Chapter 184

– Tang Wulin’s Thousand-Year Soul Ring
Xu Xiaoyan had thought one month was plenty of time to prove herself but after seeing these numbers, she finally understood how large the gap between her and the other three.
Xu Xiaoyan raised her hand.
Teacher Wu, I’d like to test my spiritual power again at night.


Hm?
Wu Zhangkong turned to look at her.
Does the night affect your spiritual power?


Mn.
Xu Xiaoyan nodded.
This had been her greatest secret, but her competitive nature dragged it out of her.

Alright.


The combat test will begin in a moment. You’ll battle in pairs; Tang Wulin with Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie with Gu Yue.
Wu Zhangkong instructed.
Xie Xie went silent. Gu Yue frowned and said,
Teacher Wu, that’s not fair. We have two rings, while they only have one ring. We should pair a one ring with a two ring. How about I go with Wulin, and the agile Xie Xie pairs with Xu Xiaoyan’s Starwheel Ice Staff? Xie Xie’s soul power is the highest after all.

Her words nearly caused Xie Xie to be in tears. Just how much do you loathe me! Notwithstanding the fact that my soul power is the highest, if you pair up with Tang Wulin, how am is my group supposed to fight? In his eyes, Xu Xiaoyan was like a child brought from a previous marriage, void of any hope.

Do as I said. Who said that a battle must be fair?
Wu Zhangkong said indifferently.
☀
Xu Xiaoyan stood next to Tang Wulin while Xie Xie and Gu Yue stood opposite of them. A mysterious calming aura exuded from Tang Wulin, giving her with a sense of security.

Do you have the same aptitude as your brother?
Tang Wulin asked Xu Xiaoyan.
Xu Xiaoyan nodded.
I’m a long-ranged elemental attacker like him. My first soul skill is the same as my brother, Ice Wheel, although my control is a bit better than his. Actually, I’m a lot more powerful at night.

Tang Wulin smiled.
It’s a pity that it’s still daytime. Well, whatever. Try to stay behind me; I’ll protect you. Let’s do our best together.
His impression of Xu Xiaoyu wasn’t anything good especially after the incident with Ouyang Zixin, but he harbored no malice toward Xu Xiaoyan. In fact, he sympathized with her when Wu Zhangkong had said that she only had one month to prove herself. Her situation reminded him of the pressure he was under before his Bluesilver Grass had mutated.

Mn, mn.
Xu Xiaoyan repeatedly nodded.

Let’s start then. Do your best.
Wu Zhangkong said from a distance.

