Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

Wu Changkong's office is very small.

A desk, a chair, a bookcase, bright and clean—that's about it. The place is so quiet that even speaking feels like you'll bump into a wall and bounce back.

Wu Changkong stood behind the table and first looked at Tang Wulin.

"What's the deal with your pair of hammers?"

Tang Wulin answered honestly, "I have studied forging."

Wu Changkong's brow twitched slightly.

"Forging?" His voice was still cold. "What are you, a Soul Master, doing learning forging? The early bird catches the worm. You're already slower than others, and you're wasting your time on other things. Don't you think you're wasting your time?"

Tang Wulin lowered his head.

"But... many people say that my martial soul looks ordinary, and my first soul spirit is only a ten-year-old ant soul spirit."

He paused, his voice lowering.

"I always have to leave myself a way out."

Wu Changkong interrupted him directly.

"So you're planning to use forging as a fallback plan?"

Tang Wulin remained silent.

"Nonsense," Wu Changkong said coldly. "I don't object to you learning forging. Forging trains your hands, eyes, and heart, as well as your rhythm and composure. The fact that you were able to block Xie Xie's blows today is inseparable from your usual hammer-wielding skills. But that doesn't mean you can use forging as an excuse."

He looked at Tang Wulin and said, word by word:

"Remember, you are my student. Until I declare you a piece of trash, you'd better obediently follow the path of a Soul Master."

Xie Xie, who was standing next to him, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

Didn't you just say they were both useless? How come it's now "before I declare you useless"?

But he didn't dare to say a word.

Tang Wulin responded softly, "Oh."

He agreed verbally, but he had no intention of giving up forging.

In forging, he could clearly feel himself progressing. The feeling of hammering something out, one blow at a time, was satisfying and addictive. But the path of a Soul Master was different. From the time he awakened his Martial Soul until now, he had received more doubt and contempt.

Wu Changkong didn't care what he was thinking; his gaze had already turned to Xie Xie.

"What are you laughing at?"

Xie Xie was taken aback and subconsciously composed himself.

Wu Changkong said calmly, "You think you're much stronger than him?"

Xie Xie dared not laugh this time.

"Is it fun to have twin martial souls?" Wu Changkong looked at him. "Soul power level 18, that's mostly due to innate advantages, isn't it? Innate full soul power? Do you think you're born a cut above the rest?"

Xie Xie suddenly raised his head, his face filled with shock.

How did he know?

He had never mentioned this to the class. Even during the morning's competition, he hadn't fully revealed the other dagger. Yet Wu Changkong had only glanced at it a few times and had already figured it out.

Wu Changkong's gaze grew even colder.

"You're still far from it," he said. "There are always plenty of useless people with twin martial souls. As an agility-type battle soul master, being forced into that state by someone with lower soul power, slower speed, and who can only rely on brute force in a head-on confrontation—is that something to be proud of?"

Xie Xie's face immediately turned red.

"I……"

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a second word for a long time.

Tang Wulin listened in bewilderment, and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, what is meant by twin martial souls?"

Wu Changkong frowned.

"What exactly do you teach at your junior college?"

Despite saying that, he continued to explain.

"Twin Martial Souls means that a person possesses two Martial Souls simultaneously. Generally speaking, such people have high innate Soul Power, and cultivation is easier for them. In earlier years, the advantage of twin Martial Souls would be enormous. But now we live in the Soul Spirit Era, where spiritual power becomes a true limitation. No one can easily bear the burden of eighteen Soul Rings, so twin Martial Souls aren't as invincible as you might think."

As Tang Wulin listened, he couldn't help but glance at Xie Xie again.

They're all human, how can there be such a big difference?

While one side is still worrying about ten years of soul spirit cultivation, tuition fees, and food expenses, the other side already possesses twin martial souls and innate full soul power.

Wu Changkong seemed to have read his thoughts and suddenly asked:

"You think his martial spirit is very good?"

Tang Wulin nodded subconsciously.

Wu Changkong replied calmly, "Not necessarily."

Xie Xie's eyes widened in surprise.

Come again?

Wu Changkong ignored him completely and continued speaking to Tang Wulin: "His martial soul is a dagger, and his second martial soul should also be of the same type, only more concealed. A dagger martial soul does have a great advantage in close-quarters combat, but its limitations are magnified in modern mecha warfare. It has a short attack range and low margin for error, so you have to get close to fight. If you can't break through from the front, it will be very difficult."

"Conversely, while heavy weapon-type martial souls may seem less agile, they are better suited for direct confrontation. As long as one's physique, strength, rhythm, and soul power can keep up, they may not necessarily go far."

Xie Xie's face turned pale and then red.

He now seriously doubts whether Wu Changkong is Tang Wulin's long-lost father.

Otherwise, why would he always take the opportunity to step on himself whenever he gives Tang Wulin a pointer?

Wu Changkong finally brought the topic back on track.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Xie Xie's spirits immediately lifted.

finally come.

I played all morning and still came in last place. I should get some reward, right?

