The First Day of School

The first day of school was destined to be chaotic, a day when they learned nothing at all.

In the morning, Zhang Yang was woken by the teacher on duty.

After stretching, Zhang Yang opened the system to check the time.

07:30.

Seeing the time, Zhang Yang gave himself a leisurely stretch.

It was the first time in two months that Zhang Yang had slept in.

Then the teacher on duty herded Zhang Yang along like a duckling, getting him up, making him wash and brush his teeth, and tidy his bed. After that, the students lined up and headed to the academy cafeteria for breakfast.

After breakfast, the teacher on duty drove Zhang Yang and the others along like a flock of ducks to the first-floor lecture hall in the teaching building, where the first-year classes were held.

In the lecture hall, Zhang Yang met his first-year homeroom teacher, Teacher Clyde, who was only forty but already had a receding hairline.

Clyde was sitting there with an air of leisurely confidence, watching his teaching assistant check off the new students one by one.

Now and then, a school worker would bring over a new student who had somehow wandered away from the line.

Only after all the new students had checked in and settled obediently into their seats did Clyde straighten up and stride steadily to the podium.

Then...

"Long-Armed Ape, Possession!"

Brown light suddenly burst across the podium. Clyde spread his arms, and his muscles swelled, stretching his well-fitted clothes tight.

At the same time, his arms rapidly lengthened. They had barely reached past his crotch before, but in an instant, they stretched all the way to the floor.

A thick beard, pure white, sprang across his formerly clean-shaven cheeks.

Three shining rings rose beneath his feet, two yellow and one purple. As they pulsed, the surging Soul Power pressed down on every new student in the lecture hall.

"Whoa~~~"

The students stared in astonishment as someone on the podium suddenly transformed right in front of them.

Seeing how enthusiastically everyone had responded, Teacher Clyde couldn't help feeling rather pleased. Amplified by his Soul Power, his voice rang through the entire lecture hall.

"Students, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Clyde. I'm a Level 37 Agility Attack-type Battle Soul Elder, and I'll be your homeroom teacher."

"From now on, I'll be teaching you how to become Soul Masters."

"To become a Soul Master, the first thing you need to know is: what is a Soul Master..."

With Martial Soul Possession still active, Clyde became the focus of every new student's attention. As a result, they were unusually attentive.

Clyde first explained the definition of a Soul Master, the different types, how they were classified, and some basic facts about Soul Power. Then he dispelled his Martial Soul and began teaching the students how to cultivate Soul Power.

This was practically the first lesson at every elementary Soul Master Academy on the continent.

Soul Power was the foundation of a Soul Master's strength. The sooner students learned to cultivate it, the sooner they could make good on their talents.

"Soul Power is the foundation of a Soul Master's strength. Students, remember the four key points I just taught you. By lunchtime, I hope to see that half of you have learned how to cultivate Soul Power."

"All right, students. Now let's practice cultivating Soul Power. Close your eyes."

By now, Clyde had earned the new students' trust. At his command, many of them eagerly squeezed their eyes shut and set about trying to cultivate Soul Power.

Clyde nodded in satisfaction.

Most new students were easy enough to manage. This was a good start.

Seeing the students begin to close their eyes and concentrate on cultivating Soul Power, Clyde stepped down from the podium and walked around the lecture hall, answering questions from those who hadn't quite gotten the hang of it.

Zhang Yang looked around. Everyone had their eyes closed, so he closed his as well.

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't cultivating Soul Power. He was going into the system to play a couple of rounds.

For Zhang Yang, going into a map counted as cultivation—and it was ridiculously efficient.

Besides, hadn't Clyde said he hoped that half the new students would learn to cultivate Soul Power by lunchtime?

That meant Zhang Yang could play games without a care in the world all morning.

He'd spent at least eight hours a day looting maps over the past two months, and he was starting to get tired of it.

But the thrill of looting maps during class made up for that.

Right now, Zhang Yang was more eager than ever to dive into a map and loot.

Enough talk. "Heding City Academy—Classified," launch!

"...All right, try again," Clyde said gently.

Seeing the new student close his eyes and try once more to enter a state of cultivation, Clyde stood up. His gaze drifted unconsciously toward Zhang Yang.

As one of the few senior teachers in Heding City, Clyde hadn't taught a class of new students in many years.

But this year's class had someone like Zhang Yang in it.

The son of the deputy hall master of the Heding City Martial Soul Branch Hall. His presence had raised the caliber of the class considerably.

Clyde walked over to Zhang Yang and saw that he had his eyes closed, seemingly immersed in cultivation.

Clyde couldn't help nodding.

As expected of that lord's son. His talent might be average, but he had a solid foundation.

With that thought, Clyde didn't linger beside Zhang Yang. He continued making his rounds, answering the other students' questions.

It wasn't until close to noon that Clyde finally sent out his Soul Power and said, "All right, students, that's enough."

As his Soul Power spread through the lecture hall, the new students gradually opened their eyes.

Zhang Yang was no exception.

If Soul Power affected Zhang Yang, or someone touched him, he could sense it while looting a map and temporarily leave the system, opening his eyes to react.

And best of all, the game timer paused whenever Zhang Yang opened his eyes.

It was a single-player game, after all. Being able to pause the game was perfectly reasonable.

"Students, class is over for this morning. I know many of you still haven't learned how to cultivate Soul Power. That's all right. Go eat first. I'll be here again this afternoon, and we'll keep learning how to cultivate Soul Power."

With that, Clyde looked toward the lecture hall entrance. "Take the children to the cafeteria."

The teachers on duty today nodded and herded the two hundred new students toward the cafeteria like ducks.

They would have to be led around by school workers like this for a whole week.

Only when the six-year-old newcomers knew how to "go to the teaching building for class," "leave class," "go to the cafeteria to eat," and "return to the dormitory to sleep" could this routine end.

At nine that evening, the new students finished washing up under the teacher on duty's urging and climbed into bed early.

But none of them went to sleep. Under the teacher's watch, they sat cross-legged and began meditating to cultivate Soul Power.

The new students weren't allowed to sleep tonight. They had to cultivate Soul Power all night long.

As Teacher Clyde put it, this was "consolidating what they'd learned."

Seeing that everyone had settled into cultivation more or less properly, the teacher on duty nodded and left the dormitory.

At one in the morning, the teachers on duty, who had been indulging in a little harmless gambling, finished their card game. Each picked up a notebook and went to the dormitory they were responsible for.

In the dormitory, the vast majority of the new students were still sitting cross-legged, immersed in meditation and cultivation.

Only a handful of little kids had already burrowed under their blankets and fallen fast asleep.

The teacher on duty didn't wake them. Instead, the teacher found their names on the table at the foot of their beds and wrote them down in the notebook.

These children had either disobeyed the teacher or hadn't yet learned how to meditate and cultivate. Either way, Clyde, their homeroom teacher, would have to put in extra hours.

After noting down the names of those few new students, the teacher on duty made another round of the room. Just as the teacher was about to leave, they paused, their eyes settling on a new student near the door.

The child was still sitting cross-legged, seemingly meditating and cultivating.

But a closer look revealed his head drooping, his mouth slightly open, and his breathing slow and steady.

"This..." The teacher on duty couldn't help laughing wryly. "You can fall asleep sitting up, too?"

After writing down the child's name as well, the teacher laid him down and gently covered him with his blanket.

The moment the blanket was tucked over him, the child contentedly wriggled and instinctively shoved his little hand into his mouth.

"ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh..."

The teacher on duty shook their head helplessly and made another round of the dormitory. Only after confirming there wasn't a second little bean asleep sitting up did they quietly leave.