Three months of training flew by, and the Class Advancement Tournament arrived in a flash.
Although Liuying, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie were often pushed hard by Wu Zhangkong during training, their strength had already far surpassed that of their peers. Dealing with students from other classes was now effortless for them.
> "There's still a big gap compared to Heita…" said Donghai's No. 1 Heita fan confidently.
"Teacher Wu, you always mention this Heita person—who exactly is she?" Xie Xie finally couldn't hold back and asked directly.
Tang Wulin perked up his ears as well—he, too, was very curious about the senior named Heita. After all, during training, Teacher Wu Zhangkong frequently mentioned that name—Heita!
Apparently, she was once a senior student at Donghai Academy and later graduated? No one really knew what she had done to earn such high regard from Teacher Wu.
On the side, Liuying remained silent. In truth, she also wanted to hear what Wu Zhangkong thought of Heita.
"Heita was a freshman at Donghai Academy three years ago. Technically speaking, she's your senior. I've never seen anyone with such talent—she was a true genius!"
The moment he said that, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie widened their eyes. After spending this much time together, they fully understood what kind of teacher Wu Zhangkong was… If he called someone a genius, that person must have been truly extraordinary!
"Three years ago… that means she's three years older than us?" Xie Xie pondered for a moment. "If that's the case, then she should be in the Advanced Division of Donghai Academy now, right?"
Tang Wulin also asked, "Can we meet this senior?"
Wu Zhangkong merely smiled slightly, "I'm afraid that's difficult. She graduated two years and ten months ago—just two months after enrolling at Donghai Academy."
"Ah?"
"She completed all of the academy's coursework in just two weeks, which forced the higher-ups to call me in to personally instruct her."
"But even I could only barely guide her for two months. Her learning speed was simply astonishing—so fast it was hard to believe!"
Seeing their dumbfounded expressions, Wu Zhangkong knew they didn't fully understand, so he explained further, "Remember how, during your training, I suppressed my soul power to match your level?"
"We remember." The moment he brought that up, their expressions darkened. Even with his soul power suppressed, they still got completely destroyed by Wu Zhangkong, barely able to fight back.
"When Heita entered Donghai Academy, she was already at level 28. And I had to suppress my soul power to level 45 just to barely keep up with her in battle."
"That can't be right, Teacher Wu…" Xie Xie's voice trembled from the side. "Level 28 versus level 45, and it's you she was fighting? That's nearly a 20-level gap in soul power. Is that even possible?"
"But she did it. Not only could she fight across levels, but she also pushed me to the brink of defeat multiple times. I've never seen anyone with such incredible combat instincts. Even the tiniest details, ones you might overlook, were ways for her to find victory."
"Oh, and by the way—Liuying was recommended here by Heita! You should know that, right?" As Wu Zhangkong said this, the other two immediately turned their attention to Liuying, making her feel a bit awkward.
Being evaluated like this, and under such intense gazes… Honestly, she felt like curling her toes into the ground.
"Uh, actually… I don't really know Miss Heita all that well. She only mentored me twice and then recommended me here."
"Teacher Wu, how's that senior doing now? Since she graduated so early, she must've gone on to do something even greater, right?" Tang Wulin was more impressed than ever and also curious about where she had gone.
If she graduated that early… then what was she doing now?
"Do you know about Shrek Academy?"
The moment he said that, everyone's eyes widened. "Teacher Wu, do you mean… the No. 1 academy on the continent—that Shrek Academy?"
"Yes. Not only did Heita join Shrek Academy, but she also entered the Inner Court…" Seeing their confused expressions, Wu Zhangkong knew it was time to explain.
"Shrek Academy has both an Outer Court and an Inner Court. The Outer Court exists only for special reasons—the real core of Shrek Academy has always been the Inner Court."
"If you get the chance, I hope all of you can apply to Shrek Academy. It would help your futures tremendously."
"Wow! Teacher Wu, does that mean… we're also talented enough to join Shrek Academy?" Xie Xie couldn't help getting excited, but Wu Zhangkong just gave him a faint glance, instantly dousing the fire of hope in his heart.
"At your current level? Not even close."
"So you need to train even harder—and start chasing after those ahead of you. Let's begin with this Class Advancement Tournament!"
As he finished speaking, Wu Zhangkong's wooden sword appeared once again in his hand. Clearly, he was ready to begin a new round of training.
"No way, Teacher Wu! We just finished training!" Xie Xie complained, not wanting to collapse again so soon.
"I want to train!" Tang Wulin's eyes lit up after hearing about Shrek Academy. "I must become a powerful Soul Master! I will join Shrek Academy—I'm going to catch up to that senior!"
Xie Xie looked over, stunned.
Bro! Sure, your skin is thick, you're built to take hits, and you heal fast. But I'm not like that! You get smacked around by Teacher Wu and recover in no time—but when I get hit, it hurts for days!
"That's right! I want to train harder too!" Liuying also raised her hand. "I've dreamed of joining the continent's number one academy for a long time."
What?! You too, sis?
You're wearing armor! Even though Teacher Wu always attacks you with that wooden sword, he can't even land a hit! If you've got the guts, take off that armor during training and say that again—then I won't complain at all!
But once Tang Wulin and Liuying declared they wanted extra training, the two of them turned to look at Xie Xie. He was immediately put on the spot.
"I… I'll train too!"
Unable to resist their gazes, Xie Xie could only nod tearfully.
Though the training process was extremely painful, the results were well worth it. Their combat skills saw significant improvement, and compared to other students their age, they were absolutely dominant.
At that point, the academy finally realized—it was time to implement the Zero Class system...
> Let's go! Hahaha, keep going!