One teacher emerged from the group of five and walked toward Class Five's position.
The new students froze when they saw him.
This teacher was strikingly handsome.
He stood over 1.9 meters tall with a slender, upright build. His lake-blue hair cascaded down to his waist, his nose bridge was prominent, his lips were thin and well-proportioned, and his amber eyes sparkled with vitality.
Beneath his white attire, an aura of cold aloofness emanated from him.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly. Rumors didn't do him justice—Wu Changkong was indeed remarkably handsome.
Though still slightly inferior to himself, of course.
"Follow me!" Those two simple words sent a chill through every student's heart.
"The teacher seems really strong... that presence..." some students couldn't help but exclaim. Just his aura alone was this overwhelming.
But this wasn't merely an aura.
Arthur thought silently to himself.
Unlike the other new students, he detected that this chill originated from Wu Changkong's soul power. He was drawing the students into his rhythm.
Arthur's soul power surged within him, dispelling the cold sensation.
Arthur followed along with his other classmates.
Class Five was located at the innermost part of the first floor, requiring the longest walk.
"Take your seats!" Wu Changkong's voice was ice-cold.
The usual spot—Arthur chose a window seat in the back row.
As he sat down, his peripheral vision caught Zhou Zhangxi taking a seat in front, and he immediately flashed him a smile.
Noticing Arthur's smile, Zhou Zhangxi shuddered. He had an ominous premonition. He instinctively stood up wanting to change seats, only to find everyone had already found their places and sat down.
The moment he stood, the entire class's eyes turned toward him, and Wu Changkong noticed him too.
Under Wu Changkong's icy gaze, Zhou Zhangxi had no choice but to sit back down immediately after standing.
Walking behind the podium, Wu Changkong's gaze swept across the entire class. The slightly noisy classroom instantly fell silent.
"My name is Wu Changkong. I'll be your teacher for the next six years."
"Don't think too much about the class placement rules. Even if you're the worst students, I will cultivate you into someone useful."
His cold, arrogant tone left all the students astonished.
"Now begin self-introductions. Name, martial soul, soul power rank, and what kind of Soul Master you want to become. Start from this row—go one by one!"
Simple and direct. Wu Changkong disliked beating around the bush. Efficiency came first.
He casually pointed, and it happened to be Arthur's row.
The first was Yun Xiao, who stood up and introduced himself: "Hello everyone, I'm Yun Xiao. My martial soul is Star Disc, rank twelve, and my goal is to become a wisdom-type support Battle Soul Master." His voice trembled slightly, seemingly from nervousness.
Next came Tang Wulin's turn.
"Tang Wulin, martial soul Bluesilver Grass, soul power rank eleven, goal is..." Tang Wulin paused, "I don't know."
He himself was confused, uncertain about what to do.
"A trash martial soul, no wonder. Haha, if I had a trash martial soul I wouldn't know what to do either." Some students mocked.
"Whoosh!" Wu Changkong threw a piece of chalk that landed in that student's mouth.
The chalk seemed alive, drilling forcefully into the student's mouth, making him retch involuntarily.
"In this world, there are no trash martial souls, only trash people." Wu Changkong said coldly. "Before calling others trash, look at yourself first. You're all in the same class—doesn't that make you trash too?"
No trash martial souls, only trash people?
Arthur expressed that the holy sword within him didn't quite agree with that assessment.
To the holy sword, as long as the wielder was human, even the most worthless person could soar.
This was the confidence of us holy sword users.
"Continue!" Unlike his previous sentences, this time Wu Changkong infused soul power into his words. The entire class fell deathly silent.
"I'm Zhou Zhangxi, martial soul Vigorous Ape, soul power rank eleven, goal is to become a strength-type Battle Soul Master."
Next came Arthur's turn. He stood up to introduce himself.
"Arthur, martial soul Excalibur, soul power rank thirty-two, goal is to become an assault-type Battle Soul Master."
When the words "soul power rank thirty-two" left his mouth, every student in the class felt their pupils contract in shock, erupting in exclamations that even Wu Changkong's cold aura couldn't suppress.
Rank Thirty-two!
To them, that was impossibly distant. A nine-year-old at rank thirty-two!
They wouldn't dare fantasize such a thing even in their dreams.
This kind of genius was in the same class as them? Was Class Five really the worst class?
Zhou Zhangxi, seated in front of Arthur, immediately turned around, his face full of terror.
"Rank thirty-two..." Wu Changkong behind the podium furrowed his brow.
How could such a genius who qualified for Shrek Academy end up assigned to Class Five?
"Why were you assigned to Class Five?" Wu Changkong voiced what all the students were thinking. Why would a nine-year-old at rank thirty-two be in Class Five?
"Teacher, I came here to find you."
To fight you.
Arthur left the latter part unsaid.
Su Wuyan was too strong—it wasn't intuitive enough. Rather than Su Wuyan verbally describing what rank of Soul Master he could match.
For true geniuses, soul power rank didn't equal combat power.
Since Wu Changkong was also at East Sea Academy, Arthur would take the opportunity to spar with this genius-level Spirit Emperor, to get a clear sense of exactly what level his own strength had reached.
"To find me?" Wu Changkong was puzzled. He truly hadn't expected someone to come specifically for him.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but he suppressed his doubts and didn't ask further. There would be plenty of time ahead—he'd learn the reason eventually.
The other students were also very curious. Came here to find Teacher Wu Changkong? Could Teacher Wu Changkong have some impressive identity?
"Next."
After all the students finished their self-introductions.
"Classes officially begin tomorrow. My teaching methods differ from other teachers. If you're afraid of hardship, fatigue, or pain, find a way to transfer classes yourselves."
"Prepare yourselves mentally. Class dismissed."
Wu Changkong turned and left.
The classroom instantly erupted. Some discussed this aloof, handsome teacher Wu Changkong. But more people gossiped about Arthur, the rank thirty-two genius.
With nothing left to do, Arthur also stood to leave. Before going, he patted Zhou Zhangxi's shoulder and casually said, "Remember to get along well with your classmates."
These words left Zhou Zhangxi bewildered, but he still deeply committed them to memory.
Passing by Xie Xie, Arthur noticed he seemed quite dejected, but paid him no mind.
Just another genius struck down by him. He'd seen far too many.
Besides, Xie Xie wasn't even a genius—his aspirations truly exceeded his reach.
After finding his three roommates who had also finished class, he went to eat and return to the dorm with them.
Arthur draped his arm over Zhang Yangzi's shoulder and asked, "Wei Xiaofeng didn't do anything bad in class, did he?"
"I wouldn't dare, Brother Arthur." Before Zhang Yangzi could answer, Wei Xiaofeng replied with a bitter smile. "After Brother Arthur's guidance, I profoundly realized my mistakes. From now on, I'll turn over a new leaf and conduct myself properly!"
"Ah, Xiaofeng, don't think I'm meddling too much." Arthur expounded his twisted logic. "I'm afraid you'll degenerate into an evil Soul Master, and then I'd have no choice but to eliminate you with my own hands."
"I'm doing this for your own good."
Wei Xiaofeng's mouth twitched. He was just a bit arrogant normally—how did that make him an evil Soul Master in Arthur's eyes?
Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi beside them didn't dare speak up. If anyone was going to degenerate into an evil Soul Master, wouldn't it more likely be Soul Masters with dark attributes like them?
They didn't know that in Arthur's view, defining evil Soul Masters didn't depend on martial souls, only on behavior.