Gu Yue's addition didn't bring any special changes to Class Five.
On the contrary, for the past few days, Wu Changkong's schedule consisted entirely of physical training, leaving the Class Five members complaining endlessly.
On this day, the sun was blazing, and everyone was sweating profusely on the training ground.
"Phew! I'm exhausted. Seriously, don't you guys get tired?"
Xie Xie sat panting on the grass, his aloof young master image finally crumbling.
He looked at Jiang Yi and the other two beside him, their faces full of disbelief.
Jiang Yi was one thing, after all, he had ten levels higher soul power than him, but why were the two girls so physically strong?
Moreover, one of them had lower soul power than him, and the other was an elemental weapon soul master...
"It's alright... just a few dozen laps..."
Tang Wuling said softly, as she deftly removed the heavy iron armor from her body.
She had been blacksmithing since she was six years old, and in the past three years, sometimes she would spend the whole day blacksmithing. Now, running a few dozen laps was no different from taking a walk.
"So-so!"
Gu Yue crossed her arms, leaned against the wall, and gave Xie Xie a disdainful look.
Humans are indeed weak and pathetic!
She didn't know how that spendthrift Di Tian had squandered all his family's wealth in ten thousand years.
She had told him not to rush, not to rush, to wait until she recovered her strength, then she would send the dragons charging and wipe them out.
Who could imagine waking up to find that she only had a few cats and kittens left, and that she was being blocked at the entrance to the spring?
If the dragon race didn't have so few dragons left, she would have slapped it to death.
"You're too weak."
Jiang Yi smiled and stepped forward, patting Xie Xie's shoulder teasingly.
You lazy brat, you didn't work hard when you were young, and now you're just wasting your life!
"Get lost!"
Xie Xie shook off Jiang Yi's thieving hand and replied irritably.
"You're the one who's weak, your whole family is weak!"
He realized that these three guys were all inhuman, each one more monstrous than the last.
"Assemble!"
After only a few minutes of rest, Wu Changkong's cold figure appeared at the edge of the training field.
"Ugh! Here we go again..."
Xie Xie groaned, like a prisoner going to his death, reluctantly standing up.
The training intensity these past few days had been extremely high, with people being carried into the infirmary every day, except for those three monsters.
"Hmph!"
Wu Changkong glared at Xie Xie and snorted coldly, almost scaring Xie Xie's heart out.
Xie Xie quickly shut up; Wu Changkong was really capable of beating him, the physical kind, and he called it "one-on-one guidance."
Fortunately, Wu Changkong ignored him and looked at the crowd.
"For the next few weeks, the classes will be changed to physical training in the morning and theory classes in the afternoon."
As soon as Wu Changkong finished speaking, the previously exhausted students perked up instantly.
"Teacher Wu, what about today?"
someone in the crowd asked impatiently.
"Starting today!"
Wu Changkong replied calmly, and the next second, everyone burst into cheers.
"Whoosh! Long live Teacher Wu!"
Wu Changkong stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the cheering students of Class Five, without reprimanding them.
The intensity of the training these past few days had indeed been great for these children.
But this was also the first lesson he wanted to teach Class Five—to become an excellent Soul Master, hard work and perseverance are indispensable qualities.
If they couldn't even endure this little bit of hardship, with their talent, they should give up the idea of becoming Soul Masters as soon as possible.
In this era, although Soul Masters still occupy the mainstream of society, they are no longer as dominant as they were tens of thousands of years ago.
Mech pilots, researchers, blacksmiths… achieving success in these professions still allows one to hold a place in the Federation; there's no need to stubbornly cling to one path.
"Quiet!"
After everyone had vented their emotions, Wu Changkong raised his hand to quell the commotion.
The arena instantly quieted down. After several days together, everyone was quite familiar with Wu Changkong's personality.
As long as they followed the rules, Wu Changkong wasn't so scary; they could even joke with him occasionally.
"Jiang Yi, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Tang Wuling, the four of you stay. The rest of you, dismissed!"
Wu Changkong called out Jiang Yi and the others' names, then waved his hand, dismissing the entire Class 5.
"Follow me!"
Wu Changkong glanced at the four who remained, then turned and walked towards the teaching building.
The group followed, and soon after, Wu Changkong led them to a special room containing some special equipment.
"Wait here for a while!"
Wu Changkong said, then turned and left.
After Wu Changkong left, Xie Xie became restless, nudging Jiang Yi with his elbow and whispering.
"Jiang Yi! Do you know why the teacher brought us here?"
Jiang Yi thought for a moment and then replied.
"Unless there are special circumstances, it's basically just the promotion tournament!"
At this time, Wu Changkong specifically kept the four of them behind, most likely to prepare for the promotion tournament a few months later.
Although with their strength, defeating Class 1 would be a piece of cake, given Wu Changkong's style, his goal obviously wouldn't be limited to just the first-year students.
Who knows, he might be planning to have them take down the intermediate division of Donghai Academy.
"Oh, that's certainly possible..."
Xie Xie nodded, having also heard a little about the promotion tournament.
"Promotion tournament? What's that?"
Tang Wuling, who was behind them, also leaned in.
Over the past few days, she had fully integrated into the group, unlike the awkwardness she had at the beginning of the semester.
"The promotion tournament is a long-standing tradition at Donghai Academy. To encourage students to cultivate diligently, the academy holds an inter-class competition three months after each new semester to re-determine class rankings."
"For example, if we defeat Class 1 in the promotion tournament, we become Class 1 of the first year. Similarly, the resources and benefits they previously enjoyed will also fall to us."
Xie Xie glanced at the little rabbit, his expression somewhat strange, but still explained.
A few days ago, he privately challenged Tang Wuling to a fight, and unsurprisingly, he got a good beating.
"If we win, will we get a reward?"
Tang Wuling blinked her big eyes, her eyes shining with anticipation.
"It seems like the only rewards are academic credits and a little something in return,"
Xie Xie said, stroking his chin. He didn't care much for the resources the academy offered.
"Oh, okay then..."
Tang Wuling's interest visibly vanished upon hearing this.
Small money, she only wanted small money.
She didn't know how long it would take to save up for the next Soul Spirit; she certainly couldn't afford to spend another ten years working on Soul Spirits.
Moreover, Old Tang from her dream had been constantly reminding her to buy spiritual herbs these past few days.
But a single spiritual herb on the market costs tens of thousands of yuan, where would she get the money…
Tang Wuling pouted. She'd been swinging her hammer until it was practically smoking lately, and hadn't earned much.
Sigh!
The little rabbit looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.
If it could make me a lot of money, I'd be willing to pilot a mecha and live in a villa!
(End of Chapter)