Chapter 61: Class Zero & Mechas

AN: I'm sorry for the late update, just woke up right now from an entire night of watching movies and I thought I had already posted this last night, which I just checked, I did not. So forgive this lowly author and enjoy the chapter!

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"Class Zero?" Xiu Ye raised an eyebrow at Wu Zhangkong. They were currently in the latter's room, as he wanted to discuss something very important to the boy.

Xiu Ye was sitting in one white couch while Wu Zhangkong sat in another in front of him with a coffee table between them.

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Because of the special circumstances of first grade class one, they decided to not continue the Class Promotion Tournament. However, due to the excellence of this year's students, the board of directors has decided to conduct a study. They 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 I will be the teacher in charge. The students for class zero have already been selected. From class two, we have Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue. From class one, we will have you, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng. In the future, any other student who shows exceptional ability will also be put into class zero."

After saying all that, Wu Zhangkong brought out a pile of papers and give it to him. Xiu Ye 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.

"Now that the academy has established class zero, they 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."

Xiu Ye spoke up. "What about the others?"

Wu Zhangkong waved his hand. "They will naturally be given similar contracts later on."

Xiu Ye nodded and started signing the contract but still carefully looked over it once, twice and thrice more to find any fine print, he didn't want to get screwed over by the academy.

Wu Zhangkong looked at Xiu Ye with a rare emotion of being impressed. Kids these days are too trusting and be easily taken advantage of. They have to be more vigilant and self aware to others, even their own teachers. This action of Xiu Ye made his assumption of the boy being both more mature and intellectual than his peers be proven true.

However, there was something else that Wu Zhangkong is thinking about Xiu Ye.

Minutes passed and Xiu Ye was done signing it all. Then he gave it back to Wu Zhangkong.

But Wu Zhangkong didn't take it, instead, he asked with a straight and cold tone of voice. "Xiu Ye, who really are you?"

'So he finally asked...' Xiu Ye didn't panic, he had already anticipated for someone, specifically Wu Zhangkong, to ask about his origins. After all, it's not everyday you see a nine year old boy with rich combat experience, mysterious killer skills and mature mindset.

Thankfully he already made up a plan for this particular question, feigning ignorance of their suspicion until they let the matter go.

Xiu Ye shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just a normal orphan kid from a small city, who got adopted, and decided to enroll in a big city academy to further my education."

Wu Zhangkong narrowed his eyes, the temperature in the room started to drop rapidly. The walls, floor and the furnitures started to be covered with frost.

Xiu Ye didn't react from the sudden change of temperature around him, even the deep chilling cold didn't bother him. Due to Ryūjin Jakka's extreme fire spread throughout his body and his affinity to eight other elements in the world, which included water/ice, the sudden drop of temperature around prove to be of no danger to him.

Wu Zhangkong gaze remained cold but he couldn't help but be impressed by Xiu Ye's affinity and control to the fire element. The drop of temperature in the room was enough to freeze a Soul Ancestor, yet the boy remained calm and smiling with a bright orange red aura emitting from his body.

'His fire, is not ordinary as well!' Wu Zhangkong continued on glaring at Xiu Ye while keeping the room at a negative number temperature.

A few moments later on, Wu Zhangkong closes his eyes and used his soul power to melt the ice in the room.

"Forget it. Everyone has their own secrets they want to keep to themselves." Wu Zhangkong decided to let it go, for now. He'll just keep an eye on him later on.

Xiu Ye smiled and bowed his head. "Thank you for your trust in me, teacher Wu."

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Alright. Give me the papers and get out."

Xiu Ye chuckled, gave the signed papers, and then got of the room.

In the following morning after class zero was established in Eastsea Academy, what Xiu Ye found out was just how differently the academy treated them when compared with their treatment of the normal students. The classroom changed to a much more open one while their dorm rooms had also been upgraded. They no longer shared a room with four people, but rather, they each had their own room now that were situated beside one another. Moreover, their rooms were the same as the ones given to ordinary teachers. In other words, they were enjoying the treatment a teacher would receive.

