"Today, we have gathered for a temporary first-year assembly to announce two matters. First, due to this year's unique circumstances, the winning first-year class will no longer continue in the Class Promotion Tournament. The first-year rankings will be adjusted according to the tournament rules. The original Class Three will become Class One, Class One-Five will become Class Four, and the other three classes will be adjusted accordingly."
They would no longer be allowed to participate in the Class Promotion Tournament?
The students who had become Class One could not help but stir restlessly. No longer participating in the Class Promotion Tournament meant that the rewards for challenging higher grades would no longer exist!
Long Hengxu continued, "In recognition of the outstanding performance of the new Class One in this Class Promotion Tournament, every student in the class will be awarded one Grade A Meal per day for the remainder of this semester."
The moment he said that, the commotion instantly turned into cheers. What did a Grade A Meal mean? It was an incredible tonic! Never mind the taste—it would greatly benefit their cultivation. Most families could not afford Grade A Meals, and a full semester of free meals for the entire class was an extraordinarily generous reward.
Ye Yingluo, who had become the homeroom teacher of Class Two, looked even gloomier. She was clearly not in a good mood.
Long Hengxu shouted, "Quiet!"
Only then did the cheers gradually subside.
Long Hengxu continued, "Because of the exceptional performance of this year's first-year students, the academy's board of directors has decided, after careful consideration, to establish an experimental class for first-years and select the best students to join it. It will tentatively be called Zero Class. Teacher Wu Zhangkong will serve as its homeroom teacher, with Teacher Long Xiuyuan as assistant homeroom teacher."
"Zero Class students will be selected from the existing classes. There are currently eight students. From Class One: Situ Xuan and Lin Yao. From Class Two: Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng. From Class Four: Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie. If there are other equally outstanding students in this grade in the future, they may also have the opportunity to join Zero Class."
Zero Class?
The students from all five first-year classes buzzed with confusion until Dean Yu Zhen began speaking, whereupon they gradually fell silent.
Situ Xuan, meanwhile, yawned boredly and listened without much interest.
Situ Xuan was not surprised by this outcome at all. It was simply what he had expected.
After the speech ended, Yu Zhen kept everyone on the Zero Class list behind and handed each of them an agreement. It clearly stated that Eastsea Academy would provide teaching staff and preferential resources, while those who accepted them could not transfer schools before completing both the middle-school and high-school divisions of the intermediate academy.
Situ Xuan did not care. He signed his name without the slightest hesitation.
He knew all too well what such agreements meant. As long as one had enough strength, what agreement could not be torn apart?
If there was one, then it only meant one was not strong enough.
The others began discussing it among themselves.
Of course, that excluded Tang Wulin, the bottomless pit, and Gu Yue, who followed close behind him.
"Situ Xuan."
Tang Wulin walked up with a smile. Looking at his fellow townsman, he extended a hand. "We're classmates again."
Situ Xuan looked at the offered hand and gave it a perfunctory shake. "Mm."
Just as Yu Zhen raised his hand to begin speaking, Situ Xuan left Tang Wulin, who still seemed to have something to say, and stepped forward.
A lazy young voice suddenly cut through the hard-won silence.
"I want control over my own training time."
The words came far too abruptly, like a sharp blade cutting through a carefully prepared ceremony.
Everyone turned in astonishment to look at Situ Xuan, who stood at the very edge of the group.
With both hands in his pockets, the boy leaned loosely against the wall, as though that outrageously arrogant demand had not come from his mouth.
Yu Zhen's brow twitched sharply, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you say?"
"I said—"
Situ Xuan slowly straightened and took two steps forward, arriving at the front of the group. He enunciated every word with exceptional clarity. "I will arrange my own training plan. As for the other classes..." He shrugged indifferently. "Passing is enough."
The entire training ground instantly erupted.
Tang Wulin's eyes widened. Gu Yue's fingers tightened slightly. Even Wu Zhangkong, who was usually so composed, cast a meaningful glance his way.
Long Xiuyuan stood to one side, his face already dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Insolence!"
Yu Zhen slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his old face flushed red. "What do you take Eastsea Academy for? A marketplace?!"
Even his beard trembled with fury. "What gives you the nerve to bargain with the academy?"
Situ Xuan smiled instead.
That smile carried a coldness beyond his years, reminding people of sharp icicles in winter.
Tilting his head, a dark gleam flashed through his black pupils. "Dean, what nerve do I need?"
He spread his hands. "At worst, you can just kick me out of Zero Class."
Those words were like a basin of icy water poured over the sweltering training ground.
Everyone held their breath. The air was filled with suffocating pressure.
Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on Long Hengxu's forehead.
Yu Zhen's face changed from red to green, then from green to white. He opened his mouth, but when he saw the inorganic glint in Situ Xuan's eyes, he suddenly found himself speechless.
Those were not the eyes a boy should have possessed—cold, sharp, like a blade drawn from its sheath, carrying an icy disregard for life and death.
The dean's hand trembled slightly within his sleeve. He suddenly recalled what Long Hengxu had said in his report: "That child seems somewhat willful..."
Only now did he understand what that meant.
This was not willfulness. It was a savage beast testing the boundaries of its cage.
The entire training ground was silent. Even breathing could be heard clearly.
Just as the tension reached its peak, a cool voice suddenly cut in:
"Fine. In my class, lessons will be taught in the morning. Attendance at practical combat training in the afternoon will be optional."
At some point, the blue-haired man had already stepped into the center of the grounds. His moonlit eyes calmly watched Situ Xuan. "What do you think?"
This simple arrangement left everyone stunned.
Yu Zhen seemed to want to speak, but in the end, he sat heavily back down. He knew that Wu Zhangkong was taking over this hot potato.
Situ Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and looked directly at his new homeroom teacher for the first time.
Their gazes collided in midair, sparking invisible flames.
The smile at the corner of the boy's lips deepened, faintly carrying a bloody edge. "Interesting..."
"Since Teacher Wu has already spoken, asking for anything more would be too disrespectful."
Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Don't be late for class the day after tomorrow. Go back and prepare."
Everyone exchanged looks. Only after Situ Xuan had truly left did the other Zero Class students also depart one after another.
"Dean, is this really all right?"
Long Hengxu actually regretted making this suggestion. The key figure had dared to openly defy the dean from the very beginning. He was obviously a student beyond anyone's control.
Yu Zhen was not as angry as Long Hengxu had expected. Instead, he narrowed his eyes as he watched Situ Xuan walk away. After a long while, he murmured, "Those who live apart from the herd are either beasts or gods..."
"And you? What are you?"
Many people have asked about the protagonist's soul skill, so I'll post it only once:
Situ Xuan Martial Soul: Body Soul Power Cultivation: Rank 15 Soul Rings: First Soul Ring (Yellow): Increased the body's physical constitution by 20%.
Before you continue