Chapter 183: An Explosion of Spiritual Power

Tang Wulin resolved to thoroughly investigate the results of the deep meditation later. For now, he was certain that his soul power had increased to a stable rank 16 on the verge of breaking through to rank 17.

His growth rate wasn't particularly outstanding when compared to Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, or Xie Xie, but his progress came as a wonderful surprise considering that he wielded the Bluesilver Grass.

"I cultivated too much," Tang Wulin sheepishly said.

Even as he said this, he felt a stare boring into him from the direction of the stage. Looking up, he met Long Hengxu's glare and hastily straightened his posture without another word.

Xu Xiaoyan furtively glanced his way. So it's him!

She encountered Tang Wulin twice before—the first time in the spirit ascension platform and the second at the barbecue skewers restaurant with Ouyang Zixin—and on both occasions, he had left a lasting impression on her.

Of all the boys her age, Tang Wulin must be the most handsome one she had ever seen. Long, delicate eyelashes framed his large eyes, and paired with his rosy-white skin were his straight nose, supple lips, and rounded earlobes. From beneath his beautiful exterior, he also radiated a warm energy like that of the sun.

Clothed in the academy's uniform, Tang Wulin seemed even brighter, and despite his tardiness, he remained unruffled. This guy is so calm! Isn't he afraid of being criticized?

Like everyone else, Wu Zhangkong's eyes were set on Tang Wulin but for an entirely different reason. He could distinctly see a luster in the depths of Tang Wulin's eyes which signified a breakthrough, yet he noticed no major change in soul power.

From experience, he knew this to be the best outcome. For Soul Masters, if it wasn't a breakthrough in soul power, then it had to be one in comprehension, which was absolutely vital in progressing further in cultivation. Although Tang Wulin's innate talents didn't amount to much, his extraordinary perception weighed far more heavily than even his mutated martial soul.

The ceremony continued without another hitch and after the customary motivational speeches, it soon came to a close. Teachers led their charges back to the classroom where they gave their own words of wisdom and encouragement before dismissing the students until the next day when classes would officially begin.

Naturally, class zero had the simplest proceedings with only four students including the newly arrived Xu Xiaoyan.

"Introduce yourself," Wu Zhangkong said to Xu Xiaoyan as soon as they entered their classroom.

Facing Wu Zhangkong with her usual bashfulness, she stood and said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Xu Xiaoyan. I'm 10 years old and my martial soul is the Starwheel Ice Staff. My soul power is at rank 17."

The corner of Tang Wulin's mouth began to twitch when he heard her last sentence.

Noticing Xu Xiaoyan the moment he arrived, he originally thought, She's a new student? A transfer student? He mistakenly assumed that with his recent progress, his soul power would at least outrank the new student's. He didn't expect that instead, Xu Xiaoyan's soul power surpassed his.

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Over the next month, you need to prove your strength and adaptability with class zero. At the end, I will decide whether or not you will stay."

"Yes," Xu Xiaoyan cutely answered.

Wu Zhangkong turned to the other three. "You've had a month to rest, so I need to test your bodies again as well as run another combat test. You have half an hour to meditate and prepare." He turned back to Xu Xiaoyan. "Same for you."

Considering Tang Wulin's recent near explosion from absorbing an excess of spirit energy, Wu Zhangkong was curious about the other children's progress; only with accurate data could he properly plan out their curriculum. Since he knew that they wouldn't be so lucky every time, he wanted to avoid another similar problem cropping up in the future.

In the results that followed, however, his usual calm bearing was breached.

There weren't any major changes in their physical strengths. Only Tang Wulin's number observed a slight increase, but it was nothing of note except to Xu Xiaoyan who was left stupefied.

She wanted to turn to Xie Xie and ask, Is this guy even human? Are you sure he isn't a soul beast?

Xu Xiaoyan's body strength was feeble to the point of being tragic, no different from an ordinary person's.

What shocked Wu Zhangkong instead were the results of the spiritual power test.

The first to take the test was Xie Xie.

His spiritual power had surprisingly broken past 50 and was now at 59. Finally progressing from the Spirit Origin realm to the Spirit Connection realm, he could now upgrade his spirit soul to the thousand-year level.

The second to go according to Wu Zhangkong's plan was the newcomer, Xu Xiaoyan. He believed that since the academy allowed such a physically weak girl to join class zero, her special strength must lie in a combination of spiritual power and her ice-attribute trait.

Contrary to his expectations, however, Xu Xiaoyan's spiritual power was at 61 points, placing her in the Spirit Connection realm. Strangely enough, she only just barely eclipsed Xie Xie in this respect yet it seemed to be her strongest point.

Tang Wulin went next; his results left Wu Zhangkong and his classmates utterly flabbergasted.

"212 points?" Xie Xie read out the displayed number, incomprehension clear in his voice.

"Teacher Wu, are you sure there's no problem with the machine?" Xie Xie blankly stared at Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin was also shocked. 212 points? My spiritual power went straight from the elementary level to the intermediate level of Spirit Connection?

The threshold for the intermediate level was 150 points while the advanced level was 350 points. Once it reached 500 points, he would enter the Spirit Sea realm, marking a major breakthrough in his strength that would increase by leaps and bounds. Then he would join the vast number of powerful experts at the Spirit Sea realm.

His mediocre spiritual power had surpassed Gu Yue's first monstrous result now. A spiritual power of 212 points was enough to make the hearts of geniuses tremble.

Xu Xiaoyan finally understood why Tang Wulin was the captain. Isn't this too monstrous? He's only ten years old and has 212 points of spiritual power? Her bafflement deepened further when she considered spiritual power's trend of rapid growth until twenty years of age before its growth would slow to a crawl.

Having over 200 points at ten-years-old meant that even if he halted all cultivation, his spiritual power was still guaranteed to reach the Spirit Sea realm. He would then have the foundation of spiritual power to become a powerful figure!

"Heavens! Boss, what elixir did you drink this last month? How did your spiritual power increase by over one hundred?" Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin, his expression disbelieving.

Tang Wulin understood the reason behind his monstrous results since he had absorbed the spirit energy of the Three-Eyed Demon Ape. The ape's energy changed his spiritual power in a method that was wrought with danger, yet he succeeded and made a breakthrough in his spiritual power.

"Gu Yue, your turn." Wu Zhangkong's momentary astonishment vanished, returning his expression to normal shortly after. Similar to Tang Wulin, he presumed the cause of the tremendous growth could only be attributed to the Three-Eyed Demon Ape.

"T-two-hundred-seventy-eight?" Once more, they were stunned, but this time by Gu Yue's number.

Gu Yue clipped her chin towards Tang Wulin as if to say, 'I'm still better than you!'

A trace of a smile crept onto Wu Zhangkong's lips. These two brats are really starting to look like monsters.