"You want to know why I did that." Arthur quickly worked out his reasoning and explained, "I just thought it would be entertaining."
It seemed fun, so he did it; it was not as though it would hurt anyone. The roleplay games he used to play with Na'er had been the same way. The two of them were perfectly happy with the arrangement, and it even helped draw Na'er out of her shell.
"Is that so?" Gu Yue nodded, having interpreted it in entirely the wrong way. She added another entry to her observation journal on Arthur: enjoys being scolded.
Right, she would look up how to win over this type of person the moment she got back.
The principal up on the stage felt a small sense of relief when he saw Gu Yue rein Arthur in. What a sensible, well-behaved girl she was.
After the impromptu assembly ended, those selected for Class Zero were brought to the principal's office.
"Sign these agreements."
Yu Zhen flipped his wrist and produced several documents, distributing one to each of the five students.
They all hesitated. Yu Zhen explained, "Class Zero will have every resource channeled toward you. These agreements are to ensure you remain committed to your studies here. Go ahead and sign."
After a brief exchange with the group, Yu Zhen suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right. Arthur doesn't need to sign."
At that, everyone turned to look at Arthur with curious expressions.
They had originally assumed Arthur was just joking earlier, but now, could there actually be something going on behind the scenes?
"What are you all staring at?" Arthur stood tall with his chin up, proudly declaring, "Never seen someone with family connections before? That's just how it is when you have the right people."
The most valuable and useful resource East Sea Academy invested in Class Zero was the Spirit Ascending Platform. The slots for that platform were provided by the East Sea Spirit Transmission Tower.
Even if Arthur had no interest in Class Zero, the principal would have had to come asking him to join. That was a matter of respect.
After some deliberation, Wei Xiaofeng ultimately chose to withdraw; his family had other arrangements for him.
With Wei Xiaofeng's departure, the final roster for Class Zero was settled.
Yu Zhen's stern expression instantly dissolved, replaced by a warm smile.
The speed of that transformation left the group stunned.
"Now that you've signed, you are the academy's core elite."
Yu Zhen spoke with confidence. "We respect Wei Xiaofeng's choice, but he will surely regret it someday. East Sea Academy may not rank highly on the continent, but it is the only intermediate soul master academy in this great city. With all our resources directed at you, even Shrek Academy may not have the edge over us."
Those words lifted everyone's spirits considerably. Just as they were about to feel pleased, a voice cut in.
Arthur was a boy of both knowledge and bluntness, and he pushed back without hesitation: "That's a load of nonsense."
Wu Zhangkong beside him cast him an approving glance. Arthur had said exactly what he was thinking.
Yu Zhen kept his expression perfectly composed, still smiling warmly as though he had heard nothing at all. "All right, children. Let's leave it at that. Prepare yourselves for life in the new Class Zero."
Once Class Zero for the first year was officially established, the classroom was moved to a spacious room of its own.
The dormitories were also reorganized from four students per room to single occupancy, with a standard equivalent to the faculty quarters. Everyone's rooms were arranged adjacently, seven in total including their homeroom teacher Wu Zhangkong.
Wu Zhangkong was also assigned a faculty suite beside the dormitories. The academy gave them one full day to settle in, with classes beginning formally the next day.
"Arthur, the three of us are all in a row!" Zhang Yangzi happily draped an arm over Arthur's shoulder. The two of them had originally shared a room, so being assigned adjacent quarters came as no surprise.
The order of their rooms went: Wang Jinxi, Arthur, Zhang Yangzi, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue.
Stare.
The cheerful Zhang Yangzi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around to find Gu Yue fixated intensely on the room key in his hand.
He blinked, glanced at Gu Yue, then swept a look over at Arthur. Something seemed to click.
"Oh!" Zhang Yangzi smacked his forehead and turned to Gu Yue. "Hey Gu Yue, would you mind swapping rooms with me? Your spot has the best airflow, and I really like that kind of thing."
"Of course." Gu Yue's usual cool detachment vanished, her expression shifting even faster than the principal's as she broke into a sweet smile.
Arthur shook his head at the sight. It was just a few steps down the hall; surely it was not worth all that.
Classes began the next day, in the new classroom.
Arthur's seating habits were as fixed as hardcoded instructions; he was by the window as always. Gu Yue, equally mechanical in her routines, sat in front of him just as before and turned her head every now and then to show her profile.
Whether it was simply from seeing it so often, Arthur found himself thinking that Gu Yue's profile had gotten even better looking.
At that moment, Wu Zhangkong walked in and started the lesson. "Now that you're in Class Zero, the curriculum will be adjusted somewhat from before."
"Given that you finished a competition just yesterday, your bodies still need some time to recover. Today will be a theory class. We'll start with mechas."
Mechas?
The group perked up at once.
Even Arthur sat up straighter. He had always had a fondness for both battle armor and mechas: one was a full-body fusion, the other a summoned machine of war.
Was there anything cooler than that?
Never mind that both offered tremendous boosts to a soul master. Even if they were purely decorative with no practical use whatsoever, Arthur would still want a full set.
Especially the image of wearing battle armor while summoning a large-scale mecha.
Logic and practicality aside, just consider how magnificent that would look.
Mid-thought, Arthur suddenly recalled that Muye had apparently been exploring the idea of combining battle armor with mecha technology.
Looking at it from every angle, taking him as a teacher really was the right call. Having a master who shared the same vision was simply perfect.
"For today, we'll only cover some basic familiarity with mechas; nothing too in-depth, and not much material."
Wu Zhangkong walked through the origins of mechas, their development, and their current state, covering the fundamental knowledge.
"Next we'll move on to something else." Wu Zhangkong paused. "Battle armor."
"Battle armor?" Several of the six had never heard the term before.
After explaining the concept of battle armor and how its combat enhancement far surpassed that of mechas, Wu Zhangkong continued, "The goal I'm setting for all of you is to become powerful battle armor masters!"
"Every one of you has the talent for it."
"And to become a powerful battle armor master, you will need to choose a second vocation."
"A top-tier battle armor master must achieve deep compatibility with their armor. To reach that point, you need to either design, forge, or repair it yourself; without that, the peak is unreachable. Class Zero's purpose is to help you become truly powerful, and my role is to help you avoid unnecessary detours."
With that, Wu Zhangkong worked through the students' questions one by one.
He finished with a deadline: "You must decide before your third year, and the earlier you start the better. Forging is also worth considering; Tang Wulin has already chosen that path. Superior battle armor ultimately comes down to forging skill. And at higher levels, a second vocation will also make it easier to acquire cultivation resources."
Wu Zhangkong had no idea that Arthur was already a blacksmith, since he had never shown it openly.
"Teacher, when do we actually get to see real battle armor?" Tang Wulin pressed with curiosity.
"Whoever completes the first phase of practical combat training gets to see it." Wu Zhangkong dangled the prospect in front of them.
He paused briefly, then turned to Arthur. "Arthur could see it right now, actually. Would you like to?"
In Wu Zhangkong's eyes, Arthur had always been different from the others. He had never truly thought of him as a student.
Before Arthur could respond, Gu Yue furrowed her brow.
"No thank you, Teacher." Arthur waved off the offer. He had already seen battle armor in person long ago, and a three-word battle armor at that, belonging to Su Wuyan.
(Author's note: I've always felt that battle armor and mechas were the most brilliant concepts in Douluo III. Genuinely stunning.)