"You… how did you endure the Heavenly Tribulation?" With widened eyes and doubt written on his forehead, Yun Ming could hardly believe his senses. At first, he was disappointed at Wulin's display, and then… he sensed it.
The rumbling energy, the tyrannical power that coursed through the boy's veins, and the clash between the two. Tang Wulin had been struck by the Heavenly Tribulation and his blood was fighting against it in an attempt to conquer it.
Even ignoring the fact that he had been struck by the lightning, Yun Ming couldn't even imagine the pain Wulin was enduring. There was a difference between enduring and dominating, a very important distinction most weren't aware of.
To endure was to wait out the pain, to allow the danger to pass right through you. That was enduring. Dominating though, that was fighting the danger head on. It may sound better at first but the clash between energies—especially such powerful ones—only made the situation more dire and painful. The two energies would grow wild, thrashing about in their clash. It was hell.
"With perseverance." Nearly falling down from Wulin's blunt response and bored eyes Yun Ming couldn't stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of it all. This was something even he, the strongest man in the world, wouldn't deal with lightly but a child was?
"Wait! How did you come into contact with the Heavenly Tribulation?" Running up to Wulin and completely discarding social hierarchy Zhuo Shi worriedly looked over Wulin's body. He had been training Wulin as hard as the boy could manage without knowing he was suffering all this time?! The boy needed rest and he pushed him!
"Calm down. He's not harmed, not physically at least. His body is constantly healing any damage he sustains as soon as it happens." Placing a palm on the elder's shoulder and reassuring him Yun Ming left the fact that it would hurt badly unsaid but not unknown.
Taking a moment to calm himself Zhuo Shi returned to his seat, his face scrunched up in self hatred. Sighing lightly Yun Ming turned to Gu Yuena, his intentions clear. He wanted to quickly change the topic before they inquired too far. A boy was allowed his secrets and Yun Ming felt as though he already knew anyway. Those callouses were unmistakable.
"Would you like to go next? All you have to do is make an elemental construct" Smiling invitingly to her he summoned his spear in his hand, a heavy pressure descending onto their surroundings. Normally it would push even title douluo to their knees but he was carefully controlling it to make it difficult but not impossible for her.
Nodding her head calmly Gu Yuena calmly pointed her palm toward the ceiling, the pressure doing little to nothing to restrict her. Yun Ming expected a few moments of struggle as he exerted enough control over their surroundings to make even a spirit king struggle to release their energies into the atmosphere but he was pleasantly surprised.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Yuena held a sphere of a myriad of elements. Swirling within its icy depths was the bone chilling power of ice, the torrential weight of water, the billowing power of wind, and even the stable and eternal essence of earth. It far surpassed what he expected of her so his answer was obvious.
"You pass." Eagerly passing her, Yun Ming was beyond satisfied with what he saw. It was not only impressive to gather so many elements so quickly under such pressure but it should have been impossible for her to keep it stable under his pressure even if it had been limited.
But, for Gu Yuena it was a breeze. It wasn't because the pressure he emitted wasn't affecting her, it was simply because her spiritual power was so abundant and dense it had little to no results. She may not be at her peak but she once stood at the pinnacle of spiritual power.
"I like you too already! Want to be my students?" Grinning like a fool it almost seemed like Yun Ming didn't realize the weight of his words. The students of the strongest man, an illustrious position that practically guaranteed their future in the eyes of the world.
""No thanks."" Simultaneously responding, neither Wulin nor Gu Yuena had any intention of agreeing to his offer. Ignoring their pride for a moment, Wulin simply had too much he needed to keep hidden as the leader of a large faction, and Gu Yuena was allied to the Spirit Pagoda.
"Wow! Shot down in a heartbeat! No worries, I won't push you to accept." Laughing off their refusal Yun Ming looked more excited than he likely would have if they accepted. It was unsurprising, how many people had the courage to refuse him?
"She won't be an option but why don't you accept Little Wulin? Even if you never learn from him, the role of his student would be helpful, wouldn't it? Besides, this old foggy would finally have a successor so the Sea God Pavillion will finally quiet down." Smiling slyly Zhang Xin only wryly smiled at Yun Ming's thumbs up and proud smile.
"...As long as Wu Zhangkong remains my teacher." Aceeding to their wishes, Wulin saw nothing wrong with it besides his current mentor. It was a dying fad but the concept of only having a single 'true' teacher had lasted since long before his father's time.
The culture of smiths still remained stuck in that traditional mindset and occasionally the elders of various old organizations like Shrek would fall in the same boat. Zhuo Shi teaching him the first six moves of the Divine Dragon Nine Moves could still fall under the category of simple tips but an official position had little chance of such an excuse.
"Of course. Shrek is ultimately a school, who are we to stop you from learning from whoever you want? We actively encourage our students to 'steal' as much from as many people as they can handle." Nodding in acceptance Yun Ming smiled softly, his tone a tad softer.
"Little Zhangkong, did you hear that? It looks like you're getting promoted." Smiling playfully Zhang Xin childishly poked Wu Zhangkong in the side. Raising a brow at his superior Wu Zhangkong didn't quite catch the meaning.
"Still, we can't have such a talented person teaching only you all. Wu Zhangkong, what do you say about becoming a teacher at Shrek?" Sighing at Yun Ming's offer, did Wu Zhangkong truly have a choice in the matter?
The choice was between abandoning his students and returning to Shrek, the land of opportunity and bad memories. Even with all his regrets and lingering emotions tied to that place tying him down, it was obvious what he'd choose.
"I'll gladly accept." Simply nodding at Wu Zhangkong's acceptance, Yun Ming turned his attention to the remaining two students. The last could be tested separately at a later date once she had healed but these two didn't have such a chance. He was far too excited to see their talent to wait needlessly.
"Then, why don't we test you two?" Smiling amicably, immense pressure forced them to their knees in an instant. Their testing had finally begun and now that they were in the shoes of their leader and his partner they had one shared thought.
'How'd they make it look so easy!?'
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Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.
I haven't written the next few chapters so this will be a prediction on my part so take it with a grain of salt. After this, we'll be heading to Shrek and from there, we'll have between 3-5 chapters of introduction type stuff and then the time skip will come. That when the stuff I'm personally excited for will come into play. I've got a lot of characters I've been dying to introduce!
If you want more chapters, head to patre*on.com/TrapOverlord for up to 25 extra chapters. It isn't required but it'd be much appreciated.