A Soul Master's True Strength
Note: Gloxinia is kind of a side character in this chapter since its mostly Wu Zhangkong doing a demonstration. This is actually very important for Gloxinia's future development.
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Wu Zhangkong's gaze swept over to Gloxinia. "The problem on your side is obvious too. You got too lost in the battle and went too far. Though I will praise you for your ingenious ways of beating your enemy."
'Teacher Wu was actually praising Gloxinia?' is what went through the minds of Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie at that moment.
"But!"
Sure enough, there was a 'but'...
Wu Zhangkong coldly continued, "All four of you have a problem in common, and this will be settled through your combat training. The problem is that you are all severely lacking in combat experience and techniques! What I'm talking about isn't your experience with using your martial soul and soul skills as you are all somewhat decent at that, but still not excellent of course. No, what I am speaking about are your basic combat techniques when you aren't using your martial soul."
'Basic combat techniques? Soul Masters need something like that? Don't Soul Masters only need to use their soul skills to attack their opponents?' was what Gloxinia geniunely thought. In the novel, they never showed a soul master who did not use their martial soul during a fight unless its a demonstration or for a class.
Apart from Gloxinia who was deep in thought, a look of doubt appeared on the faces of the other three students.
"Do you actually think there is no meaning to having basic combat techniques?"
Gu Yue said, "I understand, but Teacher Wu, my ability is based solely on controlling the elements. As long as I can control them properly in battle, I will be able to defeat any opponent. What use do I have for basic combat techniques then? Shouldn't I focus on increasing my soul power and spiritual power?"
Wu Zhangkong nodded.
"If that is what you really think, then let's have a little test. Gu Yue, you and Tang Wulin will attack me. I won't use any soul skill, and I will suppress my soul power down to your level, about rank 13. Let's see if you can still defeat me. You may use your martial souls."
As Wu Zhangkong was speaking, he turned around to walk over to the teacher's platform and picked up a teacher's pointer before returning to the center.
Gu Yue had already bravely stepped forward to stand at Tang Wulin's side.
Tang Wulin and Gu Yue exchanged a glance before retreating a few steps back, opening up some space between them and Wu Zhangkong. They released their martial souls in preparation to attack Wu Zhangkong.
"Come now." Wu Zhangkong beckoned them over as he brandished his pointing stick freely.
Tang Wulin took the initiative to charge forward. With his immense strength, he naturally held the advantage in a direct confrontation. As he charged forward, countless strands of Bluesilver Grass emerged, flocking toward Wu Zhangkong on all sides.
Right behind him was Gu Yue, who controlled her elements with a deft wave of her hands. Suddenly, she released seven to eight swift wind blades. They sliced toward Wu Zhangkong from tricky positions that cut off all avenues of escape.
Suppressing his soul power also greatly limited his own speed, and he was now facing Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, both of whom could be considered Assault-Control System Soul Master hybrids. If they couldn't grasp victory immediately in the beginning, then they would just have to control Wu Zhangkong's movements to increase their chances of victory at a later time.
After cultivating together these past few months, they were able to understand the other, even without verbal communication. This led to a coordination that seemed almost telepathic.
Wu Zhangkong stood in the center motionlessly with only his pointer raised. In his hand, that pointer was no different from the sharpest of swords.
They all saw that when the pointer in Wu Zhangkong's hand trembled, the motion was followed by a phantom image emerging behind it.
The wind blades reached Wu Zhangkong first, but something strange happened next. Right as they entered the range of his pointer stick, the wind blades were immediately dispersed into a cool breeze.
Trailing behind the wind blades were Tang Wulin's vines. The Bluesilver Grass twisted to surround Wu Zhangkong, but the moment they came too close, they were cut apart just like the wind blades. It was impossible to get within a one meter range of Wu Zhangkong.
Tang Wulin and Gu Yue revealed troubled expressions.
Gu Yue felt Wu Zhangkong's pointer stab the core of her wind blades each time, sowing disorder among the gathered wind elements, thus causing the wind blades to dissipate.
Tang Wulin had found what happened even stranger. His Bluesilver Grass was like a snake the moment he released it, yet Wu Zhangkong's pointer was able to accurately stab the seventh inch point of the 'snake', effectively stopping the flow of his soul power to that strand. As a result, the Bluesilver Grass couldn't resist Wu Zhangkong's attacks at all as its power was now restricted.
