Late! First Meeting with Wu Zhangkong

"Yao Lao, how long has it been since I started absorbing the Golden Dragon King seal?" Tang Wulin asked while putting on his clothes.

"It should have been a little over a day by now!"

"What?" Upon hearing Yao Lao's reply, Tang Wulin's speed in dressing increased significantly. "It's over, it's over! Today is the first day of class! How late am I now? Is the academy going to expel me?"

After getting dressed, Tang Wulin opened the studio door, but as soon as he stepped out, his legs felt a bit weak because he was hungry.

And it wasn't just ordinary hunger. Tang Wulin already had a large appetite, and after not eating for over a day, combined with the mental toll of absorbing the Golden Dragon King seal, he felt hungry enough to eat an entire restaurant.

However, the current situation didn't allow him any time to eat; if he didn't get to the academy for class, he was genuinely afraid of being expelled.

Just then, Yao Lao walked over and placed a pitch-black pill into Tang Wulin's hand.

"Hungry, are you? Eat this pill, and you shouldn't feel hungry for a few hours."

Tang Wulin half-believingly shoved the unappetizing-looking pill into his mouth.

"So gross."

That was Tang Wulin's first impression, but once he swallowed it, a warm sensation instantly flooded his meridians, and the hunger vanished in an instant.

"Yao Lao, what kind of pill is this? Do you have any more? I feel like eating one of these is more effective than eating a hundred steamed buns."

Yao Lao stroked his beard and said with a smile, "It's just an ordinary Satiety Pill. If I had the materials, I could refine hundreds of them for you in minutes, but that's the only one I have in stock right now. Once you finish it, it's gone."

"Alright then."

Although he felt a tiny bit disappointed, Tang Wulin was no longer hungry, so he picked up his pace and ran toward the academy.

While running, Tang Wulin discovered that his speed and stamina were significantly better than before, which he assumed was the credit of the Golden Dragon King's essence.

Fortunately, the studio wasn't too far from the academy, and twenty minutes later, Tang Wulin appeared at the academy gate.

The awkward part was that after Tang Wulin showed his student ID, the guard refused to let him in.

The reason was that it was currently class time, and a student shouldn't be appearing outside the school; he had to call Tang Wulin's homeroom teacher to come and get him.

After saying that, he demanded that Tang Wulin provide his homeroom teacher's contact number.

But how could Tang Wulin possibly know his homeroom teacher's number? He didn't even know who his homeroom teacher was!

"It's over, it's over!" Tang Wulin paced back and forth anxiously at the gate.

Just then, a cold, masculine voice rang out from behind the academy gate: "Are you Tang Wulin?"

Although he didn't know who it was, Tang Wulin replied, "I am. May I ask who you are...?"

At that moment, the academy gate opened.

A handsome young man walked over.

Tang Wulin had never seen such a handsome man; even the celebrities on television couldn't compare to him.

Tang Wulin's own appearance was quite outstanding, but he was ultimately still a child who hadn't fully grown, whereas the person before him was an adult who had fully matured.

The man was over 1.9 meters tall and wore a long, white outfit that made his figure look even more upright. He had long blue hair draped over his back, a high-bridged nose, and dark green eyes that looked at Tang Wulin with sharp intensity.

"Teacher Wu, is this the child you were waiting for?" the guard asked at this moment.

The young man nodded and looked at Tang Wulin, saying, "I am Wu Zhangkong, your homeroom teacher."

Tang Wulin paused for a moment before reacting: "Hello, Teacher Wu. I am Tang Wulin."

"I know you. You didn't attend the opening ceremony, and you didn't attend the first class of the semester," Wu Zhangkong said coldly, as if he were listing Tang Wulin's crimes.

Hearing this, Tang Wulin quickly bowed to Wu Zhangkong and said, "I am truly sorry, Teacher Wu. I was genuinely delayed by something."

"Follow me!" Wu Zhangkong dropped that line and walked into the academy.

"Yes, Teacher Wu." Tang Wulin hurriedly followed.

But just then, the guard from earlier blocked Tang Wulin.

"Teacher Wu, students who skip class without cause must be handled by the Dean of Students, especially since today is the first day of school. You see..."

Wu Zhangkong glanced back at the guard and said in a deep voice, "I will bear any consequences. Let him in."

The guard had wanted to say something else, but upon seeing Wu Zhangkong's sharp gaze, he shut his mouth and cleared a path for Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin then caught up with Wu Zhangkong's pace.

Along the way, Wu Zhangkong didn't say a single word, and Tang Wulin naturally didn't dare to speak first, so he could only follow cautiously behind.

He glanced to the side and noticed that Wu Zhangkong was heading toward the academy's faculty apartments.

A short while later, Wu Zhangkong stopped in front of a door and took out a key to open it.

"Come in."

"Oh! Okay!"

Tang Wulin followed him inside; this must have been Wu Zhangkong's apartment.

It was a very ordinary apartment with no special decorations, only some daily necessities.

Wu Zhangkong walked over to a table and sat down.

"Speak! What was the reason you left the academy yesterday, and why didn't you return for a day and a night?" Wu Zhangkong's voice was icy, seemingly devoid of emotion. "If your answer doesn't satisfy me, then you can leave my class. My class is Class Five, and no other class will accept you after you leave mine, so you can interpret that as expulsion!"

Expelled!

Tang Wulin had gone to such great lengths to reach Eastsea City; how could he be willing to accept being expelled? He hurriedly spoke up to explain.

"Teacher Wu, I had issues with my cultivation yesterday and had to go outside the academy to find a way to treat it. The treatment process took quite a while, which is why I missed today's opening ceremony."

A glint flashed through Wu Zhangkong's eyes before he said, "I see no problems with your body. Your blood and energy are abundant, your vitality is vigorous, and your physical condition is better than most people your age. I cannot accept this excuse!"

Tang Wulin fell silent. He couldn't exactly tell Wu Zhangkong that he had eighteen layers of seals inside his body and that he had left to absorb one of them, could he?

Seeing that Tang Wulin remained silent, Wu Zhangkong let out a soft sigh and picked up a file from the desk to look through it.

"Tang Wulin, if you don't have a suitable reason, then you can..."

But before Wu Zhangkong could finish his sentence, a small, deep-blue blade of grass appeared on his desk.

"This is... Blue Silver Grass?"

Wu Zhangkong raised his head and discovered that Tang Wulin had already released his martial soul.

Then, for the first time, the expression on Wu Zhangkong's calm, water-like face shifted into one of shock before Tang Wulin.

"A thousand-year spirit ring!"