The next day, Zhang Yong woke up to the crowing of the rooster. He got out of bed, left his room, and walked toward the dining hall.
Right in front of the hall, he caught a whiff of what seemed to be a delightful aroma coming from inside. When he entered the hall, most of his companions were already there.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, Yuan Ling, Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing were all present.
Strangely enough, Grand Master was serving food from behind the counter, wearing a chef's hat.
Zhang Yong walked over to Tang San's side and said in a low voice:
"What is Grand Master doing?"
Tang San looked at Zhang Yong and smiled lightly, saying:
"My teacher prepared breakfast himself. Go and get your portion."
Zhang Yong approached the counter toward the teacher.
He was controlling the fire with precision, sweat dripping from his face.
He placed a tray on the counter and put on it two bowls of meat broth, two steamed buns, and two eggs.
Zhang Yong took the tray and sat down next to Tang San. He looked at everyone for a moment, then took a bite of the food. It was delicious. When he looked up, Ma Hongjun had already buried his face in his bowl, and the others were pretending to be refined while eating—otherwise, they would have done the same as Hongjun.
Zhang Yong looked at Tang San and said with a regretful smile:
"It seems my cooking has fallen to second place."
Tang San smiled and patted Zhang Yong's shoulder in consolation.
Zhang Yong and Tang San began eating in silence.
Shortly after, Dai Mubai and Oscar also arrived.
Then the teacher said:
"Eat more. Food is just as essential as training. You can't fight on an empty stomach. So from now on, I will prepare breakfast for you at dawn. If you don't come to eat it within an hour, then don't bother eating it at all."
Everyone nodded. Within half an hour, everyone had finished their meal.
Then the academy bell rang, signaling assembly time.
The nine of them went out to the square.
In front of them, Grand Master stood with both hands behind his back and said:
"I have already studied your spirits and abilities. Now, I will begin your training. Dai Mubai, step forward."
Dai Mubai stepped forward without hesitation.
"You are to fight Tang San. However, Tang San cannot use his third spirit ring or those strange hidden weapons of his."
Dai Mubai frowned: "Wait a moment, that's not fair. That can't be called a fight. Tang San's rank is lower than mine. If his spirit skills are also restricted, that gives me an advantage. Even if his third spirit ring is dangerous, I have confidence in myself."
The teacher said coldly:
"Fair? There is nothing fair in this world. But since you asked for it, Tang San may use his third spirit ring."
The next moment, everyone stepped back, leaving Dai Mubai and Tang San. Then the two began to fight.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass immediately spread in all directions, forming a spiderweb that bound Dai Mubai, who had already activated his battle spirit.
The silvery-blue grass spread across Dai Mubai's body, and apparently, he lost the ability to move. That was Tang San's new ability—Spiderweb Restraint, combined with a powerful neurotoxin that had numbed Dai Mubai.
The teacher said calmly:
"Enough."
Tang San quickly went over to Dai Mubai and removed his webs. Then Zhang Yong began to think deeply.
'Tang San's abilities are strong, but if he were to face someone like Ma Hongjun, he would probably run into trouble—unless he gains fire resistance, but that conflicts with his spirit element.'
Zhang Yong was thinking deeply when he heard the teacher's voice again:
"Did you see that? This is a distinctive ability of the Control system. Generally speaking, the attack power of a Control System Spirit Master is somewhat weak. However, their control power is exceptionally strong. Below rank sixty, an outstanding Control System Spirit Master can completely restrain an opponent even if there's a ten-rank difference. Therefore, the best way to face a Control System Spirit Master is not to give them the chance to use their skills. But for Power System Spirit Masters, a Control System Spirit Master is your natural enemy. Under such circumstances, you must keep your distance from Control System Spirit Masters."
Then Zhang Yong raised his arm and asked:
"But Teacher, most Power System Spirit Masters use close-range skills. How are they supposed to defeat Control System Spirit Masters if they kept a distance ?"
The teacher paused for a moment, then continued:
"That's correct. That's why no single Spirit Master is perfect—but a team of Spirit Masters can be. Coordinated teamwork is the solution. Although Tang San's third ability is powerful, it can only restrain one person. In team battles, this ability needs someone to cover its weaknesses. Therefore, your priority is to close these gaps in your defenses."
Then the teacher looked at Tang San:
"This time, Tang San will fight Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai will fight Ma Hongjun with Oscar's assistance, and Zhang Yong will fight Zhu Zhuqing."
Zhang Yong was stunned for a moment and looked at the teacher in disbelief:
"But I'm a Support System Spirit Master. I'm weak."
The teacher looked at him indifferently and said:
"A Support System Spirit Master who can defeat a Spirit King—you call that weak?"
At that moment, Zhang Yong had nothing to defend himself with. He cursed in his mind: 'I am f**ked.' Zhang Yong thought about the purpose of this training, but to no avail.
He walked forward reluctantly and stood in front of Zhu Zhuqing.
He bowed slightly to her with his hands in front of him as a greeting and said:
"Please take care of me."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at him for a moment with an unreadable expression and said:
"Draw your sword."
