After receiving the simplified cultivation method, the children in the classroom eagerly threw themselves into it. Though it had already been simplified, the art was still somewhat difficult for these children to understand and rather complicated.
The process of cultivation undoubtedly tested their comprehension as well. Most barely managed to get started after spending ages on it, but they were all thrilled that they could cultivate.
Of course, there were exceptions.
After carefully listening to the teacher's instructions, the girl beside him immediately began cultivating. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable affinity with the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Everything felt so natural, falling into place like water flowing into a channel.
Watching the others cultivate, Zhou Yang shook his head.
Tang San had clung to the Mysterious Heaven Skill all the way to becoming a God King. Zhou Yang couldn't help wondering: if a second-rate martial art could do that, wouldn't bringing over Nine Yang or Nine Yin blast someone straight beyond God King?
After letting his imagination run wild for a moment, he soon brought his thoughts back and began focusing on his own business.
As for the cultivation method, that was very "simple."
Just brute-force it with Ohma powah backing him up.
The moment he saw the cultivation method, Zhou Yang's world-shaking wisdom kicked in, producing a "little idea."
In his previous life, he had been an ordinary electrician dude who researched and hand-built his own belts, made his own accessories and modifications, wrestled with code, and ground away at programming.
Cultivation methods were like software systems. He just needed to build his own API framework, write the code, and leave the rest to the Power of Ohma.
Faith needs no reason!!! (crossed out)
If you have any problems, take them up with my Power of Ohma.
The results were quite gratifying. A cultivation method he wrote himself was naturally the best fit for him, especially with the Power of Ohma backing it up.
As he cultivated, the Power of Ohma shone, enveloping Zhou Yang in a hazy, dark-gold radiance. Fortunately, he was sitting near the window, where the sunlight concealed the fact that he had turned into a little golden man.
The greatest surprise was that his self-created Ohma Cultivation Method made him feel both the awakening progress of his Power of Ohma and his control over it gradually improving.
The great Ohma truck, come rain or shine. The one who taught you to cultivate was-
Hehe, as long as I cultivate properly, the day I become king will surely bring a huge surprise to the Douluo Continent-even the entire multiverse!
Moreover, through cultivation, he could sense that he did not need Soul Rings. When the time came, he would produce Soul Rings himself.
In other words, he wouldn't need to stuff any weird Spirit Souls into his body.
After working out his cultivation method and making those discoveries, Zhou Yang stopped.
Cultivating this thing in moderation was enough. He had no intention of repeating his previous life's rat race, running a marathon while coughing up blood.
After all, what he truly relied on in battle wasn't Soul Masters' Soul Skills, but the power of Riders. These weren't what he needed to train.
The first day's lesson was simple: learning how to cultivate.
After teaching the students the cultivation method, the teacher had everyone cultivate on their own and ask her if they had any questions.
Naturally, Zhou Yang had no questions on that front and simply sprawled over his desk to relax.
After suffering under the rat-race environment of his previous life, Zhou Yang had bounced straight back from rock bottom and comfortably embraced lying flat. He went to bed early every day, never carrying his fatigue into the next day.
He just hadn't expected his Rider itch to strike last night. Once he transformed, he couldn't stop and accidentally pulled an all-nighter.
Now he felt quite exhausted, with a faint sense of drifting off to sleep.
But the intermittent racket beside him kept disturbing his sleep.
He looked up to see several boys and girls gathered together, loudly mocking a girl in front of them.
"Your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass?"
"A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul can cultivate too?"
"It's just a trash Martial Soul."
Damn, there's even a bullying segment. A part of the Douluo Continent experience you simply can't miss.
Zhou Yang raised his eyes, looking straight at the group before him. The girl they were bullying was the very girl who had woken him during class.
He stood up.
Not out of a sense of justice, though. The vile will of the tyrant within him had been stirred awake.
Yes, children, I'm about to lose control of the demon king personality inside me.
"Noise, noise, noise! What's all this noise?!"
His sharp rebuke cut them off outright.
"If you don't want to cultivate, get out."
