The next day!
After breakfast, Wang Sheng hurried off to class, while Wang Li calmly headed to the academy's garden.
The garden at the back of the academy was an artificial forest within the campus. The towering rocks, flowers, trees,all showed traces of human intervention. There were stone-paved paths and elegantly built pavilions, making it the part of the academy closest to nature, a place where people could relax.
Wang Li arrived at the garden entrance first and waited. When class time began, Elder Ling appeared, hands behind his back.
As he approached, Elder Ling looked at Wang Li and said with a smile:
"You came early. Come with me!"
Wang Li followed Elder Ling, replying respectfully as they walked:
"Elder Ling entrusted me, I dare not delay!"
He didn't know what kind of special training Elder Ling had prepared. If it were just sparring, that would be easy.
Once inside the garden, Elder Ling spoke first:
"Wang Li, your Blue Silver Grass martial soul, along with your first soul skill, did not need guidance from the academy teachers. You have already walked the path of a control-type soul master and have shown excellent talent along the way."
Wang Li explained:
"I was just lucky. Back then, the headmaster of Notting Academy found a hundred-year-old Green Vine on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest. Otherwise, even a mutated Blue Silver Grass wouldn't have such great flexibility and toughness."
Elder Ling nodded with a smile, approving of Wang Li's humility. Seeing that he was not arrogant made Elder Ling pleased. He continued:
"Two months ago, you passed my test, proving that your first soul skill was not useless. Now, in the Chairman's Competition, you have defeated all opponents, showing that you have mastered your first soul skill very skillfully."
"Normal academy courses would only hold you back. Although I am not a control-type soul master, as a strong-attack soul master, I have dealt with many control-type soul masters."
"In my view, a control-type soul master must use their martial soul and soul skills to constantly disrupt their opponent. As long as your opponent cannot achieve their strategic goals, you have already achieved yours."
Hearing this, Wang Li thought deeply. Indeed, Elder Ling's words made sense. Once a soul master enters battle, the only goal is to defeat the opponent.
For a normal soul master, if you can leave your opponent helpless, you already have a huge advantage.
Elder Ling continued:
"Right now, you are still an academy student, and all your battles are one-on-one on the arena. If you lose, you admit defeat; if you win, you cannot chase further. The intensity of these battles is far too low."
"For others, it may serve as training, but for you, it is barely effective. Once you leave the academy, you may face two enemies, or even multiple enemies. You must use your martial soul and soul skills to disrupt them, suppress them, and create opportunities for yourself or your teammates. This is your strategic goal."
"Therefore, I have divided your training into three stages. In the first stage, I want you to use your Blue Silver Grass to move quickly through the forest without touching the trees or colliding with each other."
"In the second stage, I have arranged for a batch of Soft-Bone Rabbits to be brought into this forest. Building on the first stage, your task will be to capture these fleeing rabbits."
"In the third stage, the Soft-Bone Rabbits do not have intelligence and weak attack ability. I will assign skilled students to attack you. Your task will be to face multiple opponents alone, disrupting them, suppressing them, and preventing them from achieving their strategic goals. That is your strategic goal."
Elder Ling clicked his tongue. For a first-grade student of only seven years old, such strict and harsh training might be too severe. He added:
"Do you have confidence? You must complete all three stages of training before obtaining your second soul ring. As for your second soul ring, the headmaster will help you choose the most suitable soul beast."
Wang Li thought about Elder Ling's plan. These three stages were similar in effect to his own training in divided-focus control, but with the addition of practical challenges. Catching rabbits would be fun, and one-versus-many combat would give him valuable experience.
In short, completing these three stages would be far more beneficial than harmful.
Wang Li was confident and excited:
"Thank you, Elder Ling. I am confident. I will complete all three stages of training!"
Elder Ling was greatly pleased. With such willpower, he was bound to achieve greatness. He said:
"Then we will start with the first stage. Go directly to the center of the forest, summon your martial soul, and release your soul skill."
Wang Li responded:
"Yes!"
Immediately, he used Instant Step to leap off the stone path, and in just a few bounds, reached the forest center.
He then summoned his martial soul and activated his soul skill:
"Blue Silver! Grow!"
In an instant, thirty-six dense Blue Silver Vines appeared around him.
To control Blue Silver Grass effectively, the mind must remain calm. If the mind is unsettled, the vines will be chaotic.
When Wang Li trained in divided-focus control before, he first grouped twelve vines into two sets of six. Now with thirty-six vines, he still divided them into two sets, but each set contained eighteen.
He allowed himself to adapt first, then gradually increased the difficulty,from two simultaneous focuses, to three, then four, and five…
Wang Li scanned his surroundings, memorizing the shape of trees and the positions of branches. Then he set a trajectory for each of the two sets of Blue Silver Vines.
"Go!"
With a low shout, Wang Li spread his hands. The vines shot out like snakes, weaving rapidly through the forest.
With thirty-six vines in motion, even a slight lapse could cause them to collide with trees, rocks, or other obstacles.
The vines were extensions of Wang Li's body. Anything they touched would immediately provide sensory feedback.
This made Wang Li realize that the path of divided-focus control still had a long way to go.
From a distance, Elder Ling watched and was already impressed. It showed that Wang Li had extraordinary talent.
Randomly swinging the Blue Silver Vines would be simple.
But controlling each vine to perform precisely as intended,even when Wang Li advanced to a great soul master or soul grandmaster,would provide a significant advantage in battle.
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