Class Assignments Begin

After Li Qingyue finished speaking, even he felt a little awkward, and his expression grew unnatural.

Ouyang Zixin froze for a moment too. Her gaze instinctively shifted to the girl.

The girl had clearly only just stood up. Her eyes swept over everyone present, visibly uneasy.

A trace of grievance lingered on her face, but more than that, she looked timid in a way that plainly betrayed her social anxiety.

Only when her gaze shifted and she spotted Na'er did she quietly brace herself, stand up, and raise a hand in a small wave of greeting.

Na'er gave her a calm nod, her expression revealing little.

Seeing Na'er put on that aloof act only made Xu Xiaoyan feel more stifled.

She had been eating with her brother and had just persuaded him to buy her some treats. Then, in the blink of an eye, they had stumbled into this mess.

Especially when that mother tyrannosaur had raised a hand to attack her brother, Xu Xiaoyan had honestly been startled.

It was only when the boy before her stepped in that the conflict was finally defused.

Seeing her brother and that mother tyrannosaur bound in vines and looking so bedraggled, Xu Xiaoyan could not help turning her gaze to Li Qingyue.

She had to admit one thing: the boy before her was astonishingly beautiful.

His features were refined to an almost absurd degree. Even as a girl herself, she had nearly mistaken him for one at first glance.

Only when he spoke, his gentle voice carrying a hint of resonance, did she decide he was probably a boy.

And after hearing him say his name, Xu Xiaoyan finally realized that he might have mistaken her brother for a faithless lover.

That left Xu Xiaoyan feeling rather helpless.

It was not that the siblings looked nothing alike. Their hair was the same rare shade of pale blue, after all, which made the resemblance somewhat recognizable.

But at first glance, most people would indeed have trouble immediately guessing they were siblings.

Xu Xiaoyu had well-defined features and was certainly handsome. That much was true.

But Xu Xiaoyan had even finer features, and she was prettier than Xu Xiaoyu.

Her features had yet to fully mature, so when the two stood together, it was hard for others to tell at a glance which of them was better-looking.

All told, the siblings looked no more than forty or fifty percent alike.

Once everything had finally been explained, Li Qingyue released the green vines wrapped around the two of them.

They both straightened up, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Xu Xiaoyu shot Mu Xi a fierce glare, but with that tigress, he dared to be angry but not to speak.

Mu Xi felt a little embarrassed herself, but she was used to getting her way and was hardly going to be intimidated by Xu Xiaoyu.

She merely gave a soft snort, then turned and sat down to one side.

As the tension gradually dissolved, the group finally managed to finish their meal.

The atmosphere remained awkward throughout, though. Xie Xie sat there watching the whole spectacle and found it rather entertaining.

Apart from briefly telling Li Qingyue Xu Xiaoyan's name at the start, Na'er kept her head down and ate the entire time.

After all, she was the biggest eater there.

Li Qingyue had ordered ten full portions of premium food for her alone, spending ten thousand Federation Credits in one go.

Yet once everyone started eating, she was the first to finish.

That showed just how fast Na'er could eat.

After the meal, the two groups said their goodbyes.

The fifth-years had classes that afternoon, while the first-years had nothing scheduled. The opening ceremony was not until tomorrow.

So they headed straight back to their dormitory.

That afternoon, two figures, one tall and one short, came knocking.

They wore outfits rather like cartoon work overalls, and each held an all-purpose hammer.

At the sight of these two strangely dressed Marios, even Li Qingyue's mouth twitched.

Of all the Martial Souls he had seen, these two men's abilities were probably the most unusual.

A light tap from their hammers could repair a damaged wall outright. That was an ability that already transcended grade-level limits.

After Zhang Yangzi paid sixty thousand Federation Credits, the two hammers tapped lightly against the wall.

In almost an instant, the wall was completely restored. Not a trace of the damage remained.

Watching the two collect their money and leave, even Wang Jinxi could not keep the corner of his mouth from twitching sharply.

The other three had long since been on the verge of losing control of their expressions.

The faintly comical sight did ease the tension among the four of them a little.

Wang Jinxi and the others were clearly still unwilling to let things go, but Li Qingyue paid it little mind.

That evening, everyone went off to eat dinner, then returned to the dormitory to rest.

The night passed quickly. The next morning, the first-years' opening ceremony finally arrived.

The square filled with people in no time.

Apart from the first-years, most students had already assembled in their assigned class positions.

They stood in orderly ranks, waiting for the teachers and everyone else to arrive.

The upper-year homeroom teachers were the first to approach.

The lower-year teachers followed in turn. Last came a somewhat thin middle-aged man, walking over at an unhurried pace.

Behind him were the teachers responsible for the first-years.

The teachers followed the middle-aged man in neat rows.

Once they had taken their places, a kindly-looking old man stepped onto the stage first.

His gaze swept warmly over the crowd below, and he began his speech. "Today marks another annual opening day here at Eastsea Academy."

"First, let us welcome our new students into the Eastsea Academy family."

"And to all our students, I hope that in the years ahead, you can..."

The old man spoke concisely. He was nothing like the usual school officials who could go on for an hour or two once they started talking.

In just over ten minutes, he had finished his speech.

When he concluded, the upper-year teachers began leading their students away.

Only then did the middle-aged man step back onto the stage. His gaze calmly swept the crowd below before settling on the first-years, whose formation was the most scattered.

The first-years had not even been fully assigned to classes yet, so their ranks were rather disorderly.

The man first gave the old man a slight nod, then turned his attention to the students.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Long Hengxu, and I'm the first-year grade director."

"When I call your name, please stand to my left."

"This is the roster for First-Year Class One."

"Wei Xiaofeng, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, Xu Xiaoyan..."

As the names were called, the first to step forward was Wei Xiaofeng, who shared a dormitory with Tang Wulin and the others and wore a somewhat gloomy expression.

Only then did Li Qingyue learn that Wei Xiaofeng was the last student in First-Year Class One to have reached the Second Ring.

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi followed Wei Xiaofeng, with the other students coming after them.

As Xu Xiaoyan stepped forward, she looked back curiously.

After all, she knew how strong Na'er was.

Na'er was clearly a Second Ring Soul Master, and Xu Xiaoyan had always thought that reaching the Second Ring guaranteed a place in Class One.

But under her watchful gaze, the rosters for the first four classes were read out, and neither Na'er nor that breathtakingly beautiful boy moved.

Only when the middle-aged man reached Class Five did the two of them stand and join the class at the very end.