Countless beams of white light shot out fiercely, even making Wang Dong's expression change due to the overwhelming firepower.
He couldn't help but feel worried for Su Yu.
This was the power of a soul engineer.
Before reaching the level of Soul Sage, the offensive capabilities of a soul engineer were generally superior to those of a soul master. Without the ability to use a martial soul avatar, it was very difficult for a soul master to defeat a well-trained soul engineer.
This was almost universally acknowledged.
Of course, there were exceptions. Exceptionally strong individuals among soul masters, those considered prodigies, could still defeat soul engineers of the same level. However, such people were rare and not representative of the norm.
In Mo Cheng's view, Lin Ling had lost because he was a melee soul engineer. While melee soul engineers were strong in close combat, how could they possibly compete with a specialized power-attack soul master?
To defeat Su Yu, one had to leverage the true strengths of a soul engineer.
Mo Cheng's reasoning was sound—if it had been anyone else, he might have succeeded. But Su Yu was not someone who could be judged by the usual standards of a soul master.
As the barrage of white light approached, Su Yu's expression remained calm. A nebula-like vortex appeared around his body, distorting any beam of white light that came within two meters of him. Moreover, the vortex rotated, reflecting the beams at Mo Cheng.
Mo Cheng was shocked and panicked.
This nebula-like vortex was none other than a characteristic of the second level of the [Supreme Divine Art]—the Heaven and Earth Shift (Vector Manipulation). It allowed Su Yu to manipulate soul power, force, and even the power of blood and energy with extraordinary precision. It could also redirect the force of an opponent's attack back at them.
This was precisely why, despite Su Yu's overwhelming strength, he always maintained control over his power. The palm strike he had delivered to Lin Ling earlier was a perfect example of his precise control over force. With a light slap, he struck the weakest point of Lin Ling's armor, destroying it instantly. And yet, Lin Ling hadn't been seriously injured. Despite vomiting two mouthfuls of blood, not a single rib of Lin Ling's was broken.
Su Yu had shown restraint. After all, they were at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. If he hadn't held back, a slap carrying over 30,000 pounds of force could have shattered every bone in Lin Ling's body.
"What is that?"
Wang Dong asked curiously, staring at the nebula vortex around Su Yu. It was truly fascinating to see Mo Cheng's attacks reflected on him.
Wang Dong wasn't the only one shocked—Mo Cheng was even more astonished. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"What is this thing?"
Mo Cheng asked, bewildered.
"I can't tell you that. Now, it's my turn," Su Yu said as he cracked his knuckles, eager to make his move.
Mo Cheng panicked and unleashed another barrage of white light. However, all the beams were distorted by Su Yu's vortex, and not a single one could break through.
Su Yu smiled faintly, and in the next moment, his figure vanished like a gust of wind.
Mo Cheng was startled and began firing wildly from the metal tubes on his body. But no matter how many beams he fired, none of them hit Su Yu.
Suddenly, Su Yu appeared behind Mo Cheng. Before Mo Cheng could react, a foot landed on his backside, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt. He scrambled to his feet and fired behind him in a panic, but Su Yu had already disappeared.
Mo Cheng's wild shots hit nothing but air. Sweating profusely, he found that his soul tools couldn't lock onto Su Yu. Su Yu was simply too fast—so fast that Mo Cheng couldn't even catch a glimpse of him. His frantic firing only wasted soul power.
Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the side, and Mo Cheng hurriedly turned to face it—only to miss again. At some point, a foot had swung from behind, sending him sprawling once more.
After several rounds of this, Mo Cheng lay on the ground, panting heavily, his body covered in footprints. His soul power was completely exhausted. He had no idea how many kicks he had taken, and yet, he hadn't touched a single hair on Su Yu's head.
"I gave you a chance, but you blew it. Go back and train for a few more years," Su Yu said, standing with his hands behind his back, not even a drop of sweat on his forehead.
He had only used the Wind God's Leg technique, Chasing Shadows, to run circles around Mo Cheng. While soul engineers had strong offensive power, what's the point if they can't hit their target?
This was why Su Yu wasn't afraid of soul engineers. Relying on external tools could never match the agility of one's own body. Moreover, he had shown leniency. Though Mo Cheng looked battered, he wasn't injured.
