Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

Fulfilling days always seem to pass by exceptionally quickly.

Six days of cultivation, classes, and special training, plus one day of forging at Mangtian. Tang Wulin's schedule has been packed for the past two months, leaving him with little time to even daydream. It wasn't until Wu Changkong called him, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue to his office to tell them that the promotion competition would begin next week that he suddenly realized that more than two months had already passed.

In the past two months, the biggest changes have not only been in soul power.

Under Wu Changkong's almost unreasonable rigorous training, the three of them became increasingly coordinated. At first, Xie Xie always complained that Tang Wulin was too slow, Gu Yue complained that Xie Xie was too hasty, and Tang Wulin could never keep up with their fast-paced switching. But after fighting time and time again, after being dismantled, suppressed, and forced to recombine by Wu Changkong, they became so familiar with each other that a single glance or pause was enough for them to roughly know what the other was going to do next.

The relationship has become much more harmonious than at the beginning.

Of course, this "harmony" doesn't prevent Xie Xie and Gu Yue from constantly finding fault with each other.

Of the three, Gu Yue remained the most troublesome. Xie Xie had exerted every ounce of his strength over the past two months, and his speed, explosiveness, and rhythm were all significantly better than when the semester began, yet he still lost more often than he won against Gu Yue. Her control over the six elements was too rapid, and it became increasingly refined and stable as the fight progressed, making it impossible to grasp its true pattern.

However, Xie Xie's progress is indeed astonishing.

In just over two months, his soul power has increased to level nineteen. One more step and he will be able to absorb the second soul ring from the hundred-year-old soul spirit, officially stepping into the level of a Great Soul Master.

Gu Yue's soul power reached level seventeen, a steady increase of two levels.

Tang Wulin's progress seemed the least noticeable, but it was by no means slow. Every day he practiced controlling the Sinking Star Hammer, practicing footwork, power generation, and the connection between his soul power and martial soul. With the help of advanced meditation techniques and Wu Changkong's guidance, his soul power also increased by one level, reaching level twelve.

He was already very satisfied with this.

He never compared himself to Xie Xie and Gu Yue. He knew how fast he could go, and he was becoming increasingly clear about how he should go.

"Teacher," Xie Xie spoke first, his eyes already gleaming with anticipation, "who will Class Four send? Do you have any information?"

Wu Changkong gave him a cold look.

"If a first-grade class of four needs to rely on prior information to win, do you even deserve to be my students?"

Xie Xie's lips twitched, and he immediately shut up.

Wu Changkong said calmly, "For the first show next week, there's only one thing you need to do."

"Crush them."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the three replied in unison.

Wu Changkong continued, "The promotion tournament will start next week, one match per day, until all matches are completed. I'll set a goal for you."

Xie Xie subconsciously straightened his back.

Gu Yue remained calm.

Tang Wulin also looked at Wu Changkong intently.

Wu Changkong said, "Fight until the fourth grade."

The moment those four words were uttered, Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat.

Xie Xie, who was originally full of confidence, couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Fourth grade?

Keep in mind that by the third year, there's already a chance of students reaching the two-ring level. By the fourth year, there will almost certainly be a true Great Soul Master in Class One. As first-year students, it's questionable whether they can even defeat their own grade level as they fight their way up, let alone the fourth grade.

Wu Changkong, however, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had said anything exaggerated, his tone remaining remarkably calm.

"To be precise, it's Class 1, Grade 4."

"If you reach that point, all the rewards are yours. If you don't—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

"All of it will be confiscated and used as class funds."

Xie Xie immediately exclaimed, "Teacher, isn't that too cruel?"

Wu Changkong looked at him, his voice calm.

"If you think it's too harsh, you can quit. Wu Lin and Gu Yue, go on."

"Okay." Gu Yue looked down at her fingers, her tone light and casual. "I just don't want this burden."

Xie Xie turned his head sharply: "Who are you calling a burden?"

Gu Yue looked up at him, her expression indifferent: "Whoever answers first, that's who."

"You—" Xie Xie was so angry he gritted his teeth.

