. However, the president had become a second rank blacksmith at eleven years old. The president was slower than Tang Wulin by two years!
The Association highly valued this child and had ordered the employees to immediately bring him up the tower as soon as he arrived.
“Hello, Big Sister Xiao Ling.” Tang Wulin’s memory was exceptional, and he clearly remembered the name of this big sister.
Yun Xiaoling smiled. “You really are formidable. I heard you passed the second rank blacksmith test.” As Yun Xiaoling spoke, she bent down and looked straight into Tang Wulin’s two beautiful eyes.
Tang Wulin’s face grew red in embarrassment. “No way. I was just lucky.”
Yun Xiaoling giggled. “You’re so young yet you’re so modest? Come on now, I’ll bring you up.”
“Thank you big sister.”
After getting onto the soul elevator, Tang Wulin was shocked to see Yun Xiaoling pressing the button for the highest floor. “Big sister Xiao Ling, where are we going?”
Yun Xiaoling smiled. “We’re going to go get your rank badge.”
The elevator ascended quickly and when it reached the top floor, Tang Wulin’s ears hadn’t managed to adjust yet. However, he simply shook his head a few times and was able to recover.
Tang Wulin was greeted by a wide view of the horizon the moment he stepped out of the elevator.
The walls were all made of glass, and at this height, he was able to see nearly half of Eastsea City. A great number of skyscrapers littered the city, just like a steel forest. On the other side, was a great number of plant cover, bringing vitality to the city.
Yun Xiaoling found a staff member. “I’ll have to trouble you to inform the president that Tang Wulin is here.”
“Wulin, wait here for a moment.” Yun Xiaoling brought him to a sofa and sat him down.
Not too long after, a crowd of footsteps approached.
Mu Chen was at the forefront. Mu Chen had arrived very early that day but hadn’t even stepped foot into his workshop yet, all for the sake of waiting for the boy who was able to bring him such a great surprise.
Cen Yue was also in his office and was following right behind him. If the others in the Blacksmith’s Association knew that these two figures had waited a whole day for a child, they wouldn’t even know what to think.
Right behind these two figures, was precisely Mu Xi.
“President!” Yun Xiaoling stood up and greeted Mu Chen respectfully.
Mu Chen smiled and nodded. The next moment, his gaze fell on Tang Wulin.
When Tang Wulin heard Yun Xiaoling call him the President, he had stood up and looked at Cen Yue.
Cen Yue walked over to his side and said with a smile, “Wulin, this is the President of the Blacksmith’s Association, Mu Chen. He is also the most famous Saint Craftsman ranked blacksmith in the continent.”
Saint Craftsman? Tang Wulin’s eyes began to sparkle. Mang Tian had mentioned Saint Craftsman to him before. Only seventh and eighth rank blacksmiths could earn the title of a Saint Craftsman! He had never
expected to meet one so fast.
This president didn’t even look much older than his own teacher. He truly was formidable. ‘Is that a Saint Craftsman’s badge he’s wearing on his
stomach? Eight stars? An eight star Saint Craftsman!’
“Hello, President.” Tang Wulin hastily stepped forward and bowed.
“It’s you?” An astonished voice came from Mu Xi, who was at Mu Chen’s side. To Mu Xi, this was the guy who had stolen all of the limelight from her. In fact, this was the guy who stole the limelight from all the blacksmiths of his generation.
Tang Wulin was slightly stunned was he saw Mu Xi. ‘What is this rich girl doing here?’
Mu Chen looked at his daughter in surprise. “Xi Xi, are you acquainted with each other?”
Mu Xi looked at Tang Wulin and said, “We’re not acquainted. But it seems we attend the same academy.”
Mu Chen smiled. “Tang Wulin, what grade are you in at Eastsea Academy?”
Tang Wulin said, “I entered the academy as a new student this year. I’m in the first grade, class five.”
When she heard the two words ‘class five’, Mu Xi’s expression immediately revealed a trace of disdain. Naturally, she knew what class five represented. It was a class full of good-for-nothings who could never become a Soul Grandmaster.
However, Mu Chen’s attitude didn’t change when he heard what class Tang Wulin was in. “I heard from Cen Yue that you passed the second rank test. That’s truly a wonderful achievement. You should know that you’ve set a new record in the Blacksmith’s Association. We truly feel that you are
worthy of being our successor!”
Tang Wulin’s small face grew red in embarrassment. He had no clue as to how he should respond when faced with praise from others.
He took a moment to think before saying, “Uncle President, can I get a badge now and begin taking forging tasks?”
Mu Chen laughed. “Of course you can.”
Cen Yue smiled. “The President waited for you the whole day in order to personally give you your badge.”
Yun Xiaoling had already walked over from the side, carrying a silver tray with a red cloth on top. And on top of the cloth, was a badge.
