Chapter 178: Chapter 150: Unexpected Person_2
"This bastard!"
Long Guocheng gritted his teeth, feeling as if he were sitting on pins and needles, and without another word, took a seat at the nearest spot.
"It's a pity that Kong Xiuwen isn't in the same class as me."
Xiang Beifei was in freshman class eight, while Kong Xiuwen was in class eleven. He was still accustomed to sitting in the last row with Kong Xiuwen; having a familiar person around was somewhat more convenient.
The classroom was noisy, but soon a man walked in, and everyone quieted down.
Xiang Beifei looked up at the man standing on the podium and saw the interface of his system, suddenly pausing in surprise.
[Host: Xu Yang]
[S-level, Mutation System]
[Realm: Meridian Opening middle stage]
Xu Yang?
Xiang Beifei stared at the man before him in astonishment!
Xu Yang, was it really him?
He confirmed the man's system interface several times, worried that he might have mistaken the person later on.
But the system's display was crystal clear; it was indeed the same person who had attacked him with a mutant canine that day!
That night was dark, and Xiang Beifei hadn't gotten a clear look at the person's face, but he had memorized the interface of the assailant's system.
The S-level Mutation System was exactly the same except that the person's power had progressed from Meridian Opening initial stage to the middle stage.
"This person is actually the 'Desolate Beast Cognition and Anatomy' teacher?"
Xiang Beifei was shocked to his core!
He had thought that Xu Yang might be from some organization associated with his father, but he never imagined that this person could be a university teacher—and he was teaching his class, no less!
Wait, if he was a teacher at Liangzhou University, then why didn't Lu Zhiwei know someone named "Xu Yang" before?
At that time, Lu Hong had checked for anyone named "Xu Yang" registered in Jiuzhou. There were approximately ten thousand people with the same name and surname, making it impossible to determine who it was. However, by all accounts, Lu Zhiwei should have heard of him.
Xiang Beifei focused on Xu Yang before him. Last time, he had only caught a glimpse and didn't even see the man's face. This time, he needed to re-acquaint himself with this person!
Xu Yang was probably in his forties, about the same age as Lu Hong, with a crew cut. His features were relatively ordinary, the kind that would not stand out in a crowd, except for his thick eyebrows, which were his most memorable feature.
"Hello, students. I am the 'Desolate Beast Cognition and Anatomy' teacher. My name is Xu Yang; you can call me Mr. Xu."
Xu Yang smiled as he scanned the whole classroom, his gaze casually sweeping over Xiang Beifei, pausing briefly for a second before moving on.
The classroom quieted down. Everyone was attentive during the first class, especially since this subject was quite unique. They had learned about desolate beasts in a very general way in high school and had almost never seen a real one. But in university, they needed to come into actual contact with these creatures.
Standing at the podium, Xu Yang looked over the class with the roll call list in hand and said with a smile, "For the first lesson, I suppose no one would miss it, but I still need to call the roll, just to get to know the new students. When I call your name, please stand up; I'm sure everyone also needs to get to know each other. Let's see, number one, Zhao Shulan."
"Present."
The one who stood up was a tall girl who had awakened the [S-level, Flower Sorrow System]. She could communicate with all kinds of flowers and also control any flowering plants.
People with such abilities were very useful in the outer desolate territories because there weren't only dangerous animals out there but also various dangerous plants, and her power could counter many plant-type desolate beasts.
"Number two, Ye Chen."
"Present!"
The student who stood up was a boy who had awakened the [R-level, All Heavens Understudy System], which relies on acting in minor roles across various heavens to complete tasks.
...
Xu Yang was calling roll up front, while Xiang Beifei rested his chin on his hand, thoughtfully observing Xu Yang.
He was browsing through the other's system logs, hoping to find some clues within Xu Yang's system logs.
System logs were Xiang Beifei's most direct method of understanding a person, because almost everything that one did as system tasks could be found within their system log.
The incident that night happened too suddenly; Xiang Beifei didn't have time to check Xu Yang's system log. He only remembered that this Mutation System could induce a temporary mutation in living beings.
For instance, the mutant dog that had attacked him wasn't considered a desolate beast but was merely a stray dog whose abilities had been forcefully enhanced, and once those abilities faded, it would revert back to being a stray dog.
[You dissected a Mountain Splitter Ant and obtained the Mountain Splitter Ant's mandible, mutation value +10]
[You dissected a multipede and obtained a pair of antennae, mutation value +6]
...
Xu Yang's Mutation System log was filled with records of the desolate beasts he had dissected, many of which Xiang Beifei hadn't even fully learned about yet.
After dissecting a desolate beast, Xu Yang would collect some of the beast's unique organs.
The most bizarre aspect was that his Mutation System seemed to be able to mutate not just things like stray dogs but also himself!
That meant Xu Yang's ability allowed him to temporarily graft parts of a desolate beast's organs onto his own body, giving him the characteristics of a desolate beast! This ability had similarities to Sun Rui's [Beast Transformation System].
However, Sun Rui's [Beast Transformation System] required him to come into contact with the desolate beast during combat and then copy one of its traits, while Xu Yang's Mutation System could mutate not only his own body but even the bodies of desolate beasts!
In other words, Xu Yang could, by coming into contact with a desolate beast, graft organs from other desolate beasts onto it. For example, if his cultivation was higher than that of a Triangular Thunder Krait, he could transplant Mountain Splitter Ant mandibles onto it, giving the Krait two massive ant pincers!
Sometimes, such mutations could increase a desolate beast's strength, but often, they would cause significant trouble for the beast.
If six Mountain Splitter Ant legs were attached to a Triangular Thunder Krait, the Krait's reactions would be severely limited since it wasn't used to the sudden addition of six new legs, making it difficult to move agilely and likely resulting in chaos.
Xu Yang's ability, in theory, made him excellent material for a pioneer since he could effectively deal with desolate beasts!
"Is this guy a pioneer?"
Thoughts raced through Xiang Beifei's head.
"Number thirty-seven, Xiang Beifei."
Realizing his name had been called by Xu Yang, Xiang Beifei stood up and responded, "Here."
The entire class looked at Xiang Beifei. Although everyone knew him, many were still quite curious about him. Many in the class were only at the initial stages of Qi-Controlling, and even if they looked down on N-level students, they wouldn't dare to provoke this Body Cultivator.
After calling Xiang Beifei's name, Xu Yang sized him up, a slight smile on his lips, saying, "Ah yes, Xiang Beifei, the most famous newcomer of Liangzhou University this year. I've heard that relying on your own strength, you killed a Triangular Thunder Krait outside the domain – impressive."
He looked at Xiang Beifei with a somewhat admiring expression.
However, he didn't dwell much on it, acting as if he had met Xiang Beifei for the first time, showing nothing beyond admiration.
When he mentioned the three SR elites in the class, he paused briefly as well, treating these three SRs the same as Xiang Beifei, fully accommodating the four people from dormitory 404.
In doing so, he made sure not to show favoritism publicly and prevented other students from thinking that he had any special thoughts about Xiang Beifei.
After the roll call, Xu Yang spoke loudly:
"Desolate beasts from beyond our domains are something we martial artists must face. We exist as martial artists to have the ability to protect our Jiuzhou territory. Even if you choose not to become pioneers in the future, there is one thing you need to understand: learning about desolate beasts could save your life at a crucial moment."
Xu Yang stood at the podium, starting to explain the importance of the class.