As Yu Xiaoya walked into the classroom, Hals hurried in after her.
Hals was curious. This was his first time seeing what a classroom looked like. Even in the countless missions he had carried out in the past, he had never had a chance to set foot in one. Compared with battlefields filled with corpses and the stench of blood, a classroom was far more unfamiliar.
Hals entered the classroom about two seconds after Yu Xiaoya. As soon as he stepped inside, his strange robe quickly caught everyone's eye. No, not everyone's. As Hals instinctively scanned the classroom for information, one equally unusual girl caught his attention for a moment, but that was all.
The reason was simple: while everyone's eyes were fixed on Hals, this girl—with thick, long bangs that even covered her face—merely glanced up before quickly lowering her head again.
Hals made a mental note of the girl, then promptly put her out of his mind and took his place beside Yu Xiaoya.
Yu Xiaoya saw from the corner of her eye that Hals had taken his place and spoke in a cool, even voice. "Let me make a brief introduction. This is your future homeroom teacher. From now on, he'll be in charge of leading you." She paused, then stepped back to make room for Hals. "Now, your new teacher will say a few words and go over some arrangements."
Hals was a little dazed. It took him a second to realize that it was his turn to speak.
He surveyed the classroom. The face beneath his hood was obscured by shadows, and the dim light made most of the fourteen- and fifteen-year-old boys and girls feel a chill creep through them.
Seeing the classroom fall completely silent, Hals nodded in satisfaction and said in a hoarse voice, "My name is Yu Hun. Call me whatever you like, whether that's 'teacher' or just my name. I don't mind. But you can and must follow my instructions from now on. If you have a problem with that, you have one chance to speak up."
Hals's words caused an uproar in the classroom. The students glanced at one another, most of them looking dissatisfied. After exchanging glances, a sturdy boy who hardly looked fourteen or fifteen stood up.
The boy had fair skin, straight, sword-like eyebrows, and eyes that seemed to sparkle like stars. He had quite the handsome, graceful look.
There was a smug, cocky air about the boy's expression. He stood up, coughed twice to clear his throat, then spoke. "Greetings, Sir Yu Hun." He paused slightly, as though waiting for Hals to return the greeting, but Hals gave no response even after a long while. The boy clenched his fist under the desk, a flash of displeasure crossing his face.
When he spoke again, there was little respect in his voice. "Sir, if you expect all of us to do everything you say, you should at least give us a reason. If you don't give us one, what if you're a useless teacher? Wouldn't that ruin us?"
After delivering his pointed speech, the boy felt secretly pleased. Seeing the astonished, admiring looks from the girls around him, he was sure he looked incredibly cool. As for whether he might offend the teacher?
Hah. The boy curled his lip in disdain. He had the highest Soul Power Level in the class and was the closest to becoming a Soul King. Even in the whole school, he was someone of note. The teacher should be trying to win him over, if anything. Hah.
"What's your name?" a hoarse, low voice asked beside the boy.
"Lu Renjia." The boy lifted his chin slightly, feeling pleased. Was the teacher going to praise him and try to win him over?
"Good. I hereby announce that you're expelled from this class. Contact the teachers above me to transfer to another class or withdraw from school."
Lu Renjia's smile froze on his face. Had he heard wrong?
Lu Renjia's composure from before vanished, and he suddenly looked flustered. "H-heh, you're joking, right? You must be joking."
Ignoring Lu Renjia, who was starting to lose his temper, Hals turned to Yu Xiaoya. "Is that all right, Director?"
Yu Xiaoya nodded, her expression as still as an ancient well. "That's fine. I'm only responsible for handling problems. You're in charge of class matters."
After receiving Yu Xiaoya's confirmation, Hals turned back to the boy, whose forehead was already beaded with sweat. His voice remained utterly flat. "You heard her. Pack your things."
Lu Renjia looked flustered, but inside he was furious. How dare he?
"Do you even know who I am? I'm the strongest person in this class. Without me, this class is nothing."
Hals said nothing, and none of the other students dared to speak.
At last, Lu Renjia finally erupted. "Fine. You want me to leave? All right." He looked around at his classmates and said angrily, "There's no point staying in this class. With a teacher like this, it's doomed. Anyone want to leave with me?"
As he spoke, Lu Renjia looked at the girls and a few boys who had always idolized him. But whoever met his gaze either turned away or lowered their head deeply.
Lu Renjia trembled with anger. He raised a shaking finger and pointed at his classmates. "Fine. Just you wait." He turned to Hals, a trace of malice in his eyes. "All right, you've all bullied me. Fine. I'll tell you: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't look down on a young—"
Before he could finish, Hals, who had been standing on the platform, suddenly appeared at his side without warning. He grabbed Lu Renjia by the scruff of the neck and hurled him out the window. A loud crash rang out with a scream, and Hals was already back where he had been.
"You talk too much."
The classroom fell silent.
The remaining students of Advanced Class Nine either stared at Hals in shock or timidly lowered their heads to avoid his sword-like gaze, which seemed to shoot out from beneath his hood.
"I'll ask once more." The gloomy, hoarse voice rang out. "Does anyone want to leave with him?"
Nobody spoke.
Hals turned to Yu Xiaoya. "That's all, Director. You can go take care of your business. I can handle the rest myself."
Yu Xiaoya was still shocked. She truly hadn't expected Hals to handle things this way, but she did her best to maintain her cool expression and nodded. "All right, then I'll be going. Handle things as you see fit."
Lowering her voice slightly, Yu Xiaoya spoke to Hals in a whisper. "Just don't go too far."
Hals gave an almost imperceptible nod and watched Yu Xiaoya leave the classroom.
Once Yu Xiaoya had left and casually closed the classroom door behind her, Hals turned and silently looked at the students seated below.
After a long while, Hals finally spoke in a calm voice. "I know you may feel confused, or even angry and afraid. That's all right. I'll explain."
His voice was hoarse, but somewhat gentler than before. "My class doesn't need troublemakers. It needs students who can carry out my assignments perfectly."
"You're here to learn about Soul Masters and become stronger. But in my view, the essence of a Soul Master is still that of a weapon of violence. If you're only here to make a living, there's no need for you to come to this school at all. And weapons of violence are meant to kill."
Hals paused and looked at the students below. The words "meant to kill" seemed to frighten them. Almost all of them were trying to act like ostriches, burying their heads deep beneath their desks. Only the girl Hals had noticed earlier was an exception.
"Maybe you don't know much about me, but I can tell you this: this is my first time being a teacher, and my first time teaching anyone. But my previous profession was killing people. I may have killed several times as many people as you've ever known."
A chill settled over the students. Killing people? What kind of teacher was this?
Ignoring their reactions, Hals continued, "I'm not telling you all this to scare you. I'm telling you that killing is my specialty. I'll train you into efficient killing machines. That, too, is a way to become stronger."
Nobody said a word. Hals nodded, and a satisfied expression appeared on the face hidden beneath his hood.
"Good. Now I'm going to give my first order. I don't care whether you had a class monitor before, but I'm appointing a new one now."
Hals fixed his gaze on the girl and parted his lips. "The girl in the last row, second seat from the right. You're the new class monitor!"
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