Then Wulin, I won’t be polite. Wahaha!
A strange laugh left Xie Xie’s mouth and a moment later, he sped towards Tang Wulin like the wind. It was obvious that he had spent his one month vacation improving, not playing around as he had said.
Gu Yue raised her hand and shot fireballs at Tang Wulin while enveloping Xie Xie in the wind element. She slowly advanced upon her opponents.
She’s firing from so far away? Would it reach us?
They were still separated by fifty meters. From Tang Wulin’s knowledge, there was no way the fireball could fly that far.
However, Gu Yue soon displayed the might of having 278 points of spiritual power.
After flying ten meters, the fireball suddenly split into five small collinear fireballs. Each consecutive one sped up and rammed into the one in front from behind until they compressed together into a far more powerful and swift fireball.
It was smaller compared to the original fireball, and an orange hue surrounded it now. It shot towards Tang Wulin’s stomach like like an artillery shell.
An ear-piercing blast tore through the air as heat mirages tailed the tangerine ball of flame.
Xie Xie nearly jumped in fright when the little flame whizzed past him.
The fireball finally arrived in front of Tang Wulin. He had never looked down upon Gu Yue’s strength. Though he had never dueled her, he knew that she could easily restrain him, so he didn’t use his Heavy Silver Hammers.
After his trip to Heaven Dou City, he understood now that strength stemmed from one’s self. Even battle armor merely enhanced one’s own abilities.
His eyes flashed violet as he abruptly stepped forward with his left foot and his right fist exploded out in a magnificent straight. Golden scales appeared in a wave on his arm while Bluesilver Grass blossomed behind him like a peacock spreading its tail. Several strands wrapped around Xu Xiaoyan’s waist, connecting her to him, while the remaining strands weaved together to form a protective screen.
Boom!
His fist smashed into the fireball. A blazing explosion erupted, illuminating his sparkling golden scales. Under the tyrannical might of his fist, not a single spark landed on his body and the remaining vestiges were promptly obstructed by his Bluesilver Grass.
Xie Xie sucked in a deep breath while he charged at Tang Wulin.
When a brilliant purple soul ring arose from beneath Tang Wulin’s feet, his expression froze in shock.
Purple? That’s a thousand-year soul ring!
Goldlight slithered onto Tang Wulin’s left arm. Now a full foot in length, it could coil three times around Tang Wulin’s arm.
Goldlight emitted a golden brilliance that turned all of Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass gold. The grass’s veins became distinct and the strands emitted a sapphire radiance.
Thousand-year? When did he evolve his spirit soul again? And it’s thousand-year?
Not only were the combatants flabbergasted, Long Hengxu, who had dropped by to observe, was beyond stupefied.
Wu Zhangkong had told Long Hengxu to come watch this morning’s battle in response to his doubts over Tang Wulin.
The moment Long Hengxu arrived, he was greeted with a magnificent violet.
It was in this split second that Long Hengxu realized that the academy’s investment into class zero was worth it! Despite Tang Wulin only having one ring right now, it was a purple ring! This was an even better surprise than him possessing three rings! It was guaranteed that Tang Wulin would have soul rings at the thousand-year level and above. He couldn’t be considered a genius anymore; he was a monster! No wonder Wu Zhangkong said class zero only accepts monsters and not ordinary people. That motto came from Shrek Academy and is their source of confidence and strength!
The peacock tail-like of Bluesilver Grass went into a frenzy as Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes. Right this moment, he was filled with a new and weird sensation. He could sense the vitality of each strand of Bluesilver Grass he had released; they were all connected to his mind and he could exercise complete control over them.
His Bluesilver Grass’s thickness hadn’t changed, but its very essence had undergone a qualitative change during his spirit soul’s evolution. If they were said to be merely vines before, then now they were living snakes. Each strand was quick-witted, tenacious, strong, and in his control.
This was his thousand-year Bluesilver Grass!
Xie Xie was already within ten meters of Tang Wulin but he immediately backflipped and slashed out a Light Dragon Blade at the sight of Tang Wulin’s transformed Bluesilver Grass. He also summoned his Shadow Dragon Dagger.
The Bluesilver Grass knitted together in front of Tang Wulin to form a shield against the Light Dragon Blade.
Light burst out in the clash between the Bluesilver Grass and the Light Dragon Blade. A moment later, the result proved unexpected. Not a single scratch was apparent on the shield of Bluesilver Grass.
Sharing! Upon reaching the thousand-year level, his Bluesilver Grass gained the ability to mitigate damage by spreading it equally between every strand.
This sharing wasn’t a soul skill, but an ability derived from Tang Wulin’s spiritual power control. The number of strands he could spread the damage over was wholly dependent on the number of strands he could control in that split-second.
You want to run?
The defensive formation of Bluesilver Grass instantly transformed into an array of spears chasing after Xie Xie. Tang Wulin activated his first soul skill, Bind!
This was the thousand-year soul skill, Bind!
Strand after strand of of Bluesilver Grass weaved together to form a giant net in the air. Tang Wulin recalled the difficulty they had with battling the Man-Faced Demon Spider and its dangerous spider webs. With his Bind now at the thousand-year level, he could easily imitate that spider.
Control subdued agility, this was a known fact in the Soul Master world.
Before, Tang Wulin’s ability to control was weak and was completely unable to restrain Xie Xie’s agility. Now that his first soul skill had ascended to the thousand-year level, however, everything changed