As the time reached 10:30, the bell rang over the broadcast system. The opening ceremony would begin in ten minutes.
Listening to the voice coming through the speakers, Li Ang remained calm.
He didn't take it to heart that the other three had left without him or even called for him. He had already summoned the Crystal Butterfly.
The little butterfly settled lightly in his hand. Based on his own design, and the simulations he had run after imparting his knowledge to it, a complete Battle Armor arm—or rather, a Battle Armor gauntlet—had appeared in his palm.
Feeling the mechanical sensation and the boost in strength, he estimated the increase at around twenty percent.
Under normal circumstances, Battle Armor provided a much greater boost than that. But Li Ang's strength was simply too monstrous; even Battle Armor would struggle to enhance it.
"Ah, I just hope it can keep up with my plans. It'd be a real problem if my strength keeps growing and the Battle Armor ends up holding me back."
As he spoke, Li Ang walked downstairs and headed outside. They would be assigned to classes after the opening ceremony, so everyone was standing around in a disorderly crowd. Li Ang made no effort to push his way forward.
He simply stood calmly at the back, waiting for the class assignments to begin.
An elderly man walked slowly to the front. His gaze was gentle. After looking around, he turned his eyes toward the first-year students below the stage.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Yu Zhen, and I'm the dean of Eastsea Academy."
"Today, on behalf of Eastsea Academy, I'm delighted to welcome all of you new students to our family."
The old man spoke in a gentle voice, yet there seemed to be a firm conviction behind it. As his words rang out through the loudspeakers, the noisy crowd gradually fell silent.
The minutes passed. Li Ang had already resigned himself to waiting longer; under normal circumstances, a speech like this would take at least an hour.
But to his surprise, less than fifteen minutes later, the old man had finished speaking. He gave a slight bow and stepped down.
The first-year students looked surprised as the old man left, but the upperclassmen seemed used to it.
The students from the intermediate and advanced divisions who had gathered there were already following their teachers off in groups, heading back to their own classroom buildings.
Li Ang's eyes flickered as he watched, then he calmly turned his gaze toward the stage.
Just as he'd expected, Long Hengxu stood up and walked to the front. He swept his gaze over the crowd before looking toward the students.
"I'm going to read out the names for Class One, Grade One: Li Ang, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, Wei Xiaofeng..."
Long Hengxu's voice was calm. As he called out each name, the students made their way to their assigned group.
Li Ang didn't hear any familiar names until Long Hengxu reached Class Five and called out Xie Xie and Tang Wulin. Only then did he look across at the opposite group.
As soon as he turned around, his eyes met Xie Xie's. Xie Xie immediately rolled his eyes at him.
They had been in the same elementary academy for three years and could just about be called friends. Li Ang was rather withdrawn—or, to put it more plainly, cold—and Xie Xie was just about the only person who had managed to become a decent friend of his.
When Xie Xie pointed toward the cafeteria, Li Ang paused, then calmly nodded.
After Long Hengxu finished reading the names, several teachers came forward behind him and joined their respective classes. Their teacher was a beautiful woman.
She was tall, with long purple hair stirring gently in the breeze and a cool expression. Her Eastsea Academy uniform accentuated her curves to the fullest.
Meeting the students' curious gazes, the woman merely nodded at them.
"Class One, please follow me back to your classroom and take your seats."
After speaking, she glanced at them without saying anything more and led the twenty students of Class One toward their classroom.
Li Ang glanced back at the Class Five group one last time. A handsome young man was already standing there, his long, water-blue hair falling around his face. His expression was completely blank, giving him an icy air.
Li Ang's gaze lingered on the young man for a few seconds. Then he calmly followed Class One back to their classroom.
By the time they entered, most of the students had already taken their seats. Nearly all of them were sitting together in groups of three or four, divided by dormitory.
One student, though, was sitting alone: Na'er. Li Ang hadn't paid any attention to when she'd arrived, or even noticed her.
Over the past three years, he and Na'er had been like two parallel lines that never crossed.
Li Ang could tell that Na'er occasionally watched him, full of curiosity. But he had no intention of getting too close to her. Even though she had lost her memories by now, he still didn't dare take that risk.
After all, the Golden Dragon King could make Na'er into the true Dragon God. But Li Ang was entirely different: he was the Planet Lord of Douluo Planet.
If he were controlled or killed prematurely, he couldn't even begin to predict the impact it would have on Douluo Planet—or on the revival of the Soul Beasts.
He didn't care about the Silver Dragon King, who had already become a lovesick fool. He could even say he wasn't afraid of her. But Gu Yuena, with her full reason intact, was another matter entirely.
People always said the Silver Dragon King had no brains, but he had never actually met her. If he approached her rashly and exposed his trump cards, a single wrong thought from her could wipe him out. That wasn't something Li Ang wanted.
Still, Li Ang was just as baffled about why Na'er hadn't left, or why she had come with him to Eastsea Academy.
But he didn't dwell on it. Seeing there were no empty seats, he calmly sat down beside Na'er.
Everyone around them froze when Li Ang walked straight over. After all, Na'er was unquestionably the most beautiful girl in the class, while Li Ang was merely average—so unremarkable that he hardly stood out at a glance.
At that moment, they looked as if they were seeing an ordinary boy sitting beside the school belle, like a flower stuck in cow dung. Quite a few people wore strange expressions, including Ye Yingluo.
In truth, Li Ang was nowhere near ugly. He didn't even come close to being ugly.
His skin was fair. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had a quiet, gentle air about him.
It was just that in a world where practically everyone was strikingly good-looking, he couldn't be considered especially handsome. He was simply plain, with a quiet appearance.
Watching this, Ye Yingluo opened her mouth, but when she saw that the student named Na'er sitting beside him didn't say a word, she fell silent again.
Long Hengxu had specifically mentioned two students to her beforehand: Na'er and Li Ang. By now, she suspected the two might know each other, so she kept quiet.
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