Chapter 259: Testing Specialties

Tang Wulin was quite pleased with the results of this trial. Apart from himself, who had called upon his blood essence and soul power, his team conserved almost all of their energy.

Now that the third trial was over, Tang Wulin understood how crucial it was to ration soul power for the upcoming trials. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to last until the end.

He had stopped Gu Yue from exercising control over the elements precisely to conserve her soul power. As the strongest of the four, she was better suited for handling the later trials. Tang Wulin took the brunt of the earlier ones.

“You all scored ten points.” Shen Yi strained herself to maintain a mask of tranquility, promptly leading the way to the next test after announcing the results.

She had harbored some worry for these kids in her heart, since taking these trials consecutively without rest would be tough, but now it was apparent she had been anxious for nothing. They had scored well on the first three, and even got full-marks on the third and hardest test. Although they didn’t break any records for speed, they were the only ones in history to have dominated the trial. That Tang Wulin really deserves to be class zero’s captain! No wonder the talented Gu Yue submits to him so willingly.

“You can get down now,” Tang Wulin said, patting Gu Yue’s arms that were wrapped around his neck.

Gu Yue buried her head into his back, clinging on to him, pretending as if she hadn’t heard his words.

Confused, Tang Wulin asked anxiously, “Did you get injured back then?”

Gu Yue shook her head softly and under her breath said, “J-just carry me for a bit longer. I’m a bit scared.”

Both Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan pulled strange faces as they watched the two from the sidelines. What is there for Gu Yue to be afraid of? Does she even understand the meaning of fear? In the two bystanders' eyes, Gu Yue was unaffected by such things, a paragon of indifference. Besides maintaining good relationships with her teammates, she would ignore everyone else. She looked at all strangers with cold, apathetic eyes.

In the past three years, she hadn’t interacted much with Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, or Xu Xiaoyan. Whenever she had a day off, she would bury herself at the Spirit Pagoda. Yet, for some reason, after the start of the Shrek Academy entrance exams, she seemed to warm up a bit. More precisely, she became warmer toward Tang Wulin. The change was quite obvious, and now it was even clearer.

Just what is going on here?

What they didn’t know was that currently, in Gu Yue’s mind, there was the image of a naked Tang Wulin soaking in the bathtub, golden mist lingering around his toned body. His muscles shimmered in the moist, wet steam. Although she had gotten just a glimpse of his sculpted assets, it was engraved in her memories, anything and everything. It was at that precise moment that her attitude toward Tang Wulin began changing.

Gu Yue’s legs were wrapped around Tang Wulin too tightly for him to peel her off. He resigned himself to carrying her.

While Gu Yue’s heart pounded, Tang Wulin’s face grew crimson by the second. Though they were still young, the differences between boys and girls were already becoming apparent, making their marks. Tang Wulin’s figure was not bulky, but sturdy and lean. On the other hand, Gu Yue’s body was soft, and softness brought toughness, a sweet scent hanging over her form. As he carried her, locks of her hair fell onto his face, tickling him.

Once they re-entered the building, they proceeded through another corridor, climbed up the stairs, and finally reached the building’s second floor. The walls and ceilings were pure white with gold lines etched into them, as if to portray something.

“Those are… soul device blueprints?” Xu Xiaoyan asked. She had chosen mecha designer for her secondary profession, and as such she could instantly recognize what these golden lines represented.

Why are they decorating the walls with soul device blueprints? Tang Wulin couldn’t make sense of the complex diagrams. If his spiritual power was weaker, then perhaps he may have gone dizzy just staring at the diagrams.  

They entered a large room as he was in mid-thought. Shen Yi pointed to some chairs on the side. “Wait here. I’m going to go get this trial’s administrators. This trial will test your personal strength. Only one of your specialties will be examined, so consider carefully what you will present. Your greatest specialty is directly related to your strength.” Finished speaking, she about-faced and left.

“Our specialty?” Xie Xie was at a loss.

Gu Yue finally got down from Tang Wulin’s back and sat cross-legged first, meditating and not uttering a word.

Tang Wulin took a seat beside her. “This trial is pretty simple. Our specialty is just our greatest strength as a soul master. For example, Xie Xie, you’re an agility-type soul master, so you just need to show the limit of your speed. You just need to embody what it means to be an agility-type soul master. Of course, you’re not a normal one since you have twin martial souls, so I think you should show off both: a combination of speed and your twin martial souls. It should be the same for everyone else, so just show them what you’re best at.”

Xu Xiaoyan furrowed her brows. “Captain, then what should I do? My full potential only comes up at night.”

Tang Wulin flashed a wry smile. “You’ll just have to make do by describing it with words. You already used it during the second trial, so it shouldn’t be hard to find proof. It should be fine as long as you explain your ability thoroughly. As long as you’re speaking the truth, I don’t think they’ll demand you to show it.”

Xu Xiaoyan’s expression eased. “I got it.”

Tang Wulin said, “Alright, rest as much as you can everyone. This is a rare opportunity.” He closed his eyes in an instant and began meditating the moment he finished speaking.  

The strength of his blood essence was closely related to his soul power. The greater his soul power, the mightier his blood essence.  With no food in sight, his only option was to recover his soul power.  

However, they weren’t given much time to rest. Not even five minutes later, Shen Yi returned with three people in tow. Two were middle-aged while the third was an elderly lady.

The elderly lady held a walking stick in her hand, her gait unsteady as she walked over to a long table and took a seat. The two middle-aged men treated her with respect, sitting down on each side of her after she was seated. This left Shen Yi to stand on the side.

The old lady scrutinized the still-meditating four examinees across from her, who were unaware of the three’s arrival.

A smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, she said in a hoarse voice, “These kids sure know how to make the most of their time. Alright then, Little Yiyi, tell them we’re beginning.”

“Yes, Elder Cai.” Shen Yi showed no discontent at how the old lady addressed her, and instead, answered deferentially. She took quick steps toward the four examinees to wake them up.

“This trial’s administrators are here now.” Shen Yi asked, “Which of you will go first?”

Tang Wulin studied his teammates as he considered. Since they were a team of four, he had to determine the best method for the whole group, especially since the first to go up would likely leave the deepest impression. The order they went in was crucial. The first to proceed needed to go with a bang.

“Xie Xie, you’re up first.” After announcing his decision, he shifted over to Xie XIe’s side and whispered a few words into his ear.

“Okay.” Xie Xie nodded then stood up, walking to the center of the room.

“Hello teachers,” he said as he bowed deeply to the three examiners.

The old lady chuckled. “Kid, go on and begin. You only have once chance, so show me what you’re best at.”

“Yes,” Xie Xie answered respectfully while three soul rings appeared beneath him.

Two yellow and one purple, the three soul rings twinkled in the air. A moment later, his third soul ring, the sole purple one, lit up.

His body blurred into three identical clones standing side-by-side. They couldn’t be differentiated by the naked eye.

The three Xie Xie’s bowed to the teachers, then, in an instant, their figures became transparent as they dashed off in separate directions with bizarre steps. Each one held a Light Dragon Dagger.

The air hissed as each of the daggers sliced through the air. The slashes grew faster, blurred, until each of the three figures seemed like a thrashing whirlwind. The clones flitted around the area, the wind raging as they fought an imaginary opponent at the eye of the hurricane.

The two middle-aged teachers were astonished. Using their soul power to envelop the arena, they could tell that these invisible clones were tangible existences!