The badge was in the shape of a hexagon, with a blue background, a protruding hammer and two white stars embedded into it.
Regardless of whether it was a mecha craftsman, a blacksmith,or even a technician, their rank badges all looked about the same. First and second rank badges all had blue backgrounds and white stars. It was only at the third rank that there would be change.
Mu Chen personally placed the badge on Tang Wulin’s right breast. His
smile vanished and he turned solemn. “From henceforth, you are a member of the Blacksmith’s Association. As a blacksmith, I hope that you will
earnestly complete all your forging work. Use your soul to perceive, and your life to gain enlightenment. A true blacksmith doesn’t just forge metal, rather, they will birth life to it.
Birthing life? These two words were simple, but they could rouse even the apathetic. Combined with his understanding of Thousand Refinements,
Tang Wulin felt as if a great door had opened by a small crack for him.
Tang Wulin gently touched his badge and the simple coldness causing an unprecedented sense of accomplishment to ignite within him. At last, he had officially become a blacksmith.
“I want to compete with you!” Mu Xi suddenly interrupted from Mu Chen’s side. A face that was unconvinced looked at Tang Wulin. It was only now that Tang Wulin noticed that on her stomach, there was an identical badge.
Chapter 59 – Accepting Tasks
Chapter 59 – Accepting Tasks
Seeing that Mu Xi was eyeing him with a pair of provoking eyes, Tang Wulin was at a loss for a moment before deciding to reject her offer. “I’m not competing.”
He turned next towards Mu Chen. “Uncle President, where may I go to accept tasks from the Association?”
Mu Chen shot a glance at Mu Xi which prevented her from speaking her mind before smiling back at Tang Wulin. “Brother Cen will bring you there. You are now a part of our Association’s large family after having passed the test successfully. If you meet with any difficulties in future, you can apply for assistance from the Association. Though our Blacksmith’s Association is not the strongest association around, it surely is the most united one.”
As he spoke of the word ‘united’, he gave his daughter a pointed look. Mu Xi, with a discontented expression, lowered her head and pouted.
“Follow me then,” Cen Yue said with a smile.
After Mu Xi sent Tang Wulin and Cen Yue off with her eyes, she could no longer wait before bursting out with a question towards her father, “Dad, why did you prevent me from having a match with him?”
Mu Chen’s face darkened. “Such a presumptuous attitude. What do you take this place for? This is the Blacksmith’s Association! As a member of the association, especially as my daughter, your every word and action represents the association. This child has just joined our association; what if you scared him off? You should compete with him when both of you are familiar with one another. Until then, if you are still keen on competing
with him, I won’t stop you. But you should hold such a contest privately. Isn’t he your junior? You should keep your eyes peeled and watch for him especially.”
Mu Chen didn’t get a chance to speak with Tang Wulin too much today. With regards to this child, he needed more chances to observe Tang Wulin. He had seen the block of Heavy Silver Tang Wulin had refined, and judging from its degree of uniformity, he knew well that Tang Wulin’s forging
standards was above his daughter’s. His true motive was that he didn’t want his daughter to suffer any blows to her confidence. After all, self-
confidence was of the utmost importance, especially for kids at their age.
Since Tang Wulin was keen on accepting tasks, he would have ample opportunities observing him. The planning for how he should cultivate Tang Wulin could be done after observing him a little more, which wasn’t too late.
☀
The Task Acceptance Hall was located on the 2nd floor of the Blacksmith’s Association, with the whole of the 2nd floor filled with round counters.
Each of these counters had task rank sign, that looked similar to the badges of the association. A blacksmith could only collect tasks within their rank or ones of lower ranks. They were unable to collect tasks that required rank higher than theirs.
Within this blacksmithing trade, materials were all provided by the
entrustors. Because of this, the association would try their absolute best in order to maintain the quality of the end product prior to collection. This was to avoid the association from needing to compensate.
“Little boy, you’ve brought me many surprises! That fellow Mang Tian, he’s…” As he thought about Mang Tian’s taunts towards him that day, Cen Yue was fueled with anger. However, he really had cultivated an outstanding disciple.
“What type of task would you like to pick?” Cen Yue asked Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin said, “Anything that is within my capabilities would be good.”
Cen Yue said, “Our association rents out forging workshops too. Are you thinking of forging within the association?”
Tang Wulin shook his head. “Teacher is letting me use his Eastsea City’s forging workshop. I’ll complete my tasks over there. Thank you though.”
A flash of disappointment streaked through Cen Yue’s eyes. “Alright, but I do want to remind you that all tasks from the association must be completed and you cannot fail them. Once you fail, you must compensate for the ruined materials. That counter in the center, facing the front, is where you
collect your tasks. The left counter is where you report and place completed products while the right is where you are allowed to purchase all kinds of metals. Our association has, ideally, every kind of rare metal that exist in the market. However, due to an individual’s blacksmithing rank, the quantity they can purchase each month varies differently. If you need to, you can get your metals there. Then there’s the 4th floor and 5th floor.