As the battle ended, Wang Dong quickly ran up to Su Yu. She looked him over from head to toe, then gave him a big thumbs-up.
"Amazing!" she praised sincerely.
Su Yu's speed had been so fast that she couldn't even keep up. At this point, she wasn't sure what type of soul master Su Yu was. His strength made him seem like a power-attack type, but his speed was faster than that of an agility-attack type. Yet, Su Yu always claimed to be a control-type soul master.
Wang Dong genuinely couldn't figure Su Yu out, but one thing was certain: Su Yu was incredibly strong.
"How could I be your boss if I weren't amazing, little brother Wang Dong?"
Su Yu teased, ruffling her hair.
"Stop messing with my hair; you're messing it up!"
Wang Dong seemed annoyed as she pushed Su Yu's hand away.
Su Yu chuckled and turned his gaze to Lin Dong and the others, who were trembling with fear.
"Why are you still standing there? Get over here!"
Su Yu shouted coldly.
Lin Dong and the other two exchanged nervous glances, pushing each other forward before finally approaching Su Yu, looking dejected. All three hung their heads, utterly defeated.
"Lift your heads! Have you no shame?"
Su Yu barked, and the three of them trembled as they raised their heads.
"Class... class monitor, we know we were wrong, but not all of it was our fault! Wang Dong was at fault too."
"Yeah, Wang Dong disrespects soul tools. He naps during class, and even Teacher Ling Moxue doesn't like him."
"Exactly, exactly."
The three of them took turns complaining, occasionally throwing in jabs at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong's face darkened, but she didn't say anything. After all, it was true that she often napped during class.
"Did I say Wang Dong was blameless?"
"Did I say you couldn't give him trouble?"
"Your mistake was going to the upperclassmen to bully someone in your class. Don't you have any pride?"
Su Yu's words made the three of them blush in embarrassment.
"If you have the guts, fight him yourselves. What's the point of calling others to do it for you? Don't tell me the three of you can't beat Wang Dong on your own."
"We really can't," Lin Dong muttered softly.
Wang Dong burst out laughing, recounting what had happened the day before.
Su Yu was speechless.
"Three against one, and you still got countered? Do you even know how to fight?"
Lin Dong and the others were so embarrassed they wanted to crawl into a hole.
After all, they were all Soul Grandmasters at the same level as Wang Dong, and yet the three of them had been beaten by Wang Dong alone.
To put it bluntly, this was quite an embarrassing situation.
"Three of you can't beat one person, and you even called for backup—aren't you ashamed?"
Su Yu glared at Lin Dong and the other two.
The trio smiled awkwardly, not daring to talk back.
Su Yu rolled his eyes.
"Alright, I'm too lazy to lecture you any further."
"If you're weak, just train more."
"I don't care if you mess with Wang Dong. It's normal for classmates to get into fights."
"But if you pull the same stunt again—calling in upperclassmen to bully your classmates—don't blame me for being harsh."
"If it happens again, I'll strip your pants off and hang you from the tree in front of the teaching building. Then, I'll give you a good beating. Let's see if you still want to show your face around the academy."
The threat terrified the three, and they quickly shook their heads.
"We won't, we won't!"
Getting beaten was one thing, but suffering public humiliation? That was another.
If they were hung outside the teaching building with their pants down, everyone in their grade would see it. How would they ever show their faces again at the academy?
"Hmph, I thought so."
Seeing the three of them trembling in fear, Su Yu finally said, "Now scram!"
The trio, as if granted a pardon, immediately turned to run.
"Wait!"
They froze in their tracks and turned back stiffly.
"Class monitor, is there something else?"
Lin Dong asked with a fawning smile.
"Take those two losers with you. They're an eyesore."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Lin Dong shot a glance at the other two, who rushed over to drag Lin Ling and Mo Cheng away.
And drag them they did—pulling them across the ground, leaving two obvious trails behind.
Lin Ling and Mo Cheng, furious, shouted at Lin Dong and the others, but since Su Yu had given the order, Lin Dong and the others didn't dare disobey. They dragged the two away without hesitation.
From a distance, faint sounds of cursing could still be heard.
"Thanks for helping me out."
Wang Dong walked over, grateful.
