Getting Ready for Class!

The next morning, only a thin fish-belly whiteness had appeared on the horizon, and the sun had yet to peek out from behind the eastern eaves.

Tang Wulin was already awake. He sprang from his bed, swiftly pulled on his outer robe, and instead of using the door, pushed open the window and climbed out.

With a light kick against the windowsill, he landed steadily on the grass outside. After a few leaps, he had reached the open training grounds behind the dormitory building.

Facing east, he adjusted his breathing and fixed his gaze on the faint light at the horizon before dawn, circulating the Violet Demon Eyes technique.

Strands of pale violet light slowly swirled in the depths of his pupils. As the first streak of golden sunlight leaped over the horizon, his eyes flashed brightly for an instant before returning to their usual dark color, clear and tranquil.

After finishing his cultivation, Tang Wulin withdrew his power, stretched his wrists and neck, then turned toward the cafeteria.

After all that exertion so early in the morning, his stomach was already growling with hunger.

The moment Uncle Chen in the cafeteria saw him, he knew what was needed. Without a word, he turned and headed into the kitchen.

Tang Wulin sat at the long table by the wall, took out a stool from his storage soul tool and set it down, then swept through a table full of breakfast like a whirlwind.

Steamed buns, dumplings, fried dough sticks, and soy milk were brought out plate after plate, only for plate after plate to be emptied.

Uncle Chen poked his head out from the kitchen window to glance at him, then silently added two more steamers of soup dumplings.

Full and satisfied, Tang Wulin wiped his mouth and glanced at the clock hanging on the cafeteria wall. It was barely seven.

He got up, put away the stool, and quickly returned to the dormitory.

When he pushed open the door, Wang Dong was still curled up in bed beneath her blanket, her blue-pink hair sticking up in a messy tangle. She looked like a little animal that had yet to wake from hibernation.

Tang Wulin walked over, grabbed the edge of her blanket, and yanked it up without a word. The instant cold air rushed in, Wang Dong sprang up with a howl.

"W-What are you doing?!" Wang Dong glared at him groggily, her voice thick with morning irritation.

"It's seven. Get up for class." Tang Wulin picked up two hot steamed buns wrapped in oiled paper from the table and stuffed them into Wang Dong's hands without giving her a choice. "Take them. Eat while we walk."

Wang Dong lowered her head to look at the two still-steaming buns in her hands, then looked up at Tang Wulin, who had already turned to leave. She muttered something unintelligible, but hurriedly got dressed and followed him out.

Tang Wulin paused outside the neighboring room and knocked twice.

Huo Yuhao opened the door quickly. He was already fully dressed, clearly having risen long ago, though he had not rushed to the cafeteria.

Tang Wulin handed him the other two paper-wrapped buns. "I brought these for you."

Huo Yuhao's fingertips trembled slightly as he accepted them. The light in his eyes nearly overflowed, and his lips moved, but his voice caught in his throat. After a long moment, he finally squeezed out, "Thank you, Brother Tang," the end of his voice carrying a faint, barely noticeable hoarseness.

Wang Dong walked beside them, chewing on a bun. She secretly glanced at Huo Yuhao and gave a soft snort, but said nothing.

As for Gu Yuena, Tang Wulin deliberately took a slight detour and bought several special buns from the more expensive Number One cafeteria window.

They were filled with soul beast meat and were extremely nutritious.

The four of them met up on the way to the classroom and walked side by side toward the teaching building.

The morning light had fully spread from the east, warmly spilling across the bluestone path and stretching the four of their shadows long, intertwining them together.

The moment they entered the classroom, the previously boisterous noise seemed to have been seized by the throat and abruptly fell silent.

Everyone in the room raised their heads, their gazes gathering on the doorway and falling upon the three people who entered first.

Tang Wulin walked at the front, tall and straight, with black hair and black eyes, refined features, and an academy uniform that made him appear exceptionally handsome.

Wang Dong followed half a step to his right. Her short blue-pink hair carried a soft sheen in the morning light, and her features were so exquisite they hardly seemed real.

Gu Yuena walked quietly on Tang Wulin's other side. Her silver-white hair fell to her waist, her violet eyes were clear as water, and she looked like a portrait of a beautiful lady who had just stepped out of a painting.

"So handsome..." A girl in some corner of the room could not help drawing in a quiet breath.

"The two handsome guys in front look so alike. Could they be brothers?"

"That silver-haired girl in the back is so pretty... She's practically like a god who fell from the heavens..."

Whispers spread outward like ripples over water, quickly filling the entire classroom.

Tang Wulin ignored the surrounding stares and walked directly to the empty seats by the window, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Wang Dong sat beside him, while Gu Yuena naturally took the seat on Tang Wulin's other side.

Huo Yuhao hesitated before sitting beside Wang Dong. His back was ramrod straight, his body tense. He was clearly still unaccustomed to having so many eyes fixed on him at once.

He lowered his head, but his gaze subtly drifted toward Tang Wulin for an instant. When he saw Tang Wulin beside him, he lightly pressed his lips together, and the trace of unease in his eyes quietly faded.

Before long, several bolder classmates gathered around them, chattering away as they asked for their names, martial souls, and where they had come from.

Caught in the middle, Huo Yuhao seemed somewhat uneasy. His gaze remained fixed on Tang Wulin, as if drawing strength from him.

Wang Dong adapted quickly. Within a few sentences, she had the people around her chatting with broad smiles.

Tang Wulin leaned against the back of his chair, his head slightly tilted. He responded now and then, but most of the time simply listened quietly, a faint smile hovering at the corners of his lips.

The clamor continued for quite a while, until a sharp, piercing bell rang from the end of the corridor, like a thin blade cutting through the noise.

The students hurriedly stopped joking around and scrambled back to their seats.

Soon, the entire classroom fell quiet, leaving only birdsong from outside the windows and faint voices drifting from the distant training field.

Zhou Yi entered the classroom with a stern old face, her high heels clicking across the floor as she spoke in an exceptionally severe tone:

"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your homeroom teacher. I'm not sure how many of you will make it through the coming year with me. But let me tell you this: in my class, no trash will ever pass the assessment. What I intend to cultivate are monsters, not idiots."

This old witch's voice was harsh and grating, like a cracked gong being struck.

A trace of disgust flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes. In his previous life, every generation of teachers had said, "You are the worst class I've ever taught."

But! They would never start by insulting every student as utterly worthless!

Especially when the ones sitting here were only a group of eleven- and twelve-year-old children!

Besides, she was being this arrogant—did she even deserve it?!