Chapter 109 – Class Zero is Established!
Long Hengxu continued, “In light of the new class one’s outstanding achievements in this tournament, the entire class will be rewarded with one meal a day from the first window for one term.”
After hearing these words, the previous discontent murmuring turned into cheering. What was the first window? It served the most nourishing food! Without even speaking of the taste, it had the most benefits to their cultivation but was extremely expensive. Most families couldn’t afford to feed their children a meal from the first window. One term’s worth of meals from the first window was worth an extraordinary sum of money!
Right now, as the teacher in charge of class two, Ye Yingluo’s face grew even gloomier at those words. Clearly, she wasn’t happy with these developments.
Long Hengxu shouted, “Quiet down!”
It was only then that the cheering gradually subsided.
Long Hengxu resumed. “Due to the excellence of this year’s first grade, the board of directors has decided to conduct a study. We are establishing an experimental class in the first grade that will be comprised of the best students in the grade. It will temporarily be called class zero, and Wu Zhangkong will be the teacher in charge. The students for class zero have already been selected. From class one, we have Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue. From class two, we have Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng. In the future, any other student who shows exceptional ability will also be put into class zero.”
Class zero?
What the hell is this?
All of the students assembled were in a daze. In all of Eastsea Academy’s history, there had never been a class zero! Moreover, what did having Wu Zhangkong as the teacher in charge mean?
Tang Wulin’s trio was startled, while Wang Jinxi and Wei Xiaofeng had similar reactions on the other side. In an almost synchronized motion, the two of them looked towards Tang Wulin’s trio.
Wei Xiaofeng’s expression was brimming with loathing and enmity, while Wang Jinxi’s gaze was focused solely on Tang Wulin as he made a complicated face.
Wu Zhangkong was expressionless as usual, but in reality he had already been notified by the board of directors last night after they decided on approving the plan.
Long Hengxu said, “Aside from these two announcements, there are still punishments to be announced. In the match yesterday between class one and class two, both sides prioritized their comrades first and the competition second, which led to three students being seriously injured. This has raised a serious concern with the six participants. As such, they will be deprived of the tournament rewards as a punishment and warning to others.”
Deprived of their reward? It would seem that for this grade’s Class Promotion Tournament, even if they’d won, there would be no rewards. Their class would only be promoted!
Long Hengxu had said these words harshly, but in reality this wasn’t even a punishment at all!
“President, do you have any words to say?” Long Hengxu asked, looking at Yu Zhen to his side.
Yu Zhen nodded and began speaking with a clear voice. “Students, I am sure you are all very curious as to why we established class zero. This is because the students we have picked out have already far surpassed the level of their peers. If they were to continue advancing with the other students, their talent would be buried. In summary, if you wish to shine in the future, then you must put in even more effort! I hope that I will see more students joining class zero later on, going on to become the greatest geniuses of Eastsea Academy!
“Alright then, the assembly is over. You may all leave now. Teachers, lead your classes back. Long Hengxu will act as class one’s substitute teacher until a new teacher can be found. Wu Zhangkong and the students of class zero will remain here.”
Filled with shock, admiration, envy, and regret, the students of the five classes returned to their classrooms, leaving only the president as well as those of the newly established class zero.
“Children, come over here.” Yu Zhen beckoned everyone over.
Although they were somewhat reluctant, the five of them still walked over.
In the presence of the academy’s president, even Wei Xiaofeng didn’t dare to act in an unbridled manner. It was clear, however, that Tang Wulin’s trio and the other two had some tension between them.
As Yu Zhen observed the five children in front of him, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He coldly said, “You guys are quite able, huh! Do you think that just because you’re a bit more outstanding than your peers that you’re great? Look at you all, what have you accomplished? Among the five of you, two have broken arms, and there’s still one with broken legs resting in the classroom!”
The five of them were scolded into a daze. They had never expected Yu Zhen to reprimand them like this. As soon as they arrived, they were showered with a tongue-lashing.
Yu Zhen continued on with a stern expression. “I have already said what the purpose of class zero is: it’s to not hold you back. But even with how small you all are, you harbor so much pride and conceit within your hearts. I will have you all behave with integrity in front of me, otherwise, don’t blame the academy for being impolite. I’m warning you now; if a situation like yesterday’s happens again, you will all be punished. Don’t think that just because you are geniuses that you don’t have to follow the rules. You are all just viewing the sky from the bottom of a well. There are plenty of people even more outstanding than you five throughout the federation!
“From the very beginning, this world has never lacked geniuses, nor has it lacked geniuses that die young. If a genius wants to become great, then they will have to invest far more effort than an ordinary person. Only then will you live up to your potential. Do you all understand?”
“Understood.” In the face of the president’s overbearing aura, none of the five children could raise their head.
“Sign this contract.” With a flip of his hand, a pile of papers appeared, and he quickly distributed them to the five children.
The five of them subconsciously took the pen. Tang Wulin looked it over, his attention drawn to the large word at the top: contract.
Following the title, the content below it could be summarized as saying: Person XXX voluntarily enters a contract with Eastsea Academy. Before XXX graduates from the intermediate division and the advanced division, they will not change schools.
This was the general gist of the contract.
What is the meaning of this? The five of them thought in a daze.
“Now that the academy has established class zero, we will invest even more resources into you. Because of this, the academy wants a guarantee that you will stay here for your studies. It isn’t because of some other weird reason. Alright then. Just sign it now.”
Xie Xie meekly asked, “President, shouldn’t we discuss with our families before signing this?”
Yu Zhen blinked a few times. “Of course you can! You can go back and discuss it, but you won’t be able to join class zero anymore. I am a very busy person, and I don’t have the time to wait for you.”
In the time they had been speaking, Tang Wulin had already signed his name on the contract. To him, this contract didn’t mean anything at all. Apart from Eastsea Academy, he didn’t even know where else he could go to study. Just the fact that the academy would be investing more resources into him, a good-for-nothing, was a divine gift. He simply didn’t have any reason to refuse.
Gu Yue signed it in nearly the same time as Tang Wulin. Seeing the two of them signing it, Xie Xie didn’t question it anymore. Not being able to leave Eastsea Academy wasn’t that big of a deal.
On the other side, Wang Jinxi had signed it as well. Only Wei Xiaofeng was currently hesitating. “President, I think it’s bad to not consult with my family first. I still want to discuss the matter with them before I sign. After all, my clan might have me go to an even better advanced academy in the future.”
Yu Zhen nodded. “You’re very ambitious. You can just go back to class two. Now, there are only five students in class zero.” As he said this, he had already snatched back the contract from Wei Xiaofeng’s hands and began shooing him off with his hands.
Wei Xiaofeng revealed a complicated expression, but in the end he didn’t take back that contract. Instead, he bowed to the president before returning to class.
After he left, Yu Zhen’s stern and cold expression melted into a gentle smile.
Seeing his god-like face changing skills, the four students couldn’t help but fall into a stupor.
“Alright then. You have all signed the contract so from now on, you are the elites of the academy. We will respect Wei Xiaofeng’s decision but in the future, I definitely believe that he will regret his choice this day. Although our Eastsea Academy isn’t ranked too highly on this continent, we are still the sole intermediate Soul Master academy in this major city. With all of our resources poured into you, I dare say that not even the legendary Shrek Academy could match us.”
After hearing the president’s confident words, the four students suddenly felt a bit better about signing the contract. Standing off in the distance, Wu Zhangkong’s mouth twitched slightly when he heard those words.