After displaying his soul rings, no one dared to stop Fang Chang anymore. They could only watch as he left.
At Spider God Academy, students were usually required to graduate after the age of twenty-five. However, if they reached the Soul King level before that, they could enter the Inner Academy.
The Outer Academy was much more lenient, accepting prodigies ranging from six or seven years old to young adults in their twenties. The gap in strength among them was vast, but they all shared the same goal: entering the Inner Academy.
The power Fang Chang had just displayed was overwhelmingly superior to theirs, instantly extinguishing any thoughts of provoking him further.
No wonder Senior Zhu Zhu treated him like that… Many couldn't help but think.
Leaving the area, Fang Chang followed a few students around his age to the teaching area and entered a classroom.
The female teacher on the podium glanced at him, her gaze lingering on his gray-blue uniform.
She wasn't particularly surprised—having an extra temporary student in class wasn't anything unusual.
However, the other students in the classroom pointed and whispered. They'd seen plenty of temporary students before, but one this old was a first.
"Silence."
The teacher's voice cut through the noise.
She appeared to be in her thirties, yet her soul power had already reached the Soul Sage level. Though she didn't seem particularly fierce, the moment she spoke, the classroom fell dead silent.
"Today, we'll continue learning about the use of medium-to-large-scale soul tools."
She pointed at a cannon-like iron device on the table.
Hearing this, Fang Chang's interest was instantly piqued. He knew very well that in the original timeline, the rise of soul tools in this era had shifted the balance between humans and soul beasts.
The teacher picked up the soul tool and began channeling her soul power into it.
As her energy flowed in, the device emitted a faint glow. A beam of condensed soul power gradually gathered at its muzzle, radiating a terrifying energy fluctuation.
The students stared unblinkingly, some even shrinking back in fear that the teacher might lose control and accidentally fire it.
But just as the energy reached its peak, the teacher withdrew her soul power, allowing the violent energy to dissipate under her guidance.
"Sigh…"
"Phew…"
Two completely opposite reactions arose in the classroom. Some lamented the teacher's anticlimactic demonstration, while others were relieved she had stopped.
Unlike these students, Fang Chang—with his far greater strength—could see much more.
Even for this Soul Sage-level teacher, wielding this soul tool was not effortless. There was a noticeable lag in her soul power control.
In his eyes, this soul tool likely required at least a Soul Emperor-level soul master to fully unleash its power.
"Alright, as you all just saw, like all soul tools, medium-to-large-scale ones also require soul power infusion to amplify and unleash stronger attacks."
The teacher scanned the room.
"I bet you're all itching to try. Any volunteers?"
Almost every student except Fang Chang shot their hands up.
The teacher's gaze swept across the class before settling on a well-built young man—intentionally or not.
His soul power was just over 40th rank, making him the strongest in the class (excluding Fang Chang).
"Here, try channeling your soul power into it and see how it reacts."
She handed him the soul tool, a faint smile playing on her lips.
The young man eagerly took it and mimicked the teacher, pouring his soul power inside.
However…
The soul tool only emitted a barely noticeable flicker before dimming again.
Refusing to believe it, he gritted his teeth and clenched the device tighter, pouring in even more soul power.
As his energy surged in, the glow intensified slightly, and a faint energy fluctuation gathered at the muzzle.
But soon, as his soul power rapidly depleted, his output became unstable. The soul tool's light flickered wildly before dying out completely.
"Hah… hah…"
Panting heavily, the young man set the soul tool down.
"Teacher, this thing drains soul power like crazy!"
The teacher merely chuckled and motioned for him to sit before asking again,
"Anyone else want to try?"
This time, far fewer hands went up—though a few stubborn boys still raised theirs. The teacher picked another one.
Unsurprisingly, this attempt ended even more miserably than the last.
Only then did the teacher resume her lecture.
"Medium-to-large-scale soul tools are designed to be used by multiple soul masters simultaneously, enhancing combat effectiveness."
"So unless you're exceptionally strong, it's very difficult for a single soul master to operate them alone."
Fang Chang's interest deepened.
If the Spirit Hall had possessed such weapons back then, the war against the two empires might have ended very differently.
Moreover, another thought struck him:
If humans can use these, why can't soul beasts?
Imagine equipping my spider kin with these—their combat power would soar.
"Now, let's have a few students try activating this soul tool together."
The lesson continued.
This time, Fang Chang raised his hand—a rare move.
Noticing this, the teacher blinked in mild surprise but called on him.
It was common for teachers to give new students more opportunities to integrate, and this world was no exception.
Alongside Fang Chang, two girls—both around 30th rank—were also selected. Following the teacher's instructions, they placed their hands on the soul tool and began channeling soul power.
At first, Fang Chang restricted his output to match the girls'. Though all three were working together, the soul tool showed little reaction—though it was still slightly better than the first boy's solo attempt.
"Haha, unfortunately, it seems the soul power output still isn't—"
Before the teacher could finish, the soul tool suddenly flared to life, its glow intensifying rapidly as energy gathered at the muzzle.
"Whoa!"
The class erupted in excitement, but the teacher paled and reached out to intervene.
By then, the two girls were frozen in terror at the violent energy fluctuations.
Fang Chang simply lifted the soul tool alone, aiming it outside the classroom toward an empty field.
Before the teacher could stop him—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as the attack landed, leaving a ten-meter-wide crater billowing with black smoke.