Chapter 84

In the days that followed, Tang Jie devoted himself to helping Wei Tianchong gather information, process data, analyze opponents, and ultimately chose the Yan Luo Step and the Gou Xie Yinbing for Wei Tianchong.

The Yan Luo Step is a dodging technique, excelling in small-range evasive maneuvers. The Gou Xie Yinbing, on the other hand, involves summoning ghost soldiers through spells, which is considered one of the more practical low-level spells.

Tang Jie had already decided to guide Wei Tianchong towards the summoning path, as the boy was lazy and this was the most suitable for him. Therefore, he chose the Gou Xie Yinbing for him.

The Gou Xie Yinbing is the lowest rank among all ghost soldiers, with limited combat power, but it has the advantage of being good at纠缠 (entanglement), effectively blocking the opponent.

Tang Jie's tactical plan for Wei Tianchong was simple: use the Yan Luo Step to dodge, the ghost soldiers to harass, and the puppets to attack.

During the Spirit Apprentice stage, due to the limited power of spells, most Spirit Apprentices ultimately choose the path of Tang Jie and Zhuang Shen, which is based on martial skills combined with spell usage, thus mostly focusing on close-range attacks.

Only when they reach the Spirit Sea stage, with thousands of spirit liquid drops and a wide range of mastered spells, can they unleash a barrage of spells one after another.

Wei Tianchong's cultivation direction is now aimed at this group of students, who are the main force in the competition. Once he passes this stage, his chances will greatly increase. Additionally, this grinding-style tactic that relies on minions consumes less spirit energy, making it suitable for prolonged battles.

After Wei Tianchong becomes proficient with the current spells, he will learn one or two long-range spells, which will essentially create a rhythm where a Taoist overpowers a warrior.

Next, it was time for Wei Tianchong to practice hard—no matter how effective the strategy, he still needed the basic strength to leverage the advantages.

After resolving Wei Tianchong's issues, it was now Tang Jie's turn.

However, unlike everyone's expectations of him showcasing his prowess on the sparring field, Tang Jie didn't go to the sparring area at all.

He went to the solo practice area.

The solo practice area of the Divine Weapon Arena is located at the other end of the valley, opposite the sparring area. Its official name is actually the Spell Special Training Zone.

After passing through the practice field and the valley, Tang Jie arrived in a forest filled with birdsong and the scent of flowers, where he saw several palace-like buildings standing in the distance, with a wall in front of them.

Tang Jie counted and found there were seven palaces, each with a sign: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Yan, Tian Zhu, Tian Bian, and Tian Yu.

These are the famous Seven Heavenly Palaces.

Tang Jie knew that these seven names correspond to seven indicators: attack (Tian Zhu), defense (Tian Yu), evasion (Tian Xuan), endurance (Tian Ji), adaptability (Tian Bian), speed (Tian Shu), and comprehensive (Tian Yan).

Each palace represents the corresponding spell requirements and tests and trains these aspects.

At the entrance to the palace, an old man was sitting, with a desk beside him filled with jade tokens. He looked at Tang Jie and said, "Name, rank."

"Tang Jie, Spirit Spring rank."

The old man took a jade token, wrote his name and rank on it, and then threw it to Tang Jie. "This is your teleportation token for the Seven Heavenly Palaces. You can only enter each palace once. For the Spirit Spring rank, enter the first door on the left."

Tang Jie looked at the jade token in his hand, which was engraved with a complex array diagram, presumably a teleportation array. It could only be used within the palace and also recorded his performance.

Tang Jie casually attached it to his waist, next to his points card. After some thought, he went to the Tian Yu Palace first.

His current cultivation of the Zang Xiang Classic and the Li Classic had greatly improved his physical attributes, and he wanted to test his current defensive capabilities.

At the entrance to the palace, he saw a notice board hanging on the Tian Yu Palace, which read:

"This palace is for training defensive abilities. After receiving a token, you may enter, but no equipment is allowed. You can only enter once per day. If you are overpowered, activate the jade token to be teleported out. For the sake of your life, do not be reckless!!!"

Three exclamation marks warned the students not to risk their lives.

Although the Moon Washing Academy does not allow fatalities during cultivation, some people still push themselves to the limit.

Entering through the first door on the left, Tang Jie found himself in a sealed space, with ten black-armored figures standing in a row.

"Puppets?" Tang Jie exclaimed.

He immediately recognized that these ten black-armored figures were puppets, covered in array patterns that glowed strangely in the dim space.

As soon as Tang Jie appeared, one of the black-armored puppets rushed out and punched him.

Tang Jie instinctively dodged, but the puppet was incredibly fast, instantly reaching him and landing a punch in his abdomen, sending him flying.

However, this punch, though powerful, had more pushing force than impact, and Tang Jie didn't feel much damage.

The next moment, the black-armored puppet punched again, this time at his chest.

Tang Jie realized that the puppet's movement speed was fast, but its punching speed was average, likely to give students a chance to cast spells.