Just what was this?
Gu Yue raised her hand, firing off a few fireballs. 'The teacher's pointer is made of wood. Maybe using fire would be more effective'. By then, Tang Wulin had already arrived in front of Wu Zhangkong.
His right hand reached out to grab at Wu Zhangkong's chest while golden scales began to cover his right arm.
After a few experiments, Tang Wulin had gained some understanding of his Golden Dragon King power. Those golden scales weren't just for decoration. Aside from increasing his power, it also increased his defense and thus raised his overall strength by quite a bit. It was because of those scales that he decided to directly launch an attack at Wu Zhangkong.
Bang! Wu Zhangkong's pointer struck sharply at Tang Wulin's sparkling, golden-scaled wrist.
Tang Wulin's arm slightly swayed after being struck by the pointer, but its momentum was unchanged, and it was still heading straight for Wu Zhangkong's chest.
Wu Zhangkong was unaffected by the approaching scaled arm as he stood there with the same icy-cold expression. He shifted backwards by a step. Despite it seeming to be a simple step back, it opened up some distance between him and Tang Wulin as well as put him out of the path of the fireballs.
What shocked the students even more was that even as he was retreating, Wu Zhangkong hadn't forgotten to thrust a few times at the fireballs with his pointer, causing their power to dissipate and preventing the classroom from acquiring damages. This could only be described as brilliant!
His pointer shot out once more, stabbing Tang Wulin's elbow. His arm felt a weird sensation spreading throughout, but the power of the pointer was not enough to pierce through his scales. It had been blocked automatically.
A trace of astonishment finally appeared in Wu Zhangkong's eyes, but once again, he simply took a step out of the way of Tang Wulin's right hand.
Bang!
A scorching pain burst from Tang Wulin's neck and seeped all the way down to the marrow of his bones. He stumbled to the side in retreat. His right arm might have scales protecting it, but his neck did not!
The pointer in Wu Zhangkong's hand struck once again, but this time, it was aimed at Tang Wulin's waist. If it made contact, Tang Wulin definitely wouldn't be in fighting condition afterward.
But right at that moment, Wu Zhangkong's expression changed.
The reason was simple. Seven to eight fireballs were shooting toward the surrounding classroom equipment in a scattered manner.
Gu Yue's elegant face revealed a sinister smile. 'Aren't you afraid of the classroom taking damage? Then you'll have to stop if I attack it.'
As expected, Wu Zhangkong had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Tang Wulin. Yet, in the next moment, the students of class zero finally understood the meaning of true strength.
Wu Zhangkong's figure suddenly flickered. In an instant, his countless phantoms appeared throughout the classroom, obliterating all of the fireballs. He was so quick that the students couldn't even see him move clearly. It was all just a blur to them.
The teacher's pointer struck Gu Yue's waist, giving rise to a sharp pain that made her collapse. Before Tang Wulin could even react, he felt a numbness overcome his body, forcing him to fall flat on his butt like Gu Yue.
This...
So powerful!
Silence now enveloped the classroom. Wu Zhangkong walked over to face Tang Wulin once more. With a pensive expression, he watched the scales on Tang Wulin's right arm gradually disappear.
Despite being unable to use his martial soul at a rank similar to theirs, he had still condensed his suppressed soul power. Yet, even with that, he hadn't been able to pierce through the defenses of Tang Wulin's joints. He had only caused Tang Wulin's arm to bend for a split second, that was all. The defensive power of those scales were extraordinarily formidable when faced with attacks of the same rank. Moreover, Tang Wulin hadn't unleashed the might of his Golden Dragon Claw yet. That would only boost his power even further!
"Teacher, were you actually only using basic techniques just now?" Xie Xie asked Wu Zhangkong with wide eyes.
Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Do you still think basic techniques are useless? Basic techniques are fundamental. Although martial souls and soul skills can make a Soul Master powerful, the way they are used will determine just how powerful one will be. This is how basic techniques should be used. It's the same even when using battle armor or an ordinary mecha. Starting today, we will begin a lengthy period of combat technique training. Do not slack off; this is a crucial subject for you all."
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Words: 1712
Author's Note: Originally, I wasn't going to post anything today because it's christmas and I didn't wanna do anything, but I accidentally drank an energy drink my older brother bought and now I have too much energy so I am going to post.
Thank you all for so many collections and powerstones!