章節 9: Lone King

In the classroom of Eastsea Intermediate Academy's class five, there was something odd happening. In the other classes there had been a fairly even spread of students across all seats however this class was different.

In the very front of the classroom, directly in front of the teacher's podium, there was one child. All of the other children sat on the far end of the classroom, desks pushed back more than normal to keep as much distance between themselves and the student.

The student in question was Tang Wulin, the recently crowned Demon of Destruction who had terrorized the school on the very first day. According to a few witness reports even the teachers fear him and his power.

'Why are they looking at me like that?' Tang Wulin thought to himself, easily catching all the fear in their eyes with his spiritual power but not understanding what it truly meant. 'Is this the fear that Seto mentioned?' He thought to himself, memorizing the expressions of fear on their faces.

It was different from what he was accustomed to, it was tamer than usual. The fear he was used to seeing was similar to the fear on the face of the girl he saved after his first day of school three years ago, the fear of death. In comparison, these children feared danger rather than death.

It was interesting but only for a moment. Taking note of it he returned his focus to his attempts at following his teacher's movements with his spiritual power. There were a multitude of reasons for this but the main reason was just for Tang Wulin to test his spiritual power control.

His teacher had spiritual power just barely above his own however the control they possessed was worlds apart. His own control was much worse than Wu Zhangkong's own though it wasn't due to a lack of trying. Wulin simply lacked experience.

To remedy this Wulin was attempting to keep his spiritual power undetectable or at the very least untraceable to Wu Zhangkong. The latter was working fairly well however he had made little progress with the former. His energy was still traceable but that was because of common sense rather than his own failure.

His energy could be traced back to his classroom and considering that he was the only one with the potential to have such high spiritual power it was obvious who it belonged to. Compared to his classmates, Wu Zhangkong was constantly elevating Tang Wulin's status in his mind.

"Attention! We're going to the training ground!" Wu Zhangkong commanded upon entering the classroom, barely paying attention to the obvious tense mood. Jealousy and envy were the bane of a cultivator and hopefully, his students would learn that from this.

Standing up instantly Wulin followed after his teacher, the other students rising up and following behind the two of them in a hurry. Every other class was introducing themselves but their class was training? Already?

Quickly enough they all stood in the training area, a small field accompanied by a large stone platform. Bringing his callous golden eyes over the class, Wu Zhangkong took notice of who trembled in fear and the few who looked at him even if only slightly.

"Right now, you are trash. My job is to take you and make you actual soul masters. For that, you'll be fighting one another! Learn the traits of one another through combat rather than through words!" Wu Zhangkong commanded them cruelly.

There were many things Wu Zhangkong was looking for in such a simple assignment. For one, the students would have to pick their own opponents. To do that they would have to pick their partners carefully, analyzing their classmates to pick their ideal foe.

Most would take notice of physical characteristics however that wasn't all that needed to be considered. Sometimes, wisdom and atmosphere need to be taken more seriously than the body of a person. It was a lesson they would need to learn if they wanted to live long.

Alongside that, he wanted them to learn the importance of affinity and skill. If they focus purely on appearance they will fall victim to sudden surprises they could easily avoid. It was an important lesson, one of the most important.

He wanted his students to learn how to examine their foes before the fight even began in the hopes that someday, it would save their lives. Of course, most will ignore or miss the actual meaning of it but as long as he tries to help them his part will be done.

He had done this every year since he began teaching, however, this was the first year such a strange situation had happened. Everyone in the class dreaded fighting a single person, each fearing his every glance in their general direction.

"You. Fight me." Tang Wulin demanded a random student. He had already gotten an in depth understanding of his classmates' soul power, spiritual power, and physical body and his chosen opponent was in the middle in practically everything.

"P-Please don't hurt me!" The child in question screamed in fear, cold sweat caking his body instantly as he backed away, his hands in front of his face in a futile attempt to protect himself from the Demon of Destruction.

"Hurting you is inevitable." Wulin said without a shred of sympathy, grabbing the terrified child by his wrist and dragging him up to the stage, ignoring his opponent's screams of terror all the while.

Standing across from one another there was an obvious difference between the two. On one side was a relatively tall and handsome but otherwise weak looking child and on the other was a child who seemed to be covered in muscles.

Yet despite this obvious advantage, it was the child who appeared strong that was shaking in fear while the other looked hardly phased, no it would be a stretch to say he was showing anything. It made the students think just a little bit more about their opponents just as their teacher wished.

"Begin!" Wu Zhangkong declared, his voice transmitted using soul power. Instantly the ground shattered and a torrent of wind attacked the children, all nearby windows shattering from the intense blades of wind.

The Demon of Destruction had once again shown his fangs.