Return to the East Sea.
Zhong Shenxiu took steps and walked down the mountain road from where he came. Light-Imperial Ninja Blade hung on his waist, and the scabbard swayed gently with his steps. Occasionally it touched the scales on the side of his legs and made a soft sound. His steps were not hasty or slow, and he stepped on the soft soil, leaving a series of footprints of different depths.
The mountain wind blew from behind, picking up the ashes and scorch marks on his clothes and blowing away the last breath of battle in the open space.
A month ago, this place was a quiet forest clearing. A month later, it was plowed beyond recognition, with charred ravines, cracked rocks, dead trees burned to ashes, and traces of flames and sword energy everywhere.
But these are no longer important.
Zhong Shenxiu's figure disappeared at the corner of the mountain road, and silence returned to the open space. Only the wind was still blowing, only the sun was still shining, and only the deep and shallow footprints and ravines proved what had happened here.
The new semester started, and Eastsea Academy, which had been quiet for a month, became lively again.
Students are entering the college in an endless stream, and everything seems to be prosperous. This is the second half of the semester. After this semester, grade upgrade will be carried out. At the same time, for every student, the pressure of the upgrade exam has also appeared.
For the Intermediate Soul Master Academy, when graduating from the sixth grade of the junior department, he must break through the second ring. Otherwise, the diploma will not be issued. And Advanced Division needs to break through the third ring to officially graduate.
No matter which one it is, not all students can complete it. The higher they reach senior grades, the more time is pressed.
1. The students of Second Grade are undoubtedly relatively relaxed. They have not faced pressure yet.
After coming out of the teaching office, as a new student of Class Zero who went through the back door, Xu Xiaoyan timidly followed Wu Zhangkong into the dormitory building, but couldn't help but look at everything around her with curiosity. She also went to school before, but she only went to an ordinary school. The elders in her family loved her too much and never wanted her to be wronged in the slightest.
The constant changes after Martial Soul Awakening forced her to embark on this path.
Originally Xu Xiaoyan was quite repulsive to this, but after seeing Wu Zhangkong today, this repulsive feeling began to disappear quickly.
That's right, Xu Xiaoyan is a beauty control!
In this world, concepts between men and women are quickly formed, and precocious puberty is basically a common situation among the Douluo Continent Soul Master.
At this moment, Xu Xiaoyan didn't care at all about the cold Bingbing words Wu Zhangkong had just said in front of Long Hengxu. Instead, he sighed in his heart: So handsome, Teacher Wu is really cool and handsome, I feel like my little heart is about to jump out!
At the same time, she also recalled several figures in her mind. She had already investigated them before coming here. Her classmates seemed to be the ones who defeated her brother that time. Although her brother was careless, they were really powerful. Especially the girl who seemed to be about the same age as herself. Her brother was almost beaten and had no strength to fight back.
It's a pity that Xu Xiaoyu doesn't know what Xu Xiaoyan is thinking, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have to bear the consequences.
"This is your dormitory."
Wu Zhangkong opened the dormitory door and walked in.
Xu Xiaoyan followed and was surprised to find that there was only one bed in the dormitory, and all the supplies were available. If the conditions were good, you wouldn't need it.
When did student dormitories have such good conditions?
I was already treated specially in my previous college, but it was just a room between two people!
"Remember, everything you get is because of Class Zero. You only have one month."
Wu Zhangkong looked at Xu Xiaoyan coldly, with that probing and considering look, which made Xu Xiaoyan shrink back somewhat.
"One month is either long or short. If you can't keep up with Class Zero's progress, I will personally send you back to the regular class."
Wu Zhangkong's voice did not rise and fall, as if he was stating a perfectly normal fact. After saying this, he turned around and prepared to leave the dormitory.
Xu Xiaoyan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end she just nodded obediently. She could feel that Wu Zhangkong was not trying to scare her, and that every word of the teacher was serious.
Wu Zhangkong raised his feet and walked out of the dormitory door. He just raised his head--
The expression on his face froze for a moment.
Xu Xiaoyan stood in the dormitory and clearly saw the changes on Wu Zhangkong's face through the open door.
The face, which had been as cold as the frozen lake in winter since she saw it, suddenly cracked at this moment. It was not a blunt and forced change, but like the spring wind blowing across the ice, and the ice started to melt layer by layer, irreversibly, from the edge.
The cold and hard lines softened, the tense jaw relaxed, and even the eyes that had always been scrutinizing filled with something warm and soft.
Xu Xiaoyan was stunned.
She thought Teacher Wu wouldn't smile.
"Shenxiu!"
Wu Zhangkong raised his hand, with a kind of urgency and joy in his voice that Xu Xiaoyan couldn't understand at all. The voice even trembled slightly, as if he was afraid that if he shouted too slowly, the people on the other side of the corridor would disappear.
"Come back so early?"
Xu Xiaoyan followed Wu Zhangkong's gaze and looked over.
On the other side of the corridor, a figure is walking towards this side.
The man looked about the same age as Xu Xiaoyan, and his figure was already taller than that of his peers.
His shoulder-length black hair was spread casually, and his face was sharp and angular, as if it had been cut out with a knife. There was a long knife hanging on his waist. The scabbard and accessories were elegant, and the purple rope handle glowed with a dull luster in the sunlight.
The most striking thing are his eyes.
Light golden vertical pupils.
When those eyes looked over, Xu Xiaoyan felt as if his back was lightly pricked by something.
Not hostility, not aggression, but a kind of focus.
A kind of innate, almost instinctive concentration that belongs to an apex predator. The eyes stayed on her for less than a second and then moved away. But in that second, Xu Xiaoyan felt as if she was being stared at by a dragon, and the hairs all over her body stood on end.
Then the sharpness in those eyes disappeared.
It wasn't that he restrained himself deliberately, but he softened naturally the moment he saw Wu Zhangkong.
Zhong Shenxiu raised his hand and responded in the same way, "Teacher, I'm back."
The voice was not loud, but it was very clear. There were no redundant words, no redundant emotions, but there was something deep and certain in those four words - he knew Wu Zhangkong was waiting for him, he knew Wu Zhangkong would ask him, so he came back.
Wu Zhangkong stepped forward.
His pace was much faster than usual, and his white clothes caused a gust of wind in the corridor. When he walked in front of Zhong Shenxiu, he paused for a moment, then raised his hand and rubbed Zhong Shenxiu's shoulder-length black hair.
The movements are very natural.
It feels so natural, as if it has been done countless times.