Chapter 60: The Lazy Bird
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn
"I think it's great, what more to say about it? Ayrlarng will become stronger, Ayrlarng then defeats Bernabeu, Hooray... Why are you looking at me like that? "
"There's something odd about you today." Even Hu Yangxuan had smelled something fishy in the air.
"He is fine; he is just exhausted after spending a hell of a night with a beautiful girl," Ma Xiaoru's words carried a sour note.
Hu Yangxuan patted Wang Tong on his shoulder: "Bravo! What's her name?"
"Don't listen to her nonsense. It was Zhou Sisi; I was just teaching her the clone technique. Bah, it's all complicated, think of it as part of my job requirement as the caretaker of Dorm number five." Wang Tong felt aggrieved at the accusation; he barely even knew Zhou Sisi.
"No way! Zhou Sisi? The beauty from A-Class? Gee… That face and body… but with you? She won't even spare a look at me," Hu Yangxuan shamelessly added insults to Wang Tong's injury.
"Guys, drop it. We barely know each other. To me, it is not a big deal, but to her, it's a different story."
"Fine, fine! Anyhow, aren't you guys excited about Wang Ben's admission? Finally, I am going to see the Fist of the Racing Tiger with my own eyes!" Hu Yangxuan was brimmed with anticipation, as one of the followers of the Templar; he was not at all intimidated by Wang Ben's strength.
All cultivation methods, despite the varieties, could be grouped into three main styles: The Academy, The Great Houses, and The Military.
Almost all of the tactics of the Academy style was the basis of other tactics and was practiced by the largest number of fighters who formed the backbone of human's military force. The Great House style pertained to the tactics that were fiercely guarded by the Five Major Houses. Most of its practitioners held key posts at the top levels of Confederation government. Lastly, the Military Style included those that were conceptualized amidst the heat of battle, created by the bravest warriors. Similar to those of the Great House style, these tactics were closely guarded by their owners who passed it down only to their flesh and blood.
"How about you, aren't you excited too?" Ma Xiaoru locked her eyes onto Wang Tong's. His quietness seemed unusual to Ma Xiaoru, for she had been used to seeing boys puffed out their chests in front of her to show off their fearlessness whenever an opportunity presented itself.
"Me? Hu Yangxuan can try him first, I will just watch." Wang Tong shrugged. Although Wang Tong had been longing for real life practices, a direct challenge seemed to go against his style.
"No worries! You guys can count on my display of strength to show him the power of Ayrlarng!" Hu Yangxuan announced eagerly. He was pleased that Wang Tong was willing to step aside and gave him the stage.
If Ma Xiaoru was disappointed at Wang Tong's answer, she didn't show it on her face. Wang Tong, on the other hand, didn't know what to think of Wang Ben's arrival except for that it would help ease the burden on Samantha's shoulder.
There were two classes in the afternoon: METAL combat and Fundamental of Zergology. Such as most of the first-year classes, "Fundamental of Zergology" dabbled in the theories and thesis on the race of Zergs, including its habitat, offensive and defensive capabilities, and combat strategies. On the other hand, the METAL combat class focused on the hands-on practice of the Tactics of the Blizzard. It was a selective course so that some students such as Ma Xiaoru who had been cultivating much more advanced tactics could choose to spend their time on other issues.
Although Wang Tong didn't intend to learn the Tactics of the Blizzard, he attended the class for the sake of gaining insights into his EMF and GN force.
Soon Wang Tong had found out that the Tactics of the Blizzard was not entirely without any unique characteristics. After all, Ayrlarng had been a legendary school, and its tactics must have its mojo. While initiated, the tactics would gather around the flowing energy into the dantian, and from there, the energy was channeled into each and every primary GN nodes around the cultivator's body, forming an energy circulation, which in turn could amplify the power of the EMF. Its amplification was unique and useful as it could release a sudden burst of soul power that could stun one's opponents.
The instructors themselves were not particularly strong fighters, but the students needed their thorough understanding of the tactics, including its limits, effectiveness, and danger.
Hu Yangxuan and MaXiaoru were practicing their tactics, but from time to time, driven by curiosity, Ma Xiaoru would attempt one or two movements after the instructor, trying to understand the Tactics of the Blizzard. Ma Xiaoru's tactics, the Tactics of the Enchantress, was the most advanced tactics from the Li family, and interestingly enough, the Li's family were once inextricably connected to the Academy of Ayrlarng and its tactics.
The sixty-four nodes Tactics of the Blizzard was a child's play to Wang Tong, but he was intrigued to compare it with his Tactics of the Blade. He found that not only their path of energy flow but also the rhythms of the energy's movements were drastically different.
Wang Tong had learned that different tactics focused on various aspects: some emphasized defense, some excelled at endurance, and some, such as the Tactics of the Blizzard, focused on attack.
When the class was over, most of the students had finished only half a round of the tactics, suggesting that more practices where needed. This was an open class; therefore, there was a lot of students, and as far as the METAL combat training went, the more students in the same classroom, the better. Because once the students started their cultivation together, their energy would resonate with each other to form a perfect energy field that would help the students to stay focused.
As the leader of more than a dozen teachers who was supervising the students, Odis was in charge of keeping the overall energy field in check, while the rest of the teachers were responsible for overseeing students that had been assigned to them.
Odis shook his head, lamenting over the drastic difference regarding the energy field between the A-Class and the F-Class. Soul power was one of the most important factors in evaluating students, for, the more soul energy a student has, the easier it was for him or her to pick up on any other subjects. That being said, a high soul energy reading did not amount to success without hard work.
Despite the fact that both Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan had conserved their energy, Odis could still feel the significant advantage they had over the other students. This has been particularly true for Ma Xiaoru. Odis could sense the fluctuation of her soul energy output, indicating her perfect control over power.
There was another girl called Zhou Sisi that had caught Odis's attention. He flipped through her profile and was surprised to find out that her soul energy reading at the beginning of the term was only thirty sols, merely half of what Odis estimated of Zhou Sisi's current soul energy was. Impressed with Zhou Sisi's improvement, Odis made a mental note of her name.
Odis kept on scanning the students, hoping to find another would-be warrior. Suddenly, Odis noticed a student who was slacking off, his shifty eyes darted left and right, without paying any attention to his cultivation. If Odis wasn't worried about disturbing other student's practice, he would have bowled out at this insolent teenage boy called Wang Tong.
Wang Tong didn't mean to slack off, but he was distracted and unsettled by the two sets of burning eyes staring at the back of his neck. One set of eyes belonged to Ma Xiaoru, and the other belonged to Zhou Sisi. He could feel their soul energies permeated in the air about him, floating around like thick mist. Wang Tong was unable to discern the emotion shrouded within no matter how hard he had tried.
Wang Tong was counting the seconds until the class was over; impatience was written all over his face.
Odis put a red cross over Wang Tong's name and grunted, "Pff... Lazy bird, fail."