Chapter 75: “Chance Encounter That Shakes the World”

"One headache after another! I swear, you kids are going to wear me out as the dean of instruction!" Long Hengxu stormed into the cafeteria, rolling up his sleeves in frustration. Someone had eaten through the entire month's worth of A-grade meals — how was that even possible? Sure, the money stayed within the academy, so technically it wasn't a loss, but 108 meals? That was enough to rupture someone's stomach!

"What the hell is this?" Long Hengxu's jaw dropped the moment he stepped inside and saw the scene.

Surrounded by a crowd of stunned students, Gu You sat on the floor, round as a ball, looking like a human soccer ball — his face carrying a faintly disdainful expression.

Long Hengxu stood frozen for a moment. Should he intervene or not? But then he thought it through carefully. This was clearly a safety issue — of course he had to act!

"Out of the way! Move aside!"

The students parted naturally, eager to see how the dean of instruction would handle this bizarre situation.

Long Hengxu stepped up to Gu You, gathering a soft pulse of soul power in his palm. Gently, he patted Gu You's bloated belly.

Gu You's eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but he was so swollen that it felt like his throat was blocked — he couldn't get any words out.

The moment Long Hengxu's hand struck his stomach, Gu You felt an overwhelming surge inside him, like a flood breaking free…

And then… launch!

The entire cafeteria erupted in wild cheers.

"Ahhh—!"

"Oh god, that's disgusting!"

"Run!"

Blaaargh!

Gu You threw up everything he had eaten, his body instantly deflating back to its normal size. A strange smell filled the air, and most of the students bolted for the exits. Even the cafeteria aunties collapsed to the floor in shock.

Long Hengxu got a full spray right to the face. Gu You gave him a look that basically said, "Why'd you stick your nose in where it didn't belong?"

"Ahhh!" Long Hengxu screamed, sprinting out of the cafeteria to wash his face.

The unluckiest one, though, was Tang Wulin.

Still lying on the floor, he'd taken the full brunt of Gu You's monstrous vomit attack, getting splattered from head to toe.

…

"This was a tragedy, Principal Yu! The kind of chaos the school cafeteria hasn't seen in years! You have to impose strict regulations!" Long Hengxu wailed to Principal Yu Zhen.

"Sigh, what is even going on here?" Yu Zhen waved dismissively. "If you hadn't smacked him like that, nothing would have happened. Now that there's a mess, you should reflect a bit on your own actions. As for Gu You, that kid's appetite is a blessing. We should develop a new line of premium meals just for him — make sure he eats well."

Hearing this, Long Hengxu silently cursed the principal ten thousand times in his head, but there was nothing he could do. It was clear the principal was deliberately protecting Gu You. What could he possibly do about it?

…

Study. Cultivate. Every weekend, Tang Wulin headed to the Blacksmith Association to continue learning forging under Mu Chen.

Normally gentle and kind, Mu Chen transformed into a strict, demanding teacher the moment he entered his role — even more so than Mang Tian had been. After a full day of forging lessons, Tang Wulin always ended up far more exhausted than from anything at school.

"Wulin, you know Gu You, right? That kid who just joined your Zero Class a while ago?" Mu Chen asked casually, seated nearby as Tang Wulin practiced his hammer swings.

"Ah? Teacher, of course I know him."

The moment Gu You's name came up, cold sweat broke out across Tang Wulin's back.

He was still drowning in debt — tens of thousands of coins, working nonstop every day to repay what he owed the school. After the disaster of Gu You's vomiting episode, Tang Wulin was mentally numb. No wonder Old Tang had warned him to be wary of Gu You.

"Mhm. Good, good. Make sure you interact more with that boy. His blacksmithing talent is outstanding. You should ask him for tips sometime." Mu Chen stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Tang Wulin's heart clenched.

Gu You could forge too? This was the first time he'd heard anyone mention that someone might surpass his own forging talent.

But strangely, Tang Wulin didn't feel shocked — only resigned. After all, a prodigy was a prodigy. How could someone like Gu You only excel in cultivation? Wouldn't that defeat the whole point of being a prodigy?

…

Their weekly trips into the spirit ascension platform became a mandatory part of Zero Class's curriculum.

In their following visits, the six of them all grew much more cautious and careful. They approached spirit beasts with vigilance, engaging only when necessary.

Notably, the large-scale map that Gu You had reported on last time had also received positive feedback. The master map only showed each participant's own position — it didn't reveal other soul masters or spirit beasts. According to the staff, everything inside was randomized.

Gu You had even tried venturing deeper into the simulated Star Dou Forest. But by now, ordinary hundred-year and thousand-year beasts barely caught his attention anymore. The added spirit power he gained from them was too small, and absorbing just one would drain it completely.