That’s where the forged products are sold. You can go have a look up there as there’s a lot to look at.”
“Yes,” Tang Wulin said respectfully. Right now, he didn’t have any intention to purchase metals or forged products as he didn’t have any need to. Another reason was that he didn’t have the money. He was actually hoping to earn coins through forging, enough purchase a hundred year soul spirit.
Cen Yue brought Tang Wulin to the front of the two star counter. Behind the counter was a staff member and in front of the counter were ten soul
screens. One could collect a task with a mere swipe of the screens. The staff present were to answer on any questions one might have.
Following Cen Yue’s directions, Tang Wulin touched one of the soul screens. A list of available tasks popped up.
At the front was a summary of the task, followed by the quantity and payments.
“The association will take 10% of the payment while the rest will go to you.”
After listening to Cen Yue’s words, Tang Wulin’s gaze sharpened. Task 1 – Refine the rare Sky Dragon Iron. Requirements – Hundred
Refined. Time – 30 days. Quantity – 10. Payment – A unit price of 2,000 federation coins.
So, one would earn a total of 20,000 federation coins when they successfully refined 10 pieces of Sky Dragon Iron.
To Tang Wulin, this was definitely a large sum . After having completed the Thousand Refinements on a piece of Heavy Silver, it had given him the
confidence to successfully refine a huge amount of rare metals.
It seemed to him that a blacksmithing was a very lucrative career.
Without much thought, he picked the first task and a dialog box popped up, requesting information about the delivery location. Shortly after he
completed that, the screen requested his Blacksmith’s badge. Tang Wulin plucked off his badge and placed it down.
Di!
“Congratulations, second rank blacksmith Tang Wulin. You have
successfully accepted the second rank forging task of refining Sky Dragon Iron. The materials will be sent to your indicated location within three days.”
His badge bounced up.
“Is that it?” Tang Wulin raised his head towards Cen Yue.
Cen Yue nodded. “Isn’t it simple? However, I have to remind you as this is your first task, you have to be very careful. Though the stated payment is quite a hefty sum, many blacksmiths don’t have a high pay as they were unable to complete every task flawlessly. If there’s a flaw in the product, the
blacksmith would have to dig into his own pocket for the amount acquired to purchase the new materials, which is usually a big sum.”
“Yes, Master Cen. I will be very careful.” Tang Wulin’s chest tightened as he noted Cen Yue’s advice quickly.
“Do you have a communicator number?” Cen Yue asked.
Tang Wulin shook his head and blushed. How would he have the sufficient money to purchase a soul communicator?
Cen Yue broke into a grin. “Then here’s two items for you.”
Chapter 60 – Surrounded
Chapter 60 – Surrounded
Cen Yue smiled and said, “Soul communicators are gifted to new members of the association. Since every blacksmith has one, you can consider it one of the benefits of joining the association. As for this ring, the President
wanted me to give it to you. He said that it’s just a temporary loan. It has a space of ten cubic meters, so it’ll be convenient for when you hand in your work. How else could you carry around all the metal required for the tasks?”
‘There are even benefits? This storage ring is simply too valuable.’ Tang Wulin couldn’t even comprehend the worth of a ring with ten cubic meters of storage space.
Cen Yue placed the two items into Tang Wulin’s hands. “Take it. It’ll be fine so long as you complete some tasks from the association. Just consider this ring as something that the association issued you. It’s usually only given to fourth rank blacksmiths, but the President believes that you’ll definitely become a fourth rank blacksmith in the future. Don’t disappoint us.”
Tang Wulin took a step back and kneeled before Cen Yue. “I must thank you, Grandmaster Cen Yue, and the President.”
Cen Yue helped him up, then rubbed his head with a smile. “Even though I’m not your teacher, it’s still my duty to remind you that every single profession is but a different route to the same destination. Even though soul power is no longer crucial to this profession during this era, and many ordinary people are now able to forge things that previously required the power of a Soul Master to finish, some accomplishments within the
cultivation of soul power is needed to reach the peak of this profession. Because of this, you definitely can’t abandon your studies!”
“Yes!” Tang Wulin earnestly nodded his head. His dream, after all, was to become a powerful Soul Master! Despite being more accomplished as a blacksmith at this moment, he’d never wanted to give up on being a Soul Master.
It wasn’t until he left the Blacksmith’s Association that Tang Wulin snapped out of his dream-like state. He owned a soul communicator now? Moreover, the Association would reimburse him for the calling fees? He even had Cen Yue’s number within the soul communicator already.
He looked at the storage ring on his right ring finger. This ring had a storage space of ten cubic meters! It’s value was simply unimaginable. It was likely worth even more than a hundred year spirit soul!
