"Wow, is this Eastsea Academy? It's so impressive..."
Tang Wulin stood before the magnificent gates of Eastsea Academy with his little backpack on, his eyes full of wonder.
Everything before him was beyond his imagination.
The spacious plaza, the towering classroom buildings, the lush green belts, and the older students in all kinds of school uniforms.
It was his first time in a big city, and he was filled with longing and anticipation for its bustling life.
Eastsea Academy, in particular, was who knew how many times larger than Red Mountain Academy. Countless students came and went around him, including some pretty senior girls.
Tang Wulin felt as if he had stepped into a whole new world.
"Wow, look! It's a Mecha!!"
"So cool!"
Just then, exclamations rang out from the crowd.
They were followed by wave after wave of admiration.
Tang Wulin turned to look and was instantly dumbstruck.
A sleek, light-yellow Mecha was slowly flying in through the air beyond the school gates, heading toward the classroom buildings inside the academy.
Sunlight spilled across its smooth metal shell, reflecting dazzling rays.
Its engine let out a deep rumble.
To every boy and girl, that sound was the most beautiful music they had ever heard.
"You can actually see a Mecha inside the academy, and it's a Yellow-Grade Mecha at that. How rich must the owner be..."
Tang Wulin stared at the scene in a daze, his heart inexplicably filled with envy.
Mechas were incredibly expensive. You couldn't see even a trace of one in all of Red Mountain City.
Yet as soon as he arrived at Eastsea Academy, he saw a Mecha—and not just any Mecha, but a Yellow-Grade Mecha. He couldn't afford even one part of it, even if he sold himself...
"It's a Yellow-Grade Mecha! How can a Mecha of that level be allowed inside the academy?" an older student asked with a frown. This was clearly against the school rules.
"Heh."
Someone immediately let out a scornful snort and glanced at the older student. "Didn't you see the eye-catching Su Family crest on its shell? Do you really need to guess who's inside?"
"The Su Family... Young Master Su? Then never mind."
The older student's expression changed slightly at that. He hurriedly kept quiet.
Though Su Chen kept a low profile, Eastsea City's top social circle was small, and his name had long since spread through it.
He was a Level 4 Blacksmith at such a young age. Some even claimed that Su Chen's forging rank had already reached Level 5, but nobody believed them. After all, Level 5 required Soul-Forging.
Soul-Forging at ten years old was simply impossible.
Still, no matter what, Su Chen's talent was exceptional.
His talent for cultivation was just as heaven-defying as his forging talent. At ten, he was already a Soul Elder—a level that ordinary Soul Masters might not reach even by the age of twenty.
By rights, Su Chen could have enrolled last year, but he had chosen to wait another year.
It was strange, but nobody had anything to say about it.
The fact that he could bring out a Yellow-Grade Mecha and roam the academy at will was enough to show how the academy regarded him.
At the entrance, a blond-haired boy stepped out of a luxury car.
He had thought he would be greeted by countless new students and admiring, envious looks from the older boys and girls. Instead, he found that nobody even gave him the time of day.
At the same time, he spotted the Yellow-Grade Mecha in the distance, and jealousy practically spilled from his eyes.
Even cars weren't allowed inside the academy, yet someone had driven a Mecha in...
"Damn it! That bastard Su Chen is really showing off!! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!@!!"
Xie Xie hurled his sunglasses to the ground, venting his indignation.
He was one of Eastsea City's top young heirs, but ever since Su Chen had made a name for himself, Su Chen had stolen the spotlight.
Even though Su Chen rarely showed his face in public, his reputation only grew louder.
"Ahem, young master... Your father instructed you that you could show off at the academy, but you absolutely mustn't provoke Young Master Su."
The bodyguard beside him hurriedly reminded him.
Su Chen might not be the type to seek revenge for every slight, but Mu Chen was fiercely protective of his own.
Su Chen's talent had sent the Su Family soaring, making them a first-rate family.