Zhang Yong looked at her with a bit of tension. He was afraid of losing control again and said:
"I can't."
From Zhu Zhuqing's perspective, it seemed as if Zhang Yong was looking down on her. So she immediately activated her battle spirit and charged at him.
All Zhang Yong could do was dodge her attacks. Each strike targeted the vital areas of his body.
Zhu Zhuqing's speed was too fast for Zhang Yong's eyes to follow. She closed in on him immediately, forcing him to evade with his body. Fortunately, his body was light after raising his Wind Steps skill to the maximum.
Zhang Yong's blood pressure began to rise, and he could hear his own heartbeat.
The teacher was watching the fight and said in an audible voice:
"What are you doing? You surely know that you can't match Zhu Zhuqing in her domain."
Zhang Yong wanted to look at the teacher but didn't have the chance. He had to avoid Zhu Zhuqing's attacks, and he felt that if he looked away, his head would fly off.
The teacher continued:
"From what I know, your first spirit ability creates a mist in the area. You can use it to distract Zhu Zhuqing, and it might give you an opportunity. Wouldn't it be better to give your all from the start? A lion uses its full strength even when hunting rabbits."
In Zhang Yong's mind, anger was building:
'Shut up. I'm trying to concentrate.'
The teacher added:
"Indecision in your choices might lead to your death—or worse, it might lead your comrades to ruin, while you're left behind, consumed by regret for the rest of your life."
Zhang Yong screamed in his mind:
'Shut the hell up!'
Zhu Zhuqing's attack was about to pierce Zhang Yong's neck. Zhang Yong grabbed her arm and flipped her to the ground with incredible speed, preventing any resistance. He formed his hand into a blade of spirit energy and brought it down at lightning speed, about to pierce Zhu Zhuqing's throat.
Without realizing it, he had unleashed a ferocious bloodlust.
Fortunately, he stopped just an inch from her neck.
That was when he regained his senses. He stood up quickly and looked around, breathing heavily and violently. No one had noticed.
He immediately extended his hand to Zhu Zhuqing and said:
"Sorry."
Without uttering a word, Zhu Zhuqing pushed Zhang Yong's hand away, stood up on her own, turned around, and walked away.
Zhang Yong heard the teacher's voice from a distance. When he turned around, the teacher's expression was very ugly:
"Is this what you call monsters? Your performance today has disappointed me. You will all be punished. Go run from the academy to Soto City ten times without using any spirit energy, and return before lunch. As for Tang San and Zhang Yong, you will run twelve times. There are bamboo baskets filled with rocks that you must carry while running."
Tang San was the first to comply, followed by the others.
The distance between the academy and Soto City was about three kilometers. Running ten times back and forth meant at least sixty kilometers—and with the extra weight and without using spirit energy, it made things extremely difficult.
When they arrived at the location, it seemed the teacher had anticipated they would fail and had prepared the punishment in advance.
There were nine bamboo baskets, each of a size, and each basket bore someone's name. Tang San's, Dai Mubai's, and Ma Hongjun's baskets contained fifteen kilograms of stones. Next came Xiao Wu's, Zhu Zhuqing's, and Yuan Ling's, weighing ten kilograms each, while Oscar and Ning Rongrong carried five kilograms.
But there was a slight difference for Zhang Yong—his basket carried twenty-five kilograms.
'Did I somehow humiliate Grand Master?'
Nevertheless, he took his basket without complaining. Everyone took their baskets, and Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Zhang Yong charged ahead like madmen. After a short while of running, they realized just how difficult this training was.
Tang San said with a sweaty face:
"Mubai, Yong, let's stop."
The two stopped immediately. Although Dai Mubai looked a bit tired, Zhang Yong wasn't. With his stats, the distance they had covered was practically nothing to him.
Dai Mubai said:
"Xiao San, what is it?"
Tang San replied:
"The teacher said we are a team and must be punished together. Even Yuan Ling and Ning Rongrong, who didn't participate, are running with us. According to this, this isn't a punishment—it's physical training. So maybe what he's really after is to test our trust in each other. The three of us can endure, but the others can't."
The two nodded immediately as they listened to Tang San.
Then Zhang Yong said:
"Since that's the case, I think we should wait for the others and decide what to do."
Quickly, the six of them caught up. Then Tang San told them his thoughts.
While they were discussing what to do, Zhang Yong looked at the rest of the road and began to think.
'This distance is by no means easy, but it's really good for body training.'
When he turned back to the others, Oscar began to explain his view: "The seven of us will run together once. Since Ning Rongrong is the slowest among us, we'll run at her pace. And whenever someone loses the ability to continue, we'll adjust the weights. That way, we'll preserve our strength as much as possible. What do you think?"
Ning Rongrong smiled on the side: "Oh, Oscar, I didn't know you were so smart."
Zhang Yong held his chin for a moment and began to think: 'We're going to end up unconscious after this.'
Zhang Yong raised his hand and waved it: "Let's go run now. We still have ten laps left."
And so, everyone resumed running toward Soto City at the same pace. Since Oscar and Ning Rongrong were the weakest among them, they ran at their speed, and in this manner, they completed the first lap