Within East Sea City, Arthur alone could sense the terrifying pressure as it came and went in the span of a breath.
In an instant, the column of light that had pierced the heavens vanished.
Arthur stood with his head bowed, turning it over in his mind.
The only explanation he could think of was that Gu Yue and Tang San had clashed.
That much was to be expected.
The increasingly obvious anomaly surrounding Tang Wulin was something anyone paying attention would have noticed. Most people, at most, would assume it was something like a spirit soul mutation, the way Wu Zhangkong had.
But what others didn't know, could Gu Yue really not know? She would absolutely be able to detect the Golden Dragon King's aura within Tang Wulin's body.
So whether it was a probe or something more, a confrontation between the Silver Dragon King and Tang San had always been inevitable.
As for who came out on top, that would be easy enough to gauge. He just had to watch Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's demeanor when school resumed.
He set down his forging hammer quietly. "Master, let's call it here for today. I'm going back to meditate."
"Alright." After years together, Mu Chen could tell something was off with Arthur, but he said nothing. He knew that if Arthur was truly troubled by something, he would bring it up himself.
Arthur wasn't the type to bottle things up. He had never been too proud to ask his elders for help.
"Goodbye, Master."
With a wave of his hand, Arthur turned and left the Blacksmith Association, quickening his pace.
The collision of those god-level forces had made him feel his own smallness acutely, like a lone boat tossed on a raging sea, liable to capsize at any moment.
An urgency rose in his chest unbidden.
It wasn't fear of Gu Yue or Tang San. It was the desire that the next time he stood before that kind of power, he would not feel so utterly helpless.
Put simply, he lacked a sense of security.
Toward Gu Yue, Arthur's approach was to go with the flow and play along with whatever she had in mind. After all, there was no resisting her; he simply had no cards to play there.
As for Tang San, his view was straightforward: the man was an idiot.
Not malicious, in Arthur's estimation. Just self-righteously, thoroughly idiotic.
Splitting his own daughter's soul apart and then treating it like some experiment to be reassembled. Training his son-in-law like a dog on a leash.
There was no grand scheme behind any of it. Tang San, the divine being that he was, genuinely believed he was doing right by his daughter and son-in-law.
Ten thousand years ago, using a child to drive off Bibi Dong. Then that whole so-called "ten-thousand-year plan."
Tang San had truly believed himself to be brilliantly clever throughout all of it.
A wisdom so staggering it put even the Silver Dragon King to shame.
Arthur feared no one more than this sort of person. Being an idiot was one thing, but believing with total conviction that you were right was something else entirely. And what made it truly insufferable was that his power was beyond anyone's ability to check. There was no talking him out of anything.
Absolutely maddening.
This was the ultimate proof that a clever person's most labored thinking could not hold a candle to a fool's moment of inspiration.
All the years of terror and slaughter carried out by the Holy Spirit Cult amounted to the work of raw recruits compared to what the ten-thousand-year plan had wrought.
Right now, Arthur found himself hoping Gu Yue had won this exchange.
At least Gu Yue's behavior followed some traceable logic. Tang San was a complete unknown; there was no telling when he might suddenly be struck by another brilliant divine idea.
---
The final match of the promotion tournament: Class Five against Class One.
Class Five sent out their usual three: Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue.
Class One fielded Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng. The moment the three of them confirmed that Arthur wasn't stepping up, their visible relief was hard to miss.
The battle got underway quickly.
Arthur watched the figures on the platform, his thoughts drifting. Tang Wulin looked a little worn down, yet his strength had improved by a clearly visible margin compared to before.
Gu Yue moved through the charged atmosphere of the arena floor as though she were taking a leisurely stroll, utterly unbothered as always.
Xie Xie had made considerable progress as well.
So had Tang San won? Yet Gu Yue seemed to be in a perfectly fine mood.
As if sensing Arthur's gaze, Gu Yue turned from the platform with enough composure to spare and gave him a wink.