Wu Zhangkong was also given new living quarters alongside the dorms of his students. His previous dorm had now been replaced with a suite.

The academy gave them one day to get themselves organized before class zero would officially begin classes the following day.

Class zero's classroom seemed a bit spacious and empty. Although it wasn't any different than the ordinary classrooms, it seemed very large with only six students in it. That's right, six. Wei Xiaofeng declined the offer to enter class zero due to a family situation. So the attending students were Xiu Ye, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, total six students.

As Xiu Ye enters the classroom of class zero, he quickly noticed the waving arm of Tang Wulin and decided to head towards him.

All six students' desks and chairs were grouped together in the middle of the entire room. Xiu Ye had also noticed that Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi were talking with Xie Xie and Tang Wulin normally, becoming friends, before he walked towards them.

Both Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi gaze on him were filled with respect and admiration, after all, they still remember the opening ceremony and the Class Promotion Tournament. They were mesmerized by his strength, despite being around the same age as them.

Tang Wulin smiled at him. "Hey bro, how are you doing?"

Xiu Ye chuckled. "I should be the one to say that, Wulin. Are you alright? I kinda went overboard there."

Tang Wulin's wryly smiled, he shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah, I'm alright. Just getting my butt kicked by you, as usual, but it was worse because I underestimated you and went down without fighting back. It's making feel ashamed."

Xiu Ye patted his shoulder. "Don't be, you're young, you make mistakes. You just need to learn from that mistake and not repeat it."

Tang Wulin shot Xiu Ye with a smile of appreciation for the advice and nodded.

Xiu Ye then took a seat, which was next to Gu Yue who smiled and nodded at him.

Wu Zhangkong entered the classroom with a stern expression and walked to the center. He swept his gaze across the six students.

"From henceforth, your curriculum will undergo a change."

His words drew the attention of the five students. Even if it was Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, they couldn't help but admire the Icily Arrogant Prince Charming's strength. After all, he was rumored to be a six-ringed Soul Emperor!

Wu Zhangkong said, "Due to the current conditions of your bodies, we will put off cultivation for a while. Instead, we will begin with theory classes. Today we'll start with mechas."

Mecha?

When they heard this word, all six students looked at each other in confusion.

Zhang Yangzi's expression brightened a bit as he couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Wu, aren't mechas a topic for the advanced division? We're still in the first grade! Isn't this just too early?"

Typically, the intermediate division would only cover foundational knowledge, and they wouldn't cover mechas until they entered the advanced division. After graduating from the advanced division, they would enter an advanced academy based on their area of study, walking one step at a time towards their goal. Anyone who could graduate from an advanced academy would definitely be an elite of society.

They had just started their first of six years in the intermediate division, yet they were already learning about mechas? Wasn't this just jumping ahead of themselves?

Wu Zhangkong responded naturally, "The topics in this mecha class will not be taught in detail, so the course load won't be too much. Among you, who wants to become a Mecha Master in the future?"

Five of them went silent in unison. Mecha Masters were already synonymous with powerful experts in the views of the vast majority.

Xiu Ye shook his head. "Nope, not me."

Everyone turned towards him with raised eyebrows, the students especially were surprised. Because in their view, being a Mecha Master is the peak of strength for Soul Masters.

"Oh? Well then, are you only going to be a Soul Master or something?" Wu Zhangkong asked dully.

Xiu Ye merely smiled. "Or something."

Wu Zhangkong shook his head and continued, "With this being the case, you all better pay attention in class." He shot a glance at Zhang Yangzi as he finished speaking, causing him to tremble from head to toe. Zhang Yangzi no longer dared to utter a single doubtful word.

"Modern day mechas have undergone ten thousand years of development while soul devices have went through several thousand more years of development, becoming more and more widespread. Technology has always been researched for one main reason: war. Soul devices are no exception. It was only after soul devices filled the battlefield that they began to be used by civilians."