He turned to look at Tang Wulin, who simply patted him on the shoulder sincerely.

"When will you correct what your teacher said? Keep trying, young man."

Xie Xie was speechless for a moment, then finally managed to stammer, "You two are really in cahoots."

Wu Changkong looked at the three children in front of him, a rare, almost imperceptible smile flashing across his eyes.

He was indeed satisfied with these three students.

Gu Yue possesses astonishing talent, Xie Xie has an excellent foundation, and while Tang Wulin's innate conditions are somewhat inferior, he is willing to work hard and is steady enough. More importantly, this child has something very rare—he will not give up moving forward just because he is slow.

"Alright." Wu Changkong composed himself. "Today's training continues."

"Tang Wulin, Xie Xie."

"You two form a team, against Gu Yue."

Xie Xie was taken aback at first, then chuckled, cracked his wrists, and a smug look appeared on his face.

"Yueyue, let's see how your brother deals with you today."

Gu Yue raised her head, her eyes cold and clear.

"You will pay the price for this title."

Tang Wulin silently moved half a step to the side.

He's already very experienced. Whenever Xie Xie acts up, Gu Yue hits him harder than usual.

Another day of intensive training begins.

……

The promotion tournament has always been a major annual event for Donghai Academy.

The intermediate level has its own promotion competition, and the advanced level has its own promotion competition. All classes must participate, and all teachers attach great importance to it. After so many years, it has become more than just a simple class competition; it's more like a ranking of honors.

The class that ranked lower won; that is an honor.

It would be a disgrace if a top-ranked class were to be dethroned.

Moreover, this honor is not empty.

Students who excel in the promotion competition will be highlighted and included in their files, significantly impacting their future academic prospects, recommendations, and resource allocation. Class teachers also receive rewards for outstanding class performance. Therefore, holding the promotion competition three months after the start of the academic year is not a delaying tactic, but rather to give each class ample time to select and train students and develop strategies.

The weather was great on the day of the competition.

The sky was clear and blue, and the wind was light. A competition platform had been erected early in the center of the intermediate-level training ground. Calling it a competition platform was a stretch of noise; it was more like a massive metal combat zone—thick metal plates pieced together to form a circular area about a hundred meters in diameter. Soul-guided shield generators were erected around the perimeter to prevent them from malfunctioning and injuring anyone during the competition.

Because we didn't want to disrupt regular daytime classes, the competitions were all held after school.

As soon as the bell rang, students poured out of the school building.

But not many actually came towards the competition stage.

The opening match, with Class 5 of Grade 1 playing against Class 4, held little appeal for the older students. The majority of the spectators were from the various Grade 1 classes, with Class 3 of Grade 1, who would be playing tomorrow, being the most represented.

Class 5 was the first to arrive.

Led by Wu Changkong, the twenty trainees ran neatly to the edge of the playground and stood in formation. After two months of training, the spirit of Class Five was completely different from when they first started school. Their talent might still not be high, but their physical fitness, posture, and aura had all changed significantly. In particular, the tension that had been forcibly honed made them no longer look like a group of loose freshmen.

In contrast, Class Four was much more relaxed.

They walked over in twos and threes, chatting and laughing as they went. The group was quite scattered and they even seemed a little nonchalant.

The homeroom teacher of Class 4 also came over.

He was a short, stout teacher with a constant smile on his face, who seemed easy to talk to.

He walked up to Wu Changkong and said with a smile, "Teacher Wu, your students are really good. Look at this formation, so spirited. These kids in my class are no match for you; they're used to being undisciplined and don't have the same discipline as yours."

Wu Changkong kept his eyes fixed ahead, not even glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

The short, stout teacher seemed completely unconcerned, still smiling as he said, "You'll have to go easy on us today. Whether Class 4 can advance or not is another matter, but we at least need to keep our current position."

Wu Changkong finally turned his head slightly and glanced at him.

Then, they turned back.

He didn't say a single word from beginning to end.

The smile on the short, chubby teacher's face froze for a moment.