However, Tang Wulin was unaware that even though this was a benefit given by the association, it still wasn’t something a fourth rank blacksmith could receive. Rather, one had to be a fifth rank Master Craftsman rank blacksmith to receive it!
Mu Chen had clearly given him this ring as his investment into a talented child.
‘The association’s benefits are truly too great. Ah!’ Tang Wulin suddenly remembered something he had to do.
He wasn’t just a blacksmith, he also a Soul Master! He needed to go register at the Soul Master’s Association. With his current rank, he would receive an allowance of one thousand federal coins each month.
After asking around a bit, he discovered that the Soul Master’s Association wasn’t too far away. Since it wasn’t too late yet, he might as well drop by.
The Soul Master’s Association was about the same size as the Blacksmith’s Association. As a one ring Soul Master, Tang Wulin was only able to enter
the first floor of the Soul Master’s Association. After showing his soul ring, he was able to register and was given one thousand federal coins.
His experience at the Soul Master’s Association was different from the one in the Blacksmith’s Association. In this place, no one would pay attention to a brat with a ten year spirit soul.
However, Tang Wulin was still very happy with his gains today.
When he returned to his dorm room, he found that Yun Xiao, Zhou Zhangxi and Xie Xie were all already meditating. He quietly climbed onto his own bed and began meditating according to what Wu Zhangkong had taught them today.
Teacher Wu had said that he would begin training Tang Wulin and Xie Xie the next day. Tang Wulin couldn’t help but wonder what kind of methods he would use.
He began revolving his soul power in an even more complicated pattern. Soon after, Tang Wulin entered a meditative state. His weak soul power began circulating its way to his meridians, converging bit by bit.
☀
Early morning.
As Tang Wulin finished meditating, he was astonished to discover that Xie Xie had already disappeared and that the sun had already risen. This was the first time he had tried this new meditation method, and he’d woken up much later than before.
He immediately got off his bed and ran to wash his face and rinse his mouth.
For Tang Wulin, meal time was the most important time of the day.
Tang Wulin joyfully ran towards the dormitory’s doors. However, before he even neared the door, he saw a group of upper grade students looking all
over the place, as if they were searching for something.
When he neared them, he suddenly discovered that there was a familiar figure in this group of students.
Mu Xi was dressed in the school uniform, her long, golden hair done up in a ponytail. Girls matured early, and she was already half a head taller than
Tang Wulin. She had a charming figure, tall and thin. Although she hadn’t finished maturing yet, she still had a bit of the scent of a young woman.
Just as Tang Wulin saw her, Mu Xi had also coincidentally turned her head, looking straight at him.
“It’s him!” She suddenly raised her finger and pointed towards Tang Wulin.
Before Tang Wulin could even react, Mu Xi, along with seven or eight upper grade male students, surrounded him.
“What do you guys want?” Tang Wulin asked, confused.
“There’s a matter I have with you. Come with me boy.” A tall, but average looking male student said to Tang Wulin with an odd tone.
Tang Wulin asked, “What matter? Just tell me it here.” He had a faint understanding of the situation in his heart. These advanced division students were here to look for trouble. This was definitely related to Mu Xi.
There were quite a number of newly admitted first grade students here. However, they were all scared off by the fierce expressions of the upper grade students.
“You think you have a choice?” The upper grade male student who’d previously spoken reached out a hand, grabbing Tang Wulin’s shoulder.
Tang Wulin fiercely shook his grip off of his shoulder. His strength was far greater than that upper grade student had expected, causing him to stumble and nearly fall.
Without any hesitation or wishful thinking, Tang Wulin immediately
attacked. A strand of Bluesilver Grass shot out of his palm. In a flash, the surrounding upper grade students were bound. He also directly knocked down the one that had been previously staggered.
During the time he had been at the elementary academy, regardless of
whether it had been for himself or Na’er, he had never backed down from a fight. Even if he was outnumbered, he would fight back. If he didn’t fight, then he wouldn’t have any chances at all. This was an academy after all,
and he would be fine as long as he broke out of the encirclement.
Clearly, these upper grade students hadn’t expected this action. Even with
so many people on their side, Tang Wulin had dared to attack. Moreover, he had been very decisive and had been able to bind them all with his
Bluesilver Grass in a flash.
Right as the male student in front began gathering his soul power, Tang Wulin collided with him.
Bang! The upper grade male student was sent flying. It looked as if Tang Wulin was going to break out of their encirclement.
Right at that moment, a figure quietly appeared in front of him along with a glaringly bright light.
In the wake of this blazing light, Tang Wulin felt as if his whole body was about to ignite. His speed suddenly decreased. He only heard a cold snort before he felt a pain in his stomach and was kicked back into the
encirclement.