His words immediately drew everyone else's attention.
Zhou Yang didn't know what his deskmate's Martial Soul was. He had slept through the entire lesson, from beginning to end. If the girl hadn't woken him, he probably would have slept until school ended.
Hearing Zhou Yang's arrogant words, the children, whose seeds of tyranny had only just begun to sprout, turned their sights on him instead.
This troublemaker before them was undoubtedly challenging their little clique's authority.
Touching upon the tyrant's path at such a tender age. They've got this life in the bag.
To form a little clique like this as soon as school started-should he call them precocious or childish?
However, this also touched upon the underlying code of tyranny for Zhou Yang, who likewise bore the will of the tyrant.
When tyranny met tyranny, the tyranny that remained...
Could only be one!
Kings did not meet kings, and tyrants did not meet tyrants!
"What's your Martial Soul, then? You dare stand up for someone else?"
The chubby boy leading them raised his chin and summoned his Martial Soul, a small silver knife. His Soul Power was quite abundant, however; his Innate Soul Power evidently wasn't weak.
"My Martial Soul is a knife, with rank-five Innate Soul Power. I'm the highest-ranked person in class, someone who'll become a Titled Douluo in the future-someone who'll become a Titled Douluo."
He was also among the few in the classroom who had gotten started with cultivation relatively early.
Zhou Yang had no intention of getting physical with the children before him.
So he merely raised his hand slowly, beckoning toward the sky and pointing at the sun.
"My Martial Soul? Then you'd better not blink."
Everyone followed his gesture with their eyes, only to see a crimson figure suddenly dart out of the dazzling, glittering sun at tremendous speed.
Before they could examine it closely, it flew into the classroom and shot toward them faster than any of them could react.
The crimson figure was as nimble and swift as a red bullet fired from a soul-guided firearm. Instinctive fear made their legs buckle, sending them tumbling backward onto the floor.
Naturally, Zhou Yang had no intention of bullying a few children. He simply had the Kabuto Zecter fly in and circle in front of them before instantly returning to his hand.
As though he had rehearsed it tens of thousands of times, Zhou Yang raised his hand and caught it without even looking.
With a sharp swish, something landed in his grasp.
The boy stood proudly by the window. Sunlight spilled over him, casting a layer of shadow over his face, lending him a few more degrees of nobility and mystery, along with a powerful presence that seemed only natural.
The thing that had just flown at high speed and darted about was a crimson metal beetle-the Zecter from the Kabuto series, Kabuto.
"My Martial Soul, as you can see. Rank-ten Innate Soul Power."
Those few words immediately silenced the classroom. The other children inside had all been drawn to the scene.
"S-so cool!"
Faced with a three-dimensional Martial Soul that could practically teleport, and someone with rank-ten Innate Soul Power, even their little clique didn't dare provoke Zhou Yang.
The Kabuto Zecter's terrifying flying speed had already proven that it could take all of them out in an instant.
They didn't even dare imagine what would happen if that red thing hit them.
In the end, the incident concluded with an apology from the group led by the chubby boy.
Having dealt with the noisy bunch, Zhou Yang sprawled over his desk again, returning to his languid posture and preparing to sleep. Yet a nervous voice mingled with gratitude came from beside him.
"Thank you for helping me out. Other than Mom and Dad, you're the first person to respect me."
"Thank you so much."
Hearing the girl beside him thanking him, Zhou Yang turned his head toward the window, hiding his expression.
"No need to thank me. They merely trespassed upon my will as a tyrant, so I brought punishment down upon them."
"Consider it repayment for waking me during class."
"That's it. I'm going to sleep."
He waved a hand beside his head, as though shooing away someone disturbing his rest.
Looking at the boy with his head turned away, the girl in the seat beside him spoke solemnly.
"You were asleep during class just now and didn't hear, so I'd still like to introduce myself-"
"My name is Tang Wulin. Can we be friends?"
Zhou Yang listened to the girl with his eyes lowered. He had only intended to quietly brush her off, but her last words made him freeze.
Wait, what did she say her name was?