Gu Yuena: Is It Too Late to Learn Forging Now?

"Gu Yuena. Martial soul: Elementalist. Soul power: rank twenty-seven. Power-Attack Battle Soul Master." As the students watched Gu Yuena sit back down after her aloof self-introduction, they had hardly processed that fantastical figure before an even more unreal number hit their ears. "Huo Yuhao. Martial soul: Spirit Eyes. Soul power: rank thirty-three. Control Battle Soul Master." Huo Yuhao glanced at Luo Yanglu on the podium, roughly grasping his teacher's intention. Finishing his brief introduction, he sat back down promptly, just as Gu Yuena had. The classroom fell dead silent. Many of the students glanced from Gu Yuena to Huo Yuhao, wondering if they ought to just drop out. Twenty-seven at age nine—she would probably reach Soul Elder by ten—and the other was already a Soul Elder outright. The disparity between them was simply ridiculous... Had the two of them started cultivating before their martial souls even awakened? "That's impossible!" Wei Xiaofeng's pupils constricted sharply, his eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao. To reach rank thirty at this age, what rank would he be by twelve? Even the legendary Shrek Academy couldn't possibly possess a prodigy like this—or rather, if such a prodigy sought to join Shrek, they would accept him without hesitation! Xie Xie stared at Huo Yuhao, his cool, aloof demeanor completely shattered. He even felt the urge to beat his past self from ten minutes ago to death. This was bad. Why did he feel like he had turned into the comic relief? "All right. You must understand that there is always a heaven beyond the heavens, and someone greater beyond the greatest." Luo Yanglu clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention, saying with a genial smile, "The person you need to overcome is yourselves; do not compare yourselves to others. To sit in Class One means you are all favored children of heaven. Have some confidence." He hadn't needed to take any heavy-handed measures to suppress them; merely having Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena reveal their soul power ranks was enough to deflate the arrogance of these prodigies from East Sea City and the surrounding regions. At this point, he actually needed to offer some encouragement so they wouldn't lose heart and abandon their drive. Having taken on the role of a teacher, Luo Yanglu felt a sense of responsibility. He couldn't care only about Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena; the students seated before him were all under his charge, and he had to guide them properly. Naturally, however, the class needed some time to settle their emotions. Luo Yanglu didn't press them further. "Today will serve as a chance to get acquainted. Formal classes begin tomorrow. I hope everyone can adjust their mindset before then. Dismissed." Luo Yanglu had no intention of keeping them late. Finishing his piece, he turned and left. Seeing this, several students quickly rose and swarmed around Huo Yuhao. Some had initially planned to approach Gu Yuena, but seeing her icy, unapproachable demeanor, they shrank back in the face of her aura. This girl... really didn't look easy to get along with. "Student Huo Yuhao, how do you cultivate so fast? Do you have some secret?" "Are you from one of the great clans? Is your first soul spirit an Heirloom Soul Spirit perfectly matched to your martial soul?" "Your eyes are so beautiful. Are they your martial soul?" Hearing the chatter over there, Xie Xie let out a quiet snort. Worldly flatterers. If not for Huo Yuhao's strength, none of them would be fawning over him like that. He, on the other hand, was different. He wouldn't join the crowd. Instead, he quietly... backed out of the classroom. Ahem. Xie Xie felt it best to keep some distance from Huo Yuhao for now, or he would die of embarrassment. Losing to Huo Yuhao was one thing, but there were two others in the room with higher soul power than him, and two more tied with him. Remembering what he had bragged about earlier made him want to bang his head against a wall. He possessed innate full soul power; in terms of inherent talent, no one surpassed him. It had to be a lack of diligence... Yes, just as the teacher said, he needed to surpass himself. Time to go cultivate right now! Nearby, Wei Xiaofeng approached Huo Yuhao with furrowed brows. He was decent-looking, but his thin lips paired with an unpleasant scowl gave him a rather cold, gloomy demeanor. Seeing him come over, the surrounding students instinctively parted to make way for this fellow Great Spirit Master. Reaching Huo Yuhao, Wei Xiaofeng opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words. He had always been proud. After acquiring a hundred-year Green Shadow Snake soul spirit, he had maintained a solid lead. Two childhood companions had higher-quality martial souls than his, yet neither could keep pace with his soul power and were currently stuck at the peak of rank nineteen. Today, he had finally tasted the gap between himself and true monsters, thoroughly grasping that there was always someone greater. Had it been a difference of just a few ranks, he might have clung to thoughts of catching up, or even held the confidence to triumph in actual combat. But an eleven-rank chasm yawned between them—a distance nearly impossible to bridge. In the end, Wei Xiaofeng took a deep breath and said rather stiffly, "Student Huo Yuhao, please look out for me in the days ahead." Huo Yuhao smiled and nodded. "Student Wei Xiaofeng, likewise." After chatting with his classmates for a bit, Huo Yuhao politely declined several invitations, left the academy, and made his way to the Mecha Master Association. He had an agreement with President Li Yucheng: whenever the president had free time, he would notify Huo Yuhao in advance via soul communicator so Huo Yuhao could visit the Mecha Master Association for guidance. As the sole rank-8 maker in East Sea City, President Li could teach him a great deal; Huo Yuhao had no reason to decline. However... Huo Yuhao glanced back at Gu Yuena trailing behind him, an odd expression on his face. "Your Excellency Silver Dragon King, there's really no need for this." He knew she wanted to build rapport with a Godking, but there was no need to be this intense or take things so seriously. "Now that you've entered the academy, you can relax a bit. Take a stroll, mingle with your classmates, or make some friends." Gu Yuena tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and shook her head lightly. "I'd rather not. You understand—setting aside the differences in other areas, the disparity in lifespan alone is like night and day. After a century or so... they are nothing more than a handful of yellow earth. "Di Tian and the others wanted me to have a more relaxed time at the academy, but they never wished for me to form deep bonds with humans. They have already tasted that bitterness. "Having spent so long in the mortal world, you must understand that feeling well." Huo Yuhao fell silent. Over the past ten thousand years, Di Tian and the others must have formed close ties with certain members of the Spirit Pagoda, only to end up watching them pass away one by one... Damn, here came the existential dread of differing lifespans! "Besides, I had already planned to visit the Mecha Master Association to buy materials for self-improvement." Gu Yuena produced a badge and smiled faintly. "In order to craft Battle Armor, I studied design under Teacher Leng's arrangements. I am currently a rank-3 Mecha Designer. I can't let attending school cause my studies in this area to fall by the wayside." She wasn't bragging; her talent in this field truly was exceptional. If he ever had need of her skills in the future, it might even serve to draw them closer. She had already slacked off enough while the Fierce Beasts handled most of the workload. If she slacked off on building ties with Godking Huo as well, it would be too late for regrets. ... "..." At the Mecha Master Association, watching Huo Yuhao finish drafting blueprints on his own before proceeding to manufacture the parts by hand, Gu Yuena quietly tucked her badge away and lapsed into silence. She took back her earlier thought. Her talent was indeed good, but compared to a Godking who had already been a rank-10 Soul Engineer ten thousand years ago, the gap was perhaps a bit vast. Would it be better for her to switch professions right now? Was it too late to learn forging? Then again, raw physical strength wasn't her forte...