In the blink of an eye, Arthur had already closed the distance, appearing right in front of the gloomy boy.
At nine years old, soul masters almost entirely depended on soul skills to fight. Once their soul power was drained and they could no longer use those skills, they were basically helpless, with little to no understanding of physical combat.
Part of it was a mindset issue. They relied far too much on soul skills. There were also physical limitations. At that age, their bodies were still underdeveloped, making it impossible to properly execute real hand-to-hand techniques.
Only Arthur, supported by his holy sword framework, could rely on instinct alone to use physical combat techniques smoothly and naturally.
The sudden burst of speed made the gloomy boy panic. He wanted to react, but his body lagged behind his thoughts. His movements fell apart completely.
He threw a wild punch at Arthur's face, clumsy and unfocused.
Arthur did not move his feet. He tilted his head slightly, letting the punch pass by harmlessly, then stepped forward half a pace, slipping straight into the boy's personal space.
The boy's other arm swung down in a messy follow-up. The moment he moved, Arthur borrowed his momentum and gave him a sharp jolt, throwing off his balance and leaving his defenses wide open.
Arthur did not follow up with a punch. He simply raised his elbow and pressed it lightly against the boy's chest. There was no real force behind it, but the timing was perfect, completely disrupting his breathing.
If Arthur had put strength into that strike, the boy would have been seriously injured at the very least. But Arthur had no intention of doing that. The other side's attack did not deserve such a heavy response.
The gloomy boy let out a muffled groan. His strength drained away, his movements turning sluggish as he staggered back several steps. He had never experienced combat like this before. Flustered and shaken, he only remembered to activate his soul skill after finally catching his breath.
His first soul ring lit up. His body turned hazy, splitting into several phantom images that surrounded him, making it nearly impossible to tell which one was real.
"Not a bad soul skill. Too bad you had to face me."
Shaking his head, Arthur trusted his intuition. He reached out casually and grabbed the real body without hesitation. With a smooth motion, he flipped the boy sideways and slammed him into the ground.
"What's your name?" Arthur asked as he pinned him down.
The gloomy boy did not answer. Instead, he snarled, "How did you see through it?!"
As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously flicked past Arthur to something behind him, his spirit soul.
A small green snake hovered there. Its entire body was a jade-like cyan color, with a pair of slightly translucent cyan wings on its back. Despite its small size, it radiated a dangerous presence.
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi, watching from the side, were just about to shout a warning when the green snake shot forward, aiming straight for Arthur.
"Ha..." The gloomy boy's triumphant laugh had barely escaped when it froze in his throat.
Without even turning around, Arthur reached back and caught the green snake in his hand, guided purely by instinct. Calmly, he asked again, "Name?"
"W-Wei Xiaofeng..." Wei Xiaofeng stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief at what he was seeing.
"Wei Xiaofeng, right? We'll let it end here. We're roommates, so let's get along from now on. Got it?"
Arthur patted Wei Xiaofeng's already swelling face and decided to stop there.
The fight had ended far too quickly. It had not caused any disturbance, and no teacher had come running over. Otherwise, he would have been sent to the guidance office again.
"Y-yes."
Meeting those calm, sacred cyan eyes, Wei Xiaofeng felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Even though he still had his second soul skill unused, thinking back on the entire fight made one thing clear. Even if he had used it, the result would not have changed.
Arthur had not even summoned his martial soul.
The boy in front of him was a genuine monster.
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi stood there in a daze. Running the scene through their minds, they realized that if either of them had been in Wei Xiaofeng's place, the outcome would have been exactly the same.
The way they looked at Arthur now was completely different. It was the respect one naturally held for true strength.
For the rest of the time, Wei Xiaofeng sat slumped in his chair, eyes vacant and unfocused, looking half lost. He was questioning everything about himself.
All the praise he had received from relatives and friends now felt painfully hollow.
Am I really a genius?
Meanwhile, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi unconsciously grew more reserved in their conversations with Arthur.
Their martial souls were clearly suppressed by his. If they actually fought him, the defeat would be even more one-sided.
The dorm room settled into an oddly peaceful atmosphere, everyone getting along like a close-knit family.
Definitely something worth celebrating.
Time passed quickly, and new student enrollment soon came to an end. The following day was the opening ceremony.
The ceremony took place in East Sea Academy's massive central plaza. Only once a year did students from the advanced division gather together with those from the intermediate division. Under normal circumstances, they almost never saw each other.
The intermediate division had around a hundred students per grade, across six grades in total.
The advanced division was completely different, with fewer than two hundred students altogether.
"Hello, students. Today is our annual opening ceremony. Next, please welcome Principal Yu to the stage for his address. Let's give him a warm round of applause."
Amid enthusiastic clapping, Principal Yu slowly stepped onto the stage. He was an elderly man with graying hair and glasses, carrying the calm air of a scholar.
"Hello, students. Every year at this time, I find myself filled with emotion.
"One group of students graduates and steps into their future, while another group arrives here at East Sea Academy."
The principal's speech was heartfelt and inspiring.
Arthur listened with interest at first, but before long, his eyelids grew heavy and his mind drifted.
It was an old habit.
About fifteen minutes later, the speech finally came to an end. What followed was the part everyone cared about most, class assignments.
The new students nearby immediately grew restless. Arthur snapped back to attention, a little surprised.
This principal was actually efficient. He had wrapped things up in just over ten minutes.
The students began filing out in order. The intermediate division kept only the first-year newcomers, while the advanced division freshmen returned to their own campus to receive their class assignments.
The assignment process was completely open. The academy had detailed records on every student. Based on soul power, martial souls, past performance, and other factors, students were assigned to classes accordingly.
Class 1 was the strongest. Class 5 was the weakest.
Arthur did not particularly care about this. His attention was already fixed on someone in Class 5.
By opponent, he did not mean the other new students, but Wu Changkong.
Wu Changkong could truly be called a genius. In the original story, even though his prime cultivation years had been delayed...
He still went on to achieve remarkable accomplishments.
None of his peers could really challenge him. Su Wuyan was far too strong and constantly bent the rules, turning every fight into pure misery.
Facing a gifted expert from the previous generation like Wu Changkong, though, that was real combat. That was satisfying.
"Finally, the Class 5 roster." The teacher on the stage began reading names one by one.
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi, standing off to the side with Arthur, were already stunned. They had clearly heard Arthur's name called for Class 5.
The most shocked of all was Wei Xiaofeng. The memory of the earlier fight surfaced, his body still faintly aching.
Arthur's overwhelming strength had crushed him completely.
And now, Wei Xiaofeng was being assigned to Class 1, while Arthur ended up in Class 5?
Wait, did I even deserve that?
For a moment, Wei Xiaofeng honestly wondered if the teacher had made a mistake. Could Class 5 actually be the best class?
"Don't look so surprised. I asked for it myself. You'll understand eventually."
Arthur casually explained, responding to the stunned looks from his roommates.
He could not exactly say that he planned to challenge the Class 5 teacher directly.
No one would believe that anyway.
The teacher on the stage finished reading the list.
The new students sorted themselves accordingly.