"The Soul Guide Masters of the time never would have imagined that soul guided devices, or soul devices for short, could be used to empower a Soul Master by such a large margin. It was only after they discovered this that they began researching mechas."

"Soul Masters have been the most essential profession within the last several tens of thousands of years. Soul Masters were not only rare, but the majority of them were also weak. But with the advent of soul devices, this paradigm had shifted. Low rank Soul Masters could now become much more powerful by relying on their soul power and soul devices. Afterward, soul mechas began to appear, allowing Soul Masters to become even stronger."

"Soul mechas are operated by using soul power from soul power batteries, thus allowing its user to display strength far surpassing their own. The first soul mechas were developed in a larger form, the factor being that the larger they were, the larger the soul power battery they could install as well as the number of weapons it could be equipped with."

"As technology progressed, mechas became operable by ordinary people with sufficiently strong bodies. From then on, soul mechas became the main weapon of the modern army."

"In the history of mecha development, there have been periods where the form was small, medium, and large and now they have taken the form you are all familiar with. This is the basic outline of mecha development. This was a process of trial and error and its resulting improvements. It involved the perfection of soul circuits, various innovations, and the advancement of technology by leaps and bounds. Mechas have only grown increasingly more important in wars ever since their creation."

"But these are not the mechas I want to talk to you all about." Wu Zhangkong paused right there, letting astonishment wash over five students while Xiu Ye widened his eyes in realization. Is he talking about...?

Wu Zhangkong indifferently said, "Didn't you all think that as technology developed, ordinary people could control soul devices better and better? Then let me tell you, that's only what ordinary people think. In the tens of thousands of years of history the Douluo Continent has witnessed, one fact has never changed: Soul Masters are the most powerful existence!"

"With the aid of soul devices, an ordinary person might be able to match up to a Soul Grandmaster, and with a mecha, they could even possibly contend with a five ring Soul King. Mechas truly do offer tremendous power to its user, but even so, it cannot give an ordinary person the fighting power of an eight ring Soul Douluo or a nine ring Title Douluo. At the very least, it is impossible at this point in time."

Xie Xie said, "Then what if they use a super-weapon? There are some super-weapons that ordinary people can use." Case in point, he and Gu Yue glanced at Tang Wulin, while he glanced at Xiu Ye.

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "What you speak of is a possibility. But let me ask you in return, what if both sides possess super-weapons then? Who will have more power? Let me tell you first though, currently, the strongest super-weapon cannot defeat the strongest person."

Wu Zhangkong spoke without the slightest hesitation, causing the five students to sit down subconsciously in shock. While Xiu Ye hid a grimace.

After a short pause, Wu Zhangkong continued speaking. "With humanity's trend in weapon technology advancement, perhaps such a weapon will appear in the future. But at the moment, there exists no such weapon."

'Bullshit. If that was true, then Shrek Academy wouldn't have been destroyed and killed the strongest human soul master Yun Ming by two God Killing Bombs, which are like nukes from earth.'

"Teacher Wu, this powerful person you spoke of, are they a Mecha Master or a Soul Master?" Tang Wulin asked.

Wu Zhangkong said, "Technically speaking, they are both."

"The mechas you commonly see range from five to eight meters in height and have some peculiar differences depending on what type of mecha they are. These are the modern medium-sized mechas I spoke of. From their research, Soul Guide Masters came to the conclusion that a combination of bulk and flexibility along with a balance of offensive and defensive capabilities were the most suitable for the army. But these are just the standardized mechas for the army. Or it might be better to say, these are mechas for ordinary people. White and yellow mechas are of the same category, but that isn't your goal. With your talents, you absolutely cannot develop in that direction. Instead, you must develop towards battle armor!"

Battle armor! This new idea completely captured the attentions of these youngsters.

After all, armor-like mechas were considered the peak.