Wu Changkong, however, seemed completely oblivious to his expectation and calmly said:

"Every new school year, the academy holds a major competition. Both the intermediate and senior divisions participate. In the intermediate division, all six grades participate. This competition is called the Promotion Tournament."

"Promotion tournament?" Tang Wulin asked, somewhat puzzled.

Wu Changkong said, "It's very simple. We'll start with the weakest class. Class 5 will challenge Class 4, and if they win, the two classes will swap prefixes. That is to say, if we beat Class 4, Class 5's name will change to Class 4. Moving up, it's Class 3, Class 2, and Class 1. The higher we go, the higher our class's ranking will be."

Xie Xie immediately understood.

"So, our class was the first to issue a challenge?"

"Yes." Wu Changkong nodded. "Because you are now Class 5 of the first year, which is also the last class in the entire first year."

Xie Xie's lips twitched.

These words are truly grating to hear.

Wu Changkong continued, "If you manage to beat everyone in your current grade, you can challenge higher grades. For each victory in a higher-grade challenge, the academy will provide an extra reward."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xie's eyes lit up immediately.

"That's easy!" He straightened his back instinctively. "Teacher Wu, leave it to me. I'll fight my way up, maybe even make it straight to sixth grade."

Wu Changkong glanced at him, his gaze even carrying an undisguised disdain.

"The minimum number of participants is two."

Xie Xie's expression froze instantly.

Wu Changkong added casually, "Besides, do you really think having twin martial souls is enough to make you arrogant? Do you know who's in Class One? In this world, there's no shortage of geniuses. But those who truly make it to the end are never the kind who just wear their talent on their sleeves."

I didn't really hear much of the rest of Xie Xie's speech.

He only heard the most crucial sentence.

Minimum number of participants: two.

He turned his head stiffly to look at Tang Wulin, then slowly looked back at Wu Changkong.

"Teacher, you don't mean... you want me to go with him, do you?"

Wu Changkong leaned back in his chair, speaking in a flat tone.

"If you have a better option, you can say so now."

Xie Xie opened his mouth.

He couldn't say it.

He had clearly witnessed the sparring session in class that morning. If he had to find another capable fighter from Class 5, besides himself, it would probably only be Tang Wulin. As for the others, either their martial souls were too weak, or they simply couldn't withstand the strain in a direct confrontation.

Moreover, although Tang Wulin is infuriating, he has indeed defeated me twice. In addition, there's that golden scale that I still can't explain. If I had to choose again from Class 5, it would most likely still be this guy.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Wu Changkong took it as a tacit agreement.

"The match is in a month."

"Starting tomorrow, in addition to regular classes, you two will come to see me alone every evening. I will give you special training."

Xie Xie's fantasy about the "reward" shattered with a snap.

As expected, there was no reward.

Not only did they not get extra training, but they also had extra practice sessions in the evenings.

Wu Changkong continued, "My request to you is very simple. In one month, turn Class 5 into Class 1 of the first year."

After those words were spoken, the office fell silent for a moment.

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment, then his heart felt a little hot.

Class 1, Grade 1.

That's not just about playing four more games.

That's going from the worst to the best.

Xie Xie was also stunned, and then the dissatisfaction in his heart that had been shattered by the extra training was slowly stirred up again.

Class 1, Grade 1.

That actually sounds quite plausible.

Tang Wulin still couldn't help but ask:

"Teacher, what if...we can't do it?"

Wu Changkong suddenly laughed.

That smile should have been quite handsome, even enough to make one forget how cold his voice was. But for some reason, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie simultaneously felt a chill run down their necks, and a cold shiver ran down their spines.

"Didn't you do it?"

Wu Changkong repeated it, his smile deepening.

"Then keep practicing."

His voice wasn't loud, but it made both of them instinctively stand up straighter.

"Practice until you can do it."

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie both fell silent.

They suddenly realized that the smile they had just given was not a sign of good temper.

It was a notification, not a formality.

When I walked out of Wu Changkong's office, the corridor was very quiet.

Xie Xie was still immersed in the reality of "no rewards, only special training," and remained silent for a moment. Tang Wulin, however, slowly relaxed his brows, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Regardless, he was chosen.

Representing the class in the promotion competition is itself a form of recognition.

At least in Wu Changkong's eyes, he was not "the one who was just there to make up the numbers".

This means a lot to him.

"Feed".

Xie Xie suddenly called out to him from behind.

Tang Wulin stopped and turned to look at him.

"What? I'll fight you again. I won't just eat your food for free."

Xie Xie was taken aback.

He originally thought Tang Wulin had long since moved on from this matter, but he didn't expect him to still remember it.

Isn't this guy obsessed with money?

They actually keep this kind of account?

"That's not what I meant." Xie Xie coughed, his tone turning cold again. "I meant, you'd better not hold me back in the competition a month from now."

Tang Wulin looked at him and sighed softly.

"Does your face still hurt?"

Xie Xie's proud expression froze instantly.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

He had been putting on a cool and aloof act, as if he were "thinking about the big picture," but Tang Wulin's words brought up the very thing he least wanted to mention.

Tang Wulin's expression was quite serious, as if he was genuinely just expressing concern.