Unfortunately, the basic spirit ascension platform only generated hundred- and thousand-year spirit beasts, no matter where you went. Rumors of ten-thousand-year beasts existed, but no one could confirm it — Gu You himself had never encountered one.

On top of that, finding thousand-year spirit beasts was always a matter of luck.

…

Before they knew it, the end of the first semester arrived.

"Teacher Wu, do we even have to take final exams?" Tang Wulin asked in surprise.

Honestly, the idea of finals seemed pointless for them. This wasn't arrogance — it was simple fact.

Zero Class had only existed for three months, but in that time, they'd all undergone transformations they could clearly feel. Let alone Gu You, who treated final exams like chopping vegetables.

Gu Yue had already reached the peak of rank 19, just one step away from breaking into the next stage.

Tang Wulin was sitting at the peak of rank 15, not far from hitting rank 16.

In half a year, he'd gone from rank 11 to nearly rank 16 — something he'd never even dared dream of before entering Eastsea Academy.

Gu You's progression was a bit slower, sitting at rank 32. That was the drawback of having an extreme martial soul — the further you advanced, the slower your cultivation became.

He'd also discovered something strange: his spiritual sea siphoned off some of his soul power during cultivation. It was absolutely merciless.

Still, his spiritual power itself was astonishing.

His Purple Demon Eye technique had already reached the Mustard Seed realm — the same level Tang San had used to see through Xiao Wu's hundred-thousand-year soul beast identity.

That kind of advancement was insane. No matter how talented you were, even if you woke at dawn every day to absorb the purple dawn light, reaching this realm so quickly was supposed to be impossible.

Gu You found it bizarre, but he suspected it was tied to his inherently monstrous spiritual potential. The last time he'd tested, he was already at the late Spirit Sea stage — now, he estimated his spiritual power was at least five thousand points, maybe even in the Spirit Abyss realm.

School life had become a source of tremendous growth for him.

The spirit ascension platform had massively boosted his real combat ability — he estimated his fighting strength had improved by at least one or two levels.

And they were all just ten-year-old kids.

Ten-year-olds with this kind of combat skill — "rare" didn't even begin to cover it.

Principal Yu Zhen had invested heavily in Zero Class.

Everything, from their teaching facilities to their spirit ascension platform privileges, was top-of-the-line. That was how these little monsters had emerged — except for, well, one particular person.

"You'll still take exams," Wu Zhangkong said coolly. "Your finals will have two parts. The first is the spirit ascension platform."

The spirit ascension platform?

They'd already entered it eleven times in the past three months.

By now, unless they had truly terrible luck, each of them could survive inside for at least an hour.

Their record, held by Gu You, was eight full hours — he'd spent six of those hours just wandering around.

"You need to last one hour inside to pass the final," Wu Zhangkong continued calmly. "But let me warn you: this time, you'll be entering the violent-phase spirit ascension platform."

Xie Xie's eyes widened. "Teacher, what's the violent phase? I've never heard of that before."

Gu You piped up, "Violent phase, violent phase… obviously it means the spirit beasts inside are stronger and more aggressive."

"Oh, so you know everything, huh?" Gu Yue shot him a cold glance.

"Thanks."

"Uh… Gu You, why are you thanking me?" Xie Xie asked, confused.

"No reason." Gu You smiled.

Wu Zhangkong explained, "Gu You is mostly right. The spirit ascension platform enters a violent phase twice a year. Originally, it was due to energy instability inside the system. But as technology advanced, the violent phase became a controlled feature — a special mode. During this phase, the spirit beasts inside become unusually active, their numbers increase, and the danger spikes dramatically."

"Each violent-phase period, the Eighteen Pillars have only three hundred entry slots available. This time, you're being granted five of them. The academy paid a hefty price to secure this chance with the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda, so you must treasure it."

"During the violent phase, you can enter as a team — up to seven people. You five will go in together, which will test your teamwork. Remember: inside, you won't only be facing spirit beasts — you'll also encounter other soul masters who've entered. They're just as dangerous."

Wu Zhangkong's gaze sharpened. "Why? Because during the violent phase, the spirit power generated when you kill a beast takes one hundred times longer to absorb. For example, absorbing the energy from one beast will take a full one hundred seconds. If you're forced to exit the platform during that time, the remaining energy can be stolen by the nearest soul master." He gave Gu You a meaningful glance.

Zhang Yangzi's eyes lit up. "So that means… we can steal other people's spirit power too?"

Wu Zhangkong nodded. "Essentially, the rules are the same. But be warned: the violent-phase platform is dangerous. The soul masters you'll face are often at the peak of the three-ring stage, just shy of four rings, coming here to gamble on improving their soul spirits. That means your opponents will be very, very strong…"

(End of Chapter)

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