Class Zero

Huo Yuhao had barely stepped out of the Dean's Office when the heavy Rosewood door clicked shut behind him, sealing off the room. He still clutched the Shadow Demon Rhino hide pouch containing the Soul Bone, his mind half in a daze.

A Void Soul Bone, just like that?

He looked up groggily at the pretty, golden-haired Ning Tian beside him. Without thinking, he reached out and gave her soft arm a light pinch.

As for Gu Yue beside them? Huo Yuhao knew exactly what he was doing. He was the sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong—

Ning Tian might be proud, but at worst she would glare at him. Gu Yue looked cool and reserved, but if she truly got angry, she could Ice Seal him so thoroughly he would take three days to thaw. He did not dare provoke her.

"Hiss—"

Caught off guard by the pinch, Ning Tian sucked in a sharp breath and whipped around to glare at him. Shock filled her golden eyes before she puffed out her cheeks. "Huo Yuhao! What are you doing?"

"Ning Tian, did that hurt?" Huo Yuhao came back to himself and hurriedly rubbed the spot he had pinched, his voice still a little dazed.

"Hmph!" Ning Tian turned up her nose, slapped his hand away, and looked aside, though she was not truly angry.

Gu Yue frowned. Her violet eyes swept over them both, and her cool voice carried a hint of exasperation. "What's gotten into you?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming!" Huo Yuhao weighed the hide pouch in his hand. He could clearly feel the warm pulse of Soul Power from the Soul Bone inside, and a curse slipped out. "Holy shit! It's real? Yan Shaozhe, that old fox, actually gave me a Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Bone with Void?"

It still felt unreal. In the original story, Huo Yuhao had won the championship only to get a mediocre Soul Bone that boosted attack speed. This time, he had received a lifesaving divine skill found in only a handful of Soul Bones across the entire continent. Who would not be stunned?

"Of course it's real. Do you think the Dean would trick you with a fake Soul Bone?" Ning Tian could not help laughing at his silly expression.

It had to be said: on Douluo Continent, people's judgment had always followed their eyes.

Huo Yuhao was handsome to begin with, with gentle features and a straight nose. Even acting like a madman who had never seen the world only made him look lively and endearing. If he had been the timid boy from the original story, he would probably have earned a wave of disdain instead.

"Oh, right. Teacher Mu Jin is waiting for us in the classroom. She said she prepared a championship reward for us too." Ning Tian tugged his arm to remind him.

Huo Yuhao snapped back to himself and weighed the Soul Bone in his hand. "About this Soul Bone, we should discuss—"

"I don't need it."

"I don't need it."

Before he could finish, Gu Yue and Ning Tian cut him off in unison. Both spoke decisively, without a moment's hesitation.

Huo Yuhao: "..."

They made him feel like some penniless bumpkin who had never seen anything good.

Fine, he did not have much to his name right now, but he looked down on it too!

As tempting as a Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Bone was, how could it compare to a future hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast Soul Bone?

Of course he coveted the Void skill, but he could not absorb the bone.

His body had been tempered by the Nine-Turn Origin Art. His foundation was a god-level Martial Soul that bore nine Ultimate Attributes. Embedding a Thousand-Year Soul Bone in it might appear to give him a lifesaving skill, but it would actually lock down his potential for growth. The gain was not worth the loss.

As for raising the Soul Bone's age through divine trials?

Come on. If this had been Douluo I, Huo Yuhao could have taken that gamble. But this was Douluo II, and he could not afford it.

The waters of Douluo II ran too deep. Tang San's eyes were everywhere. Huo Yuhao had to tread carefully with every step and could not plant a single uncertain mine beneath his own feet.

He silently put the Soul Bone into his Storage Soul Tool, and the three of them headed toward the outer academy's teaching building.

When they met Mu Jin, the usually cold and glamorous teacher wore a rare, radiant smile.

She wasted no words and pushed a jade box directly toward Huo Yuhao. Inside was the Secret Soul Bone she had won from her bet with Zhou Yi.

