Aria nodded as she observed the situation. For adolescent boys, they often had strong pride and stubborn personalities.
In her view, Ethan Chen merely wanted to prove through this challenge that he was not inferior to those students from the Hongzhi Class. For someone from an ordinary family to make it into the Hongzhi Class was indeed a sign of talent.
She had also heard about Ethan's Martial Skill reaching (Tier 1) Mastery Level.
Spiritual Power talent and Martial Skill talent complement each other, but for a normal person, they usually have neither.
Someone with Martial Skill talent may not have Spiritual Power talent; someone with Spiritual Power talent may have some advantage in Martial Skill. For example, Aria herself had no Martial Skill talent.
Her Martial Skill remained at (Tier 1) Mastery Level ; let alone the Tier 2, she hadn't even reached (Tier 1) Limit Level. That was due to her high Spiritual Power promoting some progress in Martial Skill; otherwise, her Martial Skill would have stalled at Intermediate Level.
Having either of these talents already marked someone as exceptional, a "dragon among men, steed among horses."
Ethan was a student Ryan Ling paid particular attention to. Aria planned to personally guide him if he failed the upcoming challenge.
"Even if you had unlimited wealth, the Spiritual Power you can cultivate is limited. The Hongzhi Class students are merely early-flying fledglings," she thought.
"Concentrate fully on resisting my Fatigue Melody. I will make your body and mind simultaneously feel exhausted," Aria reminded.
"Yes!" the students responded in unison.
Unlike the liberal arts class, the martial arts class had strict discipline. Students were not allowed to speak unless the teacher asked. It was now 10:50 AM, and all students were still energetic and confident.
Aria glanced at the confident students before her and smiled faintly, already envisioning them soon collapsing to the ground, weak and powerless. She then raised the flute to the level of her red lips. Several students' eyes gleamed with excitement.
Among them, Moret and Kenji Shimizu showed strong challenge in their eyes. Both were certain to enter top eight universities and had privately spent a lot of time training their Spiritual Power.
Especially Kenji Shimizu, who had withstood the longest last semester, even longer than Moret. Moret had rarely lost before and had secretly trained harder after a defeat.
"Beeep..." A faint, mesmerizing flute melody sounded. Ten seconds later, all thirty-one students stood steadily, showing no sign of faltering. Aria smiled. "Good, it seems everyone has been practicing diligently."
As a teacher, she knew her personal strength wasn't most important; what mattered was her ability to cultivate excellent students. Encouragement was crucial—it gave people continuous motivation to persist. Many things only yield results through perseverance. As the saying goes: after the clouds clear, the moon shines; flowers bloom in due time.
Earlier, she had only used Level 1 Spiritual Power to activate the Fatigue Melody, equivalent to mild hypnosis, inducing drowsiness. Partly to avoid Ethan collapsing in the first round, and partly to encourage the students and boost their confidence. After all, future setbacks would far surpass those experienced in school. A strong core was key to progress.
"Beeep..." The same melody sounded again, with no change in volume. All thirty-one students remained standing. Aria's expression stayed calm, but a flicker of surprise crossed her mind. Ethan had also endured it?
Although his Spiritual Power was one level lower, the difference wasn't as large as the gap in Life Strength, but it was still significant. Ethan enduring a Level 1 Fatigue Melody was understandable—same-level Spiritual Power generally cancels out its effect, and it was meant to prevent him from collapsing in the first round and to encourage the class.
But the previous Fatigue Melody was Level 2! The other students, all with Level 2 or above, could handle it easily. But Ethan? Even relying on strong willpower, he didn't even frown. He endured it as effortlessly as eating or drinking.
"Very good. Everyone's Spiritual Power is stronger than I imagined!" Aria praised. She raised the flute to her lips again.
"Beeep..." This time, the Fatigue Melody was Level 3 Spiritual Power! Soon, twenty-one students showed signs of exhaustion, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Their calves shook as if they had held horse stances all day.
Despite gritting their teeth, they quickly thudded down to the floor. This was the power of the Fatigue Melody—tricking the mind and body into believing they had exercised all day, forcing the brain to signal rest.
Ten students remained standing. Amazingly, Ethan was among them.
"What?! Spiritual Power talent?" Several top students gasped.
Given Ethan's family background, he couldn't have purchased expensive Spiritual Power items. The only explanation was talent. Martial Skill talent and Spiritual Power talent were two entirely different gifts, like water and fire; very few people had both. Even these worldly-wise second-generation students had never seen both appear in the same person.
Han Bobo, sitting on the floor, looked at Ethan's back and smiled. Good! The stronger Ethan is, the less frustrated I feel. Yesterday, she had been angry losing to him. Though she was mid-level in Hongzhi Class, being overtaken by someone from an ordinary class was annoying. But her upbringing kept her from losing temper. Now she realized Ethan was truly formidable; the loss was fair.
Moret and Kenji Shimizu glanced at Ethan, their hearts shaken. This guy had both Martial Skill and Spiritual Power talent. If he had been born into a wealthy family, he could have entered any of the top three elite universities!
Level 4... five students collapsed, leaving five.Level 5... two students fell, leaving three.Level 6... Moret and Kenji fell simultaneously, leaving only Ethan!
The result shocked everyone. Aria's eyes widened in disbelief. She raised the flute to her lips again.
"Beeep..." Level 7 Spiritual Power! Ethan swayed as if he would fall any moment, like a drunk who had downed two bottles of liquor in one go.
Finally, when the Fatigue Melody reached Level 8 Spiritual Power, Ethan plopped to the floor. Aria watched calmly, her eyes betraying a surge of shock.
Spiritual Power exceeding Life Strength! Just like her! In the pre-Martial Artist stage, Spiritual Power surpassing Life Strength was a miracle. Few people Aria had seen possessed this. Moreover, Ethan was not a pure Spiritual Power type.
If she were pure Spiritual Power, she would need teammates during battles against alien civilizations; maintaining mental attacks required complete focus and immobility, making her teammates' abilities crucial. That risk of death was why she had become a teacher after careful consideration.
Ethan was different. With extraordinary Martial Skill talent, he could follow a path immune to Spiritual Power and rely on his powerful body to tear enemies apart. Aria looked at Ethan's youthful face, already envisioning him battling the Big-Eyed Civilization. With his talent, Ethan Chen was the perfect warrior against the Big-Eyed Civilization.