Opening Ceremony

After asking the cafeteria auntie on the first floor about the meals, Tang Wulin chose the best Type A meal from the three options—A, B, and C—then bought five portions.

Type A meals cost money, and they were expensive, but Tang Wulin was not short on money now.

Over the past three years, under Brother Huo's personal guidance, he had displayed extraordinary talent in mech manufacturing. The finished soul devices he made had sold for quite a bit of money, and after signing an A-rank genius contract with the Spirit Pagoda, he also received a considerable sum each month to spend freely.

"Xie Xie, don't stand on ceremony. This meal is on me."

Tang Wulin placed the five Type A meals on the table, took two for himself, and gave the other three to Xie Xie.

"You're still very weak. You should eat more."

"Thanks, but I'm not a glutton." Xie Xie's mouth twitched as he pushed two of the three meals in front of him back toward Tang Wulin, leaving only one for himself.

Tang Wulin looked somewhat puzzled. "Ah, if you're not a glutton, couldn't you just say so? Why did you put your name before it?"

"I said 'thanks,' not Xie Xie." Xie Xie gritted his teeth as he emphasized the distinction.

"Oh, oh, so you meant 'thanks,' not Xie Xie. Okay, I understand, Xie Xie. Thanks for reminding me."

"..." Xie Xie listened to that and pondered it for quite some time before figuring out which was "thanks" and which was Xie Xie.

Xie Xie... I hate this name. Sooner or later, I'm changing it. Thanks!

The next day was the opening ceremony.

The senior and intermediate divisions gathered in the enormous plaza to observe the ceremony.

An elderly man of around sixty stood on the podium. He was of average build, with graying hair and a scholarly air. He was none other than East Sea Academy's principal, Yu Zhen.

Principal Yu was an excellent speaker. He delivered his long-memorized speech with great emotion, and it took a full quarter of an hour before he gradually reached the conclusion.

After the speech came the most important part of the opening ceremony—class assignments.

"We will now begin the class assignment ceremony."

"As everyone knows, at East Sea Academy, the lower the class number, the more outstanding the students are. But this is not absolute. We sincerely hope that those assigned to the later classes will work hard to catch up, surpass others, and surpass themselves."

"There are a total of one hundred and twelve new students this year, divided into five classes. When I call your name, please step forward."

"Meng Xinghe, Gu Yuena, Xu Xiaoyan... Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Class One."

"Wan Yunchao... Class Two."

"Gu Tianri, Gu Tianyue, Gu Tianming... Class Three."

"Yun Xiao... Class Four."

"Zhou Changxi... Class Five."

Meng Xinghe walked toward the area designated for Class One, immersing himself in the cheerful atmosphere of the children's vibrant youthful energy.

Unlike the original work, the Holy Spirit Cult and the Spirit Pagoda had altered the underlying course of this world. Of the one hundred and twelve new students, more than half possessed hundred-year soul spirits—over sixty percent, in fact. Even Class Four had several students with hundred-year soul spirits.

Compared to the original work, the present world was so beautiful that it resembled a utopia that could only exist in a fairy tale.

Grade director Long Hengxu announced loudly, "The homeroom teachers of each class, step forward and lead the students back to their respective classrooms."

As soon as he finished speaking, six people stepped out for the five classes.

Four of them headed respectively toward Classes Two, Three, Four, and Five, while two people unexpectedly walked toward Class One.

Meng Xinghe looked at the approaching man and woman and gave them an almost imperceptible nod.

Wu Changkong and Long Bing were Spirit Pagoda elites, while he himself was a core disciple of the Spirit Pagoda. It was perfectly normal for them to know one another, wasn't it?

Meng Xinghe knew that his teachers at East Sea Academy would be Wu Changkong and Long Bing, but this had not been arranged by him.

All he could say was that fate was wonderfully mysterious—not fate between him and Wu Changkong, but fate between Wu Changkong and East Sea Academy.

Gu Yuena also gave a slight nod.

She had met Wu Changkong and Long Bing a few times at Spirit Pagoda headquarters, so they could be considered mere acquaintances.

With Long Bing at his side, the cold and arrogant male idol Wu Changkong from the original work was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood an exceptionally handsome man, sunny and cheerful, his face full of smiles—Long Bing's husband, Wu Changkong.

Handsome people looked good no matter what expression they wore, and they were always attractive.

Sure enough, the sister homeroom teachers of Classes Two and Three, Ye Yingluo and Ye Yingrong, were both drawn to Wu Changkong's handsome appearance. Even though he already had a wife, their eyes still shone with undisguised admiration.

The students of Classes Two and Three took in their lovestruck appearance.

Hmm... their homeroom teachers did not seem very reliable. So, was it still too late to apply for a class transfer?

These two must be the romance-brained women who only exist in Mary Sue dramas, right?

Gu Yuena caught sight of the scene and could not help thinking so.

Out of curiosity, she had watched a little of those Mary Sue dramas, but the first episode alone had driven her away. The excessive melodramatic and brain-dead plotlines made her physically uncomfortable.

So, aside from food shows, what she enjoyed most were career-focused dramas.

Wu Changkong held Long Bing's hand and gently introduced himself and his wife.

"Hello, students. My name is Wu Changkong, and from now on, I will be your homeroom teacher. This is my wife, Long Bing. She will also be your assistant homeroom teacher."

"Hello, students. I'm Long Bing."

Their high-value looks and approachable image instantly won over the hearts of the Class One students. They happily followed the two homeroom teachers toward the Class One classroom.

"Hello. We met three years ago, on the Star Dou Battle Network."

Xie Xie walked up beside Meng Xinghe, deliberately avoiding Gu Yuena's position along the way.

"Mm, I remember you. The painted statue." Meng Xinghe spoke indifferently. "Also, we met just yesterday. I even greeted you, but you didn't respond."

What the hell? Was it that I didn't want to respond? If it weren't for... Xie Xie secretly glanced at Gu Yuena, then immediately withdrew his gaze in fear.

She's the big boss. Can't afford to offend her, can't afford to offend her!

"Three years ago, you didn't greet me either. That means we're even." Xie Xie forcibly turned the situation around and said, "Let's get acquainted again. My name is Xie Xie."

"My name is Meng Xinghe."

That answer removed all doubt from Xie Xie's heart.

He knew it. The person who had instantly defeated him on the Star Dou Battle Network three years ago was Meng Xinghe, the legendary top genius.

"And these two are..." Xie Xie had barely begun asking when Xu Xiaoyan hurriedly said from beside him:

"Hello, Xie Xie. Let me introduce myself. Xu Xiaoyan of the Xu Family. The one beside me is Miss Gu Yuena of the Spirit Pagoda."

The Xu Family? Oh, that Xu Family... Xie Xie nodded.

The Xie Family was a mech family that took pride in becoming mech masters, while the Xu Family was purely a soul master family. Thus, the two families had little interaction, but as fellow local powers of East Sea, they still knew of each other.