Arthur blinked.
He hadn't paid close attention before, but now, looking carefully, he realized with a start that Gu Yue seemed noticeably more beautiful than she had three months ago.
The battle ended. Class Five won, as expected. They would now rightfully be called the new Class One.
Shortly after, the academy convened an unscheduled assembly.
After the usual formalities, Long Hengxu made the announcement: "In recognition of the outstanding performance shown by the new first-year Class One during the promotion tournament, the entire class is awarded one Grade-A meal per day for the remainder of this term."
The murmuring crowd erupted into cheers.
"Quiet."
Long Hengxu raised a hand. When the noise subsided, he continued: "Given the exceptional performance of this year's first-year cohort, the academy has decided to pilot the formation of a 'First-Year Class Zero,' selecting the most outstanding students to join, with Wu Zhangkong appointed as homeroom teacher. The students currently selected are: from Class One, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, and Arthur. From Class Two, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng. Students who continue to distinguish themselves will still have the opportunity to be admitted."
"Class Zero?"
The students were stunned. East Sea Academy had never had such a designation, and the added surprise of Wu Zhangkong serving as homeroom teacher made it all the more unexpected.
But above all else, the question burning through everyone's mind was: who on earth is Arthur?
A restless murmur spread through the courtyard.
The three from Class One and the students from Class Five showed no particular reaction; they naturally knew that Arthur was the true prodigy of this year's intake. But everyone else had no idea.
Students began asking around frantically. The other six selected for Class Zero were easy enough to account for; their abilities had just been on full display. But Arthur? Nobody had ever heard of him.
Already, a few voices laced with sourness were muttering about backroom dealings.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been Arthur's cue to step forward, demonstrate his ability, and silence the doubters.
Unfortunately, Arthur had never been the sort of person who felt the need to prove himself to skeptics.
He had an impeccable sense of proportion when it came to serious matters, but for something trivial like this, he preferred to have a little fun.
So instead of stepping forward, he took the lead himself. His voice carried a convincing note of indignation as he joined the chorus of the skeptical crowd: "Teacher! The abilities of the other six speak for themselves; they clearly deserve their places. But who is this Arthur? Surely there's something going on behind the scenes."
The moment someone broke ranks, a handful of others who had not been selected and weren't happy about it instantly fell in behind him.
"Right, exactly. Could this be a case of favoritism?"
"I've never even heard this person's name. Something's not right here."
Up on the stage, Long Hengxu had half-expected this; Arthur kept such an extraordinarily low profile that he hadn't even participated in the promotion tournament. He was just drawing breath to respond when he froze, staring in disbelief at Arthur standing right at the front of the mob.
What on earth is this little troublemaker doing? Who in their right mind leads the charge against themselves?
The principal, however, was a man of considerable experience. He calmly took the microphone from Long Hengxu's stunned grip and replied without missing a beat: "Arthur is the only three-ring Spirit Elder in this year's first-year intake. His place in Class Zero goes without saying."
A Spirit Elder?!
The crowd broke into a clamor. Well then, that settled it entirely.
"Hmph." Arthur, thoroughly enjoying himself, let out a theatrical scoff. "How do we know it's not a lie? If he's really a Spirit Elder, why didn't he enter the promotion tournament?" He gave the mood of the crowd one final nudge.
For that one moment, he had become exactly the kind of bully he disliked most, except the target was himself.
The next moment, however, Arthur paused mid-thought, his mental script of follow-up remarks abandoned. He turned with a puzzled look toward Gu Yue, who had materialized beside him without his noticing. "What is it?"
"Do you enjoy this sort of thing?" Gu Yue's eyes were full of curiosity.
"What do you mean?" Arthur scratched his head.
"It's just..." Gu Yue frowned slightly, struggling to find the right words. Having channeled all her experience of being human into Na'er, she was only just beginning to relearn it from scratch.