Tang Jie decided not to use defensive spells but to continue using his body to withstand the hits, finding that each punch was indeed heavier than the last.

The black-armored puppet continued to pummel Tang Jie, each punch getting heavier. Tang Jie was determined to test his physical strength, so he kept blocking and enduring with his body.

The puppet's attacks grew stronger, until a punch could shatter stone, at which point the jade token beeped.

Then another black-armored puppet joined, and together they pummeled Tang Jie.

Tang Jie understood that the ten puppets likely represented a hundred points, with each puppet equivalent to ten points. To score a hundred, one had to withstand the attacks of all ten puppets for a certain period. The longer one lasted, the better the score.

With this understanding, Tang Jie began to engage the puppets.

As time passed, more puppets joined, and when three were attacking him, Tang Jie began to feel overwhelmed.

Although the puppet's punches weren't causing significant damage, the cumulative effect left him sore all over.

Especially with more puppets, blocking became increasingly difficult.

Just as Tang Jie blocked a punch from one puppet, two more attacked from the sides, landing punches on his waist. They were controlled by the array and didn't attack his head.

Even so, Tang Jie was forced back several steps. The next moment, a fourth puppet leaped in, kicking him hard and sending him flying.

This kick was even more powerful than the punches.

"Damn! They've upgraded!" Tang Jie cursed. The puppets, after reaching a certain number, increased their combat power. Initially, they only used their fists, but the fourth one used its feet.

He rolled to his feet, but before he could stand, a puppet headbutted him in the abdomen, sending him flying again.

Well, they can use their heads too.

Tang Jie rolled to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Two puppets rushed at him, lifting their feet to stomp down.

Tang Jie braced himself, and another puppet kicked him in the waist, nearly breaking his bones.

Four puppets simultaneously punched him.

With no choice, Tang Jie activated the Wu Xiang Jin Shen, and the eight punches hit him like metal, producing a sharp clang.

The massive counterforce made the four puppets pause, and Tang Jie rolled out, quickly getting up and catching his breath.

With the Wu Xiang Jin Shen, his defensive capabilities were further enhanced, allowing him to last longer.

However, Tang Jie was not satisfied.

He shook his head, "Is this all I can do? It shouldn't be."

He tapped the jade token, and as the four puppets rushed at him, his figure turned into a beam of light and disappeared from the space, reappearing at the entrance.

The old man at the entrance looked at Tang Jie and said, "Forty-one points. Not bad for a freshman, but for someone with the Wu Xiang Jin Shen, it's a bit low. The scores in the academy's special training palaces differ significantly between the top fifty and the bottom fifty."

Tang Jie was surprised, not by the old man knowing his spell, but by the fact that the scores got harder as they went down.

Recalling how the puppets' combat power increased when the fourth one joined, Tang Jie had a better understanding.

However, Tang Jie was not worried. His main goal was to test his abilities, not to pass the levels, so he didn't care much about the score.

He respectfully said, "Yes, I am inexperienced and have just obtained the Wu Xiang Jin Shen. I will practice harder and improve."

After bidding farewell to the old man, Tang Jie didn't leave but found a corner to rest.

He was thinking about the effectiveness of the Li Classic in strengthening his body, which seemed to be less than he had expected.

Although his current physical condition was equivalent to having low-level spells, he was practicing the secret techniques of the Warlord.

He had practiced the Zang Xiang Classic for three years and the Li Classic for two rounds, spending thousands of spirit coins, yet he could only achieve this much, even less effective than wearing armor. This shouldn't be the case.

Could there be something wrong with his practice?

Tang Jie thought.

As he meditated, he habitually circulated his cultivation technique, and the pain from the puppet's beating gradually subsided due to his strong recovery ability. Tang Jie suddenly realized that his recovery speed seemed faster than usual.

Faster?

Tang Jie was startled and suddenly realized something.

He exclaimed, "Damn, how could I forget this? I need to be beaten to improve!"

He remembered the insight he gained when Wei Tianchong whipped him.

The Warlord's body-strengthening technique focuses on the body itself, but the various abilities need to be triggered under specific conditions.

Over the years, no matter how much he practiced, he couldn't beat himself every day. Daily long runs mainly improved his stamina, and the Blood as Mercury mainly enhanced his recovery. Only the lack of combat prevented him from achieving a body as strong as diamond. His current physique was only a part of what could be triggered by other exercises, not the whole.

Even the Li Classic's body-strengthening only gave him greater potential, which needed to be fully activated through certain beatings.

Today's visit to the Tian Yu Palace was exactly what he needed. Perhaps due to the long accumulation, just one session improved him.

"Looks like I'll have to visit the Tian Yu Palace every day to get beaten. If I can score a hundred without using defensive spells, it will meet my needs, both gaining resources and keeping my true strength hidden," Tang Jie thought.

For Tang Jie, gaining resources by ranking on the list was essential, but how to achieve this while keeping his true strength hidden was his biggest concern. From the current situation, at least one of the Seven Heavenly Palaces had shown promise.