Without Su Yu's help today, he might have been seriously beaten. A Level 4 soul engineer wasn't someone he could currently contend with—especially two of them at once. He had no chance of winning.
"It was nothing. But honestly, you need to work on your attitude."
"You sleep through every class. If I were them, I'd think you were disrespecting soul tools too."
"Even Teacher Ling Moxue, who's usually so gentle, doesn't like you. Wang Dong, you need to change."
Su Yu lightly tapped Wang Dong on the forehead, and Wang Dong, embarrassed, showed a hint of regret.
"I don't mean to, but as soon as class starts, I get sleepy. I just can't control it."
Wang Dong was equally helpless. He knew it was rude, but he couldn't help it. Every class felt like a foreign language, and before long, he'd start nodding off.
"At this rate, you're hopeless," Su Yu sighed dramatically, shaking his head.
He felt a bit sorry for Wang Dong. Having such an irresponsible father, what a pity.
"You're the hopeless one! Your whole family's hopeless!"
Wang Dong retorted, unable to take it anymore when Su Yu called him an underachiever.
"You sleep through class, and you're not a slacker?"
Su Yu teased, grinning.
Wang Dong's face flushed.
"I don't like the soul tool stuff, that's all! That doesn't make me a slacker."
"I'm smart."
"Sure, sure, you're a genius!"
Su Yu laughed.
Wang Dong glared at Su Yu, puffing out his cheeks, looking quite adorable in his anger.
Su Yu laughed heartily.
"Alright, alright, let's stop this. Come on, let's go get some food."
He patted Wang Dong's shoulder and started walking ahead.
Wang Dong quickly caught up, walking side by side with him.
...
Back at the dormitory cafeteria, the two sat down to eat. Wang Dong ordered a ton of delicious dishes, filling the entire table.
"You're ordering so much; can you even finish it?"
Su Yu asked, eyeing the spread.
Wang Dong had picked out all the rare and expensive items—either rare ingredients or those sourced from soul beasts. It was delicious but also pricey.
"Don't worry about it. Today, I'll foot the bill."
Wang Dong patted his chest with confidence. He wanted to treat Su Yu as thanks for earlier.
"Is that so? Well, in that case, I won't hold back."
Su Yu smiled.
"Don't! Just eat to your heart's content!"
Wang Dong waved grandly, signaling Su Yu to dig in.
Su Yu smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating. Seeing him begin, Wang Dong also joined in.
"Wang Dong, are you planning to continue like this?"
Su Yu asked as he ate.
Wang Dong paused, a bit confused.
This was the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. If he didn't stay, where else would he go?
Su Yu glanced at him with a bit of sympathy in his eyes.
"If you keep going like this, you'll just be wasting your time. You won't gain anything."
"From age ten to twenty is the golden period for improving your strength. If you waste time during this period, it'll be hard to catch up later."
"If you hate soul tools that much, I suggest you transfer schools as soon as possible."
"There are plenty of soul master academies on the Douluo Continent. With your talent, you could easily get into any one of them—even the academies of the three great empires or Shrek Academy."
"You're very gifted. Don't waste it."
Su Yu's words were sincere. Despite not being fond of a certain god-king, he had no ill will toward Wang Dong. Over the past two months, they'd become friends. That god-king might not care about his daughter's future, but Su Yu couldn't stand by and watch her go down the wrong path.
Wang Dong was silent, feeling Su Yu's genuine concern. But he shook his head firmly.
"I'm not transferring. I want to stay here."
He couldn't leave. His inner voice told him he would regret it. Besides, he had made his first real friend—Su Yu. If he left, who knew when they'd meet again?
"You're stubborn. What's so great about this place?"
Su Yu sighed.
"And what about you? Aren't you staying here too?"
Wang Dong asked curiously.
He knew Su Yu had a high aptitude for soul tools, but his talent as a soul master was even more impressive. In his opinion, a soul master academy would be a better fit for someone like Su Yu.
"I'm here to learn about soul tools. Why else would I come to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy?"
Su Yu rolled his eyes.
"But don't other academies on the Douluo Continent have soul tool departments too? You didn't have to come all the way here," Wang Dong said.
"How is that the same? If I'm going to learn, I want to learn from the best."
"The other three nations? When it comes to soul tools, they're not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the Sun Moon Empire."