But there were always people who wouldn't accept it. The young master of one first-rate family had picked a fight with Su Chen, relying on his numerical advantage to bully him. He had failed, but still managed to anger Mu Chen.
Mu Chen hadn't acted personally. He had merely announced publicly that the Blacksmith Association would no longer work with that family.
As soon as Mu Chen made the announcement, every well-known blacksmith cut ties with the family. Several blacksmiths the family had trained themselves even defected, while the family also came under heavy pressure from a host of competitors.
The very next day, the head of that first-rate family personally led people to the Su Family to apologize and make amends. Only after paying a huge price did the matter come to an end.
The Xie Family had money and influence in Eastsea City, but they wouldn't go out of their way to offend Su Chen.
"Yeah, yeah, I know... I'm not stupid. Why would I provoke Su Chen..."
Xie Xie dug at his ear. He was very unwilling to accept it, but the truth was just as the bodyguard had said.
Putting their backgrounds aside, he couldn't beat Su Chen either. How could he possibly provoke him? At most, he could grumble about him behind his back.
Elsewhere.
Su Chen piloted his Mecha into the academy.
He used the Yellow-Grade Mecha for getting around, while his Black-Grade Mecha was still under construction.
A Black-Grade Mecha required Soul-Forged Metal, which Su Chen couldn't produce yet. He could only make things difficult for Mu Chen.
But Black-Grade Mechas required far too much metal, and the materials were incredibly expensive.
Over the past few months, Su Chen had been working overtime almost every day, constantly producing Spirit-Refined Metal and alloys with quality ratings above 95%. He then sold them through Mu Chen's connections to earn money...
"Rumble—"
Su Chen piloted the Mecha to the Academic Affairs Office, then climbed out and stored it in his Storage Soul Tool.
At that moment, a dense crowd of academy teachers stood in front of the Academic Affairs building, though most of them were there to watch the show.
After all, Su Chen was simply too monstrous.
With a Mecha, he could probably beat up every teacher in the junior division. That was a little ridiculous...
At the front stood the imposing Yu Zhen and Long Hengxu, the director of the intermediate division.
"President, Director Long."
Su Chen looked at the two and nodded. He seemed completely at ease; after all, they were old acquaintances.
"Oh, Su Chen, you're finally here!"
Yu Zhen hurried over and warmly took Su Chen's hand, looking rather excited.
He often visited the Su Family with Long Hengxu, all to get closer to Su Chen and keep other academies from poaching him.
Now Su Chen had finally come to enroll, and Yu Zhen could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hey, President, Director Long, why do you both look like you've been injured? Did someone beat you up?"
Su Chen looked at Yu Zhen and Long Hengxu. Yu Zhen only had minor injuries that were hard to make out, but Long Hengxu's black eye was conspicuous.
He was wearing sunglasses, but it was still pretty obvious.
"Ahem, you must be mistaken, Su Chen. How could we have been beaten up?" Yu Zhen coughed awkwardly.
"Exactly, exactly. Come with us, Su Chen. I'll take you to register, then show you to your dormitory. We've arranged a single room for you..."
Long Hengxu hurriedly took Su Chen toward the Academic Affairs building.
But both of them looked a little uncomfortable.
After all, they couldn't very well tell him that the two of them had teamed up and still been thrashed by Wu Zhangkong...
Su Chen's talent had long since spread throughout Eastsea City.
If Su Chen were assigned to a class, it would undoubtedly be Class One of the first year, where he would enjoy the best treatment and teaching resources.
Because Wu Zhangkong's conduct had been too outrageous, a group of teachers had jointly reported him in the senior division, and he had been sent to teach the intermediate division. By rights, he was supposed to be assigned to teach the worst class, Class Five...
But when Wu Zhangkong learned that Su Chen was coming, he demanded that he be allowed to teach him.
Either Su Chen would be assigned to Class Five, or Wu Zhangkong would be made Class One's homeroom teacher.
Yu Zhen and Long Hengxu were naturally unwilling. They couldn't stand Wu Zhangkong's brazen attitude either.
So they had a "friendly" sparring match...
Before you continue