Those Who Live in Solitude Are Either Beasts or Gods

"I have gathered everyone today for an extraordinary grade-wide assembly to announce two main items. First, due to the unique circumstances of this year's first grade, the winning class will no longer participate in the remaining Class Promotion Tournament. The rankings for the first grade will be adjusted according to the tournament rules. Specifically, the original Class Three will be promoted to Class One, Class Five will become Class Four, and the other three classes will shift accordingly."

They aren't allowed to continue in the Class Promotion Tournament?

The students who had just become Class One couldn't help but stir in agitation. Not being allowed to continue meant that the rewards for challenging higher-grade classes would no longer exist!

Long Hengxu continued, "In light of the outstanding performance of the new Class One in this tournament, every student in the class is hereby awarded a Grade A Meal every day for this semester."

As soon as these words were spoken, the commotion instantly turned into cheers. What was the concept of a Grade A Meal? That was a massive supplement! Setting aside the taste, it would be immensely beneficial to their cultivation. Most families couldn't afford Grade A Meals, so having them provided for free for the entire class for a whole semester was definitely a grand gesture.

Ye Yingluo, who had become the homeroom teacher for the new Class Two, saw her expression grow even gloomier. Clearly, she was not in a pleasant mood.

Long Hengxu shouted, "Quiet."

The cheering gradually died down.

Long Hengxu continued, "Due to the excellent performance of this year's first-grade students, the academy board has decided after careful consideration to establish a pilot class for the first grade, selecting the most outstanding students to join. It is tentatively named Class Zero, with Wu Zhangkong serving as the homeroom teacher and Long Xiuyuan as the assistant homeroom teacher."

"The students for Class Zero are selected from existing classes, currently totaling eight. From Class One: Situ Xuan, Lin Yao. From Class Two: Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, Wei Xiaofeng. From Class Four: Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie. In the future, if there are other students in this grade with similarly outstanding performance, there is a possibility for them to join Class Zero as well."

Class Zero?

The students from the five first-grade classes were in a constant state of chatter until the Dean, Yu Zhen, began to speak, at which point they finally fell silent.

Situ Xuan, on the other hand, yawned out of sheer boredom, listening with an indifferent expression.

Regarding this result, Situ Xuan felt absolutely no surprise; it was nothing more than an expected outcome.

After the speech concluded, Yu Zhen kept everyone on the Class Zero list behind and gave each person an agreement. It was clearly written inside that Eastsea Academy would provide faculty and resource allocation, and those who enjoyed these benefits could not transfer schools before completing their studies in the junior and senior high school divisions of the intermediate academy.

Situ Xuan didn't care and signed his name without the slightest hesitation.

He understood the nature of such treaties and agreements perfectly well: as long as one possessed sufficient strength, what treaty or agreement couldn't be torn up?

If there was one, it simply meant the strength wasn't enough.

The others, meanwhile, began to discuss it among themselves.

Of course, everyone except for that glutton Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, who was following closely behind him.

"Situ Xuan,"

Tang Wulin walked up with a smile, looking at his fellow townsman, and extended a hand: "We're classmates again."

Situ Xuan looked at the hand reaching toward him and gave it a perfunctory shake, "Mm."

Just as Yu Zhen raised his hand to prepare to speak, Situ Xuan abandoned Tang Wulin, who still wanted to say something, and stepped forward.

A lazy, youthful voice suddenly cut through the silence that had been so hard to achieve.

"I want to have free control over my training time."

The voice came so abruptly that it felt like a sharp blade slicing through the carefully prepared ceremony.

Everyone turned in astonishment to look at Situ Xuan, who was standing at the very edge of the formation.

The boy had his hands in his pockets and was leaning loosely against the wall, as if that incredibly arrogant demand hadn't come from him at all.

Yu Zhen's brow twitched violently, and his eyes narrowed dangerously: "What did you say?"

"I said—"

Situ Xuan slowly straightened up, took two steps forward to the front of the formation, and enunciated every word with extreme clarity, "I want to arrange my own training schedule. As for the other classes..." He shrugged indifferently, "Passing is enough."

The entire training ground exploded instantly.

Tang Wulin's eyes widened, Gu Yue's fingers tightened slightly, and even the usually composed Wu Zhangkong cast a meaningful gaze his way.

Long Xiuyuan stood to the side, his face already as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"Insolent!"

Yu Zhen slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his old face flushed red, "What do you think Eastsea Academy is? A vegetable market?!"

He was so angry that his beard was trembling, "Where do you get the audacity to negotiate terms with the academy?"

Situ Xuan, however, smiled.

That smile carried a coldness that transcended his age, reminiscent of sharp icicles in winter.

He tilted his head, a dark glint flashing in his pitch-black pupils: "Dean, what kind of 'audacity' do I need?"

He spread his hands, "At worst, you can just kick me out of Class Zero."

This sentence was like a basin of ice water poured onto the sweltering training ground.

Everyone held their breath, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped onto Long Hengxu's forehead.

Yu Zhen's complexion shifted from red to green, then from green to white. He opened his mouth, but fell speechless when he saw the inorganic luster in Situ Xuan's eyes.

That was not a look a boy should have—cold, sharp, like a drawn blade, carrying a chill that disregarded life and death.

The Dean's hands trembled slightly within his sleeves. He suddenly recalled what Long Hengxu had said in his report: "That child seems a bit willful..."

At this moment, he finally understood what that meant.

This wasn't willfulness; it was a fierce beast testing the boundaries of its cage.

The entire training ground fell into a deathly silence, to the point where even the sound of breathing became clearly audible.

Right in the midst of this taut, high-tension atmosphere, a cold, clear voice suddenly cut through:

"Very well. For my class, morning sessions will be dedicated to academic instruction, while afternoon combat training will be optional."

The blue-haired man had appeared in the center of the arena at some point, his moonlight-like eyes gazing calmly at Situ Xuan. "What do you think?"

This simple directive left everyone stunned.

Yu Zhen opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, eventually sinking heavily back into his chair. He knew that Wu Zhangkong was taking this hot potato off his hands.

Situ Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at this new homeroom teacher directly for the first time.

Their gazes collided in the air, seemingly sparking invisible friction.

The smile at the corner of the youth's mouth deepened, carrying a faint, bloody undertone: "Interesting..."

"Since Teacher Wu has spoken, it would be rude of me to ask for anything more."

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Don't be late for class the day after tomorrow. Go back and prepare."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, and it wasn't until Situ Xuan had actually left that the students of Zero Class began to disperse as well.

"Principal, is this really going to be okay?"

Long Hengxu, on the contrary, was starting to regret making the suggestion; after all, the core figure had dared to defy the principal right from the start—this was clearly a student who was beyond their control.

Yu Zhen, however, was not as angry as Long Hengxu had imagined. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, watching the departing Situ Xuan, and only after a long while did he mutter to himself: "Those who live in solitude are either beasts or gods..."

"What about you? What are you?"

Many have asked about the protagonist's soul skills, so they will be listed once:

Situ Xuan

Martial Soul: Body

Soul Power Rank: 15

Soul Ring:

First Soul Ring (Yellow): Increases physical constitution by twenty percent.