"Zhou Yi tried to wriggle out of the bet after losing. She said the Soul Bone was a treasure she'd kept for years and refused to hand it over." Disdain colored Mu Jin's voice. "I had to make several trips to the Academic Affairs Office and press her with the written wager before I got it back."

Huo Yuhao accepted the jade box. As his fingertips touched the warm Soul Bone, warmth rose in his heart. He bowed deeply to Mu Jin. "Thank you, Teacher Mu Jin."

Well, that was another Soul Bone. He had made a killing this time.

But Mu Jin also told him something else: Zhou Yi had indeed submitted a resignation letter, yet the Martial Soul Department had put on a whole performance of urging her to stay. Not only had it refused her resignation, it had promoted her to homeroom teacher of first-year Class Zero.

Mu Jin, meanwhile, had become the homeroom teacher of first-year Class One.

The moment Huo Yuhao heard "Class Zero," he froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

If Ning Tian had not been standing beside him, he might have thought he had landed in Douluo III and taken Tang Wulin's part!

Class Zero, Gu Yue... Was he getting an early taste of the Legend of the Dragon King plot?

On second thought, he had already brought the Lionheart Club into existence. What was so surprising about one Class Zero?

He also learned that this year's Class Zero consisted entirely of Core Disciples and provisional Core Disciples from the freshman tournament—

Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie from the Martial Soul Department; himself, Gu Yue, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Cao Jinxuan from the Soul Tool Department; and Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were all on the Class Zero roster.

Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Yi's name on the roster. A cold glint flashed through his eyes, and he filed it away.

He wanted to see how long Zhou Yi could keep jumping around.

What? Zhou Yi belonged to the Soul Tool Department?

Huo Yuhao's answer was simple: I'm a Core Disciple of the Soul Tool Department. How come I didn't know that? Stop trying to gild your own face.

Three days later, in first-year Class Zero's dedicated classroom.

The classroom occupied the top floor of the teaching building and had a sweeping view. Its desks, chairs, and cultivation equipment were all the best the academy had to offer. Everyone seated there was among the finest talents of the new class.

Yet the atmosphere in the room was oppressively tense. Everyone sat bolt upright, not daring to make the slightest move.

The classroom's front door was shoved open. Zhou Yi strode in wearing black training clothes, her face expressionless. She flung the door shut behind her with a bang that made the windows tremble.

The pressure of her Soul Emperor-level Soul Power erupted without restraint, bearing down on every freshman present like a mountain.

Her icy gaze swept across the room like a blade dipped in frost. Wherever it fell, hearts tightened.

"I am Zhou Yi, the homeroom teacher of first-year Class Zero." Her voice was cold and stiff, without a trace of warmth. "I trust you all know what it means to enter Class Zero. It is the academy's recognition of your talent, and its expectation of you. Now, everyone, stand!"

The instant the order fell, the students rose in unison.

Huo Yuhao had been looking down while discussing the finer points of cultivation Formation with the Howling Celestial Dog in his spiritual sea. He stood as soon as he heard the order, less than half a beat late. Beside him, Cao Jinxuan was still puzzling over the details of his Time Fleeting Bell's Soul Skill. He hesitated, and his movement to stand came a full second after everyone else's.

"Huo Yuhao! Cao Jinxuan!"

Zhou Yi's gaze locked onto the two of them. The chill in it deepened when it landed on Huo Yuhao. She slammed a hand on the lectern and roared, "You two stood up one second late! Get out of my class!"

The classroom fell deathly silent.

Everyone was dumbfounded. They were being kicked out of Class Zero for standing up one second late?

That was absurd!

Anyone with eyes could see that Cao Jinxuan had merely been caught up in it. Huo Yuhao was Zhou Yi's real target.

Everyone knew Huo Yuhao was Mu Jin's prized student and the overall champion of the freshman tournament. He was also the One-Ring Soul Master with the lowest Soul Power Level in Class Zero.

Zhou Yi had always been at odds with Mu Jin. She had also lost a bet to Huo Yuhao and lost face along with it. Making an example of him now suited her perfectly.

Huo Yuhao stood where he was, watching Zhou Yi rage on the platform. There was not a trace of panic on his face, only utter speechlessness.