"As everyone knows, apart from Mecha Masters who operate the mechas, there are also mecha craftsmen who are absolutely crucial to the mechas themselves. There are three kinds of mecha craftsmen: mecha designers, mecha makers, and mecha mechanics. The main purpose of today's lecture on mechas is to impart the knowledge necessary for you all to make an informed decision on your future secondary occupation. I suggest that all of you choose one occupation from these three as your secondary occupation as it will help you in your path to becoming stronger."

Gu Yue asked in astonishment, "Teacher Wu, shouldn't we concentrate all of our energy on cultivating? At most we should just learn how to operate a mecha, right? Why do we need to take on a second job?"

Wu Zhangkong said, "If you want a powerful battle armor then you must have one that is suitable for you. Thus, powerful Battle Armor Masters will definitely be extremely familiar with their battle armors. They will either design, make, or fix it themselves. Only in this way can you gradually familiarize yourself with every detail of the armor. If you don't take on a second job, you will never be able to have the most fitting battle armor made for yourselves and never ascend to being a top tier Battle Armor Master."

"With the establishment of class zero, we only have one goal for you: that is to push you towards being a powerful Battle Armor Master! This is a long and arduous process that you may have to dedicate your entire lives to. What I first want to do is minimize any time you may waste through inappropriate methods and then elucidate the path you must walk."

"As for what occupation you choose, don't worry about it. You all still have plenty of time to think over your choices. But at the latest, you must pick one by the third grade. Even with your talents, your path will be similar to an ordinary person's, and the sooner you begin, the better. This is the reason why within three years, you must give me an answer."

"Naturally, the three occupations I have given you are only the ones that I think are the best. They aren't your only choices, and there are still some occupations related to mechas that are open to you. In fact, there is even someone among you who has chosen already."

As he spoke, his gaze landed on Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin widened his eyes in realization and spoke up. "Um, teacher Wu, I'm not the only one here with a second occupation. Xiu Ye is also a blacksmith, in fact, a more talented one than me."

Wu Zhangkong raised his eyebrow and turned towards Xiu Ye. "Oh?"

Xiu Ye answered. "My adopted father is a six ranked blacksmith. He taught both me and Tang Wulin how to forge."

Wu Zhangkong rubbed his chin and nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, can you two tell me what ranks are you two at right now?"

"I'm a rank 5 blacksmith while Tang Wulin is a rank 3, though he would be getting a promotion test soon so he would be a rank 4 later on." Xiu Ye said.

Wu Zhangkong ice cold face finally changed, he was shocked! Xie Xie also showed the same expression as him. While the other students, despite not understanding what Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin's ranks entailed, they were impressed due to how shocked their teacher looked.

As a former student from the number one academy in the entire Douluo continent and a young master of clan that had blacksmith workers, how could Wu Zhangkong and Xie Xie not understand how impressive and shocking both Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin's ranks are?

Wu Zhangkong expression turned serious. "Show me your badges."

Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin both showed their badges to him.

'I-It's true...' Wu Zhangkong shook his head.

Wu Zhangkong dully said, "Good then. That ends today's lesson on mechas. There are only two main points for you to remember. First, Battle Armors are like Mechas but are totally separated categories. Second, you must choose a mecha-related occupation by the third grade."

This was extremely easy for them to remember. After all, the information they learned in this class was both simple and interesting to them.

Tang Wulin said, "Teacher Wu, when can we see an actual battle armor?" He had been listening earnestly the whole time and was now finally able to voice his thoughts.

Wu Zhangkong gave him a look and said, "I'll let you see a battle armor after you finish the first part of your combat training. Whoever finishes first will have the opportunity to see it first. As of now, none of you have the qualifications to see."

Without giving a chance for them to ask another question, Wu Zhangkong continued, "From now on, your curriculum will place an emphasis on combat practice. Right here. Xiu Ye, move the desks to the side and clear a space in the center. Mu Xi, enter."

"Yes, sir!" A familiar voice was heard outside.

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