December 1, morning.
As usual, Zhang Yang came to the classroom after finishing breakfast in the school cafeteria.
The students were still chattering away, talking about whatever interested them.
Zhang Yang walked into the classroom and casually took an empty seat.
Nobody came over to talk to Zhang Yang. The whole class knew he was hard to get along with. Even when someone tried to strike up a conversation, he'd respond with indifference.
These kids were young, not stupid. Little by little, nobody felt like talking to Zhang Yang anymore.
Instead, Zhang Yang felt more at ease with things this way.
I act like a little kid in front of my parents because they're my parents. I have to consider their feelings and let them enjoy the fun of teasing a child.
As for you lot, I can't be bothered to play house with you.
After reaching level 10, Zhang Yang had finally taken a proper two-day break. He hadn't even opened the system. The things he'd brought back from the dungeons over the previous two days were all piled up in his storage, a chaotic mess that made him uncomfortable just looking at it.
So, while there was still time before class, Zhang Yang took the opportunity to tidy up his storage a little.
He kept the useful things and sold the useless ones, making room in the storage.
So, what counted as useful?
Cola and refreshing lemon tea were useful. Vitamin effervescent tablets were useful too.
Whenever Zhang Yang saw those things, he picked them up.
A can of ice-cold cola really did capture the author's longing for home.
Just as Zhang Yang was busy clearing out his storage, the dean, Beckett, arrived outside the classroom with a man and a woman, without making a sound.
The visitors were none other than Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing.
Today was Zhang Yang's moment to shine, and naturally, his parents, Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing, wouldn't miss it.
Of course, Zhu Ranqing and Zhang Lingyue didn't go inside. They simply stood quietly outside with Dean Beckett, watching.
After saying goodbye to them, the homeroom teacher, Clyde, walked into the classroom at an unhurried pace, carrying a crystal ball.
The first-year students, who had been making a racket, immediately sat up straight, and the classroom quickly fell silent.
"Teacher Clyde does seem to care about classroom discipline," the dean said with satisfaction to Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing.
Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing said nothing. They simply watched Zhang Yang, sitting at the back and daydreaming, through the window in the rear door.
Inside the classroom, Clyde set the crystal ball on the desk, then opened the folder in his hands. "Class, it's time for our annual Soul Power assessment."
"We won't have lessons today. Instead, we'll test your Soul Power and compare it with what you had when your martial souls awakened. We'll see how much your Soul Power has improved since then."
Clyde opened the file in his hands and said, "I'll call you up one by one. When you hear your name, come touch this blue crystal ball. Hannah Abbott."
Hannah Abbott walked up to the lectern. Under everyone's gaze, she placed her right hand on the blue crystal ball.
A gentle light burst from the blue crystal ball.
Teacher Clyde nodded. "Level 3 Soul Power."
Hannah Abbott stepped down from the lectern. Clyde recorded the result, then looked up and called, "Susan Bones."
One student after another went up to the lectern and had their Soul Power tested.
There were more than 120 students. It wasn't until nearly everyone had been tested that the homeroom teacher, Clyde, finally called, "Zhang Yang."
Finally, it's my turn.
Zhang Yang, who had been waiting impatiently, strode up to the lectern. Amid the noisy chatter below, and with the homeroom teacher and his parents outside the classroom watching expectantly, he reached out and placed his hand on the blue crystal ball.
As soon as Zhang Yang's hand touched the crystal ball, the once-clear sphere immediately began to glow.
A faint blue radiance spilled out, dazzling as a brilliant gemstone.
"Wow."
The light on the lectern caught the attention of the students below, and everyone looked over without thinking.
Among the students who'd gone before Zhang Yang, there had been some with Soul Power at level 5 or 6, but even their touch hadn't made the crystal ball shine as brightly as it did now.
Everyone was astonished and curious. Just how high did someone's Soul Power have to be to shine so brilliantly?
Teacher Clyde blinked and exclaimed, "Zhang Yang, you've certainly given your teacher a huge surprise."
With that, Teacher Clyde turned and called out to the more than one hundred first-year students below the lectern, "Zhang Yang: level 10 Soul Power."
"Whoa~~~"
With "level 10 Soul Power" officially confirmed by Clyde, Zhang Yang's classmates immediately cried out in astonishment.
For a moment, the classroom was filled with a chorus of croaking frogs.
Outside, Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing were beaming with pride, while Dean Beckett kept congratulating them.
"He enrolled with Innate Soul Power at level 1 and reached level 10 in just three months. Your son's talent is truly peerless," Beckett said with a smile. "His future achievements are sure to be limitless. My congratulations in advance, Vice Hall Master."
Actually, Zhang Yang had already reached level 5 on the day he enrolled. But the academy hadn't tested his Soul Power at the time, so neither the academy nor his parents knew.
"You flatter him, Dean," Zhang Lingyue said, barely able to contain his pride.
After the Soul Power test ended, Clyde dismissed the class, and the students left the classroom in small groups.
Only when most of the students had left did Zhang Yang calmly walk out of the classroom.
The moment he stepped outside, Zhang Yang saw Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing. His face immediately lit up with a brilliant smile. "Dad, Mom."
"Good boy." Zhu Ranqing stepped forward and scooped up Zhang Yang as he ran toward them, giving him a big smothering kiss.
Seeing this, Dean Beckett decided not to intrude on the family moment and took his leave.
After the family had chatted outside the classroom for a while, Zhang Lingyue said, "All right, let's go home first. We can talk more once we're there."
As they left the teaching building, Zhang Yang lay in Zhu Ranqing's arms, his gaze lingering on the building as it grew farther and farther away.
Today might be the last time he ever walked into a teaching building in real life.
That was because, on the night he'd returned home, Zhang Lingyue had already told Zhang Yang that they would transfer him after this assessment.
Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing wouldn't allow Zhang Yang to waste his talent at a place like Heding City Junior Soul Master Academy.
Zhang Lingyue planned to send Zhang Yang to the Martial Soul Hall Heaven Dou City Academy, whose teaching staff was several times stronger than that of his alma mater, the West Academy.
The Martial Soul Hall Heaven Dou City Academy was the most well-resourced comprehensive academy run by Spirit Hall within the Heaven Dou Empire. Its curriculum spanned twelve years, and students needed to graduate at the level of a level 31 Soul Elder.
The demanding requirement of becoming a Soul Master at the Soul Elder level by age eighteen not only ensured that students had exceptional talent, but also placed extremely high demands on the academy's educational resources.
"I've already submitted the application. By my calculations, it should reach Heaven Dou City soon."
"With Yangyang's cultivation talent and all the remarkable things about him, transferring him shouldn't be a problem," Zhang Lingyue said to Zhu Ranqing.
The next day, Zhang Yang climbed out of the familiar big bed. After washing up and finishing breakfast, he went out with Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing.
Outside the gate, an exquisitely decorated carriage made from fine materials stood waiting. The family's coachman stood respectfully beside it.
Zhang Lingyue and Zhu Ranqing had also changed out of their usual attire.
Zhang Lingyue had traded his purple Spirit Hall steward's robe, a symbol of his status, and Zhu Ranqing her fur coat, for fitted combat gear.
Zhang Yang was no exception. He'd changed out of his loose school uniform and into warm clothes that wouldn't restrict his movements.
Once they were aboard the carriage, Zhang Lingyue said to the coachman, "Let's go. To Star Dou Forest."
That same day, a work report was sent from the Heding City Martial Soul Branch Hall to its destination: the Martial Soul Sacred Hall in Heaven Dou City.
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