"Raise your arm a little higher. Watch the direction and force."
Wu Ling's voice rang out. At the moment, he was lying face-down on the ground with his upper body bare. Ten meters above him, a young man who was, at best, half as handsome as Wu Ling was attacking him again and again.
"Gale Demon Wolf Forty-Fifth Consecutive Slash!"
The young man shouted the name of the technique, and from that name, his identity became obvious.
That was right. He was Isaac Gale, one of the original story's innate full Spirit Power geniuses.
Isaac Gale was only one year older than Wu Ling. Because the dean of Divine Wind Academy had deliberately hidden him, the fact that he had innate full Spirit Power had not fully spread.
The current Isaac Gale had already been obsessed with creating his own Spirit Skill for four years. Four years ago, when he broke through to Spirit Elite at the age of twelve, he felt cultivation was too easy and threw himself headfirst into the bottomless pit of self-created Spirit Skills. Because of that, four whole years had only raised him to level thirty-eight.
The self-created Spirit Skill that had tormented him for four years, and would have tormented him for another five in the future, had taken only one week to complete under the guidance of Wu Ling, a martial-arts master. It had even evolved from thirty-six consecutive slashes into forty-five.
A cyan slash struck Wu Ling's back with force. A piercing scrape echoed through the courtyard. Standing to the side in a maid outfit, Blair Lockehart frowned prettily.
But when Isaac Gale landed and looked down, he saw only a faintly reddened patch of skin on Wu Ling's back. Not even the surface had been broken.
Under Isaac Gale's worshipful, admiring gaze, Wu Ling stretched lazily and put his clothes back on.
"Not bad. If every strike had the same force as that last one, you could barely qualify as a masseur."
In the past, if someone had compared him to a masseur, Isaac Gale would have made that person understand why the wind was so green.
But when Wu Ling said it, Isaac Gale showed no anger at all. He was delighted.
"I understand, Your Highness! In the future, I will definitely become a qualified masseur!"
The current Isaac Gale no longer had the arrogance he had shown one week ago when he came to challenge Wu Ling. He had even forgotten more than half the reason he had challenged Wu Ling in the first place.
"Your current limit is forty-five consecutive slashes," Wu Ling said. Now dressed, he took the water Blair handed him and drank. "For now, focus on Spirit Power cultivation. Once your Spirit Power rises, your self-created Spirit Skill will naturally improve."
Wu Ling was still quite optimistic about Isaac Gale. In the original story, this genius had taken only five years to jump from level forty-six to level sixty-one, crossing fifteen levels.
If Tang San had not obtained immortal herbs in the early stage, and had not received the Sea God trial later, or if Isaac Gale had not become obsessed with self-created Spirit Skills and focused on Spirit Power cultivation instead, whether Tang San's cultivation speed could surpass Isaac Gale's would have been uncertain.
"Hmph. Why do you two know His Highness?"
"Hehe. If a tigress like you can know His Highness, why can we sisters not know him?"
Just as Wu Ling was about to let Isaac Gale leave, two women's arguing voices came from outside the door.
With a bang, the gate was pushed open by a red-haired girl. The group entering consisted of three girls and one boy.
"Violent as always. How could His Highness possibly take a liking to someone like you?" a blue-haired girl following behind the red-haired girl mocked.
"Hah, what does it have to do with you!" the red-haired girl nearly roared at first, then seemed to remember where she was. Her voice gradually weakened.
These four were the Blaze siblings from Blazing Fire Academy and the Fontaine sisters from Heavenly Water Academy.
The four saw Wu Ling standing in the courtyard and Isaac Gale behind him. Without slowing down, they walked toward Wu Ling.
Seeing these people, or more accurately, seeing those three young women, Blair unconsciously clenched her teeth.
"These three damned thieving cats are here again."
At the same time, when Isaac Gale saw Lyra Blaze, he finally remembered why he had come to challenge Wu Ling in the first place.
He still remembered the fierce jealousy he had felt after hearing that Lyra Blaze had not only failed to get angry after losing to the Holy Son, but had instead seemed to secretly give him her heart. His head had heated up, and he had ignored the dean's instructions, charging straight into Wu Ling's courtyard to fight him. Or rather, to get beaten half to death.
In that short week, Isaac Gale had truly understood what his life's mission was. So now, his thought toward Lyra Blaze was simple.
"Women? Things like that only affect my combo count."
Lyra Blaze vaguely sensed that Isaac Gale's gaze toward her felt different, but because Wu Ling stood before her, she did not think too much about it. Instead, she hurried to stand in front of Wu Ling.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
All four spoke at once.
The four geniuses, proud and powerful before outsiders, now lowered their heads with complete peace of mind. They had personally experienced Wu Ling's strength.
Add his handsome appearance, flawless martial skill, broad knowledge, and most importantly, his powerful teaching ability that let them understand with a single pointer, and these already talented people had seen their training efficiency climb rapidly during this period. Their goodwill toward Wu Ling had risen along with it.
Even though they had only interacted with him for a short time, that feeling of being enlightened had still planted a thought in their hearts.
"Following this person would not be a bad result."
As the saying went, curiosity was the beginning of falling, and admiration was the first step toward following.
"Mm. What is it?" Wu Ling asked without expression.
In Wu Ling's eyes, the people before him were all optional. If not for his long-developed habit of teaching others causing him to casually give them a few pointers, even those three bright and beautiful young girls would not have made him look twice.
"Your Highness, the three deans request your presence."
Lyra Blaze delivered the deans' order first. Eira Fontaine felt slightly depressed and puffed out her cheeks. At the same time, she secretly glanced at Wu Ling, hoping he would notice her cute side.
"Oh? Those three finally could not endure any longer?"
Wu Ling finally showed a trace of interest. He rubbed his chin and muttered inwardly.
Since arriving, Wu Ling had spent several days using all three academies' mimicry training fields. Then he had casually defeated all kinds of geniuses and earned their admiration. After that, he had wandered around, teaching them as he played.
During this period, Wu Ling had done many things, but he had not gone to find those three deans again. Now that the deans had lost patience and come to him first, it suited him perfectly.
"Fine. Lead the way."
The next day, Isaac Gale, Lyra Blaze, and the others watched Wu Ling leave with regret and reluctance in their eyes. If not for their feelings toward their academies, they would have wanted to follow Wu Ling on the spot.
In contrast, the three deans' eyes held gravity and worry. What they worried about was themselves and their academies.
"What a frightening fellow. If he were a little more proactive, before long, all the talent in our three academies might be abducted by him."
"Unfathomable strength, unknown potential, unusually vast knowledge, and that strange personal charisma. Honestly, is that man some kind of perfect creature?"
"It seems we will have to make a choice after all."
"So it is already decided? But I do not want an academy, of all places, to be mixed with politics."
"There is no helping it. You heard what the Holy Son said earlier. But a choice is a choice. We do not have to decide immediately."
"Then what do we do?"
"Wait. We wait a little longer."